THE DECISION · 26 SEP 1983 · SERPUKHOV-15, USSR
False alarm, 1983
A quarter past midnight, 26 September 1983. In a bunker south of Moscow, a screen says five American missiles are on their way, and duty officer Stanislav Petrov has minutes to decide what to tell the Kremlin. In our timeline he called it a malfunction. This is the timeline where he follows protocol.
26 SEP 1983 · 00:15
Three weeks earlier the Soviet air force shot down a Korean airliner, and the world is holding its breath. In a bunker at Serpukhov-15, south of Moscow, the new Oko satellites watch America for the flare of launching missiles. At a quarter past midnight the sirens fire and the board goes red: one launch. Then five. Duty officer Stanislav Petrov has the handset in front of him and a rule book with one instruction. In our timeline he trusted a feeling in his gut instead. In the timeline recorded here, he does what the rule book says.