That the Parliament recognises that the former Soviet soldier, Stanislav Petrov, who has been credited with averting nuclear war during the phase of the mutually assured destruction (MAD) United States and USSR policies, sadly passed away on 19 May 2017 at the age of 77; notes that Mr Petrov was on duty at a nuclear early warning centre on 26 September 1983 when faulty technology wrongly detected incoming US nuclear warhead missiles and that, due to MAD policy procedure, Mr Petrov was, by protocol, instructed to begin the procedure for launching a nuclear attack on the United States; further notes that he instead waited and reported a malfunction in the software, rather than taking steps that would have led to nuclear war; commends Mr Petrov’s actions, and highlights the significance of his reaction in shaping the history of world affairs.
Supported by:
Clare Adamson, Tom Arthur, Colin Beattie, Bob Doris, Neil Findlay, John Finnie, Kenneth Gibson, Jenny Gilruth, Christine Grahame, Emma Harper, Clare Haughey, Alison Johnstone, Richard Lochhead, Richard Lyle, Angus MacDonald, Gordon MacDonald, Fulton MacGregor, Rona Mackay, Ben Macpherson, Ruth Maguire, Gillian Martin, John Mason, Joan McAlpine, Ivan McKee, Stuart McMillan, Gil Paterson, Ash Regan, Stewart Stevenson, Maree Todd, David Torrance, Sandra White