1983 ⟶ Soviet Nuclear False Alarm Incident
The 1983 Soviet nuclear false alarm incident occurs. The U.S...
Year
1961
1982
1983
⚔️ Checkpoint Charlie Standoff
Checkpoint Charlie standoff between US and Soviet tanks begins.⟶
BerlinGermanyCold WarUSUSSREuropeTensionsMilitaryCrisis
👤 Andropov Becomes Soviet Leader
AndropovSoviet UnionLeadershipCold WarPolitical TransitionUSSR
🚨 Soviet Nuclear False Alarm Incident
The 1983 Soviet nuclear false alarm incident occurs. The U.S.S.R. nuclear early warning system reports launch of multiple U.S. intercontinental ballistic missiles. Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov, an officer of the Soviet Air Defence Forces, correctly identifies them as false alarms. This decision is seen as having prevented a retaliatory nuclear attack based on erroneous data on the United States and its NATO allies, which likely would have resulted in nuclear war and the deaths of hundreds of millions of people.⟶
Cold WarNuclearUSSRDefenseMilitaryEarly Warning SystemPetrovCrisisAccident
🚀 Reagan Announces Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)
Ronald Reagan proposes the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI, or "Star Wars").⟶
Cold WarUS Foreign PolicyArms RaceSpaceDefenseReaganTechnologyNuclear
🚩 Soviet Union Intervenes in Sri Lankan Communist Party Ban
Sri Lankan government bans all its major communist parties claiming they were involved in ethnic riots, Soviet Union intervenes to unban the parties.⟶
USSRSri LankaCommunismCold WarAsiaPoliticsForeign policyIntervention
💥 Korean Air Lines Flight 007 Shot Down
Civilian Korean Air Lines Flight 007, with 269 passengers, including U.S. Congressman Larry McDonald, is shot down by Soviet interceptor aircraft.⟶
Cold WarNuclearAviationUS-Soviet RelationsMilitaryInternational IncidentPoliticsAccident