1983 was less than a decade before the fall of the Soviet Union. Public assumption normally holds that the Cold War was winding down at this point, as the USSR was finally beginning to fade. However, this was far from the truth. Soviet Russia was facing major hardship, among them the failing health of their General Secretary, Yuri Andropov, but this combined with President Reagan's announcement of the "Star Wars" program exacerbated Russian fears of a nuclear strike. The concern was that a missile defense system would allow the United States to launch a nuclear attack with relative impunity.

It was during this tense period, on September 26, 1983, that Colonel Stanislav Petrov was charged with monitoring Russia's nuclear detection satellite system. He recalls that his shift had been rather uneventful, until his system reported that an American missile was being launched.

Next

1952 ANDY PAFKO #1 TOPPS BASEBALL CARD

Starting bid: $1,000

I SOLD A BUNCH OF QUALITY CARDS A FEW MONTHS AGO ON EBAY. I HAVE GOT SOME MORE CARDS FROM THE SAME SOURCE. AS I STATED BEFORE, I DONT KNOW TOO MUCH ABOUT CARDS, HOWEVER I AM LEARNING. ALL OF THESE CARDS ARE AUTHENTIC. I GIVE A 100% GAURANTEE AND WILL REFUND YOUR MONEY IF YOU ARE NOT SATISFIED. ALL OF THE SCANS ARE OF THE ACTUAL CARDS AND I WILL NOTE ANY DEFECTS TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITIES. GOOD LUCK! THIS CARD IS: 1952 andy pafko #1 topps. condition is: very good. corners are pretty sharp- small creases across top left at an angle. surface looks good. back is pretty clean. nice card.