La redención del camarada Petrov

On September 26, 1983, at the height of the Cold War, Soviet Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Petrov was on duty in a bunker, from where he led the aerospace defense. At 00:14 the alarm sounded the signal everyone feared: nuclear missiles launched by the United States were bound for Moscow. In less than half an hour they would hit their target and the consequences would be catastrophic.

However, this lieutenant colonel had misgivings about the veracity of the alarm. The protocol was clear: it was necessary to respond immediately, without hesitation, even if this would trigger an atomic confrontation. The coin was in the air, at that very moment the future of humanity was at stake.

In this gripping and moving novel, based on real facts, Eduardo Sguiglia recreates Petrov's life and struggles and, following in his footsteps, the course of the Soviet Union from the middle of the twentieth century onwards: The struggle for communist ideals and its disappointment, Stalinism, the savagery of war, the character and motivations of the partisans who resisted the Nazi's invasion, the superpowers' most notable years, and the foretold decline of the regime.

Also, and of course, the moment when a lieutenant colonel saves the world from a massacre on an unprecedented scale. The Redemption of Comrade Petrov is proof that sometimes history depends on decisions made on the edge of the abyss. One man alone, with his skill and conscience, made the right decision; his life would never again be the same.