A subreddit to discuss the Chernobyl Disaster that happened on the night of April 26, 1986, and the Exclusion Zone that isolates the city of Pripyat from the rest of the world. 4. Unknown to Akimov, during his work he was exposed to a lethal dose of radiation that was later determined to be 15 Gy. 2023 BBC. "Its high rankings show that people are still interested in Chernobyl. Ive never heard anything about his face, only his skin blackening and shriveling. Contents hide. Chernobyl survivors assess fact and fiction in TV series The Accident at Chernobyl: What Caused the Explosion? There is a myth that no life can survive in Chernobyl, which is simply not true. Is there any truth or is it all here say? When we talk about the events that have changed the world, we always remember the Chernobyl nuclear power plant explosion. He was the third child of Tatiana Petrovna Ignatenko and Ivan Tarasovish Ignatenko. He and his crew then stayed and manually pumped the emergency feedwater into the reactor. Hours after the world's worst nuclear accident, engineer Oleksiy Breus entered the control room of the No. trailer Always nice to see new programs about this :). Can Nigeria's election result be overturned? Its estimated that more than 900 stray dogs live in the Exclusion Zone. The Chernobyl disaster is one of the most famous nuclear catastrophes in the world, but not many people know that if it hadn't been for one man, the damage would have been much worse. [5], In 2008, Toptunov was posthumously awarded with the 3rd degree Order For Courage by Viktor Yushchenko, then the President of Ukraine.[6]. Akimov heard reports of massive reactor damage, but did not believe it, and as a result relayed false information about the state of the reactor for hours after. Russians and Ukrainians have watched it via the internet, and it has had a favourable rating on Russian film site Kinopoisk. At first, the head of the tests, Dyatlov A. S., forced them, with his orders, to move away How would I find another job after that?". He had health problems afterwards.". Meduza shares its thoughts about the shows latest installment, Open Wide, O Earth, and looks at some of the showrunners editing decisions. He points to a few inaccuracies in the TV portrayal. The authors would never pass up a chance to introduce a brand new scientific discovery to the world! On May 21, the American premium cable network HBO aired the third episode of Chernobyl, a new miniseries about the catastrophic nuclear accident in April 1986 that rocked the Soviet Union. Leonid Toptunov - Wikipedia More than 500,000 residents in Ukraine were ultimately forced to leave their homes. Akimov-- are we cooling the reactor core? 'Chernobyl' HBO Cast: Who Plays a Real Person? Their True Story Chernobyl S1E1 "1:23:45" / Recap - TV Tropes It's not just a local interest, for a small group of people, but it is still worldwide. "Radiation exposure, red skin, radiation burns and steam burns were what many people talked about but it was never shown like this. Whilst he was in hospital. We dont think of our own death. Aleksandr Akimov Biography, Age, Height, Wife, Net Worth, Family 'He's not a man anymore, but a reactor' Meduza - [] And you can start to feel how people would say, Okay, for sure, its not like the reactor blew up. Individual involvement in the Chernobyl disaster - Wikipedia As we know from the official data, Akimov is wrongfully accused of being responsible for the accident. And finally they said, The hell with it! Poor guy. They were very pale. startxref The guy that posted it was a Radiation Specialist and had access to records of a lot of the Chernobyl victims. All three men were sentenced to 10 years in a labour camp for their role in the disaster and series creator Craig Mazin maintains that Dyatlov in particular was a "real bully", who later made statements that were not credible. <]>> I'd love to see the original footage they used from CNPP reactor #4, there are shots of Kovalenko, Akimov, Davletbayev and even Khodemchuk. "Its high rankings show that people are still interested in Chernobyl. Mr Breus worked with many of the individuals portrayed and has given his verdict of the series. 1156/2008 of 12 December 2008", https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/en/1156/2008/sp:max100, Shift supervisor of Night shift at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Residents started to panic when there was a metallic smell in the air, and the atmosphere appeared different. But I have to ask about his legs. 0000008353 00000 n There was a comment on a post about him. ", I'd say it is indeed Akimov, and the man standing next to him might be Kovalenko, reactor#4 supervisor. As the rods were being inserted, the graphite tips of the control rods accelerated the reaction, creating neutron flux in the bottom of the core. He got a mild type of acute radiation syndrome, a doctor said. One of the most dramatic scenes in the miniseries shows three power plant workers volunteering to go into an underground tunnel beneath the damaged reactor to open a vital drainage valve. 0000001006 00000 n Twitter: @thecheish. The story of the reactor's catastrophic explosion, as told in an HBO/Sky miniseries, has received the highest ever score for a TV show on the film website IMDB. 0000013685 00000 n Russians and Ukrainians have watched it via the internet, and it has had a favourable rating on Russian film site Kinopoisk. "It was our job," says Oleksiy Ananenko, who was on shift at the time, while the others had been ordered in by their manager. He has been a guest speaker on numerous national radio and television stations and is a five time published author. List of battleships of the United States Navy, Individual involvement in the Chernobyl disaster#Aleksandr Akimov, Articles containing Russian-language text, Articles needing page number citations from January 2020, Articles incorporating text from Find a Grave.com, Articles incorporating text from Wikipedia, People associated with the Chernobyl disaster, https://chnpp.gov.ua/ru/about/labour-glory-ru/geroi-likvidatory, "The World; Life After Death: Chernobyl Today", https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/22/weekinreview/the-world-life-after-death-chernobyl-today.html, https://books.google.com/books?id=7gQ0DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT419&dq=Aleksandr+Akimov+15+Gray&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjt66vNt5zmAhXOZd8KHeqdAWAQ6AEwAXoECAUQAg#v=onepage&q=Aleksandr%20Akimov%2015%20Gray&f=false, https://books.google.com/books?id=ayhKAQAAIAAJ&q=Aleksandr+Akimov+I+did+everything+correctly&dq=Aleksandr+Akimov+I+did+everything+correctly&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiw3Mu4ypzmAhWRct8KHYs9DFUQ6AEwAHoECAEQAg, "Presidential Decree No. Read about our approach to external linking. This is some other smaller problem.. This is an eerie and deserted location, as the homes of Kopachi were completely bulldozed and buried by the Soviet Army. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. They showed us these rooms [], the doors were quite heavy, they were padded on the inside, in case you, I dunno, attempted to smash your head against it. A member of. "I saw other colleagues who worked that night. 1953. 03:30 - Telyatnikov contacted Akimov, asking what was happening to his firemen; Akimov sent him a dosimetrist. Two weeks have passed since the explosion as Akimov's suffering is ends. Contrary to reports that the three divers died of radiation sickness as a result of their action, all three survived. Is there any truth or is it all here say? Read about our approach to external linking. This later became known as the "Bridge of Death" after reports that those who stood there allegedly died from radiation sickness. Of course, you can criticize the episode for excessive melodrama: Legasov is suddenly partial to Khomyuk, and the miners who stand up to a coal minister recruiting them for the Chernobyl liquidation effort are too theatrical. This is how they decided to portray the Minister of Coal Industry Mikhail Shchadov. I feel bad for akimov because he died with the guilt weighing on him that he some how caused the accident and why did it happen, I also feel really bad. When the operators pushed the red button, the reactor didn't stop but exploded.". The miners finished their work ahead of schedule, but by then the molten core had cooled itself. "In hospital, I was treated with a guy who biked to that bridge in the morning on 26 April to watch it. "I was surprised they even brought us there," Mr Breus says of arriving at work the morning after the explosion. My body parts not covered by clothes - such as hands, face and neck - were red". A member of staff at the plant . After the humans evacuated, wildlife grew rapidly with limited predators to hunt them downwild boar multiplied eightfold in the two years following the disaster. In an attempt to contain the disaster, helicopters dumped lead slabs weighing 40 kilograms (88 lb) each on the reactor, followed by several tons of radiation absorbing-sand. The communications networks were suddenly flooded with calls and information. And still the shift leader is ruminating if the catastrophy was his fault: "What have we done wrong? August 25, 2022 askans. In the series, Pripyat residents rush to a railway bridge for a better view of the fire, unaware of the exposure. Thats your job, randomly spouting INSAG reports. "They took off their clothes, but not like it was shown in the film, not right down to nothing," Mr Breus insists, also pointing out that their role was ultimately not significant to the story. Unfortunately, it takes these tragic events to impress this on us.[6]. How would I find another job after that?". He knew he was going to die but didn't want to. However, they didnt know about the faults that had been made during the construction of the reactor. Mr. Alexander was the one who managed the block control panel of the reactor in Chernobyl. 0000007280 00000 n Within two weeks, both Mr Akimov and Mr Toptunov had died in a Moscow hospital of acute radiation syndrome (ARS). [. Temperatures beneath the reactor were high and the series shows them stripping naked. Aleksandr Fyodorovich Akimov (Russian: ; 6 May 1953 - 11 May 1986) was a Soviet engineer who was the supervisor of the shift that worked at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Reactor Unit 4 on the night of the Chernobyl disaster, 26 April 1986. They knew where the valves were, so they were the right men for the task. There are many theories about the reasons for the nuclear plant explosion, but they all have the same common denominator: the human element. 0000006239 00000 n [11] They were found guilty of gross violation of safety regulations which led to an explosion. "The Chernobyl catastrophe is depicted in a very powerful way, as a global catastrophe that absorbed huge numbers of people. A few hours later Akimov is dead. On April 26th, 1986, at 1:23 am, Alexander Akimov did what he and thousands of other nuclear plant operators have been trained to do. The scene where Dr. Khomyuk is jailed by the KGB was filmed in Vilnius at a real former KGB prison. Warning: This story contains plot details from the miniseries. his younger brother is donating bone marrow but the transplant can't stop the decay of the tissue. Mazin also says he visited Chernobyl as a tourist, to prepare for the miniseries. "A big cup, vodka, KGB everywhere.". Warning: This story contains plot details from the miniseries. Two weeks have passed since the explosion as Akimov's suffering is ends. Vasily Ignatenko was just 25 when he succumbed to slow death via radiation poisoning after fighting the fires of Chernobyl. When confronted with confusing reactor indications, he initiated an emergency shutdown of Unit 4 of the large electricity . He is reported to have stated that he believed he had done everything correctly. moustache is a struggling, wispy version of Akimov's. TOPTUNOV No, that's not--Akimov signals Toptunov not to argue. PDF CHERNOBYL Episode 1 - 1:23:45 Written by Craig Mazin - John August [. Aleksandr Fyodorovich Akimov ( Russian: ; 6 May 1953 - 11 May 1986) was a Soviet engineer who was the supervisor of the shift that worked at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Reactor Unit 4 on the night of the Chernobyl disaster, 26 April 1986. DYATLOV (to the room) This is an emergency. Here's an interview with Kovalenko: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnFeTe0nDw8. Frantic. it's not bad, it was probably made in the past few months before February 24th. And Oleksiy Breus sees their portrayal as "not a fiction, but a blatant lie". 0000010565 00000 n Months after the Chernobyl disaster, the radioactivity had spread to Galsjo Forest in Sweden. At 9:25 time mark, do you think it might be Khodemchuk? Toptunov only had two months' experience in operating the reactor and this was his first shutdown as operator. Everyone stay calm. TV Shows. Chernobyl radiation: What radiation poisoning does to you. - Mamamia After two episodes, with the initial fire extinguished and early panic beginning to subside, the focus shifts to questions about why the reactor exploded and who was responsible for the disaster. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnFeTe0nDw8. It would have eventually boiled . Miners were brought in to dig a tunnel under the reactor to create a space for a heat exchanger, to stop the molten core melting through the concrete pad and contaminating the groundwater, threatening millions of lives. Press J to jump to the feed. By Rod Adams April 1, 1996. Select it and press Ctrl+Enter, Yegor Moskvitin reviews a poignant new depiction of the Soviet disaster, I was there, and I dont want to watch this anymore, A journalist in Baltimore shows HBO's Chernobyl to his stepfather and discovers that he was part of the USSR's military cleanup, The widow of a Chernobyl engineer remembers her husband and describes returning to work at the power plant after the 1986 nuclear accident. ", Most of the firefighters were pouring water on the damaged reactor, he says. For Russian football coach and player, see, This name uses Eastern Slavic naming customs; the patronymic is. Temperatures beneath the reactor were high and the series shows them stripping naked. The Chernobyl cases have taught us that much needed (and still needs) to be improved in the clinical management of ARS in accident sit-uations generally complicated by radiation injury to the skin and injuries that are not radia-tion related. Tatarchuk said of the aftermath, It was criminal. In the days that followed, 32 people died at Chernobyl, and many more suffered radiation burns. And Oleksiy Breus sees their portrayal as "not a fiction, but a blatant lie". ", By now Akimov's wife Lyuba was allowed to come to Moscow. Yes, i thought the same about Razim Davletbayev. He was portrayed by Michael Colgan in the 2006 BBC production Surviving Disaster: Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster[7] and by Robert Emms in the 2019 HBO miniseries Chernobyl. Raising power after this point put the reactor into a potentially dangerous state, due to Xenon poisoning, as well as design flaws in the reactor unknown to the operators. The missing containment wasn't mentioned either', 'It is the morning of the 10th May. 4 reactor, Oleksiy Ananenko (then and now) with a scene from the TV series showing the three workers wearing respirators, The TV series portrays how 400 miners were involved in digging the tunnel under the damaged reactor, The TV series shows Pripyat residents watching events unfold on what was later nicknamed the "Bridge of Death", The damage caused to the facility by the biggest nuclear disaster in history, Chernobyl mini-series review: 'It stops you sleeping', Chernobyl disaster: 'I didn't know the truth', Craig Mazin maintains that Dyatlov in particular was a "real bully", The people who moved to the Chernobyl exclusion zone, US-made cheese can be called 'gruyere' - court, AOC under investigation for Met Gala dress, Canadian grandma helps police snag phone scammer, The children left behind in Cuba's exodus. Why Alex Murdaugh was spared the death penalty, Why Trudeau is facing calls for a public inquiry, The shocking legacy of the Dutch 'Hunger Winter', Why half of India's urban women stay at home. 6 in Moscow, where Alexander Akomv is suffering towards death. Aleksandr Akimov - Wikipedia It's now a museum. "However, the technological aspects have some discrepancies which may not exactly [be] lies, but merely fiction," he adds. Open Wide, O Earth is remarkable for many other details it captures about Soviet life, as well. Can either be found at house parties telling everyone Charles Manson was only 5ft 2" or at home reading true crime magazines. "The operators were afraid of him," Mr Breus agrees. The roles of three key personalities lie at the heart of the story: Plant director Viktor) Bryukhanov, chief engineer Nikolai Fomin and deputy chief engineer Anatoly Dyatlov. Don't have high hopes going into this one guys. endstream endobj 22 0 obj<> endobj 23 0 obj<>/Encoding<>>>>> endobj 24 0 obj<> endobj 25 0 obj<>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageC]>> endobj 26 0 obj<>stream "There are many stereotypes shown, typical of Western portrayal of the Soviet Union," argues Oleksiy Breus. He died of radiation sickness two weeks after the accident at the age of 33. I've never seen any reliable source for anything regarding his face. But while many have complimented the show's attention to detail, he believes it is also one of the downsides of the TV series. Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. What are you thinking? According to Sources: Akimov suffered severe Leg Burns and the high amount of radiation caused it face to slowly dissolve away. Akimov was the one who declared an emergency after shutting down the reactor - but it was already too late. Nekhaev even had to have his leg amputated. 0000002865 00000 n Viewers dont need to see what remains of shift supervisor Alexander Akimovs face watching the reaction in Dr. Khomyuks eyes is more than enough. Chernobyl (TV Mini Series 2019) Sam Troughton as Alexandr Akimov. For example, Mazin says the showrunners deliberately outfitted the divers at the beginning of the episode with authentic Dynamo wind-up flashlights, using the wonderful noise they emit to create the scenes atmosphere. Judge Raimond Brize declared in the courtroom, There was an atmosphere of lack of control and lack of responsibility at the plant. The plant officials were also heavily criticized for not evacuating the town of Pripyat sooner. The ears look different to me, but I may be wrong. Ultimately, though, he is happy the show has refocused attention on the disaster and the scale of damage caused. The actor playing Alexander Akimov, for instance, was never even put in makeup to depict the loss of his face. The Real Chernobyl: Q&A With a Radiation Exposure Expert As the fire department arrives on-site and begins dealing with the titanic blaze, Vasily's colleague, Misha notices a lump of the same black mineral that Dyatlov noticed earlier. 0000009438 00000 n PDF ARS and skin damage in Chernobyl patients - International Atomic Energy (k[YUWvP Many of the liquidators have since suffered from severe health problemssome of which were fatal. It was a cruel time.[7]. Toptunov had literally turned white.". 0000011604 00000 n Arriving at work that morning, Mr Breus says he did not see any fire. 4. They were very pale. 4 reactor, and operator Leonid Toptunov, who both feature prominently in the series. Elk were contaminated, and the moment their bodies were thrown in a quarry after being stripped of their heads and fur was captured on camera. [3] Due to a design flaw, the descending control rods momentarily accelerated the nuclear reaction and caused the reactor to explode. Aleksandr Akimov | Military Wiki | Fandom Vasily Ignatenko - Wikipedia The locals thought they would later be returning to their homes, but this was never the case. Radioecologist Sergey Gaschak explained, Animals dont seem to sense radiation and will occupy an area regardless of the radiation condition.[10]. Firefighters sent from neighbouring Pripyat did not know of any radiation exposure and Ignatenko died of acute radiation syndrome on 13 May 1986. The explosion occurred. At first, our commanders didnt know what to do. FromBudapesttoBishkek. The work done would last until the morning hours of the 27th by trying to pump water into the exposed reactor core. Vasily Ignatenko, depicted in the series, was among the first firefighters sent to tackle the blaze. "The miners are shown as tough guys who are not afraid of anything, but not the power plant workers.". A member of staff at the plant from 1982, he became a witness to the immediate aftermath on the morning of 26 April 1986. He began his career at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in September 1979. [4] His parents once asked about the cause but he only could say they had followed regulations. Photographer Igor Kostin recalled, The clever ones also added a vine leaf for extra comfort.[5]. .] Warning: spoilers ahead. Press J to jump to the feed. 4 reactor, Oleksiy Ananenko (then and now) with a scene from the TV series showing the three workers wearing respirators, The TV series portrays how 400 miners were involved in digging the tunnel under the damaged reactor, The TV series shows Pripyat residents watching events unfold on what was later nicknamed the "Bridge of Death", The damage caused to the facility by the biggest nuclear disaster in history, Russian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims. For instance if someone's face melted off or someone's eyes changed color, the details absolutely would have showed up in the many academic articles and books written about ARS in Chernobyl victims. The puppies are believed to be descendants of the pet dogs that were left behind by their owners; residents were granted only a few hours notice before they were evacuated and advised to only take vital personal belongings and a certain amount of food. I'll try and find it. ', 'The worst cases are brought to hospital No. The body of one of them, Valery Khodemchuk, was never recovered from the reactor debris. That night was important because the system tests were taking place. Thanks for the tip off. HBO. The calamity is considered the most disastrous nuclear power plant accident in history, and the area itself is still suffering in its aftermath. %PDF-1.6 % [4] He worked with Akimov to manually open water valves in an attempt to increase water supply to the reactor, during which time they began to experience symptoms of acute radiation syndrome. He was entirely black, due to skin necrosis, but I never read anywhere that he had no face left, Jesus Christ he mummified, that sounds horrific. 4 reactor, and operator Leonid Toptunov, who both feature prominently in the series. Its unknown if this incident caused his sons illness, but screenwriters considered using memories of this personal tragedy as a way to explain Dyatlovs questionable decisions during the Chernobyl disaster. There were little slots for food and such, but then there were some grimmer rooms. He was the one who refused to continue with the test. Contrary to reports that the three divers died of radiation sickness as a result of their action, all three survived. Who would applaud that?". It was way worse for him because he received almost 100% burns from radiation both from the inside and the outside, This article in the German Magazine "Stern" describes Akimov's condition : https://www.stern.de/panorama/weltgeschehen/tschernobyl-anatomie-einer-katastrophe-3597302.html, 'Though Akimov has already recovered from the first symptoms of radiation sickness, his skin is brown and his bone marrow is irreparably damaged. However, this plan only did more harm than good. What happened to Akimov Chernobyl? - AskingForAnswer He points to a few inaccuracies in the TV portrayal. At least 5,000 people were badly affected at the time, while women who were pregnant were simply told to have abortions. Jesus, that is terrible for Nekheav, at least they all did what they could to remove all the water from them valves to avoid a steam explosion and tbh I think it is for the best we dont find out about poor Akimovs faces, He got a very large dose all over and I read somewhere he didnt want to die so he tried to act normal but when he would stand the skin around his legs would fal down like loose socks, I just invisioned that in my mind that sounds awful. The story of the reactor's catastrophic explosion, as told in an HBO/Sky miniseries, has received the highest ever score for a TV show on the film website IMDB. You can see Gorbachenko who was a witness that night and helped in the search of Shashenok. It's now a museum. Chernobyl engineer Oleksiy Breus, then and now, beside the backdrop of the TV portrayal of the disaster, By Viacheslav Shramovych and Hanna Chornous, Mr Breus revisited the reactor's control room 20 years after the disaster struck, Viktor Bryukhanov (left) sits alongside deputy chief engineer Anatoly Dyatlov (orange shirt) and chief engineer Nikolai Fomin during a trial over the accident, British actor Adam Nagaitis played Vasily Ignatenko, one of the first firefighters on the scene of the disaster, The view of the damaged building from the roof of reactor No. xref "It was our job," says Oleksiy Ananenko, who was on shift at the time, while the others had been ordered in by their manager. 9:25 is very likely Khodemchuk, and 9:29 is Davletbayev. However, it is about respecting it for what it can do. [3] The operators attempted to perform a rundown test before scheduled routine maintenance, during which reactor 4 exploded. So from that Im assuming those could be pretty true about him, especially skin being so delicate because of the radiation. They later died in hospital in Moscow.". I always wonder why toptinov called him sasha? "Another friend treated at the same time said he had a date with his girlfriend close to the bridge that night. Without functioning bone marrow in the body, a patient will usually die within four weeks. In 1983, he graduated from the Obninsk Institute for Nuclear Power Engineering, with a specialist degree in nuclear power plant engineering. The events of Chernobyl made me focus on my own mortalityon all our mortality. Only a Second World War survivor can imagine a similar scene.[4]. Creator Craig Mazin Stars Jessie Buckley Jared Harris Stellan Skarsgrd See production, box office & company info Watch on HBO Max S1 with Prime Video Channels More watch options Akimov Radiation : r/chernobyl - reddit 1156/2008 of 12 December 2008", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leonid_Toptunov&oldid=1139033343, This page was last edited on 13 February 2023, at 00:49. Akimov : r/chernobyl - reddit A member of staff at the plant from 1982, he became a witness to the immediate aftermath on the morning of 26 April 1986. According to Sources: Akimov suffered severe Leg Burns and the high amount of radiation caused it face to slowly dissolve away. His burnt lungs hardly let him breathe, his intestines have decomposed, excrements mixed with blood are oozing from his body.