"When he was present at the block, it created tension for everyone. "The miners are shown as tough guys who are not afraid of anything, but not the power plant workers.". moustache is a struggling, wispy version of Akimov's. TOPTUNOV No, that's not--Akimov signals Toptunov not to argue. The authors would never pass up a chance to introduce a brand new scientific discovery to the world! More than 600,000 civil and military personnel have been given the honorary status of Chernobyl liquidators since the cleanup began in 1986. He wanted to live. 0000006239 00000 n The goal was to test the system for preventive maintenance in case of a real power shutdown. In July 1987, Chernobyls plant director Viktor P. Bryukhanov, chief engineer Nikolai M. Fomin, and deputy Anatoly S. Dyatlov were sentenced to two to ten years at a labor camp. Arriving at work that morning, Mr Breus says he did not see any fire. In the weeks immediately after the explosion, 29 power plant workers and firefighters died from ARS, caused by exposure to high doses of ionising radiation, according to Soviet officials. Instead, reserves made their own protective clothing using lead sheets up to 4 millimeters thick as aprons to help protect the spine and bone marrow. He said, A physician deals with life and death every day. In that moment, standing where Dyatlov, and [Nikolai] Fomin, and [Viktor] Bryukhanov stood it was very chilling. 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. Video, Russian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims, 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, Saving Private Ryan actor Tom Sizemore dies at 61, The children left behind in Cuba's exodus, Walkie Talkie architect Rafael Violy dies aged 78, Alex Murdaugh's legal troubles are far from over, Mother who killed her five children euthanised. Just found this on Sky. HBO. Unknown to Akimov, during his work he was exposed to a lethal dose of radiation that was later determined to be 15 Gy. 4's emergency safety systems and its power-regulating system. 0000005085 00000 n "I've never heard there was a crowd of people who went to watch the fire at night," he says. "It was clear they felt sick. He has been a guest speaker on numerous national radio and television stations and is a five time published author. Aleksandr Fyodorovich Akimov and Leonid Fedorovych Toptunov "In my opinion, [Aleksandr Akimov and Leonid Toptunov] are the most tragic figures from the Chernobyl personnel. If you can find a source, Id be interested to know. "Radiation exposure, red skin, radiation burns and steam burns were what many people talked about but it was never shown like this. 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. There were little slots for food and such, but then there were some grimmer rooms. He was exposed to a lethal dose of radiation and died two weeks after the explosion. This is some other smaller problem.. Ill say its him until proven otherwise! 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. Children are shown playing in the radioactive dust, which falls from the sky like snow. In the series, Pripyat residents rush to a railway bridge for a better view of the fire, unaware of the exposure. Instead, the job was handed over to humans, who could not be exposed for any longer than 40 seconds. Underreported stories. He is reported to have stated that he believed he had done everything correctly. Read about our approach to external linking. But I have to ask about his legs. 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. [] And you can start to feel how people would say, Okay, for sure, its not like the reactor blew up. Viewers dont need to see what remains of shift supervisor Alexander Akimovs face watching the reaction in Dr. Khomyuks eyes is more than enough. I'd love to see the original footage they used from CNPP reactor #4, there are shots of Kovalenko, Akimov, Davletbayev and even Khodemchuk. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnFeTe0nDw8. "In hospital, I was treated with a guy who biked to that bridge in the morning on 26 April to watch it. [4], He was admitted to Pripyat Hospital but was quickly transferred to Moscow Hospital 6. "For example, that useless secrecy, which became one of the reasons behind the Chernobyl disaster. You could see the equipment and pumps exposed. ", Russia to make its own show about Chernobyl, Giant structure moves in to cover Chernobyl, TV drama Chernobyl: 'So chilling, it spares you nothing', Chernobyl: The end of a three-decade experiment, Street fighting in Bakhmut but Russia not in control, Saving Private Ryan actor Tom Sizemore dies at 61, Alex Murdaugh's legal troubles are far from over, The children left behind in Cuba's mass exodus, Xi Jinping's power grab - and why it matters, Snow, Fire and Lights: Photos of the Week. 0 1953. Aleksandr Fyodorovich Akimov (6 May 1953-11 May 1986) was a Soviet Engineer who was the supervisor of the shift that worked the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant on the night of the Chernobyl Disaster. Because what it can do is savage. Nevertheless, Mazin says the creators wanted to avoid abusive filmmaking and decided not to show the absolute extremes of radiation sickness. Aleksandr Akimov was born on 6 May 1953 in . Read about our approach to external linking. Alexander Akimov worked with other employers in the reactor after the explosion. [1], Leonid Toptunov was born on 16 August 1960 in Mykolaivka, Buryn Raion, Sumy Oblast. The original footage was probably taken at reactor 4 control room during the time our guys were on crew, that's why many of them can be seen. 4 reactor, and operator Leonid Toptunov, who both feature prominently in the series. This further increase in power caused the reactor to explode. Tel: +38 063 58 16 661E-mail: [emailprotected], Exciting private tours to Chernobyl and Pripyat. They later died in hospital in Moscow.". Before coming to Soviet Ukraine, he installed reactors into submarines at a shipbuilding plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, where he was once exposed to a nearly fatal dose of radiation. At first, the head of the tests, Dyatlov A. S., forced them, with his orders, to move away 4. The scene where Dr. Khomyuk is jailed by the KGB was filmed in Vilnius at a real former KGB prison. A member of. Does anybody know what the sources the author of this article could have used? Pretty sure its true, the story of his face being gone came from just before he died while they were questioning him. Read about our approach to external linking. I also heard that his otopsy file is closed to the public and is only accessible with specific permission. 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'. (k[YUWvP g][^b'v@2RPROza"e =-2Ik053NC=~k{'H|(V>a!Y^5idI1OLgx]zdO f6D*@=7'9 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Without functioning bone marrow in the body, a patient will usually die within four weeks. [5], In 2008, Toptunov was posthumously awarded with the 3rd degree Order For Courage by Viktor Yushchenko, then the President of Ukraine.[6]. Their faces were only partially covered by respirators, so they could speak to each other, they were not offered a reward, and they were not clapped on their successful return. [4] His parents once asked about the cause but he only could say they had followed regulations. 2023 BBC. ProtectedbyreCAPTCHAandtheGoogle Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. "Its high rankings show that people are still interested in Chernobyl. Akimov-- are we cooling the reactor core? 21 0 obj <> endobj At 9:29 is Razim Davletbayev, deputy head of the Turbine Hall. Frantic. "A thin stream the firemen poured probably evaporated before it even reached reactor.". Everyone who worked to restore coolant flow would have suffered greatly from leg burns, because they were standing in the water. He was 33 at that time. The scene where Dr. Khomyuk is jailed by the KGB was filmed in Vilnius at a real former KGB prison. Thank you! 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. Toptunov had literally turned white.". Russians and Ukrainians have watched it via the internet, and it has had a favourable rating on Russian film site Kinopoisk. "There are many stereotypes shown, typical of Western portrayal of the Soviet Union," argues Oleksiy Breus. HWr6'/u;6;vL&uJIZ$U|}b5bFB(D9/Wa"wFdezT$~0An0:1z34Pd6:8xk67muc4AUW['n|1yb-,{R;&]<47LVSIqNpsiw8$<7[sA{M`D)Q|i>v`H;h\ul) #@rGF0#?uUs$ [2_\qM/0[KW.jPqA^|)>FCNM]-` e?5"`JjHLkl}o! 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. In the shows podcast, writer and executive producer Craig Mazin shared some details about filming the third episode of Chernobyl, revealing that two scenes were cut from the start that would have introduced supervisor Anatoly Dyatlovs son, who died of leukemia at the age of 10, years before the Chernobyl disaster. . The body of one of them, Valery Khodemchuk, was never recovered from the reactor debris. startxref The shows creators havent managed to keep track of all the little things (even though their attention to detail is why many people fell in love with the miniseries in the first place): Valery Legasov, the character played by Jared Harris, drinks his vodka from a large glass in small sips, as if it were whiskey, and everyone in the cast keeps addressing each other as comrade in complete seriousness. Unfortunately, it takes these tragic events to impress this on us.[6]. Toptunov only had two months' experience in operating the reactor and this was his first shutdown as operator. The reactor was already in a run-away state.