"It was our job," says Oleksiy Ananenko, who was on shift at the time, while the others had been ordered in by their manager. "It was just our work. The miniseries has shed the suspense of its first two installments, when the story unfolded like a disaster movie, and it now wants to know the reason for this tragedy. Nekhaev even had to have his leg amputated. Another common birth defect in this region is microcephaly, in which a babys head is smaller and not in proportion with the rest of their body. "Its high rankings show that people are still interested in Chernobyl. The actor playing Alexander Akimov, for instance, was never even put in makeup to depict the loss of his face. Photographer Igor Kostin recalled, The clever ones also added a vine leaf for extra comfort.[5]. Biography [ edit] He was the one who refused to continue with the test. He and his colleagues who died from ARS suffered a prolonged and agonising death as the very chromosomes of their bodies were destroyed and organ failure escalated." The bones of your body, he says, "decompose as you become a seeping, foul smelling soup of human material". I havent seen this one yet, looking forward to watching! Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. I felt it probably the most when we were in the city of Chernobyl [] theres a small building thats basically the cultural center, where they put on shows and songs about the Soviet Union and Lenin, and that is the room where they eventually held a trial that we will talk about in episode five. 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. He points to a few inaccuracies in the TV portrayal. The guy that posted it was a Radiation Specialist and had access to records of a lot of the Chernobyl victims. Witnesses reported he dried, or his body was mummified alive. Two more workers died because of injuries. The reason was the reactors unstable condition due to low electrical network power. There was no smoke or fire, just fumes coming from the damaged part. moustache is a struggling, wispy version of Akimov's. TOPTUNOV No, that's not--Akimov signals Toptunov not to argue. 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. He's growing weaker, wheezes, can hardly talk anymore. Later in May, the Russian first deputy health minister also issued a warning that vodka and red wine were not a cure for radiation exposuredespite popular belief. 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. It would have eventually boiled . 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. Role of Akimov in Chernobyl As we know from the official data, Akimov is wrongfully accused of being responsible for the accident. 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. Akimov had 100% of his skin burnt by radiation. According to Sources: Akimov suffered severe Leg Burns and the high amount of radiation caused it face to slowly dissolve away. Ill say its him until proven otherwise! There was no mention of the flawed construction. Thanks for the tip off. For example, everything the show depicts about Lyudmilla and Vasily Ignatenko the bribes, the questions about children, the game of cards, the ban on touching all really happened. 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. This later became known as the "Bridge of Death" after reports that those who stood there allegedly died from radiation sickness. If you can find a source, Id be interested to know. 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. Alexander Akimov was the head of the night shift that worked at reactor number 4 on the night of the accident. This may be, in part, why the hype around the HBO and Sky series about the disaster has been so substantial. 0000005085 00000 n "I've never heard there was a crowd of people who went to watch the fire at night," he says. [4], He was admitted to Pripyat Hospital but was quickly transferred to Moscow Hospital 6. Remember this scene? People that are usually blamed for the explosion are the plant employees who worked at the night of the explosion: Aleksandr Akimov, the supervisor of the shift; Leonid Toptunov, the senior reactor control chief engineer; and Anatoly Dyatlov, deputy chief engineer of the power plant. Experts were unable to make an exact reading, as 200 meters (656 ft) above the reactor, radiation levels had reached 1,500 rems, but the counters were not capable of reading any higher than 500 rems. xref 9:25 is very likely Khodemchuk, and 9:29 is Davletbayev. Its a little like if you were in a skyscraper, and you said to yourself, This is solid! [] You just feel safe within it. 0000007280 00000 n There is little doubt that ARS patients, and those with severe skin injury, have 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. FromBudapesttoBishkek. HWKF=1Zz& TfOku]T#t4d-Ti,J$bTM7d)clC2 VFO&3 zE_6tVQjA[ri&xHG|/4^})-}IrT8bv_d O7fj8jGX a?2`/gn)/nXo]}JR'.H}k%L,CXBk>:+l(]9[F|/#O5X# Y0Gl8f,1 qCy*$ Ao6!^TqRVPyQG. There are many charities that support facilities which help babies who were born with severe birth defects, including neurological difficulties and heart conditions. Dyatlov could be Tolya, Scherbina could be Borya, Legasov could be Valera, etc. DYATLOV We know. "A thin stream the firemen poured probably evaporated before it even reached reactor.". 4 reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. Answer (1 of 4): There would have been a hydrogen explosion instead of a steam explosion. He was the third child of Tatiana Petrovna Ignatenko and Ivan Tarasovish Ignatenko. [4], While the initial Soviet investigation put almost all the blame on the operators and management, later findings by the IAEA found that the reactor design and how the operators were informed of safety information was more significant. Aleksandr Akimov and Leonid Toptunov did their best at saving the situation. His burnt lungs hardly let him breathe, his intestines have decomposed, excrements mixed with blood are oozing from his body. 0000009438 00000 n I've never seen any reliable source for anything regarding his face. [4] During the accident, he was exposed to a fatal radiation dose of 1300rem. 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. During his first years at Chernobyl, he held positions of senior turbine management engineer and shift supervisor of the turbine hall. The level of radiation in the Chernobyl zone is still the same today as it was in 1986.[9]. 3, Firefighters pictured in 1986 before cleaning debris from the roof of the No. He stayed behind and had his crew turn on the emergency water pumps to flood the reactor - sadly, the power source was inactive. ", he asks the one in the neighbouring bed, "We only pressed the shutdown button!" The scene where Dr. Khomyuk is jailed by the KGB was filmed in Vilnius at a real former KGB prison. Because its so big! When confronted with confusing reactor indications, he initiated an emergency shutdown of Unit 4 of the large electricity . "It was clear they felt sick. He got a mild type of acute radiation syndrome, a doctor said. 3, Firefighters pictured in 1986 before cleaning debris from the roof of the No. Continue Reading 6 2 More answers below Michael Karnerfors In ablaze, he does indeed talk to Akimov and how much he wanted to live.. but Read wasn't talking about Akimov when he said about skin falling off his legs. 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 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. He wanted to live. TV Shows. "I was surprised they even brought us there," Mr Breus says of arriving at work the morning after the explosion. The The judges of the show trial claim one year later: The engineers are at fault who started operation of the reactor in 1983, despite not all safety tests having been passed. Later this perception changed.". 0000015771 00000 n Cheish Merryweather is a true crime fan and an oddities fanatic. In 2008, Akimov was posthumously awarded with what they called the 3rd degree Order for Courage. Mr Breus worked with many of the individuals portrayed and has given his verdict of the series. However, the power reduction had been too abrupt, which put the reactor into a "poisoned" condition (a buildup of 135Xe, a strong neutron absorber), and made the reactor stall. endstream endobj 27 0 obj<>stream 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. Some of the stories, however, only seem like they were cooked up in a Hollywood screenwriters room. 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. At 9:25 time mark, do you think it might be Khodemchuk? In March 1983, Toptunov began his career at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. ", "Possibly, Anatoly Dyatlov became the main anti-hero in the show because that was how he was perceived by the power plant's workers, his subordinates and top-management, in the beginning. It was supposed to shut down the reactor, but the result turned out to be the exact opposite. Within two weeks, both Mr Akimov and Mr Toptunov had died in a Moscow hospital of acute radiation syndrome (ARS). Poor guy. He wanted a promotion which was promised to him in case of a successful test. The Red Forest is now one of the most contaminated sites in the world, with more than 90 percent of the radioactivity found in the soil. Is there any other reports regarding Akimov? And Oleksiy Breus sees their portrayal as "not a fiction, but a blatant lie". One after the other, like giant beetles, kilometre after kilometre. We dont think of our own death. Lyudmillas story appears in Svetlana Alexievichs book, Voices From Chernobyl, where she says, None of the doctors knew I was staying the night with him in the compression chamber. He's growing weaker, wheezes, can hardly talk anymore. I know he has been brought up alot in discussions especially about his face. However, the operation was flawed, as the scale of the disaster was like nothing ever seen before. His parents visited him in the hospital. How would I find another job after that?". Sometimes absence of evidence is compelling evidence of absence. 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. I'd love to see the original footage they used from CNPP reactor #4, there are shots of Kovalenko, Akimov, Davletbayev and even Khodemchuk. 04:30 - Chief engineer Fomin arrived in the Block 4 control room. Someone posted here and I have seen another parts of this footage where Akimov uses something like a microphone [the white microphone like thing they use in the control room, forgive me but i have no clue what it's called]. They were saving lives, and in doing so they put themselves in the line of fire, and this is a fire that doesnt kill you quickly. The city held its annual May Day parades as the government assured citizens everything was normal. Open Wide, O Earth is remarkable for many other details it captures about Soviet life, as well. The traffic was insane. Are Sky and HBO's miniseries "Chernobyl" historically accurate? "I saw other colleagues who worked that night. 21 0 obj <> endobj 0000001084 00000 n The Emmy-winning HBO mini-series "Chernobyl," which is a dramatized account of the 1986 nuclear power plant disaster, has rekindled conversation about the accident, its subsequent cleanup and the long-term impacts on people living near the power plant. You could see the equipment and pumps exposed. "Its high rankings show that people are still interested in Chernobyl. The body of one of them, Valery Khodemchuk, was never recovered from the reactor debris. 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. The Chernobyl disaster, considered the worst nuclear disaster in history, occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, then part of the Soviet Union, now in Ukraine. But Mr Breus believes most Pripyat residents would have slept through the explosion, and he only learned of the accident when he arrived at work the following morning. Very awesome. 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. g][^b'v@2RPROza"e =-2Ik053NC=~k{'H|(V>a!Y^5idI1OLgx]zdO f6D*@=7'9 4 to evaluate radiation levels. Despite the change in tone, Chernobyl still knows how to terrify its audience, and Emily Watsons performance as Ulana Khomyuk, the nuclear scientist who visits men dying of radiation poisoning, gets under your skin even more than scenes of engineer Leonid Toptunovs bloody hospital bed sheets. 2023 BBC. The digging only pushed radioactive material deeper into the soil and closer to the water table, so that contamination spread even further., Today, only two buildings are left standing, one of which is the former kindergarten, where children were not evacuated until 36 hours of exposure. Who is the man on the time stamp on 9:20? Unfortunately, the first five years after the accident, the details were kept secret, but now the scientists and activists have the access to archives. 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. 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. Cheish Merryweather is a true crime fan and an oddities fanatic. 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. Everyone who worked to restore coolant flow would have suffered greatly from leg burns, because they were standing in the water. "When he was present at the block, it created tension for everyone. his younger brother is donating bone marrow but the transplant can't stop the decay of the tissue. He was 33 at that time. Contrary to reports that the three divers died of radiation sickness as a result of their action, all three survived. He and his crew then stayed and manually pumped the emergency feedwater into the reactor.