"In hospital, I was treated with a guy who biked to that bridge in the morning on 26 April to watch it. When we talk about the events that have changed the world, we always remember the Chernobyl nuclear power plant explosion. 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. As we know from the official data, Akimov is wrongfully accused of being responsible for the accident. Chernobyl: What if Akimov had not pressed AZ-5 at all? - Quora Vasily Ignatenko was just 25 when he succumbed to slow death via radiation poisoning after fighting the fires of Chernobyl. "If I didn't do it, they could just fire me. Its no better now than it was 28 years ago. When confronted with confusing reactor indications, he initiated an emergency shutdown of Unit 4 of the large electricity . 2023 BBC. By Rod Adams April 1, 1996. He wanted a promotion which was promised to him in case of a successful test. Thank you! "The operators were afraid of him," Mr Breus agrees. The third episode of Chernobyl is a conversation about causes and consequences. The actor playing Alexander Akimov, for instance, was never even put in makeup to depict the loss of his face. I know he has been brought up alot in discussions especially about his face. [4], In 2008, Akimov was posthumously awarded with the 3rd degree Order For Courage by Viktor Yushchenko, then the President of Ukraine.[5]. 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Russians and Ukrainians have watched it via the internet, and it has had a favourable rating on Russian film site Kinopoisk. {$[sz HqCUF3W){8HPA|]+\ Y,*6mw1(,>6D>(e]7MRWvfW4j}6`rW/G*(' !S%B=V>npH wp"2N?)JeXiPC`;\BUc |)g}hUtS1' a$)ELOrIB/0vgkmE^)wqHwB4:^ Firefighters were also asked to help clear radioactive debris from the roof after the fire was extinguished. A member of staff at the plant . Is there any truth or is it all here say? 0000001084 00000 n startxref 4 reactor, and operator Leonid Toptunov, who both feature prominently in the series. Police roamed the streets wearing gas masks, but the residents were kept in the dark and only heard rumors. 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'. They pumped water into the reactor core, which was the right thing to do at the moment but the wrong thing to do in a long run. Hes not a man anymore, but a reactor. [4] By 28 April, the symptoms of radiation sickness had mostly subsided. Temperatures beneath the reactor were high and the series shows them stripping naked. "If I didn't do it, they could just fire me. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts, https://www.stern.de/panorama/weltgeschehen/tschernobyl-anatomie-einer-katastrophe-3597302.html. The city held its annual May Day parades as the government assured citizens everything was normal. His family was informed that his death was the only reason he was not prosecuted for the accident. [1], On the night of 26 April 1986, Akimov was on duty as the shift supervisor of the 4th power unit. His famous quote We did everything correctly has been used in the Chernobyl series by HBO. The events of Chernobyl made me focus on my own mortalityon all our mortality. Unfortunately, the first five years after the accident, the details were kept secret, but now the scientists and activists have the access to archives. More than 500,000 residents in Ukraine were ultimately forced to leave their homes. The reason was the reactors unstable condition due to low electrical network power. Originally, robots from West Germany, Japan, and Russia were used to help clean the debris, but they could not operate due to the high levels of radiation. Within two weeks, both Mr Akimov and Mr Toptunov had died in a Moscow hospital of acute radiation syndrome (ARS). The Accident at Chernobyl: What Caused the Explosion? Sputnik/RIA Vasily Ignatenko was 25 years old when he died of radiation. 0000011604 00000 n On April 26, 1986, an explosion occurred at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the northern part of Soviet Ukraine, an event which today is widely known as the Chernobyl disaster. [3][page needed] At some point he gave deathbed confessions stating repeatedly: I did everything correctly. 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. 0000001006 00000 n "My chances are small", he told his colleagues "But if I survive this, one thing is sure: I will never work in a power plant again. Leonid Toptunov - Wikipedia ", Most of the firefighters were pouring water on the damaged reactor, he says. Two weeks have passed since the explosion as Akimov's suffering is ends. 43 0 obj<>stream Hundreds of people died directly after the explosion, thousands have been injured, and millions suffer long-term health problems. Aleksandr Akimov was born on 6 May 1953 in Novosibirsk, Russian SFSR (Republic of the Soviet Union . "For example, that useless secrecy, which became one of the reasons behind the Chernobyl disaster. In the end, however, the showrunners abandoned the idea of a flashback, to avoid disrupting the storys rhythm and to steer clear of armchair psychology. The episode also cut a scene showing May Day parades that went ahead in cities across Ukraine, despite Chernobyls spreading radiation. He is reported to have stated that he believed he had done everything correctly. Answer (1 of 4): There would have been a hydrogen explosion instead of a steam explosion. Mice embryos used for research have dissolved in the conditions, and horses left that lived within 6 kilometers (3.7 mi) of the power plant died due to their thyroid glands disintegrating. 4's emergency safety systems and its power-regulating system. Can either be found at house parties telling everyone Charles Manson was only 52 or at home reading true crime magazines. I am still very convinced, that this footage actually shows Boris Stolyarchuk. 0000007280 00000 n Whilst he was in hospital. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Can either be found at house parties telling everyone Charles Manson was only 5ft 2" or at home reading true crime magazines. On the night of 26 April 1986, Leonid Toptunov was working in the control room at the reactor control panel, with Aleksandr Akimov. The work done would last until the morning hours of the 27th by trying to pump water into the exposed reactor core. Vasily Ignatenko - Wikipedia 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. 'He's not a man anymore, but a reactor' Meduza - Tatiana Ignatenko was a collective farm fieldworker, and Ivan Ignatenko a tractor, and later truck . They knew where the valves were, so they were the right men for the task. This further increase in power caused the reactor to explode. 4 reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. UC San Francisco's Lydia Zablotska, MD, PhD, grew up in Ukraine, trained as physician . 21 23 As we moved through it, we were aware that there were the ghosts of history around us, Mazin said. [4] He left the control room but decided to return out of a sense of responsibility. Some of the events he witnessed that morning were realistically depicted in the show, he says, but others he describes as fiction. [] And the last thing that I want this show to do is to scare people about nuclear power. Aleksandr Akimov and Leonid Toptunov - But Valery Alekseyevich Stayed What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? At 9:25 time mark, do you think it might be Khodemchuk? It is the same in the case of the Chernobyl disaster. The reactor power level had been reduced, preparing for a planned safety test. Frantic. Chernobyl survivors assess fact and fiction in TV series Sometimes absence of evidence is compelling evidence of absence. 04:00 - Further fire fighting units arrive from Chernobyl, Polesskoe and Kiev. Finally, 11 days after the disaster, officials warned the residents of Kiev that they should avoid eating leafy vegetables and to stay indoors. 13 Pictures Of The 'Chernobyl' Cast Compared To The - Demilked I wasn't aware of this new documentary. 0000016820 00000 n Mazin also says he visited Chernobyl as a tourist, to prepare for the miniseries. "The Chernobyl catastrophe is depicted in a very powerful way, as a global catastrophe that absorbed huge numbers of people. How would I find another job after that?". Oleksiy Breus says the accident helped reveal the substantial flaws of the Soviet system. Nah Im good. Abagian recalled, Children were running in the streets; people were hanging laundered linen out to dry. There was no smoke or fire, just fumes coming from the damaged part. xb```a``vb`e`} @V h r `0+Q -`5B@e GS:a/(r_g|8)|Z (a_x@ &d Vasily Ivanovich Ignatenko was born on 13 March 1961, in the Brahin District of the Gomel Region of the Byelorussian SSR. 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. In 2014, Michael Donnelly, chairman of Chernobyl Childrens Appeal, said, These children are forced to suffer through no fault of their own. Ill say its him until proven otherwise! My body parts not covered by clothes - such as hands, face and neck - were red". The ears look different to me, but I may be wrong. In this article, we will tell you about the supervisor of the shift, Aleksandr Akimov, and his role in the accident. He stayed behind and had his crew turn on the emergency water pumps to flood the reactor - sadly, the power source was inactive. 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. Aleksandr Akimov | Fact and Fiction Wiki | Fandom This should come as no surprise that the reasons for the explosion are being thoroughly investigated. It's not just a local interest, for a small group of people, but it is still worldwide. "The miners are shown as tough guys who are not afraid of anything, but not the power plant workers.". Aleksandr Akimov | Military Wiki | Fandom He was the third child of Tatiana Petrovna Ignatenko and Ivan Tarasovish Ignatenko. 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 In March 1983, Toptunov began his career at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. "Another friend treated at the same time said he had a date with his girlfriend close to the bridge that night. His burnt lungs hardly let him breathe, his intestines have decomposed, excrements mixed with blood are oozing from his body. https://i.imgur.com/gfghbDQ.jpg. The one thing, though, that I did feel, walking through the power plant was a little bit of a better sense of how easy it would be to deny. ", he asks the one in the neighbouring bed, "We only pressed the shutdown button!" Menu. When Alexander has taken his duties, the reactor was in the state of preparation for the shutdown of the power. They were nothing like that. Is there any other reports regarding Akimov? Unknown to Akimov, during his work he was exposed to a lethal dose of radiation that was later determined to be 15 Gy. AKIMOV . He began his career at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in September 1979. moustache is a struggling, wispy version of Akimov's. TOPTUNOV No, that's not--Akimov signals Toptunov not to argue. But while many have complimented the show's attention to detail, he believes it is also one of the downsides of the TV series. 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. "When he was present at the block, it created tension for everyone. 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. Wrong : the poor guy who saw the skin of his leg fell off was Vyacheslav S. Brazhnik, Senior turbine operator. In 1976, Akimov graduated from the Moscow Power Engineering Institute, with the degree of specialist in engineering and automation of heat and power processes. "A thin stream the firemen poured probably evaporated before it even reached reactor.". 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. He had health problems afterwards.". [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. They didnt have a clue. Cheish Merryweather is a true crime fan and an oddities fanatic. I don't understand why it happened. Akimov eventually succumbed to acute radiation syndrome two weeks after the disaster at the age of 33. Does anybody know what the sources the author of this article could have used? [11] They were found guilty of gross violation of safety regulations which led to an explosion. ", By now Akimov's wife Lyuba was allowed to come to Moscow. Tel: +38 063 58 16 661E-mail: [emailprotected], Exciting private tours to Chernobyl and Pripyat. 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. Aleksandr Akimov - Wikipedia [] And you can start to feel how people would say, Okay, for sure, its not like the reactor blew up. 0000003954 00000 n However, this plan only did more harm than good. The authors would never pass up a chance to introduce a brand new scientific discovery to the world! PDF CHERNOBYL Episode 1 - 1:23:45 Written by Craig Mazin - John August It was supposed to shut down the reactor, but the result turned out to be the exact opposite. And Oleksiy Breus sees their portrayal as "not a fiction, but a blatant lie". 30 33 Related Topics Chernobyl Ukraine Europe Place 33 comments Best Add a Comment ApprehensiveFarmer17 2 yr. ago Akimov had 100% of his skin burnt by radiation. Leonid Fedorovych Toptunov (Ukrainian: , Russian: ; 16 August 1960 14 May 1986) was a Soviet engineer who was the senior reactor control chief engineer at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Reactor Unit 4 on the night of the Chernobyl disaster, 26 April 1986. 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. What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? "Now you look like a coal minister." It has nothing to do with reality. That is how you advance your career and win awards. When the operators pushed the red button, the reactor didn't stop but exploded.". 21 0 obj <> endobj Toptunov only had two months' experience in operating the reactor and this was his first shutdown as operator. The Real Chernobyl: Q&A With a Radiation Exposure Expert 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. At 9:29 is Razim Davletbayev, deputy head of the Turbine Hall. He has only two weeks left to live. [5] However, the operators were found to have deviated from operational procedures, changing test protocols on the fly, as well as having made "ill judged" actions, making human factors a major contributing factor. 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. In 1983, he graduated from the Obninsk Institute for Nuclear Power Engineering, with a specialist degree in nuclear power plant engineering.