Aleksandr Akimov and Leonid Toptunov - But Valery Alekseyevich Stayed Also, emotions and mood at that time are shown quite precisely, both among the personnel and the authorities. They are also used for research on diseases including rabies. When Alexander has taken his duties, the reactor was in the state of preparation for the shutdown of the power. 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. There is a myth that no life can survive in Chernobyl, which is simply not true. There was no mention of the flawed construction. 4 reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. 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. "The Chernobyl catastrophe is depicted in a very powerful way, as a global catastrophe that absorbed huge numbers of people. "For example, that useless secrecy, which became one of the reasons behind the Chernobyl disaster. Read about our approach to external linking. There was a comment on a post about him. Sometimes absence of evidence is compelling evidence of absence. "In hospital, I was treated with a guy who biked to that bridge in the morning on 26 April to watch it. 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. 4's emergency safety systems and its power-regulating system. 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. Alexander Akimov (Sam Troughton) was the night crew shift supervisor during the early . ", 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. Frantic. I think you mean Aleksandr Akimov at Chernobyl, who was the shift supervisor on the night of the disaster. Shift leader Borys Baranov died in 2005, while Valery Bespalov and Oleksiy Ananenko, both chief engineers of one of the reactor sections, are still alive and live in the capital, Kiev. Press J to jump to the feed. A few hours later Akimov is dead. 21 23 Mr Breus says the series creators showed the radiation effects on the human body well. 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. {$[sz HqCUF3W){8HPA|]+\ Y,*6mw1(,>6D>(e]7MRWvfW4j}6`rW/G*(' !S%B=V>npH wp"2N?)JeXiPC`;\BUc |)g}hUtS1' a$)ELOrIB/0vgkmE^)wqHwB4:^ Two more workers died because of injuries. 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. [. 4. The Chernobyl nuclear accident is one of the most shocking and devastating catastrophes of modern times. 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. . In a weird way, it was more moving to me than moving through the actual power plant itself. Shift leader Borys Baranov died in 2005, while Valery Bespalov and Oleksiy Ananenko, both chief engineers of one of the reactor sections, are still alive and live in the capital, Kiev. Thank you! Akimov eventually succumbed to acute radiation syndrome two weeks after the disaster at the age of 33. 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. He had health problems afterwards.". Alexander Akimov worked with other employers in the reactor after the explosion. 0000017865 00000 n 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. 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. The third episode of Chernobyl is a conversation about causes and consequences. [2], Akimov worked with his crew in the reactor building after he learned the extent of the accident. Continue Reading 6 2 More answers below Michael Karnerfors 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. On the night of 26 April 1986, Leonid Toptunov was working in the control room at the reactor control panel, with Aleksandr Akimov. Later this perception changed.". "Their characters are distorted and misrepresented, as if they were villains. Some dogs have been fitted with radiation sensors and GPS receivers, which help to map the radiation levels across the exclusion zone.[8]. The turbine was shut down. By Rod Adams April 1, 1996. 9:23 into the video, to me it looks like him, Oh God. There was one in particular where the floor sloped down, so it was lower than the entrance to the door, and the idea was that youd go into that room, and they would fill it with water, up to your knees or so, so you couldnt sleep. I wasn't aware of this new documentary. I havent seen this one yet, looking forward to watching! Thanks for the tip off. Chernobyl guide Yuri Tatarchuk explained, Kopachi was very badly contaminated and so it was decided to bury it, house by house. 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. "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. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. His wife Lyuba is at his side.'. Everyone stay calm. It was also difficult to assess how much radiation patients had been exposed to, as the gradual loss of hair and some darkening of the skin were the only visible signs. Most of the liquidators were military reserves, and the army did not have enough uniforms suitable for working in radioactive conditions. 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. [. The miners finished their work ahead of schedule, but by then the molten core had cooled itself. 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. "It was our job," says Oleksiy Ananenko, who was on shift at the time, while the others had been ordered in by their manager. 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. https://i.imgur.com/gfghbDQ.jpg. 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. The dogs have been driven out of the woods by the wild wolves that habitat the area. 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 miners finished their work ahead of schedule, but by then the molten core had cooled itself. Can Nigeria's election result be overturned? Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnFeTe0nDw8. Always nice to see new programs about this :). The work done would last until the morning hours of the 27th by trying to pump water into the exposed reactor core. Hours after the world's worst nuclear accident, engineer Oleksiy Breus entered the control room of the No. (k[YUWvP "When he was present at the block, it created tension for everyone. There was no smoke or fire, just fumes coming from the damaged part. Press J to jump to the feed. In preparation, Anatoly Dyatlov ordered the power to be reduced to 700 MW, as the test plan stipulated. For Russian football coach and player, see, This name uses Eastern Slavic naming customs; the patronymic is. He points to a few inaccuracies in the TV portrayal. [] It was a kind of torture I would have never even contemplated. I can guarantee that nothing other than necrosis of the skin took place. Chernobyl (TV Mini Series 2019) - IMDb "A thin stream the firemen poured probably evaporated before it even reached reactor.". Chernobyl survivors assess fact and fiction in TV series After the humans evacuated, wildlife grew rapidly with limited predators to hunt them downwild boar multiplied eightfold in the two years following the disaster. Toptunov had literally turned white.". Likewise Toptunov was Lyonya. DYATLOV (to the room) This is an emergency. This further increase in power caused the reactor to explode. 4 reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. 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. ProtectedbyreCAPTCHAandtheGoogle Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Akimov Radiation : r/chernobyl - reddit 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. "There are many stereotypes shown, typical of Western portrayal of the Soviet Union," argues Oleksiy Breus. "They were not looking good, to put it mildly," he says. He would try and stand up and walk around, but this resulted in the "skin on his legs falling off like socks". Nah Im good. Can either be found at house parties telling everyone Charles Manson was only 5ft 2" or at home reading true crime magazines. "A thin stream the firemen poured probably evaporated before it even reached reactor.". Chernobyl (TV Mini Series 2019) Sam Troughton as Alexandr Akimov. You could see the equipment and pumps exposed. I've never seen any reliable source for anything regarding his face. Its no better now than it was 28 years ago. He's growing weaker, wheezes, can hardly talk anymore. He was portrayed by actor Volodya Stepanenko in the 2004 Zero Hour TV series. Firefighters were also asked to help clear radioactive debris from the roof after the fire was extinguished. [4] His parents once asked about the cause but he only could say they had followed regulations. The control rods had graphite moderators to speed up reaction and the other part of the rods were made of boron to decrease reaction. Warning: This story contains plot details from the miniseries. ", Most of the firefighters were pouring water on the damaged reactor, he says. It's not just a local interest, for a small group of people, but it is still worldwide. 0 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. Some of the events he witnessed that morning were realistically depicted in the show, he says, but others he describes as fiction. 6 in Moscow, where Alexander Akomv is suffering towards death. Their skin had a bright red colour. 0000001387 00000 n 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. Unfortunately, it takes these tragic events to impress this on us.[6]. They showed Mr. Schadov as an incompetent official who is not respected by the miners. 10 Most Haunted Buildings In New York City And Their, 10 Iconic Mascots And Their Surprising Backstories, Top 9 Newly Found Photos Of Ted Bundy And Their, Top 10 Murder Houses In Los Angeles And Their, 10 Superhero Actors Who Have Their Own Tragic Backstories, Top 10 Haunting Images Of Historic Tragedies [DISTURBING], 10 Cereals With Strange And Interesting Backstories, 10 Most Haunting Cases Investigated By Ed And, 10 Controversial Toys You Might Already Have in Your Home, Ten Absolutely Vicious Fights over Inherited Fortunes, 10 Female Film Pioneers Who Shaped the Movies, Ten True Tales from Americas Toughest Prison, 10 Times Members of Secretive Societies and Organizations Spilled the Beans, 10 Common Idioms with Unexpectedly Dark Origins, 10 North American Animals with Misplaced Reputations, 10 Modern Radiation Accidents Involving Civilians, 10 Famous Incidences of Death by Radiation, Top 10 Creepiest Forests Around the World, 10 Chilling Myths and Ghosts Youve Probably Never Heard Of, 10 Terrifying First-Hand Accounts Of Sleep Paralysis, Top 10 Creepiest Things From Around The Internet, 10 Creepy And Mysterious Phantom Vehicles. ', 'The worst cases are brought to hospital No. The city held its annual May Day parades as the government assured citizens everything was normal. Hours after the world's worst nuclear accident, engineer Oleksiy Breus entered the control room of the No. Is there any other reports regarding Akimov? AKIMOV . In the days that followed, 32 people died at Chernobyl, and many more suffered radiation burns. Read about more radioactive calamities on 10 Modern Radiation Accidents Involving Civilians and 10 Famous Incidences of Death by Radiation. Unknown to Akimov, during his work he was exposed to a lethal dose of radiation that was later determined to be 15 Gy. Some of the stories, however, only seem like they were cooked up in a Hollywood screenwriters room. 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. A 10-square-kilometer (4 mi2) area of forest that surrounds the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant has become known as the Red Forest after the contamination caused the trees to die and their leaves to turn a deep red color. In the hours after the explosion, he spoke to Oleksandr Akimov, the shift leader at the No. 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. TV Shows. Even after more than three decades, the death toll of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster is still wildly disputed. But while many have complimented the show's attention to detail, he believes it is also one of the downsides of the TV series. And Oleksiy Breus sees their portrayal as "not a fiction, but a blatant lie". Biography Akimov was born in 1953 in the Soviet Union. Mr Breus says the series creators showed the radiation effects on the human body well. Dyatlov could be Tolya, Scherbina could be Borya, Legasov could be Valera, etc. He died of radiation sickness two weeks after the accident at the age of 33. 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. 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. It was important to me that people understood what was happening to these men, because they suffered in terrible ways, Mazin told The Chernobyl Podcast. Undeservedly condemned, professionally slandered. A member of staff at the plant from 1982, he became a witness to the immediate aftermath on the morning of 26 April 1986. ", "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. Can either be found at house parties telling everyone Charles Manson was only 52 or at home reading true crime magazines. Firefighters were also asked to help clear radioactive debris from the roof after the fire was extinguished. Wrong : the poor guy who saw the skin of his leg fell off was Vyacheslav S. Brazhnik, Senior turbine operator. Movies. Deaths due to the Chernobyl disaster - Wikipedia This actor is also famous for his acts in the BBC Robin Hood series. Firefighters sent from neighbouring Pripyat did not know of any radiation exposure and Ignatenko died of acute radiation syndrome on 13 May 1986. ", 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, Russian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims. Some of the events he witnessed that morning were realistically depicted in the show, he says, but others he describes as fiction. The scene where Dr. Khomyuk is jailed by the KGB was filmed in Vilnius at a real former KGB prison. To capture the gruesome deaths that befell plant engineers and first responders, makeup and prosthetics designer Daniel Parker studied the stages of radiation sickness, identifying seven kinds of wounds that depend on a victims proximity to the radiation source. 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. Is there any truth or is it all here say? [. Everyone who worked to restore coolant flow would have suffered greatly from leg burns, because they were standing in the water. Unfortunately, the first five years after the accident, the details were kept secret, but now the scientists and activists have the access to archives. "Now you look like a coal minister." It has nothing to do with reality. [5], In 2008, Toptunov was posthumously awarded with the 3rd degree Order For Courage by Viktor Yushchenko, then the President of Ukraine.[6]. Mr Breus worked with many of the individuals portrayed and has given his verdict of the series. However, the operation was flawed, as the scale of the disaster was like nothing ever seen before. These Photos Show Just How True to Real Life the Chernobyl - Insider Vasily Ignatenko was just 25 when he succumbed to slow death via radiation poisoning after fighting the fires of Chernobyl. According to Sources: Akimov suffered severe Leg Burns and the high amount of radiation caused it face to slowly dissolve away. The missing containment wasn't mentioned either', 'It is the morning of the 10th May. This is not a polemic about nuclear power. %%EOF It was just awful, and right in the middle of a city.. Arriving at work that morning, Mr Breus says he did not see any fire. In this article, we will tell you about the supervisor of the shift, Aleksandr Akimov, and his role in the accident. 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. Toptunov only had two months' experience in operating the reactor and this was his first shutdown as operator. But I have to ask about his legs. His father was involved in the Soviet space program and during his childhood, he was surrounded by scientists and engineers.[2]. "I saw the damage at reactor No. 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. Our first priority is--PEREVOZCHENKO, 30's, bursts in. "', 'In Moscow, doctors are trying to save Alexander Akimov's life. Once more his temperature increases and then he falls into coma. The scene where Dr. Khomyuk is jailed by the KGB was filmed in Vilnius at a real former KGB prison. This documentary. What would happen to your face if you were to stare directly - Quora Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Mazin also says he visited Chernobyl as a tourist, to prepare for the miniseries. The dogs are tagged and their radiation exposure studied. The locals thought they would later be returning to their homes, but this was never the case. [4] He died from the acute radiation poisoning on 14 May 1986 and was laid to rest at the Mitinskoe Cemetery in Moscow. His famous quote We did everything correctly has been used in the Chernobyl series by HBO. 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. Read about our approach to external linking. "The operators were afraid of him," Mr Breus agrees. "The miners are shown as tough guys who are not afraid of anything, but not the power plant workers.". "I was surprised they even brought us there," Mr Breus says of arriving at work the morning after the explosion. Jamie founded Listverse due to an insatiable desire to share fascinating, obscure, and bizarre facts. Hours after the world's worst nuclear accident, engineer Oleksiy Breus entered the control room of the No. He was portrayed by actor Aleksandr Khoroshko in the 2004 Zero Hour television series, by Alex Lowe in the 2006 BBC production Surviving Disaster: Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster[6] and by Sam Troughton in the 2019 HBO miniseries Chernobyl. Don't have high hopes going into this one guys. 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 didnt have a clue. ", By now Akimov's wife Lyuba was allowed to come to Moscow. Meduza shares its thoughts about the shows latest installment, Open Wide, O Earth, and looks at some of the showrunners editing decisions. As we moved through it, we were aware that there were the ghosts of history around us, Mazin said. At 04:00, Moscow ordered feeding of water to the reactor. He was the one who refused to continue with the test. 9:25 is very likely Khodemchuk, and 9:29 is Davletbayev. 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.