"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. Finally, 11 days after the disaster, officials warned the residents of Kiev that they should avoid eating leafy vegetables and to stay indoors. 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. Following the disaster, citizens in the city of Kiev were advised by authorities to take regular warm showers, keep their windows closed, and regularly wash their furniture. Undeservedly condemned, professionally slandered. "', 'In Moscow, doctors are trying to save Alexander Akimov's life. Hours after the world's worst nuclear accident, engineer Oleksiy Breus entered the control room of the No. BBC Ukrainian Hours after the world's worst nuclear accident, engineer Oleksiy Breus entered the control room of the No. He is reported to have stated that he believed he had done everything correctly. Aleksandr Akimov - Wikipedia [3] Due to a design flaw, the descending control rods momentarily accelerated the nuclear reaction and caused the reactor to explode. You can see Gorbachenko who was a witness that night and helped in the search of Shashenok. Or something along those lines. "A thin stream the firemen poured probably evaporated before it even reached reactor.". [] And you can start to feel how people would say, Okay, for sure, its not like the reactor blew up. 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. He said, A physician deals with life and death every day. 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. Are Sky and HBO's miniseries "Chernobyl" historically accurate? In the days that followed, 32 people died at Chernobyl, and many more suffered radiation burns. Unfortunately, the first five years after the accident, the details were kept secret, but now the scientists and activists have the access to archives. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. The reactor was already in a run-away state. 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. 2023 BBC. Alexander Akimov (Sam Troughton) was the night crew shift supervisor during the early . 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. Also, emotions and mood at that time are shown quite precisely, both among the personnel and the authorities. But while many have complimented the show's attention to detail, he believes it is also one of the downsides of the TV series. "In hospital, I was treated with a guy who biked to that bridge in the morning on 26 April to watch it. He was talking about another operator Brazhik. The goal was to test the system for preventive maintenance in case of a real power shutdown. Two weeks have passed since the explosion as Akimov's suffering is ends. This actor is also famous for his acts in the BBC Robin Hood series. 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. I don't understand why it happened. Akimov eventually succumbed to acute radiation syndrome two weeks after the disaster at the age of 33. Many of the liquidators have since suffered from severe health problemssome of which were fatal. 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. Aleksandr Fyodorovich Akimov and Leonid Fedorovych Toptunov "In my opinion, [Aleksandr Akimov and Leonid Toptunov] are the most tragic figures from the Chernobyl personnel. "Another friend treated at the same time said he had a date with his girlfriend close to the bridge that night. "Their characters are distorted and misrepresented, as if they were villains. There was no mention of the flawed construction. Now, volunteers, including veterinarians and radiation experts, have formed the nonprofit charity Dogs of Chernobyl. Press J to jump to the feed. 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. 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. 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. moustache is a struggling, wispy version of Akimov's. TOPTUNOV No, that's not--Akimov signals Toptunov not to argue. And also being under that same piece of sky, you start to feel a little closer, in a sense, to who they were. [4] Toptunov and Akimov received bone marrow transplants in attempt to restore their immune systems. A member of staff at the plant . The miners finished their work ahead of schedule, but by then the molten core had cooled itself. 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. There were fears that "lava" from the molten reactor could reach the water, triggering a further, potentially far more powerful explosion. However, they didnt know about the faults that had been made during the construction of the reactor. The ears look different to me, but I may be wrong. It kills you slowly, and it kills you in an excruciating manner. xref When confronted with confusing reactor indications, he initiated an emergency shutdown of Unit 4 of the large electricity . 0000001387 00000 n 03:30 - Telyatnikov contacted Akimov, asking what was happening to his firemen; Akimov sent him a dosimetrist. 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. 4 reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. They showed Mr. Schadov as an incompetent official who is not respected by the miners. [5], In 2008, Toptunov was posthumously awarded with the 3rd degree Order For Courage by Viktor Yushchenko, then the President of Ukraine.[6]. Akimov : r/chernobyl - reddit 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. One after the other, like giant beetles, kilometre after kilometre. He's growing weaker, wheezes, can hardly talk anymore. https://i.imgur.com/gfghbDQ.jpg. 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. 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. ", "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. At first, the head of the tests, Dyatlov A. S., forced them, with his orders, to move away Identical. 04:00 - Further fire fighting units arrive from Chernobyl, Polesskoe and Kiev. 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. Read about our approach to external linking. A member of staff at the plant from 1982, he became a witness to the immediate aftermath on the morning of 26 April 1986. This is how they decided to portray the Minister of Coal Industry Mikhail Shchadov. Hundreds of people died directly after the explosion, thousands have been injured, and millions suffer long-term health problems. August 25, 2022 askans. Contents hide. 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. Akimov eventually succumbed to acute radiation syndrome two weeks after the disaster at the age of 33. Chernobyl S1E1 "1:23:45" / Recap - TV Tropes At 9:25 time mark, do you think it might be Khodemchuk? Akimov-- are we cooling the reactor core? 0000006239 00000 n 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. 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. It is the same in the case of the Chernobyl disaster. [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. "I've never heard there was a crowd of people who went to watch the fire at night," he says. One resident recalled, Queues of jammed buses left the city. Cheish Merryweather is a true crime fan and an oddities fanatic. The School in Sperizh'e pictured in 2016. Role of Akimov in Chernobyl As we know from the official data, Akimov is wrongfully accused of being responsible for the accident. 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. During his studies of the reactor documentation, he mentioned to his friend, Sasha Korol, that control rods may, in certain circumstances, accelerate rather than slow the reaction. They later died in hospital in Moscow.". 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.