MY GRANDAD WAS THERE *CHERNOBYL* Ep. 4-5 - FIRST TIME WATCHING - SlavReact

Added: 2026-05-04

[00:00:00]Hey guys, welcome to Slav React. Today we are continuing with Chernobyl episodes four and five. Guys, I would like to remind you, yes, I'm from that region. And yes, I know quite a lot, but you must understand that my knowledge is not full complete and of course it's a lot of rumors as well that might be not 100% accurate. I just tell you what I might heard or I know. So, it's not like I want to spread lies or something. But anyways, as it was said already in those series, trust, but verify. So, if I'm saying any facts, please double check them. They might be not 100% accurate.

[00:00:40]So, let's watch it.

[00:00:44]>> It's time to go. This is an evacuation.

[00:00:46]You understand? You have to come with me.

[00:00:49]>> Why?

[00:00:50]>> It's not safe here. There's radiation in the air. What's wrong with you?

[00:00:53]>> What do I care about safe?

[00:00:55]>> Don't cause trouble. trouble. You're not the first soldier to stand here with a gun. When I was 12, the revolution came.

[00:01:03]Sar's men, then Boleviks, they told us to leave. No. Then there was Stalin and his famine. The Hordemore. Two of my sisters died. They told the rest of us to leave. No.

[00:01:19]And the Great War.

[00:01:21]German boys, Russian boys. My brothers never came home. But I stayed and I'm still here. So I should leave now because of something I cannot see at all.

[00:01:38]>> Her words are sending shivers down my spine.

[00:01:44]>> Just one moment.

[00:01:52]>> Please stand up now.

[00:02:06]It's time to go.

[00:02:17]There were in fact a lot of people who stayed like this.

[00:02:28]where they were shooting. I mean like location.

[00:02:42]So much work to do.

[00:03:01]that lamp.

[00:03:03]>> I'll meet in there.

[00:03:11]>> There was a lamp over the bed that reminded of my granddad's lamp. He had I think exactly like this one.

[00:03:22]>> The atom is a humbling thing. It's >> not humbling. It's humiliating.

[00:03:26]>> Why is the core still exposed to the air? Why have we not already covered it up?

[00:03:30]>> We can't get close enough. The debris on the roof is graphite from the core itself. It'll kill anyone who gets near it. You can see the roof is in three levels. We've named them. The small one here is Katya. 1,000 roden per hour.

[00:03:44]Presume two hours of exposure is fatal.

[00:03:47]The one on the side, Nenina, 2,000 run, one hour fatal.

[00:03:51]>> We used remote control bulldozers in Afghanistan.

[00:03:53]>> Do you have any?

[00:03:54]>> So then >> moon rovers, Luna's STR1s. They're light.

[00:03:59]>> Mhm.

[00:04:00]>> It is the most important thing, General.

[00:04:02]Under no circumstances can men go up there. Robots only.

[00:04:07]>> What about this large section here, >> Mara?

[00:04:09]>> 12,000 rocken.

[00:04:12]If you were to stand there in full protective gear, head to toe for 2 minutes, your life expectancy would be cut in half by 3 minutes. You're dead within months. Even our lunar rovers won't work on Marsha. An amount of gamma radiation penetrates everything. The particles literally shred the circuits in microchips apart. Marsha will destroy it.

[00:04:30]>> It will be fed.

[00:04:31]>> Wow.

[00:04:31]>> That piece of roof is the most dangerous place on Earth.

[00:04:34]>> So, what do we do?

[00:04:36]>> That's what we wanted to ask you. You know when you hear like this description from Sirius you understand it much better because like it's explained for people without a professional experience and understanding. So this is very good.

[00:05:11]There was a law. Oh, about the vodka. I think there was a law at that moment from 1985. It was kind of um prohibition of alcohol. It was called dry law. Soakon. So, not quite sure how legal it was and was it really like this. Some people are saying that there was a lot of vodka everywhere. Some people are saying that not really and maybe soldiers were getting some vodka from babushkas in villages, but not not even vodka. Moonshine.

[00:05:55]>> It's all right. It's free. It's a little early.

[00:06:04]Mhm.

[00:06:08]>> Bachelo.

[00:06:10]>> Pavo, >> what unit were you in?

[00:06:12]>> Uh, they had me in Modipool in Kiev, but then they >> not this [ __ ] in Afghanistan.

[00:06:18]>> Um, I wasn't in Afghanistan.

[00:06:21]I'm not in the military.

[00:06:23]>> They're running out of men.

[00:06:27]showers, food. Those guys, they dig up the ground. Those guys, they evacuate people, I think. What about them? I don't know them. [ __ ] them.

[00:06:39]>> Y >> give me an egg basket.

[00:06:43]>> No, I've only got the one.

[00:06:44]>> Give me the [ __ ] basket.

[00:06:47]>> He's with me. You understand? Nobody [ __ ] with them.

[00:06:51]>> We make these from lead scrap. Put it on on your balls.

[00:06:54]>> No.

[00:06:54]>> No. No. Or you can wait until the radiation gives you a [ __ ] over your clothes. [ __ ] [ __ ] >> You ever go hunting?

[00:07:05]>> No.

[00:07:06]>> Well, today's your lucky day. We do animal control.

[00:07:09]>> Animal control?

[00:07:10]>> Yeah, they're radioactive, so they have to go. But it's not hard. They're mostly pets. They're happy to see you. If they run bang, you load the bodies on a truck, dump them in a pit, bury them in concrete, and then we drink. As much vodka as you want. Let's go get you a gun.

[00:07:27]>> Awful work.

[00:07:45]>> Yes.

[00:07:46]>> I need to see the following documents.

[00:07:47]They're listed as permission only.

[00:07:50]I'm working for the central committee.

[00:07:54]comish.

[00:08:02]>> She can have that one.

[00:08:07]>> Thank you, comrade.

[00:08:14]>> Oh, well, people's efforts. So I think I mentioned that I had a couple of liquidators in my family. Two exactly as far as I'm aware of. And I think it's going to be good to mention them. One of them is my grandpa. He was a driver and he got called there to transport contaminated soil and unfortunately he died at the age of 53. Um yeah, I think the Chernobyl definitely decreased his lifespan for sure and that's very sad.

[00:08:47]The other family member is my aunt and um she's uh more or less all right. She was there doing an accountant job just organizational task. So those two people and um I'm thankful for all they did.

[00:09:04]They did a lot.

[00:09:10]They were basically washing everything.

[00:09:12]Oh, that that picture.

[00:09:20]>> Clear.

[00:09:21]>> Bring up the cameras.

[00:09:23]>> Signal.

[00:09:23]>> Acceptable. Running on board diagnostics.

[00:09:26]>> Tell me when we're ready to move it.

[00:09:27]>> To think that's what we put on the moon.

[00:09:29]Not that one. I know. Not that one.

[00:09:32]>> This rover was in storage. They can build two more. That should cover Nina and Katcha.

[00:09:37]>> Marsha. The central committee have informed me that they may have found something that could work up there from the outside.

[00:09:43]>> American? Of >> course not. It's German police robot.

[00:09:46]>> Mhm.

[00:09:47]>> So, as you can imagine, that wasn't an easy conversation to have.

[00:09:50]>> Diagnostics complete. Ready to engage main power and motor >> again.

[00:09:58]Can remove it.

[00:10:02]>> Imagine how amazing it was.

[00:10:07]Oh, there was that spy didn't work for too long. Spoiler. Well, I think it did some work. In fact, >> I see your condition has improved, comrade.

[00:10:23]>> No, leave.

[00:10:24]>> I need your help. Akimov initiated AZ 5.

[00:10:28]>> Topped off called it out. Akimov pressed it.

[00:10:30]>> Can you confirm that the reactor exploded after they attempted to shut it down? How do I even know it exploded?

[00:10:36]Huh?

[00:10:44]>> I found this in the state archive. It's about the operation of RBMK reactors under extreme conditions.

[00:10:50]>> So, >> the names of the authors have been redacted and two pages have been removed.

[00:10:54]>> Well, the state must protect its secrets. Comrade, >> they made a mistake. They didn't redact the table of contents. The missing pages apparently refer to a positive void coefficient and AZ 5. Does that mean anything to you?

[00:11:07]>> What are you after here? Why are you asking me this?

[00:11:09]>> You worked with this reactor. You know it better than I do.

[00:11:11]>> So everything's my fault then.

[00:11:13]>> I'm not here to blame you. I'm here to find out what happened. And whether you realize it or not, I'm your best chance to avoid a bullet. Can you help me or not?

[00:11:23]>> I have no idea what would have gone here. Void coefficients have nothing to do with AZ 5. Now you thinking the right question will get you the truth. There is no truth. Ask the bosses whatever you want. You'll get the lie.

[00:11:34]>> I will get the bullet.

[00:11:41]Thanks God he didn't get a bullet.

[00:11:46]But he was imprisoned for long 10 years I'm I'm sure. And then he was released because of his issues with health and he died not long after that.

[00:11:55]Those panels covering their private parts might be like just like people were doing it themselves, nothing provided by someone. And I'm not sure that it helped.

[00:12:21]I only have two rules. One, don't point this gun at me. That's easy, right? You can point it piece of [ __ ] I don't give a [ __ ] Never me.

[00:12:29]>> Two, if you hit an animal and it doesn't die, keep shooting until it does. Don't let them suffer or I'll kill you.

[00:12:37]Understand? I mean it. Killed a lot of people.

[00:12:43]>> Good.

[00:12:43]>> I mean, in those conditions, that's the way I think. And usually when men are saying about that piece of [ __ ] you can shoot him. That's their best friend.

[00:13:00]Once we start, they'll run inside where they feel safe. So, we go door to door.

[00:13:13]I don't want to see it.

[00:13:28]Hey, do your job. Door to door.

[00:13:37]Thanks god they didn't show it like openly openly because um when it comes to animals go Please just finish those.

[00:14:08]Why are you standing?

[00:14:15]>> Don't let them suffer.

[00:14:17]>> Sorry. Sorry. You're dragging that to the truck.

[00:14:35]You going to eat >> drink >> for this job? It's better.

[00:14:53]>> Look, this happens to everyone the first time. Normally when you kill a man, but for you a dog. So what? There's no shame in it.

[00:15:01]>> You remember your first time, Gar? My first time? Afghanistan. We were moving through a house and suddenly a man was there and I shot him in the stomach.

[00:15:10]Yeah, that's a real war story. They're never any good stories like in the movies. They're [ __ ] Man was there.

[00:15:15]Boom. Stomach. I was so scared I didn't pull the trigger again for the rest of the day. That's it. Macho, you're not you anymore. You'll never be you again.

[00:15:23]But then you wake up the next morning and you're still you. And you realize that was you all along. You just didn't know.

[00:15:36]>> The happiness of all mankind.

[00:15:39]>> What?

[00:15:40]>> Our goal is the happiness of all mankind.

[00:15:43]>> On a banner.

[00:15:52]>> I'm happy every day. All right, back to work. Come on.

[00:16:06]Well, it did something now. Careful.

[00:16:23]>> Sniper, Joker. Is it ready?

[00:16:38]I think Soviet machinery was never done with a thought of a design. It's like this one stands out a lot.

[00:16:47]>> Good seeing that light is good.

[00:16:49]>> Forward one meter. Reverse one meter.

[00:16:51]Forward one.

[00:16:54]Germans reverse one.

[00:17:00]>> Oh, I guess it doesn't matter which one.

[00:17:05]>> Did you lose the signal?

[00:17:09]>> It's not a signal. It's the vehicle.

[00:17:12]>> OF COURSE I KNOW THEY'RE LISTENING. I WANTED TO BE HERE. I WANTED TO BE HERE AT ALL. Junior I don't give a [ __ ] [ __ ] G was something stolen from this.

[00:17:42]The official position of the state is that a global nuclear catastrophe is not possible in the Soviet Union. They told the Germans that the highest detected level of radiation was 2,000.

[00:17:55]>> Give them the propaganda number. That robot was never going to work. We need a new phone.

[00:18:03]>> I don't know if that happened, but that that's very very possible. Highly possible.

[00:18:15]What if we don't clear it?

[00:18:17]>> We have to clear it. We don't clear the roof, we can't build a cover of it. If we can't cover it, that's 12,000 W. Need twice the radiation from the corrosion.

[00:18:27]We have our >> I know, I know, I know it. What about lead? You could melt it and pour it from above like a coating. First of all, we've already used most of the lead we had to line the >> sledge sheeting around the instruments in the other reactor bellies. The soldiers are stripping it of their armor.

[00:18:43]>> You see it?

[00:18:44]>> Even if we're still talking about boiling metal in a helicopter and it's lag, Boris, it'll weigh a ton.

[00:18:52]>> What if we shoot the graphite against the hole?

[00:18:55]>> You want to shoot exploding bullets at an exposed nuclear reactor?

[00:18:59]>> Well, no, no. Let's go light that roof back on fire. It was so easy to put out the first time. What are we talking about here? We need another robot. One that can withstand the radiation.

[00:19:10]>> At last, there is nothing. Bio robots.

[00:19:14]>> What was that?

[00:19:16]>> We use bio robots.

[00:19:19]>> Basically human beings.

[00:19:29]This guy reminds me a little bit of like Soviet boy. He has something in his face.

[00:19:50]Now his moves are more confident.

[00:20:00]Where do they get their food? They eat the chickens and they eat each other.

[00:20:07]Door to door.

[00:20:16]Don't tell me they're puppies.

[00:20:26]Don't hear me. I'm talking to you.

[00:20:30]>> Just go outside.

[00:20:36]Go.

[00:21:22]This song is about a dark raven that is like running in circles around your head and the guy is saying like, "Don't expect me to be your prey. I won't be."

[00:21:36]Something like this.

[00:21:42]>> The Soviet people have had enough of this accident. They want us to clean it up, and we have entrusted you with this serious task. You will enter reactor building 3. This is a working area. We must clear the graphite. There's a hole in the roof. Take care not to fall. You will need to move quickly and you will need to move carefully. Do you understand your mission as I have described it?

[00:22:03]>> These are the most important 90 seconds of your lives.

[00:22:07]>> Yes, this is more or less how it was. I mean, I think it's very accurate.

[00:22:14]>> I even have flashbacks because I've seen a lot of pictures and it like it's so this hole in the wall. It's like so similar to reality. Wow.

[00:22:27]>> It's time to go. After 90 seconds, I will ring a bell. When you hear it, return immediately. Drop your shovels in the bin and proceed down the hallway for decontamination.

[00:22:35]On my mark, ready, go.

[00:22:40]>> 90 seconds.

[00:22:48]Yeah, I guess there was that was impossible to walk.

[00:23:08]the sound like it's Oh my god.

[00:23:35]Comrade soldier, >> you're done.

[00:23:41]>> Oh my god, it has quite a lot of meanings.

[00:23:45]>> Time to go.

[00:23:55]>> Good job.

[00:24:16]So many human tragedies like We needed to speak to you somewhere without you.

[00:24:33]>> They're going to put the ATL on trial and Branov and Famine. We're going to be asked to give expert testimony.

[00:24:41]>> Before that happens, >> central committee sending legass of to Vienna.

[00:24:45]>> What are they asking you to do?

[00:24:47]>> Tell the world what happened.

[00:24:49]>> Well, then you'd better know what happened. I've constructed a timeline minute by minute. Every decision, every button push, every turn of a switch.

[00:24:56]>> And are they guilty?

[00:24:58]>> Yes. Of gross incompetence, violation of safety regulations. But the explosion, I'm not sure.

[00:25:04]>> Why do you mean you're not sure?

[00:25:05]>> They shut the reactor down and then it exploded. I think this article may have the answer, but two pages have been removed.

[00:25:14]>> You've seen this before. Please believe me when I tell you that I had no idea it could cause an explosion. None of us knew.

[00:25:21]>> None of you knew what?

[00:25:22]>> In 1975 at an RBMK reactor at Lenigrad, a fuel channel ruptured. The operators pressed AZ 5, but instead of the power going down immediately, for a brief moment, it went up.

[00:25:34]>> How is that possible?

[00:25:35]>> Volkoff is the one who wrote this article. When an RBMK reactor runs at low power, it's notoriously unstable.

[00:25:40]Under normal circumstances, the control rods can compensate for that. Under normal circumstances, the Chernobyl staff stalled the reactor during the test. They pulled almost all the control rods out to bring the power back up.

[00:25:50]>> This is what Falov learned from Leningrad. If the boron control rods are completely withdrawn from the reactor, when they're put back in, the first thing that enters the core isn't boron.

[00:26:01]It's graphite. The control rods have graphite tips that displace water and steam. So, the reactivity doesn't go down. It goes up dramatically. Why on earth would they press that button?

[00:26:13]>> They didn't know.

[00:26:14]>> Fov the Kremlin 10 years ago. There could be no doubt about the uh supremacy of the Soviet nuclear industry.

[00:26:21]>> Oh, the KGB classified it as a state secret.

[00:26:25]>> I still didn't think it could be this floor in AZ 5. The floor will not lead to an explosion unless the operators have pushed the reactor to the edge of disaster.

[00:26:34]>> So, it is their fault.

[00:26:35]>> Yes.

[00:26:36]>> But not only their fault.

[00:26:37]>> No.

[00:26:38]>> Is that what you're going to say in Vienna? can't possibly be that naive.

[00:26:42]>> There are 16 RBMK reactors running in the Soviet Union right now. We have to fix them. The only way to do that is to go public. Force the central committee to take action.

[00:26:54]>> What you're proposing is that Legos of humiliate a nation that is obsessed with not being humiliated. We can make a deal with the KGB. You leave this information out in Vienna. They quietly let us fix the remaining reactors.

[00:27:06]>> Deal with the KGB and I'm naive. You have a chance to talk to the world, Valeri. If that chance was mine.

[00:27:13]>> But it isn't, is it? I'm known brave souls than you, Hamuk.

[00:27:17]>> Do you know the name Vasili Ignateno? He was a fireman. He died 2 weeks after the accident. I've been looking in on his widow. She gave birth. The baby lived for 4 hours. They said the radiation would have killed a mother, but the baby absorbed it instead.

[00:27:31]>> People were saying exactly that. But >> children have to die to save their mothers. To hell with your deal. To hell with our lives. Someone has to start telling the truth.

[00:27:39]>> You are the last of 3,828 men. You performed your duties perfectly.

[00:27:45]>> I serve the Soviet Union.

[00:27:47]>> I serve the Soviet Soviet Union.

[00:27:50]>> I serve the Soviet Union. I serve the Soviet.

[00:28:07]>> That's a very very heavy episode. And you know the liquidators I think they were very important in this episode.

[00:28:15]They were shown in a very dignified and in a very strong way. The picture is so strong. I don't have words for that.

[00:28:22]Right. Let me watch the fifth episode and I will tell more at the end. Okay, I think I'm ready. Episode 5.

[00:28:36]Those flower base, they look exactly like the ones in prepit on the pictures. There was a lot of red flowers.

[00:28:56]There's the watch. I I've seen such a watch deadl I mean I don't know where they were doing that but it looks so good.

[00:29:13]I hear they might promote Rukanov. This little problem we have with the safety test. If it's completed successfully, promotion's very likely. They'll put me in charge once he's gone and then I'll need someone to take my old job. I could pitch Sitnikov. I would like to be considered. We'll keep that in mind.

[00:29:29]>> Victor patrol. Preparations for the test have gone smoothly. Comrade Diagatov's been working per my instructions and reactor 4 outputs been reduced to 1600 megawatt. With your approval, uh, we're ready to continue lowering power to >> We have to wait three years. I've tried to finish this test. Three years. I've just had a call from the grid controller in Kiev. He says we can't lower power any further. It's the end of the month.

[00:29:50]All the productivity quotas. Everyone's working overtime. The factories need power. Someone's pushing down from above. So, do we have to scrap it or what?

[00:29:59]>> No, I don't think so.

[00:30:00]>> Running half power. We're not going to have stability issues.

[00:30:02]>> No, I I should think.

[00:30:03]>> I'm not asking you.

[00:30:04]>> It's safe. We'll maintain at 1600. I'll go home, get some sleep, come back tonight. I'll personally supervise the test and it will be completed.

[00:30:11]>> Well, I'm not waiting around. Call me when it's done.

[00:30:21]You know what I also think? I do understand that it might be not exactly the case of Chernobyl and I'm theorizing here, but Soviet Union had a lot of projects that were forced by the speed.

[00:30:32]You know, I don't know if I said it correctly. They were like very sped up those projects because let's say government is saying like we need to build this factory in five years and everyone is pushing everyone is pushing each other you need to build this you need to finish this and sometimes you know the factory that provides concrete can have problems and because of that you have poses but still you need to finish it at that exact time and that causes a lot of disruption and that causes a lot of mistakes and um situations that are very harmful and I heard something about Chernobyl exactly that even the project of an nuclear reactor itself. It should have been done in a certain amount of time the project itself. So they were like okay we did this this and that safety this and that and we can work with this project. I'm not sure again if that's 100% accurate information, but that's what I heard and that might explain quite a lot to be honest.

[00:31:43]>> Mhm.

[00:31:50]>> How do you feel? You went to the doctor yesterday. How is your health?

[00:31:53]>> You don't know. from Vienna. It says, "At last, a Soviet scientist who tells the truth." I think it's fair to say you made an excellent impression at the conference. Turns out you're quite good at this.

[00:32:03]>> At what? Lying.

[00:32:04]>> Statecraft. Statecraft. The West is now satisfied that Chernobyl was solely the result of operator error, which it essentially was.

[00:32:13]>> I think Legasov was quite honest there.

[00:32:15]>> Our highest honor. They haven't even given it to me.

[00:32:17]>> Promotion to director of the Kachov Institute. I'm humbled. I don't think there's anything humble about you, Valeri. Alex, these rewards are not yours yet. First, your testimony at the trial. Comrade Jarkov, >> I understand my duty to the state. You gave us asurances the reactors would be made safe. It's been months.

[00:32:35]>> First the trial. After that, we can deal with the reactors.

[00:32:42]>> I think he was not um on a trial.

[00:32:44]Legasov, I think they want him to be there for again for for all the scientists.

[00:33:02]Let's talk about Vienna. I'm not here to scold you.

[00:33:05]>> So, why are you here?

[00:33:06]>> Because I'm brutally stubborn, which you were hoping for.

[00:33:09]>> Chov is saying they're going to fix the reactors after the trial.

[00:33:13]>> The state will never willingly fix the reactors because acknowledging the problem means admitting that they lied.

[00:33:18]They will have to be forced at the trial. You're going to tell the truth. You're going to convince a jury.

[00:33:25]>> This is a true trial. The jury's already been handed over their verdict.

[00:33:28]>> I'm not talking about them. The central committee have invited members of the scientific community, our colleagues.

[00:33:34]They will be sitting in the crowd listening to every word you say. And when your testimony arrives at the moment of the explosion, that is when our jury will finally hear the truth.

[00:33:43]>> And do what with it?

[00:33:44]>> Insist on reform.

[00:33:45]>> Do you know what happened to Vulov? The man whose report you found, >> they just removed him from his position at the institute. Sacked for the crime of knowing. And you think that these scientists, handpicked to witness a show trial, will somehow be stirred into action by me?

[00:34:01]>> Yes.

[00:34:01]>> Why?

[00:34:02]>> Because you're Valeri Lagasov. I'd like to think that if I spoke out, it would be enough. But I know how the world works.

[00:34:08]>> They will shoot me. Kyuk, >> you told me to find out what happened. I spoke to dozens of people. Every word they said, I wrote down. These are the ones who are still alive. These are the ones who are dead. They died rescuing each other. They didn't hesitate. They didn't waver. They simply did what had to be done.

[00:34:25]>> So have I. I went willingly to an open reactor. So I've already given my life.

[00:34:30]Isn't that enough?

[00:34:31]>> No. I'm sorry, but it is not.

[00:34:36]>> I don't know if the trial inside the country is such a big deal in a way that you need to lie so much on an official trial. I think if that would be needed, they can clear any information they want afterwards.

[00:34:53]I heard it this machinery disappeared, but I don't know where.

[00:34:59]>> This session of court is now open.

[00:35:01]Comrade Judge Milan Kadnikov presiding.

[00:35:03]Indictments. Victor Banov. Anatoli Diatlov. Nikolai Famine. The state calls witnesses. Comrade Kamuk of the Bellarisian Nuclear Institute. Comrade Legassov of the Kachhatov Institute of Atomic Energy and Comrade Boris Dukimovic Sherbina, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Head of the Bureau for Fuel and Energy.

[00:35:27]>> Mhm.

[00:35:28]>> It began with of all things a safety test. Why was there need for a safety test at all? Plant director Victor Brihanov signed this document certifying the completion of the construction of the reactor. As a result of finishing the work before the end of the year, Comrade Bhanov was awarded hero of socialist labor. Comrade Famin for valorous labor. Comrade Datlov was given an order of the red banner. In order to sign this certificate, all safety tests had to have been successfully completed.

[00:35:57]And yet one remained. A nuclear reactor generates heat in the core here. A series of pumps here and here set a constant flow of cooling water through the core. What if the power feeding the plant itself is disrupted? A blackout, equipment failure, or an attack by a foreign enemy. If there's no power, the pumps cannot move water through the core. And without water, the core overheats, a nuclear disaster.

[00:36:19]>> I like the ways of explanation.

[00:36:22]>> Knew that the problem was not solved at all. The backup generators took approximately 1 minute to reach the speed required to power the pumps and prevent a meltdown. And by that time it would be too late. So we arrive at the safety test. The theory was this. If the facility lost power, the turbine which had been spinning would take some time to slow down and stop. What if you could take the electricity it was still generating and transfer it to the pumps?

[00:36:44]What if the dying turbine could keep the pumps working long enough to bridge the 60-second gap until the generators came off? Any questions?

[00:36:51]>> No. Continue. Please >> test this theory. The reactor is placed in a reduced power mode, 700 megawatt, to simulate a blackout condition. Then the turbines are turned off, and as they slowly spin down, their electrical output is measured to see if it's enough to power the pumps. The science is strong, but the test is only as good as the men carrying it out. And the first time they tried, they failed. The second time they tried, they failed. The third time they tried, they failed. The fourth time they tried was April 26th, 1986.

[00:37:23]Yeah, I think it's it's pretty much what I've read. Uh there was a book. I forgot the author, Ukrainian author, and they were like describing this test more or less like this.

[00:37:36]>> Hamuk, >> to understand what happened that night, we have to go back 10 hours earlier. By 2:00 in the afternoon, the reactor has been lowered by half to 1600 megawatt and is stable and ready to be reduced to 700 megawatt. But there is a phone call.

[00:37:48]Power grid officials in Kiev say that they cannot afford a further reduction in electricity. They are asking for a 10-hour delay. This is the first critical moment. Competent management would have insisted on cancelling the test. These three men allowed it to proceed. It created two problems. One of them is scientific in nature and the other is very human. The one we will consider first. At midnight, there is a shift change.

[00:38:14]>> Top off. Want to buy a motorcycle?

[00:38:16]>> Doing off. He's just a little boy.

[00:38:20]>> Lenny Federovich, the team off says to come to the control room as soon as you can.

[00:38:23]>> He's already here.

[00:38:24]>> Came in early. Something about a test.

[00:38:29]>> Sasha, another test. We're supposed to run the turbine rundown. They tried it last year. They couldn't do it on the day shift, so they've given it to us. I don't know what it is.

[00:38:36]>> It's fine. We take it down to 700. Hold it there. Datlov is going to be supervising.

[00:38:41]>> I have to do something I've never done before with Datlov looking over my shoulder.

[00:38:43]>> We'll do it together. Look at the instructions now. Are we supposed to do those or not?

[00:38:47]>> Yes, this is before. I have the manual for the rundown test. Yes, in the program there's instructions of what to do and then Well, there's a lot of things crossed out. What should I You sure? Thank you.

[00:38:59]>> H Okay.

[00:39:00]>> Crossed out instructions.

[00:39:01]>> Why are they crossed out?

[00:39:02]>> I've been cleared to run the test, 1600.

[00:39:04]Good. Uh, is it too much to ask that you all know what you're doing? Well, >> yes, absolutely.

[00:39:09]>> Stiauk.

[00:39:10]>> Yes. K. Uh, >> I hadn't reviewed. We only just found out that there review it. Boy, do what I tell you. I think even you, stupid as you are, can manage that. Well, let's go. Top it off. Reduce power to 700.

[00:39:21]>> Reducing power to 700.

[00:39:24]>> I want you to think of Yuri Gagarin. I want you to imagine that he has been told nothing of his mission into space until the moment that he is on the launchpad. This is exactly what was happening in the control room of reactor 4. The night shift had not been trained to perform the experiment. They hadn't even been warned it was happening.

[00:39:38]Leonit Topenov the operator responsible for controlling and stabilizing the reactor that night was all of 25 years old experience on the job four months. I want to do a huge research right now because whatever I was reading before I might have forgot something is just like you know fading in the memory but the the exact moment of how this all happened technical thing I think I'm old enough now to understand it at least to some point and uh I will have enough will to do this research and maybe to read some technical documents that might be in internet >> inside the reactor core in the space between the atoms themselves Something far more dangerous is forming. A poison.

[00:40:20]The time is 28 midnight.

[00:40:21]>> Comrade Legassov.

[00:40:29]>> I'm also nervous, you know, like I'm doing this.

[00:40:32]>> I'm pleased to see some of my colleagues here from the Keratov Institute in Minago. But you don't need to be a nuclear scientist to understand what happened at Chernobyl. There are essentially two things that happen inside a nuclear reactor. The reactivity which generates power either goes up or it goes down. All the operators do is maintain balance. Uranium fuel. As uranium atoms split apart and collide, reactivity goes up. Boron control rods.

[00:40:59]They reduce reactivity like brakes on a car. But there's a third factor to consider. Water. Cool water takes heat out of the system. It means that the more steam present within the system, the higher the reactivity, which means more heat, which means more steam, which means it would appear we we have a vicious cycle on our hands. And we would it not for this, the negative temperature coefficient.

[00:41:26]When nuclear fuel gets hotter, it gets less reactive. Fuel increases reactivity. Control rods and water reduce it. Steam increases it. The rise in temperature reduces it. This is the invisible dance that powers entire cities without smoke or flame. And it is beautiful >> scientist.

[00:41:47]>> As uranium splits apart to release energy, it breaks down into a new element, zenon. Zenon reduces reactivity. This is the poison comrade Homute mentioned. When the core is running at full power, it burns the zenon away before it can cause a problem. M >> the delay to Noble reactor 4 has been held at half power for 10 hours. The Zenon did not burn away. It built up, poisoning the core. We're starting to lose balance. At 28 minutes past midnight, the reactor is now primed to slow down. And yet, in less than an hour, it will explode. If you can't understand how a stalled nuclear reactor could lead to an explosion, I don't blame you. After all, you don't work in the control room of a nuclear power plant. But as it turned out, the men who did didn't understand it either.

[00:42:34]>> I like the way they are showing it is very understandable and easy. But I don't know how accurate it is.

[00:42:40]>> Procrastinating. 10 other men in this plant would have done it already.

[00:42:43]>> Keep working. You're doing fine.

[00:42:45]>> Kimbal, come get me when these old women are ready.

[00:42:53]>> Okay. Very slow now. Let's ease it down to 700.

[00:42:58]>> Whoa, whoa, whoa. Oh, I I didn't move any rods there.

[00:43:04]>> Ooh.

[00:43:05]>> Where is this?

[00:43:06]>> Not even touching it.

[00:43:12]You >> did everything right. Think that maybe the core is poison.

[00:43:15]>> Well, if you thought the core was poison, then you didn't do everything right because you're choking my reactor.

[00:43:19]Get it back up.

[00:43:20]>> Switch off local control. Pro global.

[00:43:22]>> LAC disabled. Global control activated.

[00:43:26]>> Mhm.

[00:43:27]What did you do? I I I did what you said. I SWITCHED.

[00:43:30]>> LOOK AT IT. [ __ ] amateurs. You've stole the reactor.

[00:43:33]>> Comrade the outlaw.

[00:43:34]>> You're going to tell me that you did everything right again. You incompetent [ __ ] >> I apologize for this unsatisfactory result.

[00:43:39]>> What are you doing?

[00:43:41]>> We have to shut all the way down.

[00:43:42]>> No.

[00:43:43]>> We could be in a zeno pit. We have to shut down. Wait 24 hours.

[00:43:46]>> No, we're doing the test tonight. Raise power to 700.

[00:43:48]>> We can't raise the power from here for rules.

[00:43:50]>> Don't talk to me about rules.

[00:43:51]>> Comrade the adv. I apologize, but what you're saying makes no sense.

[00:43:54]>> Raise the power.

[00:43:55]>> No, I won't do it. It isn't safe. Safety first always. I've been saying that for 25 years. That's how long I've done this job. 25 years. Is that longer than you?

[00:44:03]>> Yes.

[00:44:04]>> With I say it's safe, it's safe. And if the two of you disagree, then you don't have to work here. And you won't. But not just here. You won't work at K or Nalina or Leningrad or Noon ever again.

[00:44:15]I'll see to it.

[00:44:18]>> I wonder how it was.

[00:44:20]>> Raise the power together. Then >> I wasn't even there.

[00:44:24]>> What? I wasn't in the room when they raised the power.

[00:44:27]>> If you weren't there, then where were you?

[00:44:28]>> Gasov, you are a witness, not a prosecutor. I will ask the questions here. If you weren't in the room, then where were you?

[00:44:36]>> Toilet.

[00:44:37]>> The toilet. Comrade Kamuk interviewed everyone who was in the control room that night. They all told the same story. I knew what Datloff ordered was wrong, but if I didn't do what he said, I would be fired. Leonidov one day before he died.

[00:44:55]Court is now in recess. 30 minutes.

[00:45:04]>> I wonder what happened to Sherbina.

[00:45:06]>> You know anything about this town, Chernobyl?

[00:45:09]>> Not really. No.

[00:45:10]>> It was mostly Jews and Poles. The Jews were killed in pilgrims and Stalin forced the Poles out and then the Nazis came and killed whoever was left. After the war, people came to live anyway.

[00:45:21]Dead Jews, dead poles. Not them. No one ever thinks it's going to happen to them. And here we are.

[00:45:29]>> How much time?

[00:45:30]>> Maybe a year. They call it a long illness. It doesn't seem very long to me. I know you told me and I believed you. Time passed and I thought wouldn't happen to me. I wasted it all for nothing.

[00:45:41]>> I hope they will say what happened to Shambina afterwards. Do >> you remember that morning when I first called you? How unconcerned I was. I don't believe much that comes out of the Kremlin. But when they told me they were putting me in charge and they said it wasn't serious, I believed them. You know why?

[00:45:54]>> Because they put you in charge.

[00:45:57]>> I'm an inconsequential man. Valera, I hoped that one day I would matter, but I didn't. I just stood next to people who did. There are other scientists like me.

[00:46:07]Any one of them could have done what I did. With you, everything we asked for, everything we needed. Men, material, lunar rovers. They heard me, but they listened to you. Of all the ministers and all the deputies, they mistakenly sent the one good man. God's sakes, Boris, you're the one who mattered most.

[00:46:25]I mean, their words of appreciations for each other. It's like appreciation for all those scientists and all those people who were working around the liquidation of Chernobyl.

[00:46:42]Comrade Legato, >> the time is 38 midnight. The reactor is nearly shut down. There's no way to turn back. At 30 megawatt, Zenon is still being created, but none of it is burning away. To make matters worse, the reactor isn't hot enough to produce sufficient steam. The ATL wants it done now. Aimoff and Toptonov have only one course of action. They begin pulling control rods out. Still, the power does not budge. So they begin pulling them all the way out.

[00:47:12]Of 211 rods, only six now remain in the reactor. As for the fuel, it's gone cold. But even still, the zenon poisoning is so strong, best they can do is raise the power to 200 megawatt. The control rods are out, the emergency system has been disconnected.

[00:47:29]>> The test is minutes away.

[00:47:31]>> The amount of the videos I'll watch later on on YouTube, probably whole night.

[00:47:39]I'm sorry. This is all we can get. It's 200 megawatt. We pulled almost everything out.

[00:47:43]>> That's all we have. That's all we have.

[00:47:44]Look, >> the test requires 700.

[00:47:46]>> Switch on pump four.

[00:47:47]>> Oh, wait a sec.

[00:47:47]>> Stellia, >> we have barely enough steam as it is.

[00:47:49]The turbine is going too slow for the test.

[00:47:51]>> It's enough. I know what I'm doing.

[00:47:52]Stellia, >> main pump four connected. We should warn Hermuk. The pipes are going to be jump.

[00:47:58]>> Never mind him. Kersb in the separator drum is too low.

[00:48:02]>> Get it off as best you can.

[00:48:04]>> We should stop.

[00:48:05]>> Turn that [ __ ] thing off. You have 15 minutes. The problem they were facing was not solvable. The test was already ruined. But the Atluff didn't care. All he wanted to do was report a completed test. 1:22 a.m. Less than 2 minutes remain. Youchenko, mechanical engineer, is in his office. Chenko, reactor section foreman is in the refueling hall high above the 1,000 ton steel reactor cover.

[00:48:28]>> Yana.

[00:48:29]>> None of them have been told about the test. At 122 and 30 seconds, Dr. knob sees a report from the reactor's scalar computer system. The computer is recommending that the reactor be shut down.

[00:48:43]>> Well, of course it's saying that it doesn't know we're running a test.

[00:48:45]>> All right, comrades. Another few minutes, it will all be over.

[00:48:49]>> Did everything right.

[00:48:50]>> 123 and 4 seconds. With every decision, they have pulled this reactor back like a slingshot, further than anyone has ever pulled. Now the test begins. Pumps stop moving water through the reactor.

[00:49:01]Uranium fuel is now unchecked by fresh coolant. The balance immediately swings in the opposite direction. Reactivity increases. Inside the core, the remaining water is quickly converting to steam.

[00:49:12]>> Steam increases. Reactivity increases.

[00:49:14]Heat increases. Steam increases reactivity. The remaining zenon decays away. The power is rising. There's nothing left to stop it. 123 and 35 seconds.

[00:49:25]>> We We have a power surge. Sasha, >> what did you do?

[00:49:31]123 and 40 seconds. In every control room of every nuclear reactor in the world, there is a button. Scram will instantly shut down the reaction. AZ 5.

[00:49:40]You press AZ 5. All of the control rods insert at once and the reaction is stopped dead. But >> what are you waiting for, Lasso? Tell your lies.

[00:49:49]>> Comrade Yatlo, you will not be warned again.

[00:49:52]>> Or what? For God's sake, >> he knows something.

[00:49:55]>> Comrade, >> she knows something.

[00:49:57]>> But enough for today. The defendants will be remanded in custody. Will >> I I haven't finished.

[00:50:02]>> It's not necessary. Your testimony is concluded.

[00:50:04]>> Court is now adjourned. We will resume tomorrow.

[00:50:07]>> Finished.

[00:50:08]>> Comrades not finished.

[00:50:10]>> Theat broke every rule we have. Pushed a reactor to the brink of destruction. AZ 5. A simple button to shut it all down.

[00:50:18]But in the circumstances he created, there wasn't. The shutdown system had a fatal flaw. At 12340, a Kimoff engages AZ 5.

[00:50:30]Fully withdrawn control rods begin moving back into the reactor. These rods are made of boron, which reduces reactivity, but not the tips. The tips are made of graphite, which accelerates reactivity.

[00:50:41]>> Why?

[00:50:41]>> For the same reason our reactors do not have containment buildings around them like those in the West. For the same reason, we don't use properly enriched fuel in our cores. It's cheaper. The first part of the rods that enter the core are the graphite tips. The reaction in the core which had been rising skyrockets. The graphite tips are fixed in position endlessly accelerating the reaction. 12342enko looks down on the enormous steel lid of the reactor. The control rod and fuel channel caps which each weigh 350 kg are jumping up and down. He runs to warn the control room. 123 and 44 seconds. The steam broke fuel channels apart.

[00:51:22]Reactor 4 designed to operate at 3,200 megawatt went beyond 33,000 12345.

[00:51:31]Explosion.

[00:51:32]The lid is thrown off the reactor.

[00:51:35]Oxygen rushes in. It combined with hydrogen and superheated graphite. Chain of disaster is now complete.

[00:51:44]>> There were in fact series of explosions.

[00:51:46]People were saying that like two or three, multiple I guess all of a different nature. But yeah, >> no one in the room that night knew the shutdown button could act as a detonator. They didn't know it.

[00:52:03]>> Comrade Legassov, you're contradicting your own testimony in Vienna.

[00:52:08]>> Testimony in Vienna was a lie. I lied to the world. Following orders from the KGB, from the central committee, and right now there are 16 reactors in the Soviet Union with the same fatal flaw.

[00:52:18]Three of them are still running at Chernobyl.

[00:52:21]>> If you mean to suggest the Soviet state is somehow responsible, you're treading on dangerous ground.

[00:52:26]>> We're on dangerous ground right now because of our secrets and our lies.

[00:52:30]They're practically what define us. That is how an RBMK reactor core explodes.

[00:52:35]>> Lies.

[00:52:36]>> They were definitely lying a lot. I mean, that's true. Hiding things, covering up. That's That's fact.

[00:52:50]It feels like something very unpleasant.

[00:53:04]>> Mickey Mouse.

[00:53:10]Valeri Alexiovich Lagassov, son of Alexi Lagassov, head of ideological compliance central committee. As a student, you had a leadership position in consumable communist youth. Correct.

[00:53:21]>> You already know.

[00:53:21]>> Answer the question.

[00:53:22]>> Yes.

[00:53:23]>> At the Karta Institute, you were the Communist Party secretary. In that position, you limited the promotion of Jewish scientists.

[00:53:30]>> Yes.

[00:53:30]>> To curry favor with Kremlin officials.

[00:53:33]You're one of us. Look at yourself. I can do anything I want with you. But what I want the most is for you to know that I know you're not brave. You're not heroic. You're just a dying man who forgot himself.

[00:53:44]>> I know who I am. I know what I've done.

[00:53:47]In a just world, I'd be shot for my lies, but not for this, but for the truth, >> scientists. When the bullet hits your skull, what will it matter why?

[00:53:57]>> No one's getting shot like the whole world saw you in the air.

[00:54:01]>> Your testimony today will not be accepted by the state. It will not be disseminated in the press. You will live however long you have, but not as a scientist. You keep your title and your office, but no duties, no authority, no friends. No one will talk to you. No one will listen to you. Other men will receive credit for the things you have done. What role did Shabina play in this?

[00:54:22]>> None.

[00:54:23]>> What role did Homyok play in this?

[00:54:24]>> None.

[00:54:25]>> You will not meet or communicate with either one of them ever again. You will not communicate with anyone about Chernobyl ever again.

[00:54:31]>> I mean, that didn't happen to the gas. I think they wanted to show essence of that Soviet Union here, KGB and stuff.

[00:54:50]>> To be a scientist is to be naive. We are so focused on our search for truth, we fail to consider how few actually want us to find it. But it is always there whether we see it or not. It will lie in wait for all time. And this at last is the gift of Chernobyl. Where I once would fear the cost of truth, now I only ask, what is the cost of lies?

[00:55:15]>> Oh, they're showing real.

[00:55:21]>> Mhm. The audio types of legas of memoirs were circulated among the Soviet scientific community. This made it impossible for them to be ignored. In the aftermath of his death, Soviet officials finally acknowledged the design flows of the RBMK nuclear reactor. The reactors were retrofitted to prevent an accident like Chernobyl from happening again. The gas was aided by dozens of scientists who worked tirelessly alongside him at Chernobyl.

[00:55:48]Some spoke out against the official account of events and were subject to denunciation, arrest, and imprisonment.

[00:55:54]The character of Juliana Humuk was created to represent them all and honor their dedication and service to truth and humanity. I see Sherbina died on August 22, 1990. Right. 4 years and 4 months after he was sent to Chernobyl.

[00:56:10]For their roles in Chernobyl disaster, Victor Bhanovat and Nikolai were sentenced to 10 years hard labor. After his release, Nikolai returned to work at a nuclear power plant in Kenin, Russia.

[00:56:22]Anton died from radiation related illness in 1995. He was 64uk's body was never recovered. He's permanently numbed under reactor 4.

[00:56:35]Yeah, I heard about that. The firefighter's closing still remains in the basement of Pripit Hospital. It is dangerously radioactive to this day.

[00:56:43]Someone in comments said that it was somehow buried. Following the death of her husband and daughter, Ludmagneta suffered multiple strokes. Doctors told her she would never be able to bear a child, but I think she did. They were wrong. Yeah, she lives with her son in Kiev. Of the people who watched from the railway bridge, it was being reported that none survived. It is now known as the bridge of death. 400 miners worked around the clock for 1 month to prevent a total nuclear meltdown. It is estimated that at least 100 of them died before the age of 40. It has been widely reported that the three divers who drained the bubbler tanks died as a result. And no, they they didn't. In fact, all three survived after hospital.

[00:57:27]Yeah. To are still alive today. Yeah.

[00:57:30]Over 600,000 people were conscripted to serve in the exclusion zone despite widespread accounts of sickness and death as a result of radiation. The Soviet government kept no official records of their fate. Right.

[00:57:44]Contaminated region of Ukraine and Bellarus known as exclusion zone.

[00:57:48]Ultimately 2,600 square kilometers. Approximately 300,000 people were displaced from their homes. They were told this was temporary. It is still forbidden to return. Yeah. Unfortunately, Miguel Garbachov reside over the Soviet Union until its dissolution. Yeah. In '91. In 2006, he wrote, "The nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl was perhaps the true cause of the collapse of the Soviet Union." In 2017, work was completed on the new safe confinement at Chernobyl at a cost of nearly $2 billion is designed to last 100 years. That's a great project.

[00:58:27]Following the explosion, there was a dramatic spike in cancer rates across Ukrainian Bellarus. The highest increase was among children. We will never know the actual human cost of Chernobyl. Most estimates range from 4,000 to 93,000 deaths. The official Soviet death toll unchanged since 1987 is 31. Memory of all who suffered and sacrificed.

[00:58:53]Well, um those two last episodes were amazing. They're really strong emotionally. I was not talking too much because they were talking. Episode four was about all the liquidators, their important job. And this episode was about the catastrophe itself, the explosion of a nuclear reactor. And I cannot verify how 100% truth it was or not, but I must say that emotionally what they did, they exposed all those feelings and they showed the importance of all those people who were working to liquidate this catastrophe. Those smart, brave people who were fixing the thing that was broken because of a state, because of human mistake and they were fixing this for us to live and I appreciate their work and thank you for my life, for all the lives of my family.

[00:59:49]Whatever was possible was done. I want to mention a couple of things. For example, about the Soviet Union itself, the portrayal of a Soviet Union and the KGB. You see, I do understand that people who never lived under this type of regime, it would be hard for them to portray it correctly. They tried their best. They did a lot of things the way that it will be understandable for everyone. You know, where it was needed to show the immediate danger. They were talking about shooting and things. But the biggest Soviet Union weapon was ideology and KGB was using this weapon.

[01:00:23]I'll show the example not connected to Chernobyl. Try to understand what I mean. There was a fact of a situation where people were arrested because some food was wrapped into a newspaper and on this newspaper was a portrait of Stalin person was arrested. I guess the family was arrested as well. But do you really think that there was some KGB agent walking around looking at what are you using to wrap your food? The ideology was inside people's minds and people were selling each other for some perks for ideology purposes and you never know who is to be trusted. That's the most dangerous thing. It doesn't need to be hundred of KGB agents following one each other. It's not realistic. The thing was that neighbors were selling neighbors because they believed in ideology or because they wanted something because they were tired of their position.

[01:01:18]People didn't trust each other and that feels like a paranoia, but it was real.

[01:01:22]And because everyone was silent, you never know what this person truly believes. Everyone was a communist.

[01:01:30]Everyone needed to be a communist.

[01:01:31]Everyone forced to be a communist. Yes.

[01:01:34]So that Soviet part of this movie is shown in a way that is not quite right maybe, but I don't know how to show it properly, you know, because it's it's exactly a paranoia feeling. That is what it is. Thank you so much for watching it together with me. Please like, comment, subscribe, and see you next time.