Entrance

Man of the Atom

Dam

Cooling tower of unit 3

https://preview.redd.it/druh9d0gxyxd1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=0b03cfc68c23b095204a76b17e0d43c4fff950d3

Now before you say anything, yes i do know that the person Ulana Khomyuk does NOT exist in real life but is based of many people who helped with the chernobyl disaster. In the episode five (the last episode) of the miniseries "chernobyl" released in 2019, about 13 minutes into the episode we see Ulana Khomyuk visits Valery Legasov and mentions some books that she wrote based on the stories that people told her about what happened in chernobyl that night. I was wondering does these books actually exist in real life and if they do where are they now? I couldn't find information about this on google so maybe people of r/chernobyl have more knowledge than google, or maybe i just didn't research enough. Also I would be grateful if someone told me who is the actual person who interviewed the plant workers and other who were connected to chernobyl that night.

Thanks

I've seen a number of documents detailing the layout of the CNPP as well as a number of apartment buildings in Pripyat, but does anyone know if there are floor plans available for the Jupiter Plant? If not, does anyone know where I can find resources to try and determine the layout myself? (video tours, vlogs, image dumps, etc.)

I was wondering on how accurate the book actually is because I know one thing that it gets some things wrong so I hope some of you guys know more

Hi what horror movies are based on Chernobyl? I saw one with a 🐻

My name is David01 and I am here to cover the fatally incorrect and forgotten story of "the wrong Dyatlov". I remembered this untold story while I was looking at recent posts on this reddit, and someone posted the "Soviet Life" issue showing off ChNPP. There, you can find a really famous picture. I knew their identities for a while now, but one always struck out to me. It was the man in middle, the supposed Anatoly Dyatlov. And yet, the only thing they shared was the same plant and the same first name.

https://preview.redd.it/7p3wu43b4rxd1.png?width=586&format=png&auto=webp&s=92ad0027df827df576129db96104c01a78d3805f

This is probably one of the most mistaken stories of Chernobyl. And yet, it may have a tragic ending. Here follows the true story, of "the wrong Dyatlov".

PART 1: The chemical shop.

Before we begin to talk about the mistaken operator, we must talk about where he worked.

The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (named for Vladimir Ilyich Lenin) was, back in the 80's, split into about a dozen and a half of so-called "ЦЕХ"s, literally meaning workshop or department. While some were small, and some were big, the 5 main shops were:

1. Reactor Shop (РЦ)
2. Turbine Shop (ТЦ)
3. Electrical Shop (ЭЦ)
4. Thermal Automation and Measurement Shop (ЦТАИ)
5. Chemical Shop (ХЦ)

The 5th main one was of course the chemical shop, commonly called (even back then) "Химцех" (literally Chemshop).

Chemical shop was really split into 2 parts. Into the "laboratories" and into the "operational equipment". The operational equipment part was mostly composed of СВО = спецводоочистка (SVO = Special Water Treatment) and a bit of decontamination equipment.

The laboratories part is a bit different. Of course, some of the laboratories were used during operation, there were actually 3 laborants per shift, 1 operating the "Gas Analysis Laboratory", 2 operating the "Water and Radiochemical Laboratory".

However, most of the laboratories were not manned every shift, only when required as per request, inspection or due to any reason. Dozens of these existed. One of those laboratories was the "LSiKGO".

Well what is "LSiKGO"? ЛСиКГО literally means "Laboratory of Spectrometry and Control of the Tightness of the Shell", alternatively "Tightness of the Fuel Rods". A bunch of random words, for the less educated, of course.

This laboratory is still in fact used in the other RBMK-1000 plants. However, as with every department or laboratory, there must be a head.

That brings us to a man, who might have saved one life and might have ended another.

PART 2: Anatoly Sukhetskiy, the deputy head of LSiKGO.

We arrive to our man. Anatoly Kasyanovich was born in 1942, in the village of Lozuvatka, now called Lozovatka, located in the Onufriivka Raion, modern day Ukraine. This village is quite small, only 39 people lived there in 2001.

He started working in ChNPP in 1978, participating directly in the Units 2, 3 and 4 launch. Either way, there is not much known about his time at ChNPP before the accident. At the beginning of 1986, he held the rank of the deputy head of LSiKGO. He lived on Sportivnaya Street.

In early 1986, another issue of the journal "Soviet Life" was being written. For some reason, they decided to use the now famous photo. Anatoly Sukhetskiy appears as the front and center of the photo. How was he confused with Dyatlov in the first place, I do not know.

Smiling Sukhetskiy.

That brings us to the accident, or rather the day before, 25th of April, 1986. As I explained before, most of the laborants came to work only if something was needed from them. That night, his team was called. He was going to lead his group to the tallest place in the entire plant, the VT-2. The exact work is unknown, but it is probably related to the calculation of the output of VT-2 that day, for which we have data. I don't actually remember what the source is but, we can thank him for that! Spectrometry can be useful in that regard.

After the work was done, they climbed down the VT-2. Of course then you need to enter the building. There were really only 2 entrances you could use, located on +50,12. And so they tried to open the door. It didn't move. They were locked, on the roof, probably just a bit before sunset.

The space that Sukhetskiy and his men got trapped on.

Of course the first instinct was to check again if the door was open. He looked at the door and saw the card. He later recalled, quite jokingly: "The door to the building was locked and a paper was hanging - keys at the shift supervisor, phone number №... Of course, we didn't have mobile phones at the time, and we didn't have a phone on the roof either."

Thankfully for them, they weren't going to be stuck on the roof. They waited for a few minutes, perhaps as much as a half hour. Then they had an idea. There was a window on the roof, that could be opened. With them was a laborant, his name was Viktor Rovenskiy. He was quite a small and a slim guy, so he could fit through it. Then he helped the others out. And then their work ended and they went home.

However, Sukhetskiy didn't actually explain how the others got out. And there lies a problem.

WHAT ABOUT SITNIKOV AND CHUGUNOV...

Did they lock the door behind them? Did they even use the door?

If they locked the door behind them, that would mean that Sitnikov never reached the roof. That would also mean that Sitnikov never saw the reactor and Sitnikov, together with Chugunov, did not gain big doses trying to reach the roof.

Yet again HBO is busted wrong!

I must say, this topic is very complicated, and there is no clear consensus on this. Chugunov said until he died that Sitnikov reached the roof, while he himself did not. Uskov and Orlov said that Sitnikov never reached the roof. Who knows.

PART 3: Epilogue.

This is a short and very interesting story I wanted to cover really quickly and also to clear out some misconceptions. The full story has never been covered by any publications and only short testimonies by Sukhetskiy are available online.

Anatoly Kasyanovich Sukhetskiy is still alive (as of December 2023), he lives in Slavutich. After the accident, he became the head of the Radiation Safety Shop (ЦРБ) that replaced the ООТиТБ.

I wish him good health.

Viktor Aleksandrovich Rovenskiy died in 2009, Rest in Peace.

Sitnikov died in 1986, Chugunov in 2006, Rest in Peace to both of them as well.

Orlov and Uskov are still alive, I wish them good health.

I hope we remember the events of 26th of April 1986 forever, and by extensions the forgotten little stories that led to the accident.

-David01.

Hello everyone, I started a new blog to replace a major Chernobyl blog which has been destroyed. Here is the translation of the Politburo meeting transcript from May 5, 1986:
https://sovietchronicles.wordpress.com/2024/10/29/may-5-1986-politburo-meeting-transcript/

The blog will not be focusing exclusively on Chernobyl but Chernobyl is one of the major topics of it. If anyone has a lot of knowledge and wants to contribute feel free to send me a DM.

Hello everyone.

I have a simple question. For some reason, I feel interested in Valery Khodemchuk and what happened. Like, where was he exactly. Pump rooms? I'm confused. Like, maybe a diagram or something.

I just feel weird when innocent people are lost forever. Maybe it's the sensation from lost to found. Whatever it is, it feels lost forever lost media.

Hello, everyone

I was on YouTube, trying to enjoy Chernobyl content as like majority of fans, whether it be Kyle Hill or a Chernobyl nurse verifying authenticity. However, I came across this video 'claimimg' that Valery Khodemchuk was 'found' Here is the link:

https://youtu.be/HffOaz-tKn8?si=4-rdX8IhrWfIZrzj

Wow. Just horrendous, really. You mock a poor engineer, a poor man who knew not was to come. This is pure idiocy. A horribly cropped photo and saying 'wE FoUnD VaLErY KHoDEMchuK!'

Like what in the actual heck were you thinking? Granted, I'm getting too angry over a five minute shitpost, but I can't stand this

It's been a few days now since I started my project to reproduce a sign that can be found all over the exclusion zone. I started by taking the measurements of a sign, relying on a photo where we can see several of these signs on a wall. I then calculated the size of a brick and the space between two bricks, arriving at 35cm for the largest and 20.5cm for the smallest signs. Then I bought a metal plate and a rebar and two fiberglass bars (cost reason) finally I decided to weld the sign as I had seen on another picture, however I hit a wall which was the fact that I didn't know how to weld, so unfortunately for this detail I would have to settle for using a glue for metal. I would also like to thank Chernobyl_dude for providing me with the necessary information for this project. (Sorry for the potential English mistakes)

Who was the mayor of Pripyat at the time of the accident and what functions did he perform during the disaster?

https://preview.redd.it/7pl3s3u269xd1.jpg?width=801&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c1a4956cf559a985b6a565c3954681a9a75908d4

Soviet Life was an English-language magazine published in the USA by the Soviet government (there was an equivalent magazine called "Amerika" published in the USSR by the American government).

The Feb 1986 issue had an article about Pripyat and CNPP: https://soviethistory.msu.edu/1985-2/meltdown-in-chernobyl/meltdown-in-chernobyl-texts/peace-and-plenty-in-pripyat/

There are some images from that article in this thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/chernobyl/comments/vsd8nw/soviet_life_magazine_february_1986/

Was it Akimov or Toptunov? Some sources say Akimov, some Toptunov.

What would be the equivalent of Zharkov in real life? Because he is not a person who really exists and it was him in the series who said to close Pripyat Who would be your equivalent in real life?

Andriy Tormozin, the machinist of the turbine shop 2, he received a dose of 1000 Sv and became the only one who survived with such a dose

This is now banned again right? How much people were put at risk due to the vanity of these rich people?

I had a doubt, at the end of chapter 3 you can see how the firefighters are buried in zinc coffins and covered with concrete. Is that true?? Were these measures really taken to avoid radiation?

https://preview.redd.it/xt3k5weraxwd1.jpg?width=480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=38d24a4b0d7d679d7946212b93c8db1dd92d84c8

https://preview.redd.it/dovh8cxraxwd1.jpg?width=353&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f6f35236e5fc546f945ba4d67efe50ca1bebb295

Hidden photographs of Anatoliy Dyatlov and his wife, Isabella, taken by the KGB during surveillance shortly before his arrest. Autumn months of 1986

I’m trying to find a Soviet fire response uniform but (at least in us markets) I can’t find any for sale,does anyone know if there are any available.

https://youtu.be/brMMbzEWs6s?si=ZHxlKrZsRNq9Xuo6

I knew of the cloud seeding after the accident, but it was interesting to know that there was a rescue mission of nuclear tipped missiles in the zone.

Also I knew of mixing contaminated meat across the ussr but apparently there was a train full of meat too contaminated to sell, and it ended up being buried somewhere in the zone around 1990