May 30, 2025 • 50 mins
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On April 25, 1986, as families in Pripyat slept soundly beneath the shadow of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, no one could imagine that a routine safety test would soon trigger the worst nuclear disaster in human history. What began as an engineering exercise rapidly descended into catastrophe when a perfect storm of design flaws, human error, and bureaucratic arrogance collided—sending radioactive material across Europe and changing the course of history.
Chernobyl wasn't simply a technological failure; it was a stark revelation of what happens when a system values reputation over human lives. While Soviet officials scrambled to conceal the true magnitude of the disaster, radiation spread invisibly across borders, eventually triggering alarms at a power plant in Sweden—over 1,000 kilometers away. Only then was the world alerted to what Soviet citizens still didn't know: a nuclear nightmare was unfolding in Ukraine
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Picture this it's April 25, 1986.
The small city of Pripyatnestles in the Verdenkranian
countryside, home to nearly50,000 souls.
As midnight nears, familiessleep soundly, unaware that for
many there will be no tomorrow.
A young school teacher placesthe final period on her lesson
(00:20):
plan before closing her notebook.
Outside her window looms thecrown jewel of Soviet nuclear
achievement the ChernobylNuclear Power Plant.
Its four massive cooling towerspuncture the night sky like
concrete monoliths.
Tonight, reactor number fourhums with activity illuminated
by fluorescent lights asengineers in white coats move
(00:43):
with purpose across the controlroom.
A senior engineer checks hiswatch.
It's almost time.
The safety test they've delayedtwice already can't wait any
longer.
Management wants results.
Reduce power to 700 megawatts,he says flatly.
At that moment no one knowsthat they've just set the clock
ticking.
(01:04):
I'm Sandy McKenna and alongsidemy co-host, abraham Ulrich,
we're stepping outside our usualterritory of murders and
masterminds to explore adifferent kind of crime, one
where the victims numbered notin the dozens but in the
thousands.
Where the crime scene wasn't abasement or an alleyway but a
thousand square miles ofcontaminated earth.
(01:26):
Where the weapon wasn't a knifeor a gun, but invisible
radiation that continues to killdecades later.
This isn't just a story about anuclear meltdown.
It's about arrogance,negligence, lies, cover-ups that
reach the highest levels ofgovernment and, ultimately, it's
about ordinary people who paidthe price for extraordinary
(01:49):
corruption.
This is Sinners and SecretsAudio Jungle Audio.
(02:11):
Jungle Audio.
Jungle Audio Jungle AudioJungle Audio Jungle Audio Jungle
(02:31):
.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Before we dive in into the events of Chernobyl,
it's important to understandwhat exactly a nuclear reactor
is and how it works, becausewithout this context, the scale
of the disaster can be hard tograsp.
A nuclear reactor isessentially a device used to
initiate and control a nuclearchain reaction which generates
energy.
This energy is harnessed toproduce electricity.
(02:56):
In a nuclear reactor, theprocess of nuclear fission
occurs.
This is where the nucleus of anatom is split into two smaller
nuclei, releasing a tremendousamount of energy in the form of
heat.
Let's break this down At theheart of most nuclear reactors,
including the one at Chernobyl,is a fuel source, typically
uranium or plutonium.
(03:18):
These are heavy elements thatare unstable, meaning their
nuclei are prone to splittingapart when struck by a neutron.
When a neutron strikes thenucleus of a uranium atom, the
atom splits.
This process is called nuclearfission.
When it splits, it releases alarge amount of energy in the
form of heat, in addition toneutrons, which then strike
(03:40):
other uranium atoms, causingthem to split in a chain
reaction.
This chain reaction, if leftunchecked, could spiral out of
control.
That's why reactors aredesigned with such strict
controls to prevent this fromhappening.
In a nuclear reactor, this heatis used to produce steam, the
reactor is surrounded by coolant, usually water, that absorbs
(04:01):
this heat.
The heat created is used toturn turbines, which are
connected to generators thatproduce electricity.
In the case of the Chernobylreactor, the coolant was water,
but the reactor used graphite asa moderator, which slows down
the neutrons, allowing them tocause more fission reaction.
The control rods inside thereactor are crucial for managing
(04:24):
the rate of the reaction.
These rods are made ofmaterials that absorb neutrons,
such as boron or cadmium.
By inserting or withdrawingthese rods into the reactor,
operators can slow down or speedup the reaction.
Now you may be wondering whathappens when the reactor goes
into overdrive.
If the reaction gets toointense, the reactor will begin
(04:47):
to overheat, and that's whenthings become dangerous.
When this happens, the coolantcan boil away, and without a
cooling system to keep the coreat a manageable temperature, the
reactor can fail, potentiallyleading to an explosion or a
meltdown.
In short, a nuclear reactor isan incredibly powerful machine,
but without the proper safetymechanisms, it's like a car
(05:09):
without brakes it can go fromcontrolled energy production to
a catastrophic disaster in theblink of an eye.
Sadly, this is what we willsoon learn.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
Now that we've covered how a nuclear reactor
works, let's zoom in on themission that was underway the
night that everything went wrongat Chernobyl.
On paper it was a routinesafety test, a simulation meant
to prepare for the worst-casescenario a power outage.
The mission To determinewhether the power generated by
(05:39):
the inertia of the spinningturbines could provide just
enough electricity to bridge acritical 30-second gap the time
it would take for the backupdiesel generators to power on
during a total loss of externalelectricity.
The goal was simple but vital.
On the surface it sounds like asmart precaution.
(05:59):
Nuclear reactors rely onconstant cooling to keep the
radioactive cores stable.
If the power is suddenly lost,say due to a storm or a burst
pipe, and cooling stops, heatbuilds fast and disaster can
follow.
So the test was supposed tohelp prevent that.
But here's where things startto unravel.
(06:20):
The test was rushed, cornerswere cut and safety protocols
were ignored.
Initially, the test wasassigned to the day shift crew,
but at the last minute, powerdemand elsewhere in the region
forced a delay and by the timeit finally happened it was the
middle of the night and the testhad been handed off to the
(06:40):
night shift, a team that wasyounger and not fully equipped
to handle an emergency safetytest.
Given the complexity of thereactor, there was too much
technology to consider for anyone person to handle.
Skilled, yes, but prepared forwhat was coming?
Not even close.
And, worse still, they had noidea about the fatal design
(07:01):
flaws lurking inside the veryreactor they were operating.
The RBMK reactor wasdangerously unstable at low
power, with a critical flaw thatwould soon become tragically
obvious.
Internal documents warning ofhazardous behavior in certain
conditions had been circulatedto RBMK facilities.
(07:22):
So why wasn't this informationacted on?
Why didn't those in chargesound the alarm?
Whether it was bureaucraticnegligence or protection of the
design bureau's reputation, thesilence was deadly and
unforgivable.
Even the operators didn't knowtheir own reactor could turn on
(07:42):
them.
The plan was to bring Reactor 4down to about one percent of its
full power, low enough totrigger the backup systems
without causing a surge.
But to run the test, engineershad to disable several safety
systems.
That included criticalfail-safes, like the system of
emergency cool-down, which isdesigned to regulate temperature
and prevent overheating.
(08:03):
Some of the crew expressedconcern, but there was one man
who pushed forward, anatolyDyatlov, the deputy chief
engineer.
Dyatlov was an incrediblyintelligent man, an experienced
engineer known for being rigid,forceful and a firm believer in
following orders withoutquestion.
When others hesitated, heinsisted.
(08:25):
And so, under Dyatlov's command, the test continued, despite
mounting warnings, despiteunstable conditions.
The reactor had been operatingat a dangerously low power level
for too long.
Its core was already unstable,and then things got worse.
The power dropped even lowerthan planned, too low to
(08:46):
maintain control.
The reactor becameunpredictable, dangerous, but
still.
Dyatlov refused to halt thetest.
Operators were under strictorders do not shut down the
reactor until the test iscomplete.
And so the team pressed on,knowing something felt wrong,
but too afraid to defy orders.
At 1.23 am, the final sequenceof the test began Suddenly a
(09:12):
power surge.
The operators grew concernedand once realizing the sudden
and rapid surge in energy, theyhit the emergency shutdown
button, az-5, expecting it tokill the reaction instantly.
In RBMK reactors there aremultiple AZ systems, each
designed to reduce power byvarying percentages.
(09:33):
Az-5 was the failsafe.
The last resort meant to bringthe reactor to a complete stop.
What operators didn't fullyunderstand was the system had a
deadly flaw.
Rbmk reactors use control rodsto regulate reactivity, but
(09:53):
these rods had graphite tips,and while graphite eventually
helps moderate the reaction, itinitially increases reactivity.
When the AZ-5 was activated,those graphite-tipped rods
plunged into the core andinstead of calming the reactor,
they caused a final fatal spikein power.
A shutdown meant to save thereactor ended up destroying it.
(10:14):
Then the unthinkable happened Amassive steam explosion.
This explosion was local butdevastating.
It occurred within the stillintact reactor enclosure.
It caused a deformation in partof the active zone, which led
to a massive spike in steamproduction.
Moments later, a second, evenmore powerful explosion ripped
(10:35):
through the building.
This time it wasn't just steam.
Internal components of thereactor structure violently
ruptured the core from within.
The core itself superheated,unstable melting down.
A 2,000-ton lid was blastedinto the air like a manhole
cover.
Chunks of radioactive fuel andgraphite erupted, skyward
(10:56):
glowing with fire that couldn'tbe easily put out.
In under a minute, reactor 4 nolonger existed and the worst
nuclear disaster the world hadever seen had just begun.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Inside the control room, chaos erupted.
Operators were confused.
Some even thought the explosionhad only ruptured a water pipe.
They had no idea that the corewas exposed and that lethal
radiation was already spreading.
Firefighters were the first torespond.
Arriving without protectivegear, they believed they were
putting out an ordinary fire,unaware they were inhaling
(11:31):
deadly radioactive particles.
Some stood directly next toburning graphite from the
reactor core, one of the mostradioactive substances on Earth.
Sadly, many of them would bedead within weeks.
Dudmila Ignatenko, the wife ofone of the first firefighters,
has one of the mostheartbreaking testimonies.
She says I kept kissing hisface, his hands, his body.
(11:54):
He kept saying Ludmila, don'tsleep, talk to me.
I couldn't say no.
I didn't know how muchradiation he had absorbed.
Nobody told me, though.
There are many things in apower plant that can cause an
explosion of this magnitude".
Dyatlov, injured but stillconscious, refused to believe
the reactor had exploded.
He insisted it was just amalfunctioning sensor or a
(12:17):
hydrogen explosion.
The devices designed to measuresuch extreme levels of
radiation were now under rubbleand debris and, despite the ones
they did have maxing out,refusal to believe the core was
exposed was prevalent amongseveral of the engineers.
Meanwhile, the Sovietleadership hesitated First.
Official reports downplay theexplosion and plan director
(12:40):
Viktor Brukhanov refused tobelieve the worst.
Even as radiation levels maxedout the dosimeters the device
used to measure exposure, thegovernment insisted that the
situation was under control.
Many officials genuinelybelieved the situation was less
severe due to the limitedinformation available.
But outside, reactor 4 wasstill burning, an open wound in
(13:03):
the earth, spewing radioactivesmoke into the sky.
The threat wasn't just toPripyat If left unchecked, the
fallout could contaminate all ofEurope.
Realizing they could no longercontain or deny the scale of the
disaster, the Soviet governmentmobilized quickly, assembling a
high-level task force made upof senior party officials and
(13:24):
dozens of top scientists.
Two figures were sent to thefront lines Boris Shcherbina, a
high-ranking Soviet official,and Valery Legasov, deputy
director of the KhrushchevInstitute of Atomic Energy, one
of the USSR's most respectednuclear physicists.
Together they were tasked withleading the disaster response,
despite knowing the cost mightbe their lives.
(13:47):
But how do you put out a firethat isn't just burning but
melting through concrete?
At first, firefighters andemergency crew attempted to
douse the flames with water, butthis only made things worse.
Water mixed with the moltencore caused violent steam
explosions, spreading moreradioactive particles.
Realizing their mistake, legasovand his team ordered a
(14:11):
different approach.
Helicopters were deployed todrop thousands of tons of sand,
boron, lead and clay directlyonto the burning reactor.
The idea was to smother theflames and absorb the escaping
radiation.
The idea was to smother theflames and absorb the escaping
radiation.
For days, pilots flew over theexposed reactor, dumping load
after load of materials, fullyaware that each flight shortened
(14:32):
their lives.
Many of those pilots wouldlater die from radiation
sickness.
And still the danger was farfrom over.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
Even though the core fire had been subdued, vasily
Nestorenko, one of the othertask force scientists, realized
they may be facing a terrifyingnew threat.
Below Reactor 4, a hellish poolof molten nuclear fuel,
graphite and reactor debris wasmelting downward like lava.
If it reached the waterreservoirs under the plant, it
(15:02):
could trigger a steam explosionpowerful enough to render half
of Europe uninhabitable.
Let that sink in Half of Europe.
Entire cities, forests,farmlands wiped out and poisoned
for generations.
There was only one solutionDrain the water fast.
And only one way to do it Sendmen into the darkness to
(15:25):
manually open the valves.
Three employees, alexeiAnanenko, valery Bezpalov and
Boris Baranov, were sent in.
These weren't soldiers trainedfor a suicide mission.
They were engineers, men withfamilies, men who likely knew
they'd not make it home, wearingnothing but thin rubber suits
(15:45):
and carrying flashlights.
They waded through radioactivewater in pitch blackness,
hunting for the right valves.
One wrong step, one delaythat's all it would take.
We've all been in pitch blackrooms, that disoriented moment
of panic.
Now imagine that space filledwith radioactive poison.
(16:05):
Every splash against your legcould be your death sentence,
every breath could be your last.
And still, miraculously, theymade it.
The valves were opened, thewater drained.
A second explosion was avoided.
The world called them theChernobyl divers, and though
(16:26):
rumors claim they died soonafter, records show that at
least two are still alive today.
That moment floored me.
In this dark, brutal story.
It was a flicker of light, areminder.
Sometimes heroes live to beremembered.
With the immediate dangercontained, the Soviet Union
(16:47):
launched one of the largestcleanup efforts in history.
They mobilized more than600,000 people soldiers,
scientists and engineers.
They were called liquidators.
Their job Stop the spread ofradiation at any cost.
Think about that 600,000 peoplethat's more than the population
(17:11):
of Miami, I mean thrown intoradioactive chaos.
One of the most dangerous taskswere clearing debris off a
Reactor 3's roof.
The explosion had scatteredradioactive wreckage everywhere.
Robots were sent in first, butthe radiation fried their
electronics in seconds.
(17:32):
Just think about that for asecond.
The radiation was so intense itkilled machines, and when the
machines failed, they sent inpeople.
Enter the bio-robots soldiersin lead-lined suits.
Each one had just 90 seconds todash onto the roof, shovel
(17:52):
debris over the edge and get outbefore hitting a lethal dose.
And many did it multiple times.
Most developed severe healthissues and didn't live for much
longer.
One liquidator later said weknew it was suicide, but we went
anyway.
Some lasted a week, some amonth.
We weren't heroes, we werehuman shields, though some
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liquidators were volunteers whoknew the risks.
For the Soviet Union, men werecheaper than machines.
I've researched murderers whohave had more conscience than
the officials who sent these mento die.
When a killer takes a life, wecall it murder, but what do we
call it when a governmentknowingly sends thousands to
their deaths and calls it duty?
(18:38):
But here's the cruel twistWithout their sacrifice, the
fallout from Chernobyl wouldhave lasted for generations, and
that's the tragedy in thisstory's core.
These men were heroes andvictims victims of the disaster
and victims of the system thatcreated it.
And somewhere inside thathorror is the true crime of
(19:00):
Chernobyl.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
For nearly two days, soviet officials stayed silent.
Inside the Soviet Union, peoplein Pripyat were still going
about their daily livescompletely unaware they were
being exposed to deadly levelsof radiation.
It wasn't satellite imagery orspies that first exposed
Chernobyl.
It was a Swedish plant workerjust trying to clock in for his
(19:22):
shift.
But while the Kremlin couldcontrol its own people, it
couldn't control nature.
Hundreds of miles away at anuclear power plant in Sweden,
workers arriving for their shifton April 28th triggered
radiation alarms.
At first they thought there wasa leak at their own facility,
until they realized theradiation was coming from
(19:43):
outside.
Swedish officials immediatelylaunched an investigation.
Wind patterns and radiationlevels pointed in one direction,
towards the Soviet Union.
The same day, swedish diplomatsconfronted Moscow demanding an
explanation.
With mounting internationalpressure, the Soviet Union could
no longer deny what hadhappened.
At 9 pm on April 28, nearlythree days after the explosion,
(20:08):
soviet state television finallyacknowledged that there had been
an incident at Chernobyl.
But even then they downplayedthe scale.
They claimed the situation wasunder control.
They didn't mention the deathtoll, the radiation levels or
the growing crisis.
The world, however, was notconvinced.
(20:32):
By April 29th, westernintelligence agencies were
already analyzing satelliteimages of Chernobyl.
What they saw contradicted theSoviets' claim A massive crater
where reactor 401 stood in smokestill pouring from the wreckage
.
International news outlets,including BBC, the New York
Times and the Washington Post,began reporting a nuclear
incident in the USSR, with theSoviet Union refusing to give
(20:55):
details.
Speculations ran wild.
Was this another three-mileisland?
Was a meltdown still inprogress?
Meanwhile, panic spread acrossEurope.
In Sweden and Finland,officials issued radiation
warnings and began testing foodand water supplies.
In Germany and the UK, peoplewere advised to stay indoors if
(21:16):
rain was expected, fearingcontaminated rainfall.
In France and Italy, nuclearscientists were dispatched to
measure radiation levels in theair, while newspapers questioned
if Soviet nuclear reactor poseda global threat.
In the United States, presidentRonald Reagan was briefed on
the situation and Americanintelligence agencies began
(21:38):
tracking.
Radiation spread throughoutEurope.
In Greece and Bulgaria, farmersbegan destroying crops, fearing
contamination.
In Scandinavia, parents werewarned to keep their children
indoors.
And still the Soviet governmentremained silent.
It wasn't until 36 hours afterthe explosion that Soviet
(21:58):
officials ordered the evacuationof Pripyat.
By then, radiation levels hadalready skyrocketed.
Residents were told to packonly essential belongings.
Buses lined the street aspolice officers reassured
families that they would be ableto return in a few days.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
The following is the official announcement that was
(22:42):
broadcast to the residents onthe day of Pripyat.
An unfavorable radiationsituation is being created.
The Soviet and military partiesare taking necessary measures.
(23:06):
However, in order to ensure thecomplete safety of people and,
first of all, children, there isa need to conduct a temporary
evacuation of the city and therepresentatives of the police.
It is recommended to take withyou documents, essential things
(23:58):
as, in the first case, foodproducts.
The heads of enterprises andinstitutions determine the
circle of workers who remain inplace to ensure normal
(24:20):
functioning of the city.
All residential buildings willbe occupied by the police during
the evacuation period.
Comrades temporarily leavingyour homes, do not forget to
close the windows, turn off theelectric and gas devices and
(24:47):
close the water pipes.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
A pre-pre-evacuee said they told us we'd be back
in three days.
I only took a handbag and achange of clothes.
My entire life is in thatapartment.
Sadly, they never came back.
The city was abandoned, frozenin time, with children's toys
still left in playgrounds, foodstill on tables and personal
(25:10):
belongings scattered in nowdecayed apartments.
But while Pripyat's people wereescaping, the world was still
in danger.
The radioactive cloud haddrifted over Belarus, poland,
scandinavia and even parts ofWestern Europe.
Governments worldwide scrambledto analyze radiation levels and
monitor the food and watersupplies.
(25:31):
In some areas, the authorityadvised people to stay indoors,
fearing contamination.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
While the world was piecing together what had
happened, millions of Sovietcitizens had no idea that one of
the worst nuclear disasters inhistory had just unfolded in
their own country.
At first, the Kremlincontrolled the narrative.
The only official statementcame from a brief, vague news
report aired on the SovietUnion's main television station
(26:00):
on April 28.
An accident has occurred at theChernobyl nuclear power plant.
Measures are being taken toeliminate the consequences.
There is no cause for concern.
That was it.
No mention of radiation, nomention of deaths, nothing to
suggest the scale of thiscatastrophe.
(26:20):
But by this point rumors werealready spreading Inside the
Soviet Union.
Information was tightlycontrolled, but whispers of
something terrible happening inthe Ukraine began circulating
through underground networks,foreign radio broadcasts and
letters from relatives.
In Kiev, just 90 miles fromChernobyl, people started
(26:41):
noticing something strange.
For days, government officialssaid everything was fine, but
then suddenly, on May 1st,thousands of high-ranking
communist officials and theirfamilies quietly left the city.
At the same time, radio wavescarried a very different message
.
Western stations like the BBC,voice of America and Radio Free
(27:03):
Europe began broadcasting abouta massive nuclear accident in
Ukraine.
Despite Soviet jamming efforts,many citizens, especially
intellectuals and dissidents,were able to pick up the foreign
broadcasts.
By the evening of May 1st, theyknew this wasn't just an
incident, it was indeed acatastrophe.
(27:25):
In a shocking move, sovietauthorities went ahead with
massive May Day celebrationsacross Ukraine, including a huge
parade in Kiev on May 1st, justfive days after the explosion,
thousands of families, includingchildren, were encouraged to
march in the streets, unawarethat radiation was already
(27:45):
spreading all over the city.
It was a calculated move toprevent panic.
The government wanted tomaintain absolute control, even
if it meant exposing people todanger.
But by May 2nd the Soviet liewas falling apart.
They marched their childrenthrough invisible poison, all to
(28:06):
keep up appearances.
As days passed,radiation-related illnesses
began to appear In Kiev.
Children developed suddennosebleeds.
People felt sick for no reason,dizzy, weak, nauseous.
Hospitals quickly filled withradiation poisoning cases.
And still the governmentrefused to tell the public the
(28:27):
full truth.
Then, on May 5th, the SovietUnion made an announcement that
stunned the country.
Large sections of Ukraine andBelarus were being evacuated.
Entire villages were ordered toleave immediately.
It was the first time that manySoviet citizens realized the
(28:47):
disaster was far worse than theyhad been told.
By then it was too late.
Thousands had already beenexposed.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
From the moment Reactor 4 exploded, the Soviet
Union wasn't just fighting anuclear catastrophe, it was
fighting to control the truth,and no organization was better
at suppressing information thanthe KGB.
The Committee for State Secrecy, or KGB, was the Soviet Union's
most powerful intelligenceagency.
The Soviet Union's mostpowerful intelligence agency.
(29:19):
Their job To make sure no oneinside or outside the USSR
learned the full scale of whathappened at Chernobyl.
In the days following thedisaster, a large and tightly
coordinated response unfolded,one that included not only
emergency crews, governmentofficials and the Ministry of
Healthcare, but also the KGB.
Their involvement went farbeyond security Agents
confiscated internal plantdocuments that revealed prior
(29:41):
safety concerns about Reactor 4.
They intercepted communicationsfrom Chernobyl officials who
were attempting to warn othersabout the spread in radiation.
Medical personnel were orderedto remain silent about the
increasing number ofradiation-related illnesses
appearing in hospitals, andthose plant workers who dared to
speak out about the reactor'sdesign flaws were met with
(30:03):
threats and intimidation.
But the cover-up didn't stopthere.
The KGB launched a full-scaleoperation to erase anything that
might suggest Soviet nucleartechnology was flawed.
Records of previous safetyviolations at Chernobyl were
classified or destroyed.
Early radiation measurements,which showed extreme level of
(30:23):
exposure, were altered to makethem seem lower.
Plant workers who had warnedabout the reactor's risks were
either silenced or discredited.
One example scientist VladimirShcherbak was one of the first
to calculate that reactor forceradiation levels were far higher
than the government wasadmitting.
His reports disappeared.
(30:43):
He was later told by KGBofficers not to speak about his
findings or face theconsequences.
As international media andforeign governments started
asking questions, the KGB wenton the offense.
Western journalists in Moscowwere monitored, followed and
given false information todiscredit their reports.
Foreign scientists studyingradiation spreading in Europe
(31:07):
were dismissed as anti-Sovietpropagandists.
Swedish and Americanintelligence agencies were
accused of exaggerating thecrisis to make the Soviet Union
look bad.
Behind the scenes, sovietdiplomats were ordered to
downplay the incident.
In conversation with foreigngovernments, they denied any
large-scale contamination, evenas radiation was spreading
(31:29):
across Europe.
By late 1986, the disaster couldno longer be hidden.
Satellite images, internationalreports and radiation tracking
had exposed the truth, but theKGB and Soviet leaders needed
someone to blame.
So instead of admitting todesign flaws or government
failures, the USSR arrestedseveral plant officials and put
(31:50):
them on trial Viktor Brukhanov,plant director.
Alexander Kovalenko, head ofthe reactor department, nikolai
Femim, chief engineer, yuriLoshkin, inspector of the state
nuclear regulation authority,anatoly Dyatlov, deputy chief
engineer, and Boris Rogozkin,head of the power plant shift.
(32:11):
They were sentenced to prisonnot because they were fully
responsible, but because the KGBneeded an escape code to
protect the high-rankingofficials.
Meanwhile, top Soviet nuclearofficials who had ignored safety
concern about the RBMK reactorswere never punished.
In the wake of the Chernobyldisaster, one man stood out not
(32:33):
just for his courage, but forhis commitment to revealing the
truth.
His name was Valery Legasov, aprominent nuclear physicist and
one of the first to recognizethe true scale of the
catastrophe.
In the aftermath of theexplosion, the Soviet government
assembled a task force of someof the nation's most brilliant
and dedicated scientists.
These men and women, many ofwhom had no choice but to walk
(32:56):
into danger with limitedinformation, became the backbone
of the early disaster response.
They assessed radiation levels,developed emergency protocols
and worked under immensepressure to contain a crisis the
world had never seen before.
Among them was Valery Legasov,a respected nuclear physicist
and deputy director of theKurchatov Institute of Atomic
(33:17):
Energy.
Legasov stood out not just forhis expertise but for his
integrity.
He was one of the first toarrive at the site and
immediately join efforts on theground, evaluating the damage,
coordinating containment andguiding the emergency crew
through an unfolding nightmare.
But more than that Legasovbecame one of the first to speak
out openly about the truth thatthis was not just an accident,
(33:41):
but the result of deep designflaws in the RBMK reactor and
systematic failures in theSoviet nuclear program.
But despite his expertise,lagossa faced immense opposition
from Soviet authorities.
The Soviet government, stilltrying to maintain its
reputation and protect thenuclear program, downplayed the
extent of the disaster.
(34:02):
They denied the severity of theradiation and the world was
kept in the dark for severaldays about the true scale of the
crisis.
Legasov, however, could notignore what he saw.
He spoke publicly about theflaws in the reactor's design
and the unavoidable consequencesof such an explosion.
In the immense aftermath,legasov became a whistleblower
(34:25):
of sorts.
He recorded confidential tapesdetailing his findings and the
inadequacies of Soviet nucleartechnology.
In those tapes, he discussedthe flawed reactor's design and
the Soviet government's refusalto acknowledge the true cause of
the explosion.
Despite his dedication andbravery, legasov became a target
of Soviet officials.
(34:46):
His outspoken criticism of thesystem led to growing tensions
with authorities and soon afterChernobyl he was sidelined.
The government began todistance itself from him,
despite being a key figure inthe response to the disaster, he
was removed from his positionand prevented from continuing
his work on nuclear safety.
(35:07):
The official Soviet narrativeneeded to remain intact.
The government could not affordto acknowledge the extent of
their mistake, so they silencedthe one man who was brave enough
to tell the truth.
By 1988, two years after thedisaster, legasov's health began
to deteriorate.
In a final act of protest, hechose to take his own life.
(35:30):
On April 27, 1988, exactly twoyears after the Chernobyl
explosion, his death was ruled asuicide, though many believe
that the immense weight of whathe knew and the isolation he
felt played a key role in histragic end.
In the years followingLegasov's death, the truth began
(35:52):
to slowly leak out.
His tape recordings were madepublic and the world learned the
extent of the reactor flaws inthe government's reckless
cover-up.
Extent of the reactor flaws inthe government's reckless
cover-up.
Though Legasov's life ended intragedy, his courage in speaking
out in the face of a systemthat sought to suppress the
truth cemented his place as ahero.
He is now remembered not onlyfor his expertise but for his
(36:16):
moral courage.
His legacy is a reminder of thepower of truth, especially when
the system tries to conceal it.
While history often remembers afew, the Shinobu response was a
collective act of scientificcourage, and many deserve
recognition alongside Legasov.
Legasov was posthumouslyawarded recognition for his work
(36:39):
and is now remembered as theman who tried to save the world
from the deadly consequences ofsilence.
Legasov's story isn't justabout a brilliant scientist.
It's a tale of one man'sunwavering commitment to truth,
even when it cost him everything.
In a world where power oftensilences dissent, legasov's
courage in speaking out aboutChernobyl serves as a powerful
(37:02):
reminder that even in thedarkest of times, the truth
demands to be heard.
Speaker 1 (37:08):
When the explosion first occurred, boris
Shcherbinov was sent toChernobyl with one mission make
sure it didn't get any worse.
He was a man of action, knownfor his loyalty to the Communist
Party, for his ability to carryout orders, but Chernobyl would
prove to be beyond his control.
Boris Shcherbina was on thefront lines of the initial
(37:30):
crisis, coordinating withscientists and engineers to
figure out how to stop theradiation from leaking further.
He was there when theliquidators, the brave men sent
in to clean up the radioactivedebris, worked under harrowing
conditions.
Despite the risks, shcherbinamaintained a strong, calm public
front.
He delivered speeches assuringthe Soviet people that
(37:51):
everything was under control,even though behind the scenes it
was far from it.
By the time the disaster wascontained, the true extent of
the disaster had becomeimpossible to hide.
The KGB and other high-rankingofficials quickly turned their
focus to blame and Shcherbina,despite his efforts, was not
immune from scrutiny, though hewas never charged with criminal
(38:14):
negligence.
Despite his direct involvementwith the initial response, he
was removed from his positionoverseeing the Chernobyl cleanup
in 1987.
Just a year after the explosion, the government needed to shift
focus away from the fallout ofthe disaster and move forward
with their narrative of Sovietresilience.
(38:35):
After being dismissed from hisrole at Chernobyl, shcherbina
went on to serve in othergovernment roles and maintained
his loyalty to the Soviet system.
He even received severalaccolades and awards for his
efforts, but the stigma ofChernobyl never fully left him.
In 1989, he was appointed asthe head of the Ministry of
Heavy and Transport Engineering,a position in which he was
(38:59):
tasked with overseeingindustrial projects across the
Soviet Union.
However, his public profile wasdiminished in the wake of the
Chernobyl disaster.
He died in 1990 from cancer,just a year before the Soviet
Union collapsed.
While his death was neverdirectly linked to the fallout
from Chernobyl, it is a grimreminder that the disaster cast
(39:20):
a shadow over everyone involved.
Boris Shcherbina's legacy iscomplicated.
While he did play a centralrole in managing the immediate
aftermath of the Chernobylexplosion, the consequences of
his actions or, in some cases,his lack of action have led to a
mixed public perception.
On one hand, he workedtirelessly to limit the damage
(39:44):
during the crisis, often puttinghis life at risk to coordinate
the response.
On the other hand, he was partof the Soviet leadership that
refused to fully disclose theextent of the catastrophe, which
only exacerbated the disaster'slong-term health and
environmental impacts.
Today he is remembered as oneof the many figures who tried to
(40:05):
control the narrative ofChernobyl, but his efforts to
contain the disaster were notenough to escape the
consequences of the tragedy.
His role stands as a symbol ofthe Soviet Union's failure to
recognize the scale of thecrisis and the dangerous loyalty
that often put the state'simage above human life.
Boris Shcherbina's life afterChernobyl is a tragic reflection
(40:28):
of the Soviet system's abilityto come to terms with its own
failings.
He spent the rest of his lifetrying to balance loyalty to a
government that had abandonedits people and managing the
aftermath of a disaster thatcould never be erased.
His story reminds us of thehuman cost of bureaucracy,
(40:49):
secrecy and state power, and how, in the end, the truth has a
way of coming to light, nomatter how we try to suppress it
.
Speaker 2 (40:57):
The true human cost of Chernobyl will never be fully
known.
The official Soviet death tollwas just 31 people, a number
that even Soviet officials knewwas a lie.
In reality, the effect ofradiation exposure didn't happen
at once.
In the weeks, months and yearsthat followed, thousands of
people began developing cancers,radiation sickness and other
(41:18):
deadly illnesses.
The first responders,firefighters, plant workers and
cleanup crews were among thehardest hit.
Many of them died slowly andpainfully from acute radiation
syndrome.
Children exposed to radiationdeveloped high rates of thyroid
cancer.
Entire families in Ukraine andBelarus suffered birth defects,
(41:38):
immune disorders and long-termmental health problems.
Even today, scientists estimatethat tens of thousands of
people may have died fromChernobyl-related illnesses.
Pripyat, once a thriving city ofover 50,000 people, is now a
frozen time capsule.
When the evacuation happened,people were told they would
return in a few days, but theynever came back.
(42:01):
Told they would return in a fewdays, but they never came back.
Most homes were abandoned, aFerris wheel built for the May
Day.
Celebrations never spun withpassengers, schools remained
filled with Soviet propagandaposters, abandoned notebooks and
gas masks.
Pripyat became one of the mosthaunting reminders of the
disaster, a city abandonedovernight, left to rot under a
(42:22):
cloud of radiation.
Even today it remains one ofthe most radioactive places on
Earth.
After the evacuation, the Sovietgovernment created the
Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, a1,000 square mile area where
radiation levels were consideredtoo dangerous for human life.
Entire villages were bulldozedto the ground.
Two dangers for human lifeEntire villages were bulldozed
(42:43):
to the ground.
Ironically, today the exclusionzone is one of the most
untouched wildlife sanctuariesin Europe.
Without human interference,wolves, bears and even rare
species like lynxes haverepopulated the area, but for
humans it remains a wasteland.
For decades the Soviet Union hadthrived on secrecy and
controlled information throughpropaganda and censorship.
(43:06):
But Chernobyl was too big tohide.
The world saw the USSR'sfailures.
Soviet citizens realized theirgovernment had lied to them.
Calls for transparency andreform spread across the country
.
Mikhail Gorbachev lateradmitted that Chernobyl was a
turning point for the SovietUnion.
Some historians believe thatChernobyl helped accelerate the
(43:28):
collapse of the USSR becauseonce the truth was exposed,
there was no going back.
Gorbachev later admitted thatChernobyl was one of the main
reasons the Soviet Unioncollapsed.
Just five years after theexplosion, the Soviet Union
collapsed.
Just five years after theexplosion, the Soviet Union fell
(43:49):
.
Speaker 1 (43:49):
Chernobyl wasn't just a nuclear disaster.
It was a turning point in humanhistory.
The Chernobyl disaster didn'tjust leave a scar on the Soviet
Union.
It left an indelible mark onEarth itself.
For months after the explosion,radioactive fallout spread
across large parts of Europe.
While the immediate impact onhuman life was devastating, the
environmental consequences wereequally as catastrophic.
(44:10):
The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, a30-kilometer radius around the
reactor, was created to preventhuman exposure to the lethal
radiation still contaminatingthe land.
But the zone was just thebeginning.
The contamination spread farbeyond, affecting forests,
rivers and wildlife inunexpected ways.
(44:31):
The most famous environmentalconsequence of Chernobyl is
known as the Red Forest, locatednear the plant.
The Red Forest earned its namebecause, shortly after the
explosion, the trees surroundingthe area turned bright red.
Forest earned its name because,shortly after the explosion,
the trees surrounding the areaturned bright red and began to
die off, poisoned by theradioactive particles that had
fallen from the sky.
It became one of the mostcontaminated areas in the world.
(44:55):
However, what's trulyfascinating is what happened
after the forest died.
While humans were forced toflee, wildlife began to return.
The absence of humans allowedthe forest to regenerate, though
still tainted by radiation.
Animals such as wolves, boars,deer and even bears have been
spotted in the area, thriving ina land that most of the world
(45:17):
would consider uninhabitable.
But this is a double-edgedsword.
While nature in the Chernobylexclusion zone has flourished in
the absence of humaninterference, the impact of
radiation is undeniable.
Many animals have sufferedmorphological abnormalities,
particularly in the firstgeneration exposed to the
fallout.
(45:37):
Some showed physicaldeformities, reduced fertility
and shortened lifespans visiblescars of an invisible threat.
Nature may be reclaiming theland, but it, too, had a price
to pay.
Even now, almost 40 years later, radiation levels in the
Chernobyl exclusion zone remaindangerously high.
The radioactive isotopes thatwere released during the
(46:01):
explosion have long half-lives,meaning they will remain harmful
for thousands of years.
The original sarcophagus builtaround Reactor 4 to contain the
radiation was beginning to failby the early 2000s, fearing
further leaks.
An international effort waslaunched to construct a new
steel structure to encase thereactor.
(46:22):
In 2016, the new safeconfinement was completed, a
massive, futuristic structuredesigned to encase the reactor
and prevent the further spreadof radiation.
This colossal structure was theresult of a global
collaboration and a symbol ofhow much Chernobyl has cost the
world in both money and lives.
(46:44):
In the aftermath of Chernobyl,the global attitude towards
nuclear energy shifteddramatically.
Before the disaster, manycountries were investing heavily
in nuclear power as a clean,efficient energy source, but
Chernobyl shattered that belief.
The disaster had devastatingeffects on the nuclear industry
Countries across Europe and evenin the US had devastating
(47:06):
effects on the nuclear industry.
Countries across Europe andeven in the US began to reassess
the safety of nuclear plants.
In some cases, entire nuclearprograms were scrapped.
Germany, for example, decided tophase out its nuclear energy
program entirely, with plans toshut down all reactors by 2022.
With plans to shut down allreactors by 2022.
(47:27):
Sweden also curtailed itsnuclear expansion and imposed
stricter safety regulations onexisting plants.
France, which had been one ofthe most pro-nuclear nations,
experienced public protests andcalls for more rigorous safety
standards.
But despite the fears, nuclearenergy did not disappear.
In fact, many countries,especially in Asia, continued to
build new reactors and improvesafety measures.
(47:48):
In places like China and India,nuclear power was still seen as
a necessary solution to meetgrowing demand for energy and
reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
There's also a substantialdifference in the technology of
the plants that had majoraccidents and the ones that are
built now.
Speaker 2 (48:08):
Chernobyl's shadow continues to loom over the
collective consciousness.
It's more than just ahistorical event.
It has become part of globalculture.
The world is still grapplingwith the effects of the disaster
.
From books like Voices fromChernobyl by Svetlana
Alekseevich to documentaries andtelevision series like the HBO
(48:29):
miniseries Chernobyl thedisaster is revisited regularly
in media and pop culture.
The reason for this enduringinterest is simple Chernobyl
represents humanity's worstfears about technology,
government secrecy and thefrailty of life.
But it's also a story aboutresilience, how people struggled
, how communities rebuild andhow nature slowly began to
(48:52):
reclaim its territory.
And as we look back onChernobyl, we are reminded of
the powerful lessons it offersthe risk of unchecked power, the
cost of secrecy, the complexityof progress and the importance
of responsibility in shaping ourfuture.
Chernobyl wasn't just a tragedy.
It was a warning, a warningthat echoes through history and
(49:16):
one we must never forget.
The scars of Chernobyl willremain long after we are gone.
And as we face new challenges,whether in nuclear energy,
climate change or other globalcrises, we must remember the
lessons that Chernobyl teachesus.
That battle to control theradiation is still ongoing, and
it will be for generations tocome.
Chernobyl was a lesson paid forin human lives, lives that left
(49:39):
a haunting truth.
When governments put powerabove people, the consequences
can be catastrophic, andChernobyl is proof that some
mistakes last forever.
I am Abraham Alvrik and, alongwith Sandy McKenna, we want to
thank you for joining us on thisepisode of the Chernobyl
Disaster.
As always, we encourage you totake the lessons from these
(50:01):
events and apply them to ourcurrent world.
If you found this episodeinformative, please subscribe,
like and share.
Your support helps us continueto bring these important stories
to life.
Until next time, keepquestioning, keep seeking, and
may your journey be as rich andenlightening as the stories you
encounter.
As the stories you encounterchannel Chernobyl Family.
(50:45):
We highly recommend it.
Link to his channel in thedescription below.
Picture this it's April 25, 1986.
The small city of Pripyatnestles in the Verdenkranian
countryside, home to nearly50,000 souls.
As midnight nears, familiessleep soundly, unaware that for
many there will be no tomorrow.
A young school teacher placesthe final period on her lesson
(00:20):
plan before closing her notebook.
Outside her window looms thecrown jewel of Soviet nuclear
achievement the ChernobylNuclear Power Plant.
Its four massive cooling towerspuncture the night sky like
concrete monoliths.
Tonight, reactor number fourhums with activity illuminated
by fluorescent lights asengineers in white coats move
(00:43):
with purpose across the controlroom.
A senior engineer checks hiswatch.
It's almost time.
The safety test they've delayedtwice already can't wait any
longer.
Management wants results.
Reduce power to 700 megawatts,he says flatly.
At that moment no one knowsthat they've just set the clock
ticking.
(01:04):
I'm Sandy McKenna and alongsidemy co-host, abraham Ulrich,
we're stepping outside our usualterritory of murders and
masterminds to explore adifferent kind of crime, one
where the victims numbered notin the dozens but in the
thousands.
Where the crime scene wasn't abasement or an alleyway but a
thousand square miles ofcontaminated earth.
(01:26):
Where the weapon wasn't a knifeor a gun, but invisible
radiation that continues to killdecades later.
This isn't just a story about anuclear meltdown.
It's about arrogance,negligence, lies, cover-ups that
reach the highest levels ofgovernment and, ultimately, it's
about ordinary people who paidthe price for extraordinary
(01:49):
corruption.
This is Sinners and SecretsAudio Jungle Audio.
(02:11):
Jungle Audio.
Jungle Audio Jungle AudioJungle Audio Jungle Audio Jungle
(02:31):
.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Before we dive in into the events of Chernobyl,
it's important to understandwhat exactly a nuclear reactor
is and how it works, becausewithout this context, the scale
of the disaster can be hard tograsp.
A nuclear reactor isessentially a device used to
initiate and control a nuclearchain reaction which generates
energy.
This energy is harnessed toproduce electricity.
(02:56):
In a nuclear reactor, theprocess of nuclear fission
occurs.
This is where the nucleus of anatom is split into two smaller
nuclei, releasing a tremendousamount of energy in the form of
heat.
Let's break this down At theheart of most nuclear reactors,
including the one at Chernobyl,is a fuel source, typically
uranium or plutonium.
(03:18):
These are heavy elements thatare unstable, meaning their
nuclei are prone to splittingapart when struck by a neutron.
When a neutron strikes thenucleus of a uranium atom, the
atom splits.
This process is called nuclearfission.
When it splits, it releases alarge amount of energy in the
form of heat, in addition toneutrons, which then strike
(03:40):
other uranium atoms, causingthem to split in a chain
reaction.
This chain reaction, if leftunchecked, could spiral out of
control.
That's why reactors aredesigned with such strict
controls to prevent this fromhappening.
In a nuclear reactor, this heatis used to produce steam, the
reactor is surrounded by coolant, usually water, that absorbs
(04:01):
this heat.
The heat created is used toturn turbines, which are
connected to generators thatproduce electricity.
In the case of the Chernobylreactor, the coolant was water,
but the reactor used graphite asa moderator, which slows down
the neutrons, allowing them tocause more fission reaction.
The control rods inside thereactor are crucial for managing
(04:24):
the rate of the reaction.
These rods are made ofmaterials that absorb neutrons,
such as boron or cadmium.
By inserting or withdrawingthese rods into the reactor,
operators can slow down or speedup the reaction.
Now you may be wondering whathappens when the reactor goes
into overdrive.
If the reaction gets toointense, the reactor will begin
(04:47):
to overheat, and that's whenthings become dangerous.
When this happens, the coolantcan boil away, and without a
cooling system to keep the coreat a manageable temperature, the
reactor can fail, potentiallyleading to an explosion or a
meltdown.
In short, a nuclear reactor isan incredibly powerful machine,
but without the proper safetymechanisms, it's like a car
(05:09):
without brakes it can go fromcontrolled energy production to
a catastrophic disaster in theblink of an eye.
Sadly, this is what we willsoon learn.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
Now that we've covered how a nuclear reactor
works, let's zoom in on themission that was underway the
night that everything went wrongat Chernobyl.
On paper it was a routinesafety test, a simulation meant
to prepare for the worst-casescenario a power outage.
The mission To determinewhether the power generated by
(05:39):
the inertia of the spinningturbines could provide just
enough electricity to bridge acritical 30-second gap the time
it would take for the backupdiesel generators to power on
during a total loss of externalelectricity.
The goal was simple but vital.
On the surface it sounds like asmart precaution.
(05:59):
Nuclear reactors rely onconstant cooling to keep the
radioactive cores stable.
If the power is suddenly lost,say due to a storm or a burst
pipe, and cooling stops, heatbuilds fast and disaster can
follow.
So the test was supposed tohelp prevent that.
But here's where things startto unravel.
(06:20):
The test was rushed, cornerswere cut and safety protocols
were ignored.
Initially, the test wasassigned to the day shift crew,
but at the last minute, powerdemand elsewhere in the region
forced a delay and by the timeit finally happened it was the
middle of the night and the testhad been handed off to the
(06:40):
night shift, a team that wasyounger and not fully equipped
to handle an emergency safetytest.
Given the complexity of thereactor, there was too much
technology to consider for anyone person to handle.
Skilled, yes, but prepared forwhat was coming?
Not even close.
And, worse still, they had noidea about the fatal design
(07:01):
flaws lurking inside the veryreactor they were operating.
The RBMK reactor wasdangerously unstable at low
power, with a critical flaw thatwould soon become tragically
obvious.
Internal documents warning ofhazardous behavior in certain
conditions had been circulatedto RBMK facilities.
(07:22):
So why wasn't this informationacted on?
Why didn't those in chargesound the alarm?
Whether it was bureaucraticnegligence or protection of the
design bureau's reputation, thesilence was deadly and
unforgivable.
Even the operators didn't knowtheir own reactor could turn on
(07:42):
them.
The plan was to bring Reactor 4down to about one percent of its
full power, low enough totrigger the backup systems
without causing a surge.
But to run the test, engineershad to disable several safety
systems.
That included criticalfail-safes, like the system of
emergency cool-down, which isdesigned to regulate temperature
and prevent overheating.
(08:03):
Some of the crew expressedconcern, but there was one man
who pushed forward, anatolyDyatlov, the deputy chief
engineer.
Dyatlov was an incrediblyintelligent man, an experienced
engineer known for being rigid,forceful and a firm believer in
following orders withoutquestion.
When others hesitated, heinsisted.
(08:25):
And so, under Dyatlov's command, the test continued, despite
mounting warnings, despiteunstable conditions.
The reactor had been operatingat a dangerously low power level
for too long.
Its core was already unstable,and then things got worse.
The power dropped even lowerthan planned, too low to
(08:46):
maintain control.
The reactor becameunpredictable, dangerous, but
still.
Dyatlov refused to halt thetest.
Operators were under strictorders do not shut down the
reactor until the test iscomplete.
And so the team pressed on,knowing something felt wrong,
but too afraid to defy orders.
At 1.23 am, the final sequenceof the test began Suddenly a
(09:12):
power surge.
The operators grew concernedand once realizing the sudden
and rapid surge in energy, theyhit the emergency shutdown
button, az-5, expecting it tokill the reaction instantly.
In RBMK reactors there aremultiple AZ systems, each
designed to reduce power byvarying percentages.
(09:33):
Az-5 was the failsafe.
The last resort meant to bringthe reactor to a complete stop.
What operators didn't fullyunderstand was the system had a
deadly flaw.
Rbmk reactors use control rodsto regulate reactivity, but
(09:53):
these rods had graphite tips,and while graphite eventually
helps moderate the reaction, itinitially increases reactivity.
When the AZ-5 was activated,those graphite-tipped rods
plunged into the core andinstead of calming the reactor,
they caused a final fatal spikein power.
A shutdown meant to save thereactor ended up destroying it.
(10:14):
Then the unthinkable happened Amassive steam explosion.
This explosion was local butdevastating.
It occurred within the stillintact reactor enclosure.
It caused a deformation in partof the active zone, which led
to a massive spike in steamproduction.
Moments later, a second, evenmore powerful explosion ripped
(10:35):
through the building.
This time it wasn't just steam.
Internal components of thereactor structure violently
ruptured the core from within.
The core itself superheated,unstable melting down.
A 2,000-ton lid was blastedinto the air like a manhole
cover.
Chunks of radioactive fuel andgraphite erupted, skyward
(10:56):
glowing with fire that couldn'tbe easily put out.
In under a minute, reactor 4 nolonger existed and the worst
nuclear disaster the world hadever seen had just begun.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Inside the control room, chaos erupted.
Operators were confused.
Some even thought the explosionhad only ruptured a water pipe.
They had no idea that the corewas exposed and that lethal
radiation was already spreading.
Firefighters were the first torespond.
Arriving without protectivegear, they believed they were
putting out an ordinary fire,unaware they were inhaling
(11:31):
deadly radioactive particles.
Some stood directly next toburning graphite from the
reactor core, one of the mostradioactive substances on Earth.
Sadly, many of them would bedead within weeks.
Dudmila Ignatenko, the wife ofone of the first firefighters,
has one of the mostheartbreaking testimonies.
She says I kept kissing hisface, his hands, his body.
(11:54):
He kept saying Ludmila, don'tsleep, talk to me.
I couldn't say no.
I didn't know how muchradiation he had absorbed.
Nobody told me, though.
There are many things in apower plant that can cause an
explosion of this magnitude".
Dyatlov, injured but stillconscious, refused to believe
the reactor had exploded.
He insisted it was just amalfunctioning sensor or a
(12:17):
hydrogen explosion.
The devices designed to measuresuch extreme levels of
radiation were now under rubbleand debris and, despite the ones
they did have maxing out,refusal to believe the core was
exposed was prevalent amongseveral of the engineers.
Meanwhile, the Sovietleadership hesitated First.
Official reports downplay theexplosion and plan director
(12:40):
Viktor Brukhanov refused tobelieve the worst.
Even as radiation levels maxedout the dosimeters the device
used to measure exposure, thegovernment insisted that the
situation was under control.
Many officials genuinelybelieved the situation was less
severe due to the limitedinformation available.
But outside, reactor 4 wasstill burning, an open wound in
(13:03):
the earth, spewing radioactivesmoke into the sky.
The threat wasn't just toPripyat If left unchecked, the
fallout could contaminate all ofEurope.
Realizing they could no longercontain or deny the scale of the
disaster, the Soviet governmentmobilized quickly, assembling a
high-level task force made upof senior party officials and
(13:24):
dozens of top scientists.
Two figures were sent to thefront lines Boris Shcherbina, a
high-ranking Soviet official,and Valery Legasov, deputy
director of the KhrushchevInstitute of Atomic Energy, one
of the USSR's most respectednuclear physicists.
Together they were tasked withleading the disaster response,
despite knowing the cost mightbe their lives.
(13:47):
But how do you put out a firethat isn't just burning but
melting through concrete?
At first, firefighters andemergency crew attempted to
douse the flames with water, butthis only made things worse.
Water mixed with the moltencore caused violent steam
explosions, spreading moreradioactive particles.
Realizing their mistake, legasovand his team ordered a
(14:11):
different approach.
Helicopters were deployed todrop thousands of tons of sand,
boron, lead and clay directlyonto the burning reactor.
The idea was to smother theflames and absorb the escaping
radiation.
The idea was to smother theflames and absorb the escaping
radiation.
For days, pilots flew over theexposed reactor, dumping load
after load of materials, fullyaware that each flight shortened
(14:32):
their lives.
Many of those pilots wouldlater die from radiation
sickness.
And still the danger was farfrom over.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
Even though the core fire had been subdued, vasily
Nestorenko, one of the othertask force scientists, realized
they may be facing a terrifyingnew threat.
Below Reactor 4, a hellish poolof molten nuclear fuel,
graphite and reactor debris wasmelting downward like lava.
If it reached the waterreservoirs under the plant, it
(15:02):
could trigger a steam explosionpowerful enough to render half
of Europe uninhabitable.
Let that sink in Half of Europe.
Entire cities, forests,farmlands wiped out and poisoned
for generations.
There was only one solutionDrain the water fast.
And only one way to do it Sendmen into the darkness to
(15:25):
manually open the valves.
Three employees, alexeiAnanenko, valery Bezpalov and
Boris Baranov, were sent in.
These weren't soldiers trainedfor a suicide mission.
They were engineers, men withfamilies, men who likely knew
they'd not make it home, wearingnothing but thin rubber suits
(15:45):
and carrying flashlights.
They waded through radioactivewater in pitch blackness,
hunting for the right valves.
One wrong step, one delaythat's all it would take.
We've all been in pitch blackrooms, that disoriented moment
of panic.
Now imagine that space filledwith radioactive poison.
(16:05):
Every splash against your legcould be your death sentence,
every breath could be your last.
And still, miraculously, theymade it.
The valves were opened, thewater drained.
A second explosion was avoided.
The world called them theChernobyl divers, and though
(16:26):
rumors claim they died soonafter, records show that at
least two are still alive today.
That moment floored me.
In this dark, brutal story.
It was a flicker of light, areminder.
Sometimes heroes live to beremembered.
With the immediate dangercontained, the Soviet Union
(16:47):
launched one of the largestcleanup efforts in history.
They mobilized more than600,000 people soldiers,
scientists and engineers.
They were called liquidators.
Their job Stop the spread ofradiation at any cost.
Think about that 600,000 peoplethat's more than the population
(17:11):
of Miami, I mean thrown intoradioactive chaos.
One of the most dangerous taskswere clearing debris off a
Reactor 3's roof.
The explosion had scatteredradioactive wreckage everywhere.
Robots were sent in first, butthe radiation fried their
electronics in seconds.
(17:32):
Just think about that for asecond.
The radiation was so intense itkilled machines, and when the
machines failed, they sent inpeople.
Enter the bio-robots soldiersin lead-lined suits.
Each one had just 90 seconds todash onto the roof, shovel
(17:52):
debris over the edge and get outbefore hitting a lethal dose.
And many did it multiple times.
Most developed severe healthissues and didn't live for much
longer.
One liquidator later said weknew it was suicide, but we went
anyway.
Some lasted a week, some amonth.
We weren't heroes, we werehuman shields, though some
(18:16):
liquidators were volunteers whoknew the risks.
For the Soviet Union, men werecheaper than machines.
I've researched murderers whohave had more conscience than
the officials who sent these mento die.
When a killer takes a life, wecall it murder, but what do we
call it when a governmentknowingly sends thousands to
their deaths and calls it duty?
(18:38):
But here's the cruel twistWithout their sacrifice, the
fallout from Chernobyl wouldhave lasted for generations, and
that's the tragedy in thisstory's core.
These men were heroes andvictims victims of the disaster
and victims of the system thatcreated it.
And somewhere inside thathorror is the true crime of
(19:00):
Chernobyl.
Speaker 2 (19:02):
For nearly two days, soviet officials stayed silent.
Inside the Soviet Union, peoplein Pripyat were still going
about their daily livescompletely unaware they were
being exposed to deadly levelsof radiation.
It wasn't satellite imagery orspies that first exposed
Chernobyl.
It was a Swedish plant workerjust trying to clock in for his
(19:22):
shift.
But while the Kremlin couldcontrol its own people, it
couldn't control nature.
Hundreds of miles away at anuclear power plant in Sweden,
workers arriving for their shifton April 28th triggered
radiation alarms.
At first they thought there wasa leak at their own facility,
until they realized theradiation was coming from
(19:43):
outside.
Swedish officials immediatelylaunched an investigation.
Wind patterns and radiationlevels pointed in one direction,
towards the Soviet Union.
The same day, swedish diplomatsconfronted Moscow demanding an
explanation.
With mounting internationalpressure, the Soviet Union could
no longer deny what hadhappened.
At 9 pm on April 28, nearlythree days after the explosion,
(20:08):
soviet state television finallyacknowledged that there had been
an incident at Chernobyl.
But even then they downplayedthe scale.
They claimed the situation wasunder control.
They didn't mention the deathtoll, the radiation levels or
the growing crisis.
The world, however, was notconvinced.
(20:32):
By April 29th, westernintelligence agencies were
already analyzing satelliteimages of Chernobyl.
What they saw contradicted theSoviets' claim A massive crater
where reactor 401 stood in smokestill pouring from the wreckage
.
International news outlets,including BBC, the New York
Times and the Washington Post,began reporting a nuclear
incident in the USSR, with theSoviet Union refusing to give
(20:55):
details.
Speculations ran wild.
Was this another three-mileisland?
Was a meltdown still inprogress?
Meanwhile, panic spread acrossEurope.
In Sweden and Finland,officials issued radiation
warnings and began testing foodand water supplies.
In Germany and the UK, peoplewere advised to stay indoors if
(21:16):
rain was expected, fearingcontaminated rainfall.
In France and Italy, nuclearscientists were dispatched to
measure radiation levels in theair, while newspapers questioned
if Soviet nuclear reactor poseda global threat.
In the United States, presidentRonald Reagan was briefed on
the situation and Americanintelligence agencies began
(21:38):
tracking.
Radiation spread throughoutEurope.
In Greece and Bulgaria, farmersbegan destroying crops, fearing
contamination.
In Scandinavia, parents werewarned to keep their children
indoors.
And still the Soviet governmentremained silent.
It wasn't until 36 hours afterthe explosion that Soviet
(21:58):
officials ordered the evacuationof Pripyat.
By then, radiation levels hadalready skyrocketed.
Residents were told to packonly essential belongings.
Buses lined the street aspolice officers reassured
families that they would be ableto return in a few days.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
The following is the official announcement that was
(22:42):
broadcast to the residents onthe day of Pripyat.
An unfavorable radiationsituation is being created.
The Soviet and military partiesare taking necessary measures.
(23:06):
However, in order to ensure thecomplete safety of people and,
first of all, children, there isa need to conduct a temporary
evacuation of the city and therepresentatives of the police.
It is recommended to take withyou documents, essential things
(23:58):
as, in the first case, foodproducts.
The heads of enterprises andinstitutions determine the
circle of workers who remain inplace to ensure normal
(24:20):
functioning of the city.
All residential buildings willbe occupied by the police during
the evacuation period.
Comrades temporarily leavingyour homes, do not forget to
close the windows, turn off theelectric and gas devices and
(24:47):
close the water pipes.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
A pre-pre-evacuee said they told us we'd be back
in three days.
I only took a handbag and achange of clothes.
My entire life is in thatapartment.
Sadly, they never came back.
The city was abandoned, frozenin time, with children's toys
still left in playgrounds, foodstill on tables and personal
(25:10):
belongings scattered in nowdecayed apartments.
But while Pripyat's people wereescaping, the world was still
in danger.
The radioactive cloud haddrifted over Belarus, poland,
scandinavia and even parts ofWestern Europe.
Governments worldwide scrambledto analyze radiation levels and
monitor the food and watersupplies.
(25:31):
In some areas, the authorityadvised people to stay indoors,
fearing contamination.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
While the world was piecing together what had
happened, millions of Sovietcitizens had no idea that one of
the worst nuclear disasters inhistory had just unfolded in
their own country.
At first, the Kremlincontrolled the narrative.
The only official statementcame from a brief, vague news
report aired on the SovietUnion's main television station
(26:00):
on April 28.
An accident has occurred at theChernobyl nuclear power plant.
Measures are being taken toeliminate the consequences.
There is no cause for concern.
That was it.
No mention of radiation, nomention of deaths, nothing to
suggest the scale of thiscatastrophe.
(26:20):
But by this point rumors werealready spreading Inside the
Soviet Union.
Information was tightlycontrolled, but whispers of
something terrible happening inthe Ukraine began circulating
through underground networks,foreign radio broadcasts and
letters from relatives.
In Kiev, just 90 miles fromChernobyl, people started
(26:41):
noticing something strange.
For days, government officialssaid everything was fine, but
then suddenly, on May 1st,thousands of high-ranking
communist officials and theirfamilies quietly left the city.
At the same time, radio wavescarried a very different message
.
Western stations like the BBC,voice of America and Radio Free
(27:03):
Europe began broadcasting abouta massive nuclear accident in
Ukraine.
Despite Soviet jamming efforts,many citizens, especially
intellectuals and dissidents,were able to pick up the foreign
broadcasts.
By the evening of May 1st, theyknew this wasn't just an
incident, it was indeed acatastrophe.
(27:25):
In a shocking move, sovietauthorities went ahead with
massive May Day celebrationsacross Ukraine, including a huge
parade in Kiev on May 1st, justfive days after the explosion,
thousands of families, includingchildren, were encouraged to
march in the streets, unawarethat radiation was already
(27:45):
spreading all over the city.
It was a calculated move toprevent panic.
The government wanted tomaintain absolute control, even
if it meant exposing people todanger.
But by May 2nd the Soviet liewas falling apart.
They marched their childrenthrough invisible poison, all to
(28:06):
keep up appearances.
As days passed,radiation-related illnesses
began to appear In Kiev.
Children developed suddennosebleeds.
People felt sick for no reason,dizzy, weak, nauseous.
Hospitals quickly filled withradiation poisoning cases.
And still the governmentrefused to tell the public the
(28:27):
full truth.
Then, on May 5th, the SovietUnion made an announcement that
stunned the country.
Large sections of Ukraine andBelarus were being evacuated.
Entire villages were ordered toleave immediately.
It was the first time that manySoviet citizens realized the
(28:47):
disaster was far worse than theyhad been told.
By then it was too late.
Thousands had already beenexposed.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
From the moment Reactor 4 exploded, the Soviet
Union wasn't just fighting anuclear catastrophe, it was
fighting to control the truth,and no organization was better
at suppressing information thanthe KGB.
The Committee for State Secrecy, or KGB, was the Soviet Union's
most powerful intelligenceagency.
The Soviet Union's mostpowerful intelligence agency.
(29:19):
Their job To make sure no oneinside or outside the USSR
learned the full scale of whathappened at Chernobyl.
In the days following thedisaster, a large and tightly
coordinated response unfolded,one that included not only
emergency crews, governmentofficials and the Ministry of
Healthcare, but also the KGB.
Their involvement went farbeyond security Agents
confiscated internal plantdocuments that revealed prior
(29:41):
safety concerns about Reactor 4.
They intercepted communicationsfrom Chernobyl officials who
were attempting to warn othersabout the spread in radiation.
Medical personnel were orderedto remain silent about the
increasing number ofradiation-related illnesses
appearing in hospitals, andthose plant workers who dared to
speak out about the reactor'sdesign flaws were met with
(30:03):
threats and intimidation.
But the cover-up didn't stopthere.
The KGB launched a full-scaleoperation to erase anything that
might suggest Soviet nucleartechnology was flawed.
Records of previous safetyviolations at Chernobyl were
classified or destroyed.
Early radiation measurements,which showed extreme level of
(30:23):
exposure, were altered to makethem seem lower.
Plant workers who had warnedabout the reactor's risks were
either silenced or discredited.
One example scientist VladimirShcherbak was one of the first
to calculate that reactor forceradiation levels were far higher
than the government wasadmitting.
His reports disappeared.
(30:43):
He was later told by KGBofficers not to speak about his
findings or face theconsequences.
As international media andforeign governments started
asking questions, the KGB wenton the offense.
Western journalists in Moscowwere monitored, followed and
given false information todiscredit their reports.
Foreign scientists studyingradiation spreading in Europe
(31:07):
were dismissed as anti-Sovietpropagandists.
Swedish and Americanintelligence agencies were
accused of exaggerating thecrisis to make the Soviet Union
look bad.
Behind the scenes, sovietdiplomats were ordered to
downplay the incident.
In conversation with foreigngovernments, they denied any
large-scale contamination, evenas radiation was spreading
(31:29):
across Europe.
By late 1986, the disaster couldno longer be hidden.
Satellite images, internationalreports and radiation tracking
had exposed the truth, but theKGB and Soviet leaders needed
someone to blame.
So instead of admitting todesign flaws or government
failures, the USSR arrestedseveral plant officials and put
(31:50):
them on trial Viktor Brukhanov,plant director.
Alexander Kovalenko, head ofthe reactor department, nikolai
Femim, chief engineer, yuriLoshkin, inspector of the state
nuclear regulation authority,anatoly Dyatlov, deputy chief
engineer, and Boris Rogozkin,head of the power plant shift.
(32:11):
They were sentenced to prisonnot because they were fully
responsible, but because the KGBneeded an escape code to
protect the high-rankingofficials.
Meanwhile, top Soviet nuclearofficials who had ignored safety
concern about the RBMK reactorswere never punished.
In the wake of the Chernobyldisaster, one man stood out not
(32:33):
just for his courage, but forhis commitment to revealing the
truth.
His name was Valery Legasov, aprominent nuclear physicist and
one of the first to recognizethe true scale of the
catastrophe.
In the aftermath of theexplosion, the Soviet government
assembled a task force of someof the nation's most brilliant
and dedicated scientists.
These men and women, many ofwhom had no choice but to walk
(32:56):
into danger with limitedinformation, became the backbone
of the early disaster response.
They assessed radiation levels,developed emergency protocols
and worked under immensepressure to contain a crisis the
world had never seen before.
Among them was Valery Legasov,a respected nuclear physicist
and deputy director of theKurchatov Institute of Atomic
(33:17):
Energy.
Legasov stood out not just forhis expertise but for his
integrity.
He was one of the first toarrive at the site and
immediately join efforts on theground, evaluating the damage,
coordinating containment andguiding the emergency crew
through an unfolding nightmare.
But more than that Legasovbecame one of the first to speak
out openly about the truth thatthis was not just an accident,
(33:41):
but the result of deep designflaws in the RBMK reactor and
systematic failures in theSoviet nuclear program.
But despite his expertise,lagossa faced immense opposition
from Soviet authorities.
The Soviet government, stilltrying to maintain its
reputation and protect thenuclear program, downplayed the
extent of the disaster.
(34:02):
They denied the severity of theradiation and the world was
kept in the dark for severaldays about the true scale of the
crisis.
Legasov, however, could notignore what he saw.
He spoke publicly about theflaws in the reactor's design
and the unavoidable consequencesof such an explosion.
In the immense aftermath,legasov became a whistleblower
(34:25):
of sorts.
He recorded confidential tapesdetailing his findings and the
inadequacies of Soviet nucleartechnology.
In those tapes, he discussedthe flawed reactor's design and
the Soviet government's refusalto acknowledge the true cause of
the explosion.
Despite his dedication andbravery, legasov became a target
of Soviet officials.
(34:46):
His outspoken criticism of thesystem led to growing tensions
with authorities and soon afterChernobyl he was sidelined.
The government began todistance itself from him,
despite being a key figure inthe response to the disaster, he
was removed from his positionand prevented from continuing
his work on nuclear safety.
(35:07):
The official Soviet narrativeneeded to remain intact.
The government could not affordto acknowledge the extent of
their mistake, so they silencedthe one man who was brave enough
to tell the truth.
By 1988, two years after thedisaster, legasov's health began
to deteriorate.
In a final act of protest, hechose to take his own life.
(35:30):
On April 27, 1988, exactly twoyears after the Chernobyl
explosion, his death was ruled asuicide, though many believe
that the immense weight of whathe knew and the isolation he
felt played a key role in histragic end.
In the years followingLegasov's death, the truth began
(35:52):
to slowly leak out.
His tape recordings were madepublic and the world learned the
extent of the reactor flaws inthe government's reckless
cover-up.
Extent of the reactor flaws inthe government's reckless
cover-up.
Though Legasov's life ended intragedy, his courage in speaking
out in the face of a systemthat sought to suppress the
truth cemented his place as ahero.
He is now remembered not onlyfor his expertise but for his
(36:16):
moral courage.
His legacy is a reminder of thepower of truth, especially when
the system tries to conceal it.
While history often remembers afew, the Shinobu response was a
collective act of scientificcourage, and many deserve
recognition alongside Legasov.
Legasov was posthumouslyawarded recognition for his work
(36:39):
and is now remembered as theman who tried to save the world
from the deadly consequences ofsilence.
Legasov's story isn't justabout a brilliant scientist.
It's a tale of one man'sunwavering commitment to truth,
even when it cost him everything.
In a world where power oftensilences dissent, legasov's
courage in speaking out aboutChernobyl serves as a powerful
(37:02):
reminder that even in thedarkest of times, the truth
demands to be heard.
Speaker 1 (37:08):
When the explosion first occurred, boris
Shcherbinov was sent toChernobyl with one mission make
sure it didn't get any worse.
He was a man of action, knownfor his loyalty to the Communist
Party, for his ability to carryout orders, but Chernobyl would
prove to be beyond his control.
Boris Shcherbina was on thefront lines of the initial
(37:30):
crisis, coordinating withscientists and engineers to
figure out how to stop theradiation from leaking further.
He was there when theliquidators, the brave men sent
in to clean up the radioactivedebris, worked under harrowing
conditions.
Despite the risks, shcherbinamaintained a strong, calm public
front.
He delivered speeches assuringthe Soviet people that
(37:51):
everything was under control,even though behind the scenes it
was far from it.
By the time the disaster wascontained, the true extent of
the disaster had becomeimpossible to hide.
The KGB and other high-rankingofficials quickly turned their
focus to blame and Shcherbina,despite his efforts, was not
immune from scrutiny, though hewas never charged with criminal
(38:14):
negligence.
Despite his direct involvementwith the initial response, he
was removed from his positionoverseeing the Chernobyl cleanup
in 1987.
Just a year after the explosion, the government needed to shift
focus away from the fallout ofthe disaster and move forward
with their narrative of Sovietresilience.
(38:35):
After being dismissed from hisrole at Chernobyl, shcherbina
went on to serve in othergovernment roles and maintained
his loyalty to the Soviet system.
He even received severalaccolades and awards for his
efforts, but the stigma ofChernobyl never fully left him.
In 1989, he was appointed asthe head of the Ministry of
Heavy and Transport Engineering,a position in which he was
(38:59):
tasked with overseeingindustrial projects across the
Soviet Union.
However, his public profile wasdiminished in the wake of the
Chernobyl disaster.
He died in 1990 from cancer,just a year before the Soviet
Union collapsed.
While his death was neverdirectly linked to the fallout
from Chernobyl, it is a grimreminder that the disaster cast
(39:20):
a shadow over everyone involved.
Boris Shcherbina's legacy iscomplicated.
While he did play a centralrole in managing the immediate
aftermath of the Chernobylexplosion, the consequences of
his actions or, in some cases,his lack of action have led to a
mixed public perception.
On one hand, he workedtirelessly to limit the damage
(39:44):
during the crisis, often puttinghis life at risk to coordinate
the response.
On the other hand, he was partof the Soviet leadership that
refused to fully disclose theextent of the catastrophe, which
only exacerbated the disaster'slong-term health and
environmental impacts.
Today he is remembered as oneof the many figures who tried to
(40:05):
control the narrative ofChernobyl, but his efforts to
contain the disaster were notenough to escape the
consequences of the tragedy.
His role stands as a symbol ofthe Soviet Union's failure to
recognize the scale of thecrisis and the dangerous loyalty
that often put the state'simage above human life.
Boris Shcherbina's life afterChernobyl is a tragic reflection
(40:28):
of the Soviet system's abilityto come to terms with its own
failings.
He spent the rest of his lifetrying to balance loyalty to a
government that had abandonedits people and managing the
aftermath of a disaster thatcould never be erased.
His story reminds us of thehuman cost of bureaucracy,
(40:49):
secrecy and state power, and how, in the end, the truth has a
way of coming to light, nomatter how we try to suppress it
.
Speaker 2 (40:57):
The true human cost of Chernobyl will never be fully
known.
The official Soviet death tollwas just 31 people, a number
that even Soviet officials knewwas a lie.
In reality, the effect ofradiation exposure didn't happen
at once.
In the weeks, months and yearsthat followed, thousands of
people began developing cancers,radiation sickness and other
(41:18):
deadly illnesses.
The first responders,firefighters, plant workers and
cleanup crews were among thehardest hit.
Many of them died slowly andpainfully from acute radiation
syndrome.
Children exposed to radiationdeveloped high rates of thyroid
cancer.
Entire families in Ukraine andBelarus suffered birth defects,
(41:38):
immune disorders and long-termmental health problems.
Even today, scientists estimatethat tens of thousands of
people may have died fromChernobyl-related illnesses.
Pripyat, once a thriving city ofover 50,000 people, is now a
frozen time capsule.
When the evacuation happened,people were told they would
return in a few days, but theynever came back.
(42:01):
Told they would return in a fewdays, but they never came back.
Most homes were abandoned, aFerris wheel built for the May
Day.
Celebrations never spun withpassengers, schools remained
filled with Soviet propagandaposters, abandoned notebooks and
gas masks.
Pripyat became one of the mosthaunting reminders of the
disaster, a city abandonedovernight, left to rot under a
(42:22):
cloud of radiation.
Even today it remains one ofthe most radioactive places on
Earth.
After the evacuation, the Sovietgovernment created the
Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, a1,000 square mile area where
radiation levels were consideredtoo dangerous for human life.
Entire villages were bulldozedto the ground.
Two dangers for human lifeEntire villages were bulldozed
(42:43):
to the ground.
Ironically, today the exclusionzone is one of the most
untouched wildlife sanctuariesin Europe.
Without human interference,wolves, bears and even rare
species like lynxes haverepopulated the area, but for
humans it remains a wasteland.
For decades the Soviet Union hadthrived on secrecy and
controlled information throughpropaganda and censorship.
(43:06):
But Chernobyl was too big tohide.
The world saw the USSR'sfailures.
Soviet citizens realized theirgovernment had lied to them.
Calls for transparency andreform spread across the country
.
Mikhail Gorbachev lateradmitted that Chernobyl was a
turning point for the SovietUnion.
Some historians believe thatChernobyl helped accelerate the
(43:28):
collapse of the USSR becauseonce the truth was exposed,
there was no going back.
Gorbachev later admitted thatChernobyl was one of the main
reasons the Soviet Unioncollapsed.
Just five years after theexplosion, the Soviet Union
collapsed.
Just five years after theexplosion, the Soviet Union fell
(43:49):
.
Speaker 1 (43:49):
Chernobyl wasn't just a nuclear disaster.
It was a turning point in humanhistory.
The Chernobyl disaster didn'tjust leave a scar on the Soviet
Union.
It left an indelible mark onEarth itself.
For months after the explosion,radioactive fallout spread
across large parts of Europe.
While the immediate impact onhuman life was devastating, the
environmental consequences wereequally as catastrophic.
(44:10):
The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, a30-kilometer radius around the
reactor, was created to preventhuman exposure to the lethal
radiation still contaminatingthe land.
But the zone was just thebeginning.
The contamination spread farbeyond, affecting forests,
rivers and wildlife inunexpected ways.
(44:31):
The most famous environmentalconsequence of Chernobyl is
known as the Red Forest, locatednear the plant.
The Red Forest earned its namebecause, shortly after the
explosion, the trees surroundingthe area turned bright red.
Forest earned its name because,shortly after the explosion,
the trees surrounding the areaturned bright red and began to
die off, poisoned by theradioactive particles that had
fallen from the sky.
It became one of the mostcontaminated areas in the world.
(44:55):
However, what's trulyfascinating is what happened
after the forest died.
While humans were forced toflee, wildlife began to return.
The absence of humans allowedthe forest to regenerate, though
still tainted by radiation.
Animals such as wolves, boars,deer and even bears have been
spotted in the area, thriving ina land that most of the world
(45:17):
would consider uninhabitable.
But this is a double-edgedsword.
While nature in the Chernobylexclusion zone has flourished in
the absence of humaninterference, the impact of
radiation is undeniable.
Many animals have sufferedmorphological abnormalities,
particularly in the firstgeneration exposed to the
fallout.
(45:37):
Some showed physicaldeformities, reduced fertility
and shortened lifespans visiblescars of an invisible threat.
Nature may be reclaiming theland, but it, too, had a price
to pay.
Even now, almost 40 years later, radiation levels in the
Chernobyl exclusion zone remaindangerously high.
The radioactive isotopes thatwere released during the
(46:01):
explosion have long half-lives,meaning they will remain harmful
for thousands of years.
The original sarcophagus builtaround Reactor 4 to contain the
radiation was beginning to failby the early 2000s, fearing
further leaks.
An international effort waslaunched to construct a new
steel structure to encase thereactor.
(46:22):
In 2016, the new safeconfinement was completed, a
massive, futuristic structuredesigned to encase the reactor
and prevent the further spreadof radiation.
This colossal structure was theresult of a global
collaboration and a symbol ofhow much Chernobyl has cost the
world in both money and lives.
(46:44):
In the aftermath of Chernobyl,the global attitude towards
nuclear energy shifteddramatically.
Before the disaster, manycountries were investing heavily
in nuclear power as a clean,efficient energy source, but
Chernobyl shattered that belief.
The disaster had devastatingeffects on the nuclear industry
Countries across Europe and evenin the US had devastating
(47:06):
effects on the nuclear industry.
Countries across Europe andeven in the US began to reassess
the safety of nuclear plants.
In some cases, entire nuclearprograms were scrapped.
Germany, for example, decided tophase out its nuclear energy
program entirely, with plans toshut down all reactors by 2022.
With plans to shut down allreactors by 2022.
(47:27):
Sweden also curtailed itsnuclear expansion and imposed
stricter safety regulations onexisting plants.
France, which had been one ofthe most pro-nuclear nations,
experienced public protests andcalls for more rigorous safety
standards.
But despite the fears, nuclearenergy did not disappear.
In fact, many countries,especially in Asia, continued to
build new reactors and improvesafety measures.
(47:48):
In places like China and India,nuclear power was still seen as
a necessary solution to meetgrowing demand for energy and
reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
There's also a substantialdifference in the technology of
the plants that had majoraccidents and the ones that are
built now.
Speaker 2 (48:08):
Chernobyl's shadow continues to loom over the
collective consciousness.
It's more than just ahistorical event.
It has become part of globalculture.
The world is still grapplingwith the effects of the disaster
.
From books like Voices fromChernobyl by Svetlana
Alekseevich to documentaries andtelevision series like the HBO
(48:29):
miniseries Chernobyl thedisaster is revisited regularly
in media and pop culture.
The reason for this enduringinterest is simple Chernobyl
represents humanity's worstfears about technology,
government secrecy and thefrailty of life.
But it's also a story aboutresilience, how people struggled
, how communities rebuild andhow nature slowly began to
(48:52):
reclaim its territory.
And as we look back onChernobyl, we are reminded of
the powerful lessons it offersthe risk of unchecked power, the
cost of secrecy, the complexityof progress and the importance
of responsibility in shaping ourfuture.
Chernobyl wasn't just a tragedy.
It was a warning, a warningthat echoes through history and
(49:16):
one we must never forget.
The scars of Chernobyl willremain long after we are gone.
And as we face new challenges,whether in nuclear energy,
climate change or other globalcrises, we must remember the
lessons that Chernobyl teachesus.
That battle to control theradiation is still ongoing, and
it will be for generations tocome.
Chernobyl was a lesson paid forin human lives, lives that left
(49:39):
a haunting truth.
When governments put powerabove people, the consequences
can be catastrophic, andChernobyl is proof that some
mistakes last forever.
I am Abraham Alvrik and, alongwith Sandy McKenna, we want to
thank you for joining us on thisepisode of the Chernobyl
Disaster.
As always, we encourage you totake the lessons from these
(50:01):
events and apply them to ourcurrent world.
If you found this episodeinformative, please subscribe,
like and share.
Your support helps us continueto bring these important stories
to life.
Until next time, keepquestioning, keep seeking, and
may your journey be as rich andenlightening as the stories you
encounter.
As the stories you encounterchannel Chernobyl Family.
(50:45):
We highly recommend it.
Link to his channel in thedescription below.
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