Historically, Boris and his father both worked in construction and he actually did have a lot of experience with concrete. He would know what burned concrete looks like.
By this point bullshit detection had become THE primary survival skill in the soviet union. It was just a massive pile of mutually blockading petty bureaucratic kingdoms. Imagine a country run entirely by the worst kind of middle management. The bullshit was miles deep and Heracles himself would have struggled to clean it up.
This is from a man who'd likely been at Kursk or Stalingrad or Leningrad or Moscow or the drive West into Germany. Probably a very junior officer or enlisted man at the time, and he knew exactly what good leadership required. And now Putin's refusing to learn from men just like this. History is fucking insane, guys.
I couldn’t stop laughing when he asks his comrade “why did the deputy see graphite on the roof”. Literally embodies the whole disaster - individuals who did not want to take personal responsibilities, but rather blame it on others.
The whole culture is so focused on who is at fault, that they aren't actually solving the problems, which is how this happened in the first place. They are demonstrating the behavior that caused the accident. Chernobly wasn't about nuclear power. It is a dagger aimed at the heart of Authoritanism, and why it never works.
In a capitalist country, the corporation would be blamed. In communist, the corporation is the government. The government is the people, so send *everyone* to siberia.
@@randymagnum143 In a capitalist country the corporation would be bailed out with a trillion dollar zero interest loan funded by working class taxpayers who get a quarter of their subsistence paychecks expropriated and then the loan would be forgiven and the executives of the corporation would get $200 million bonuses.
Pikalov did it both because he was a good leader, but also because he was watching the bureaucrats pass the buck and blame everyone else. They could dismiss some grunt or specialist who came back with the results. But they could not argue when he came back with them.
@@LillyAnarkitty It was such a beautiful contrast. Being all up until that moment, we are met with nothing but lethal negligence from authority figures. In one simple line, he shows the strength of the soviet people, the state props themselves up on. Sacrifice.
@@PlaidHiker The downfall of every society is the parasitic toadies who cling to it for their own benefit and throw each other off at the first sign of trouble.
Vladimir Pikalov. Survived Stalingrad, Kursk and the battle of Moscow, and this here hell. And died of old age at 78. If you need an example of luck and leadership, here is a good one.
My great grandmother set out on foot from Ukraine to a POW camp where my (jewish) great grandfather was kept towards the end of WW2. She negotiated some sort of 'deal' with the guards (you can probably guess what that was). And came back to Russia with him after that night. He died young from disease not long after the war sadly. But she powered on as a single mom until 89 years old. She is my example of good luck, leadership, and a whole lot more. RIP Nadya.
It's also surprisingly fitting for a soviet functionary written by a Western scriptwriter. Soviets loved their propaganda about how many millions of tonnes of concrete their factories poured or the millions of tonnes of coal their mines produced. "I know a lot about concrete" is exactly the sort of thing a high ranking soviet bureaucrat who's never poured concrete would say and have the same effect on other white-collar soviets as pictured.
@@AClockworkWizard You could be one of the foremost experts in the world on stars without having set foot on a single one. He himself said "I may not know much about nuclear reactors", yet he was still knowledgeable enough to know that graphite was used as a neutron flux moderator in the reactor, something that the average layman would have absolutely no clue about. If he used the same level of modesty in his next sentence, for him to say "I know a lot about concrete" would suggest that he was one of the foremost experts in the world on the subject.
Pikalov was an absolute gigachad in real life, as well as in this film. As far as Generals go, he's a man easy to respect. He was there, in the trenches in World War II, wounded numerous times. He's seen blood, seen death, seen the most horrible things imaginable. And he does not show fear.
@@calanon534 He was an absolute gigachad. However, in real life he didn't have to drive up in a makeshift truck. Legasov did it himself in an special vehicle designed to analyze nuclear bomb test results. In real life, they already knew the core had blown up. The reason for taking those measurements was to determine whether or not the core was still critical and burning Uranium i.e. they couldn't tell if the reactor should be considered on or off. The radiation was so high, in fact, that those readings were not useful, so Legasov determined that it was not critical by comparing the ratio of Xenon to Iodine isotopes released into the environment.
@@nokander I'm not sure i understand you well, but it seems that high rate of losses in russian army of high ranked officers shows this tradition is still there. Unlike the NATO/Ukrainian army in the Russian army officers and generals are among their soldiers, on frontline and die with soldiers, and do not just send them to the other side of the Dnieper to die in vain.
Legasov was far too professional to engage in the kind of pettiness that I'd be bringing to the table. I think a good answer would have been "I've studied every nut and every bolt of one of these machines. It should be impossible for one to explode..." *Dramatic slow turn towards pillar of smoke* "...and yet it would seem you have managed the impossible."
@@genericfakename8197 Except Legasov knew exactly how the thing could explode. That's one of the big points at the trial later. There was a study and it was a known risk but the information was hidden. The reason he's not being petty is because he knows that he himself is not without blame.
You see this in every bureaucracy, in every nation, at every level. Schools, post offices, libraries, municipal pool, police, all the way up to the top ranks of the US Military. Sure, a soldier or sailor will bear any burden or pay any price-- except public embarrassment of the institution and personal consequences for the senior "leadership."
Not every bureaucrat. But under Stalin people were shot for even imagined incompetence. It was a government system based on fear. Now you can hate government all you want (without ever understanding that the government is us) but in democracies, we tend to focus on solutions. That is until Trump’s poorly educated elect a cult leader. Like Trump. Like Stalin. Then the only goal is pleasing “the dear leader.”
Ingenious scene, really shows off how subtle Boris' intelligence really is. Larasov had been pushing his buttons since he met him; BUT he had been honest and sincere with him every step of the way. Here these two clowns immediately tried to throw others under the bus, followed by attempting to belittle and discredit Larasov in full view of everyone (one of Boris' few personal pet peeves). And when Boris tested them with knowledge he gleaned from Larasov, they panicked and tried to bullshit him with an excuse covering a topic he could call them on. In less than two minutes Boris figured out both of these "experts" were just party shills not worth talking to and that Larasov was a legitamite asset. Brqvo.
@@allairekoWe all noticed it, but see no reason to correct it. You know what word he meant to spell. This is RU-vid, not a class at a University. He is allowed a spelling mistake. Life will go on.
The Russian Government (Putin) didn’t like the series, saying it’s anti-Russian and Blabla, when in fact it showed how brave, intelligent and patriotic many Russians acted even in a corrupt and rotten system as it was.
Which is exactly why Putin didn't like it. Putin is an old soviet who still holds a candle for the regime. He's even started "rehabilitating" Stalin something thought inconceivable even during the late soviet era.
That it was noble people working for a corrupt system that held it together as long as it did encourages those serving in the government to act like Shcherbina, not like Fomin. Or, even worse, like Pikalov. People follow leaders like Pikalov, and another credible leader is a direct threat to an authoritarian.
You have to remember that Vladimir Putin was, quite literally, IN the KGB during the fall of the Soviet Union. Of course he's not going to have fond opinions of the show.
i really like how the show portrayed the sacrifice a lot of soviet officials made. like in here the army man who when faced with sending one of his men on a possible suicide mission, he does it himself as to not have to send anyone else. moments like that happen quite a lot, and where in the soviet spirit at the time. for the motherland.
We couldn't even prosecute George W Bush and Dick Cheney for plunging my country the U.S into a twenty year war and yet we have suburbanites feeling vindicated by this miniseries and proclaiming their victory at a middle class that nolonger exist.
“Then I’ll do it myself.” This shit was tough right there. Dude just told him with all the lead protection you got you it still might not work and then volunteered to do it. King shit
My favorite thing about this line is this: this man, a solider a man of duty, is watching these politicians attempt to pass the buck and avoid responsibility. He's making a powerful statement about responsibility and action.
Pikalov also knows that if a line soldier takes the reading, those same politicians will dismiss their findings. But with his tremendous reputation they wouldn't dare dismiss him.
Very interesting contrast between the bootlicking officials who refuse to take responsibility and the military officer who actually has the power to put the responsibility on someone else through authority and chain of command but decides to face the danger himself. If only everybody in this tragedy was as straightforward and brave as he.
He also knew that if it was as bad as he thought it was, He was going to have to order his men in there. He wasn't going to order his men to do anything he wouldn't do himself. 2:51
@@717pixels9In reality, it wasn't a track, it was a special vehicle with inbuilt led shielding and a high range dosimeter. And Legasov was there with Pikalov.
Do you know anything about Russian history? People like ones you call boot lickers were taken behind a building and shot for even imagined incompetence. Of course they were going to try to blame others.
i love how at 0:52 legasov is looking at the reactor fall out and is probably thinking, 'fuck, everyone here right now is slowly dying' he looks back again at 1:03 like its the only thing holding his attention
well im no particle physicist but i believe if they are that close it doesn't matter because the high radiation levels are coming directly from the reactor, the wind carries radioactive particles across continents. @@Optimistas777
@@cleanerwhite9470 In modern times, the officials are bought and paid for and are nothing more than a way for some "scientists" to make billions of dollars in profit.
@@pakman184 For me the toughest thing to get over was everyone speaking english. I really would prefer to watch Russian speakers with subtitles so it feels more authentic. Unfortunately most audiences would rather see what are supposed to be Russians speaking English with a Russian accent, even if its completely nonsensical.
I cant wholeheartedly agree... The visuals are good, the acting is good, but it falls far from the truth... Dyatlov wasnt a piece of shit, nor a rude bastard who forced men into a terrible situation... Nobody was responsible personally in that whole situation... The whole damn thing was a massive mistake only possible due to cover ups of important technical data... The series is most enjoyable when you don`t know much about what happened, but if you take a good look at the facts and biographies of everyone involved, everyone there was pretty much an unlucky s.o.b. who found himself or herself in the worst man made disaster that came as a result of not being told what everyone in there was supposed to have been told... As said, amazing series, but quite disgraceful in its depiction of people who were honorable, kind, generous and noble, while praising others who fit the same description, just because they needed someone to show as guilty to keep the drama up... I think that they should have showed everyone truthfully and showed them getting fucked over by the government selectively, which is what happened, rather than depicting some as heroes and others as scum when all people that worked there or were related to the plant were as heroic and noble as one could hope to be when shit hits the fan... All the best...
Love Legasov’s look at 0:51. Really subtle acting. He sees they’re downwind from the reactor fallout and he knows that everyone there, including himself, is going to get incredibly sick and most likely die very early deaths.
I'm willing to bet that the general's men would follow him into Hell. There is no more loyal a soldier than one whose commander steps up and says 'That's dangerous, so I'll do it myself.'
There was a big problem in WWII bomber raids with 20% of crews claiming mechanical or medical issues and aborting their run without having to risk getting shot down. General Curtis LeMay was outraged and said he'd now be in the lead aircraft on every single run, and that any crew that didn't go over the target would be court-martialed. The abort rate dropped to almost nothing overnight.
People like him were literally the reason the Nazis failed to take Stalingrad. A leader worth following, he was awarded as a hero for his role in Chernobyl
What a show. I see a clip and I want to watch the whole thing again. It's weird but people think a good story must be somehow unpredictable, but in my experience that's not true at all. I know exactly what happens in the Chernobyl series, but I watch it and rewatch it. A good story is a good story even when you know what's about to happen. No enjoyment is lost; knowing doesn't matter. Good stories are experienced and you can experience a good story as many times as you like.
I have been to the city, and am russian. There is a lot in the show they get wrong. They do it for Hollywood. I do recommend if you ever get a chance go visit the city Pripyat. I have, and it is what the world will look like when we are all gone. This scene is my favorite and is shows a true hero
"I may not know much about nuclear reactors, but I know a lot about concrete" - Not seen Chernobyl but I couldn't help but hear that line in Richard Ridings' voice in my head.
I think this scene does a lot to point to the contradiction between the ideals of the USSR vs the practices that played out to rot it from the inside. We start with two bureaucrats talking about who is accountable for this while just trying to pass the buck and save their own skin representing the actuality of the systems in place. Meanwhile the man who volunteers himself to go in with the decimeter seemingly represents what would be the selflessness required of a system such as this.
Yeah and apparently not much else has changed in Russia. It's still just a collection of selfish power hungry savages leading the country into the dark ages.
Pikalov is what we call in the service a true believer. He did what was right and what was needed his entire for the people. Not because of the party not for his own advancement but because he really believed that his service mattered.
Him and the firefighters. If their after-the-fact testimonies are to be believed, many of them did (unlike what the show implies) understand that something serious had happened and that they were getting serious radiation poisoning. Some of them describe feelings like tasting metal and feeling like needles were pricking their cheeks. But they did their duty, and if they hadn't done it, the fires might have spread and caused enough destruction to make Reactor 3 have a meltdown (though almost certainly not an explosion like Reactor 4).
hell of a show. it was eerie and creepy, you keep expecting there to be a monster, and there is one. you just can't see it, hear it or smell it and it's killing the all the same as if it was some horribly mutated monstrosity. actually it's killing them in an even more horrible way than being eaten or attacked.
that general understands the possible dangers of what the professor says, and knows he may die, so doesnt safrifice his men. in the next scene when he explains its 15,000 i think he also knew since he was that close that hes a walking dead man
He also knew that if a simple soldier where to be send and read 15000 Röntgen everyone would say: "That is impossible, he must have made a mistake with the measurement" or just ignore them. But if it's a General, a WW2 war-hero, and the Commander of the 'Troops of Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defence of the Russian Armed Forces' they have to take it seriously.
@@MrPumpkinsss He knew there was no other option but to sacrifice himself for the truth. A man so loyal to his ideals that he unwittingly helped dismantle his nation's government. He's possibly the most based person to ever have lived.
Pikalov was one of the most upstanding individuals that ever stepped foot onto that facility. Knowing full well the danger of the situation, he took extreme ownership and did it himself instead of allowing one of people he is responsible for to go through. I admire his mentality. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13 Vladimir Pikalov, Alexei Ananenko, Valeri Bespalov, and Boris Baranov are, in my opinion, the four individuals that had the biggest positive impacts on containing this disaster.
It was a mix of this, plus him listening to the bureaucrats go back and forth throwing jabs at Legasov and deflecting the blame. They would surely dismiss one of his subordinates if they sent them, but if he himself went, they'd HAVE to listen.
Honestly, they should have all gotten Heroes of the Soviet Union medals and medals from the UN (if they did them). Men saved all of Europe and Russia from nuclear devastation.
Quoting a Bible verse about someone who was a filthy Communist in a regime that was as explicitly anti-Christian as the Soviet Union is just perverse 🤦♂️
@@cgallegos2106 They should have had special medals made just for them. Hero of the Soviet Union really didn't mean much other than the benefits that came with it, as far as recognition goes. They gave out that award like candy.
@@christosdeschaine9444 Oh I know, it lost its value under every Premier since it became more and more politicized (like the Presidential Medal of Freedom which has great achievers then it has political hacks or the occasional rare poet).
Watching this again, I realize that Legasov absolutely *can" explain how an RBMK reactor explodes - he just doesn't, because revealing what he knows would put him in serious trouble.
That mini series completely blew me away! Everything was so good for me! As I've been to Chernobyl and played all tge STALKER games many times it was so so good...
The real tragedy of the whole thing was that the RBMK reactor did NOT fail. It was operating completely safe. Until the safety protocols were totally ignored by Dyatlov. In effect, it was forced to explode.
@@HeadsFullOfEyeballs A reactor is a machine. Consider a car, airplane, chainsaw, etc... They all hold potential danger. However, any of them can (and will) be deadly if one refuses to follow the rules. Planes crash every year due to operator error. Follow the rules and they are safe. Dyatlov broke at least five to eight of the set in stone, never, EVER do this! Each violation compounded the previous one.
In the actual historical records, Dyatlov has since been given a lot more respect in recent years. He was accused of a lot of things that have since been shown to be false, it seems like it was "useful" to scapegoat him at the time.
@@rickhibdon11The manner of the failure mode is important. That a car can crash isn't the right comparison. It would be more akin to "if you press the accelator while the car is not in gear, it explodes." A reactor exploding shouldn't even be a possible *failure* mode, much like my car should not be capable of exploding even in an accident.
@@Alxnick And a catalytic converter can explode if you don't make sure your vehicle is up to safety standards, like ensuring your cooling is working properly. There are millions of "impossible" failure modes that shouldn't exist, but all it takes is an idiot who doesn't read the manual.
This is the ideal I aspire to as a team lead. It may not be possible to always take the plunge myself but I shall lead by example and give my team members confidence in me and thus, themselves.
Great series. Only wish the whole team of engineers got credit instead of that one lady being stand in for her whole team. But besides that, they did a great job dramatizing the events without too much exaggeration.
I absolutely love this series. While many things were changed for sake of time and condensing story, the way things were changed really sends home just how bad things were and how screwed up red-tape (no pun intended) truly can be in the face of disaster. Also proves what happens when your education system is a bad joke and even your most senior engineers shouldn't be.
As someone in an admittedly low ranking management position, I made a point of traveling with my staff and doing on site work as the pandemic went on when they were doing the same. If I’m telling them it’s safe enough and I’m not doing it, that sends a clear message. Pikalov is showing, by example, that the soldiers were still expected to do their jobs even with the risk.
He also knew no-one would *dare* question his findings. He was a hero even before he did this, surviving the battlesof Stalingrad, Kursk and Moscow. The man was basically a living legend. Better for him to go and report back, then risk one of his men being over-ruled.
"Please. Tell me how an RBMK reactor core explodes." "I'm not prepared to explain it at this time." That's one of those lines which only shows its true significance when you're watching the series for the second time. He chose his words *very* carefully, and later, we learn why.
@flyforce16 he already knew how it could explode. Because they'd had close calls already and the close calls were officially covered up under pain of criminal charges for telling anyone anything about it. He knew what'd happened and he was picking his words carefully.
Love it when someone volunteers to drive a truck into the area of a nuclear reactor that has exploded and is on fire, and freely venting radiation into the air that can be detected hundreds of miles away. Give that man a medal, posthumously.
They gave him the medal Hero Of The Soviet Union, and they named another award after him that they give to troops for assistance with destruction of chemical weapons.
It’s so sad that even though those 2 are in a sense, the higher ups, blame everyone but themselves and that’s in every society. It’s like Legasov said; Nobody cares about the heroes, they only care who they can blame so that they can hold on their illusion of power.
I love how Boris bringing up the graphite serves the purpose of not only giving the guise that he has a working knowledge of RBMK reactors, but it also works as a defense of Legasov's explosion theory. Efficient scipt writing there
@@SelfProclaimedEmperornot always, but if you fell out of favour you would be demoted and lose all the privileges of that life. And being 'normal' in the Soviet Union meant you didn't get many 'benefits'. That's what people feared
