Scott S s

Scott S split open they were

More like the entire core has been exposed

8 milliroentgen?? Now where did you get that number 🤔

That gave me chills

Weird... "Ulana" didn't call someone at block 4, but someone from administration common to the whole plant. The secretary or a telephone operator were supposed to be at work and answering the phone. The other three reactors were operating at the time with all personell working on them (reactor 3 was in shutdown phase initiated after the explosion by its chief's own decision).

@@visnjamusa9395 you're absolutely right. A receptionist for the plant *should* have picked up, especially if Ulana didn't directly call Reactor 4. The fact that no one answered implied that nobody was in a building that should be manned at all times. I suspect the area had to be evacuated or administration gathered in one place (an all-hands-on-deck deal) to assess the situation. Also I remember one of the senior officials directing communication lines to be shut down to the outside world to "prevent the spread of misinformation." Whatever the explanation, the fact that nobody answered means that something is very wrong.

@@visnjamusa9395 people don't realize how flawed this whole series is. Entertaining sure, very well made, but it's full of shit.

Can't help but notice the phone is ringing instead of "The number you have dialed is disconnected/unavailable". Not in an answering machine, but literally a "no service" type of way... Meaning somewhere in that flaming building... a phone was ringing.

"How's it going there?" "Not great, not terrible."

I thought that small pause to look at each other for validation all the while the window, the barrier to the source of the radiation, is wide open. I thought that was great subtle acting. Very human behavior.

Actually no. He closed it shut to contain the radiation leak. Only later did he accept that indeed the radiation was from outside.

Russians have good survival instincts.

@@nikhilpuppala7907 Yeah. The alarm going off 2 seconds *after* he opened the windows. And he immediately closed them. He may not be a rocket scientist, but he knew.

Forsmark, yeah? I'd be terrified if something like this happened, terrible enough that you're tripping alarms a thousand kilometers away, not knowing how or when or what.

@@ricksaburai indeed Forsmark NPP.

and unfortunately this scared people off nuclear energy for a generation

Smart man, understood what was going on, said "I have to get them and isolated them, make sure nothing happens to them." P.S. Yes I heard the story about workers in nuclear facilities having their footware go off in the radiation detectors and then realizing that it must mean that it's coming from outside, not inside.

It very well could have been.

@Rafael Acosta *To better represent scientist diversity in the Soviet Union

@Rafael Acosta The soviet union actually did have a nearly 50/50 split between men and women in scientific fields... actually, in almost all fields. So if anything, men are still over represented in the show.

...yet.

@Rafael Acosta 75 % soviet docter is women

@@Lessinath complete utter lie

he opens the window and the radiation alarm goes off indicating bad things are happening🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣💀💀

The blank stare wasn't because of realizing that they were split open. The blank stare was because the first question in her mind once she had that fact was, "What do we do now?" and she had absolutely no answers.

@@badgercdlyons well her first thought was they were split open and then the second was what do we do now?

It's a chilling beep to confirm your worst fears

Imagine the eerie ferling of calling the power stations in your region.. and just one doesn't answer

Lol

The sad thing is, if not for the cold war, the accident likely wouldn't have happened in the first place.

@@dynamicworlds1 nah, the russians didnt have the same standards as other countries with there reactors. Besides nuclear technology is extremely safe and clean.

@@Halo47143 but _why_ didn't they have the same standards? Because they were Russian, or because they were trying to modernize a country that was largely agrarian less than a century before as fast as possible while dumping huge amounts of resources into the Cold War? Even with a lot more resources, the US did a lot of things that were at least crazy and reckless durring the Cold War, so a poorer nation trying desperately to keep up is a recepie for disaster.

DynamicWorlds they didn’t have lobbyist and critics where silenced. Public opinion is very powerful

Close, but I have to go with the coin toss scene from No Country for Old Men

@@CaptainTrips560 How about The Last of Us when they talk about the Fungus Pandemic

@@Waywind420 never saw it

Even in action movies, the best scenes are often just two people talking.

@@doktarr Many of Game of Thrones best scenes were just two characters talking. Robert and Ned chatting about assassinating daenerys, Ned and Jaime talking about the mad king, Varys and Baelish, Tyrion telling lies to the members of the small council to reveal the mole.

its the smell of smoke before the inferno

The editing is excellent too. Her haste is emphasized by the subtle jump cuts. Notice how each of her actions are slightly cut off so she appears to move from task to task very quickly?

Hard working people tend to be trustworthy. They're so into their work and becoming experts in it that they tend not to have time to bullshit.

@Rafael Acosta not wrong but she is supposed to be a representation of the large amount of scientists that helped during this and they were probably to first ones to know shit hit the fan and are trying to fix it

She is a conglomeration of several people, a sort of a symbol of peaceful, hard-working, trustworthy, salt-of-science people who genuinely wanted to help the world.

The speed at which she puts that sample together speaks volumes about her experience. As a an actress, I'm sure she must have practiced until she could do it without looking.

@@Whiterabbit124 But we have to make it a woman so they won't cry. CHANGE HISTORY SO WOMEN DON'T FEEL BAD BIGOT

I don’t think he was weighing the idea that Chernobyl could be split open, I think he was weighing the pros and cons of what would happen if he were to ask her to show him her feet while he awkwardly played with himself

​@@Troyy22 I laughed out loud at your comment hahahahaha

​@@Troyy22You win.....you win all of it 😁

The best horror is the one where we actually see nothing, and we are invited to imagine what is going on. That is what makes the beeping phone so horrific.

Funnily enough, right after JFK's assassination, a similar situation went like this: US: "Was it the Soviets?" Soviet: "Was it the KGB?" KGB: "Was it a rogue agent?"

@@ilikewindows3455 Rogue agent: "Was it you, Ivan?"

Ivan; was it you Lee

Khruschev in between moments of sadness was scared shitless that they did it. He really likes the guy too.

@@ilikewindows3455 Turns out it was the CIA the entire time.

Its a myth that Soviet science was underfunded. It was in fact very well funded but not in a flashy way like in the West. All substance, no flashy media propaganda.

I never considered that, especially as the radiation spread upward twords other countries

​@@adrianghandtchi1562 It's a testament to the strength of Soviet censorship at the time. People on the other side of the planet knew there had been a nuclear disaster before citizens living in the nearby towns.

That’s scary. You were basically living like it was the apocalypse 😮

I live in Gießen today and am very interested in your story. Can you elaborate a little bit? ☺️

I was east of you in Bamberg, perhaps same rainstorm. Saw the NBC teams sweeping the roads, beeping away. We were told it was like the steam release at Three Mile, justa coupla flashing lights and sirens, so we just ignored it for the most part. Probably better we didn't know, now that I think about it.

The sound design in this show. The deeply unsettling sound of a ringing phone. Horror on a level I've not felt in a show before or since

Great Visual storytelling 🙆

The cinematography, sound design, and pacing definitely help elevate this scene.

Those two actors were the condensation of the entire scientific community of the Soviet Union. They KNEW something went horribly wrong, but could not go public without being arrested for crimes against the people. They had to be quiet, quiet about the whole incident.

I absolutely loved her character. Absolutely competent, completely professional. A true expert amongst experts and the kind of person you’d feel most comfortable with in a disaster situation. No panic, no fears, just eyes on the situation and full concentration on the problem.

@@brandonxing9546 Not to mention, imaginary. Typical trope now: imaginary flawless female character, showing clueless boys around. Ignoring REAL women to begin with.

@@piotrd.4850 what?

@@piotrd.4850 she's just a combination of real men and women because you can't show all of their stories in a few episodes

@@willkettle3959 He needs to feel victimized.

thatsoundslikeblue that’s insane. Interesting to note that the color of death, as it turns out, happens to be.... yellow. How unexpectedly quaint.

@@fakename2926 yeah, and usually radiation shows green for unknown reason

Your sister's colleague is delusional! Someone take her to the infirmary!!

@@Nayushe0 Because it's the colour of the phosphor from old glowing radium paint, so it became the symbol of radiation.

Yellow as a color is very ominous actually. I've never liked it. From mustard gas to radiation.

Yes, there's a guy online who was a Soviet school kid at the time and was puzzled because Gorbachev was young and they were not expecting more time off from school like with Brezhnev, Andropov, and Chernenko. Still, the classical music played. My friends nearby said it was Soviet musical chairs. You keep struggling to improve your position and when the music stops you grab the seat you're nearest.

That's the russian government for you.

@@crimony3054 Yep, I'm pretty sure that was Sergei Sputinikov

What busy signal? The phone was ringing.

They should have called her Mary Sue

​@@UryendelI'm just surprised she didn't knock out a whole group of highly trained kgb agents at some point.

@@kylemayer8486 she's a scientist not a commando. Are you just threatened by competent females or insecure about your own incompetence?

@erikjohnson9075 no, I'm threatened by lazy writing by progressives that mary Sue a group of scientists.

@@erikjohnson9075 Classic feminist gaslighting: telling men that they are threatened by "empowered" *(fictional!)* females when pointing out the lazy writing, yet women *need* the whole industry shoving Mary Sues in the media just to be "inspired" to become functional citizens... but sure, men are the ones threatened by the opposite sex. LMAO!

@@proshark9966 You think millions of Soviet citizens in East Berlin *DIDN'T* listen to Us radio and watch US tv from West Germany? Radio waves can't be stopped by even the strongest, well patrolled wall, or Iron Curtain.

@@RobertMorgan my mom was born in the soviet union, she claims that nobody listen to american radios. Probably the goverment or something like that did. Plus i was born in moscow anyways.

@@RobertMorgan My mom was born in the soviet union (Moscow) and she claims that nobody was listening to western radios/tv channels. Probably the government did or the KGB or something. Plus I was born in Moscow myself. My family is Russian.

@@RobertMorgan Yes,from east Berlin,not from the USSR itself...They just didn't have access,and nobody would risk their life for listening to foreign radio...

@@proshark9966 The Ukrainian who has the Usunka Show channel on KZfaq says that some people had illegal radios and that's how they found out the magnitude of the disaster.

In my ignorance I thought Moscow would still look the same 😬😅 as you described.I was there in Aug 2019 and atleast the part of the city I was in was nothin like that.Neither was St Petersberg ofcourse 😅

20 liters of fuel an hour. That said, it was supposed to cut an apple into four parts and didn’t work, glad they found a use for it.

@@Justanotherconsumer only cut apple into 3 pieces

I mean, we kind of already knew at that point.

Or they're dead. *shudders*

Or they see you on caller ID and ignore you because they think you're annoying. (At least that's what happens these days)

@@Kamina.D.Fierce when something dangerous happens, noone ignores because of annoyance

No one answered the phone because the government cut the phone lines to isolate the town.

Ignalin plant was used to film some scenes

Someone in Poland on a government or scientist level might have known. But a Swedish nuclear power plant discovered it early in the morning only a few hours after the explosion. They checked the winds and concluded it was Chernobyl. Shortly thereafter it was global news. 99,99% of the Poles got the information thanks to the Swedes.

It is. The immediate assumption is a leak from inside, considering the materials they have on hand. When it's confirmed to have come through the window instead, it's panic time.

The alarm hadn't gone off before opening the windows. Why think it's inside when it goes off _after_ opening the windows? We know they're not rocket scientists, but still........ .

Of course. Anyone working in a nuclear field and knows how dangerous radiation truly is is going to be the first to flip the hell out when they detect radiation but are unsure of its source. For all they knew it could have been from their own plants or if they figured out it wasn't that then that still begs the question: where was it coming from? Then they find out about Chernobyl and... Ruh Roh!

The main point of the conversation with the first power plant was that they were panicking at 4 milliroentgen, when they were at twice that level.

Someone made a comment above yours that shows what the script actually read from the show, showing what the people on the phone were actually saying.

IGNALINA OPERATOR (PHONE) rushed, loud ) Hello? KHOMYUK Yes, this is Ulana Khomyuk with the Institute of Nuclear- IGNALINA OPERATOR (PHONE) You don't think we already know? We're looking for it! KHOMYUK Looking for- IGNALINA OPERATOR (PHONE) We've got 4 milliroentgen here, I've got men crawling over the whole plant... no steam leak, no water leak, nothing! We can't- KHOMYUK All right, stay calm. IGNALINA OPERATOR (PHONE) Don't tell me to stay calm, I want to evacuate, Moscow tells us we can't, and now you call? Who the hell are you anyway- Khomyuk hangs up on him. No time for this.

​@jayswee Fascinating exchange. They seem much more professional than the management at Chernobyl. Even at 4 miliroentgen they're trying everything to find the leak and even want to evacuate. Meanwhile at Chernobyl they're at a believed 3.6 Roentgen and they're like "ehh no biggie"

That was the Soviet union in the 80s.

I thought they just randomly started eating gum but I think that was iodine ... Amazing!

The subtle change in his face from surprised concern to horror when she says that

"Sir, our people are lit up with radiation!" "Oh, noes! We have a leak!" "Sir, they're not leaving, they're coming in."

Mikhail Gorbachev would agree. He cites Chernobyl as a factor in the collapse of the USSR.

@@SamaritanPrime I can assure you, he was right about that. While the general population never _really_ believed all the propaganda from Moscow, it was this incident and the blatant lies that came after, that made them finally realize the government would sacrifice THEIR lives for its image. It was THE incident that made people understand the USSR could not continue. It took another 5 years, but the truck caught fire and started rolling down the hill on April 26, 1986.

NOT, ALL heroes wear caps! You're da man, Wolf..!!

What about the radio at the start of this scene?

@@MBOmnis Sorry, I thought I replied to this but I guess KZfaq ate it. The radio is reciting the poem "to Alexei Surkov"

Hey, thanks for the transcript!

It's called "ruling things out".

@@grizzfan08 More like "exposition"

Keep in mind that the USSR actively spread the message of how amazing russian nuclear technology was. RMBK reactors were so mind-blowingly amazing that they didn't even need containment buildings. When everyone says the reactor simply can't melt down, why even think it? USSR propaganda plays a big part here.

Yeah, they were amazing, they were cheap and made plutonium. That being said RBMK IS safe when operated properly.

@@michalsoukup1021 No. "According to KGB documents, declassified in Ukraine on 26 April 2021,[21] serious incidents occurred in the third and fourth reactors in 1984. According to the same documents, the central government in Moscow knew as early as 1983 that the powerplant was "one of the most dangerous nuclear powerplants in the USSR"." Even Moscow knew the RBMK reactors are shit, as with most things from the USSR.

Mein Fuhrer ... Steiner's attack ... has failed.

"That was an ORDER!!"

More like: The core: Ura~nium fever has done n got me down! Uranium fe~ver is speadin all around!

Reactor 4's core, split open: * *incomprehensible screeching* *

You should bet in the second option.

No, the question was if the Americans had launched nukes. That's why she checked the isotopes, and concluded it was non military.

a well done J-cut)

The scary thing here is people that think like you. If everything looks shitty, its time to clean your glasses. Dont project your hated and cold hearted murderous ways on others. Else, I may have to kill you

I dont' thionk this is fictional, scientists USUALY work like this, situation like this, you work the problem, until you either solved it or it solved you.

@@michalsoukup1021 no, no, no. That doesn't fit his edgelord hardcore kill all the things narrative! Because obviously, being an intelligent and apparently bloodthirsty person, if others were smart like him they too would be equally as bloodthirsty, duh! The only reason why people aren't constantly trying to kill each other is because they are dumber than them. (Because in this day and age it actually needs to be said thanks to the "if you don't believe exactly what I do for exactly the same reasons you are my enemy" pop-culture) #obvioussarcasm The fact that there are people that view the world this way, and don't see the inherent issues with that are a very functional part of the larger problem. Unfortunately, those among us who have bothered to look outside our narrow world views, and question their origins, validity, inevitabilities, avenues for abuse not just by the ideals but from the anti-ideals as well, they have come to a deeper understanding of existence than Mr alpha douche bro there could ever hope to achieve if they could even conceptualize it in the first place. And this unfortunate understanding affords them at the very least the privilege to continue breathing, which they abuse by spreading their tired old clandestinely spoon fed memetic viral willful ignorance, and hilariously thinking themselves tall for it! Junior there doesn't even realize this 'im 14 and this is deep' ride he's spouting is classic disillusionment to keep us distracted from what The Man™ is doing behind the scenes. Which, spoiler alert, isn't as much as ones media rattled mind would assume (again if ones mind can even wrap itself around the concept most of the experiences they pull their outrage from is from popular media.....ha yeah, right....). Nevermind the left hand not knowing what the right is doing, the index 1st knuckle doesn't know the 3rd knuckle even exists, and assuming the pinky knuckles are aware enough to be in a hierarchical organization, its in cahoots with the left ankle. Unless the returns next quarter don't come through, of course. The simple truth is on the whole no one really knows what anyone else is doing, and anyone could be working a con with anyone else whether either party realizes it or not. But this idea that 'smart people to the death thing' is absolute hilarious lunacy and smacks of 'oh you sweet summer child' 😂

Ulana is a combination of dozens of very real people who all did their part. A Soviet researcher at the radiological institute in the city the scene occurs in did in fact discover that there was a major problem - and likely very close to how this scene played out. A radiation alarm was set off. They did a swab test and tested it and identified I131, and they knew that it had to come from a nuclear reactor core... and which were the likely ones given the wind direction. I have no doubt that they quickly identified that it was Chernobyl.

Worse. In a situation like that, someone is always ready to answer the phone because the politicians are involved. No one is answering the phone because it is too dangerous at the phone location to be answering it...

So sorry, love.

Many times. History is brimming with them. Chernobyl is simply one of the top closest times we've actually almost lost it all. Here's something to really think about: We as a species have permanently bound the survival of all life on this entire planet with the survival of our species. All thanks to nuclear power, because if humanity were to suddenly vanish or go extinct tomorrow, all that would do is begin the countdown timer to each and every single nuclear reactor on earth inevitably failing without humans to oversee, operate, ans maintain them, and thus would begin having meltdowns akin to Chernobyl. At which point each one would begin leaking radiation all over the planet until all life everywhere would eventually die off. Chernobyl Reactor 4 by itself almost made the entire continent of Europe uninhabitable for 20,000 to over 50,000 years by itself... How many other plants/reactors are there around the world? A Nuclear Reactor core doesn't turn off by simply flipping a switch or pressing a button.

Meanwhile the radiation fries their arse, but at least their head is fine... for a minute longer.

The radio was playing when the guy walks in. They know the news isn't talking about it.

That's a scintillation detector, not a mass spectrometer. It analyzes the characteristic energy spectrum of the radioactive emissions to allow you to identify the isotopes involved.

Kind of brainwashed. If you have been told by someone in authority that something can't happen, then it has to be the instruments.

...My personal favourites being: "We're still wearing the fuckin' hats." and "Well don't look at me; I thought that went surprisingly *well*. "