Chernobyl

What is the cost of lies?

It's not that we'll mistake them for the truth.

The real danger is that if we hear enough lies,

then we no longer recognize the truth at all.

What can we do then?

What else is left but to abandon even the hope of truth

and content ourselves instead with stories?

In these stories, it doesn't matter who the heroes are.

All we want to know is: who is to blame?

In this story, it was Anatoly Dyatlov.

He was the best choice.

An arrogant, unpleasant man,

he ran the room that night, he gave the orders...

and no friends.

Or, at least, not important ones.

And now Dyatlov will spend the next ten years

in a prison labor camp.

Of course, that sentence is doubly unfair.

There were far greater criminals than him at work.

And as for what Dyatlov did do,

the man doesn't deserve prison.

He deserves death.

But instead, ten years for "criminal mismanagement."

What does that mean?

No one knows. It doesn't matter.

What does matter is that, to them,

justice was done.

Because, you see, to them

a just world is a sane world.

There was nothing sane about Chernobyl.

What happened there, what happened after,

even the good we did, all of it...

all of it... madness.

Well, I've given you everything I know.

They'll deny it, of course.

They always do.

I know you'll try your best.

Lyudmilla?

Comrade Dyatlov!

Comrade Dyatlov! Comrade Dyatlov!

Comrade Dyatlov! Comrade Dyatlov!

What just happened?

I don't know.

There's a fire in the turbine hall.

The turbine hall.

The control system tank. Hydrogen.

You and Toptunov, you morons blew the tank!

- No, that's not... - This is an emergency.

Everyone stay calm. Our first priority is...

- It's exploded! - We know.

Akimov, are we cooling the reactor core?

We shut it down, but the control rods are still active.

They're not all the way in, I disengaged the clutch.

Try and disconnect the servos from the standby console.

You two, get the backup pumps running.

We need water moving through the core.

- That is all that matters. - There is no core.

It exploded, the core exploded.

He's in shock. Get him out of here.

The lid is off!

The stack is burning. I saw it.

You're confused. RBMK reactor cores don't explode.

- Akimov... - Sasha.

Don't worry, we did everything right.

Something... something strange has happened.

- Do you taste metal? - Akimov!

Comrade Perevozschenko, what you're saying is physically impossible.

The core can't explode. It has to be the tank.

We're wasting time. Let's go.

Get the hydrogen out of the generators and pump water into the core.

- What about the fire? - Call the fire brigade.

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You're not on call tonight.

They're bringing everybody in, military and civil.

Pripyat, Polesskoe, Kiev.

This is a big one.

But it doesn't look right, the color.

Pravik says he thinks they're shining floodlights or something.

And what if there are chemicals?

Chemicals?

The problem's the roof.

It's covered in tar, so it's gonna burn all night,

and it'll stink like hell. That's it.

That's the worst of it.

Go back to bed.

- Is it war? - Where's the dosimeter?

Here... Here.

Are they bombing?

What the fuck is this? It's 3.6 roentgen.

That's as high as it goes. The good one's locked in a safe.

I don't have a key.

Valera... your face.

Come on.

I'm going to find Khodemchuk in the pump room.

You... here.

Get Shashenok. He's in 604. Go.

We need to get everyone out!

Shit.

Hey! We need to get to the reactor hall.

- The lift's destroyed. - Up two flights and across.

- Right. - Why are you going there?

Have you seen Khodemchuk?

- No. Where's Viktor? - Still in the pump room.

Stay here. I'll come back.

Viktor!

Viktor.

Viktor.

Viktor. I'm gonna get you out of here.

Can you stand?

Khodemchuk...

Where?

Get Khodemchuk.

I dropped the control rods from the other panel.

- They're still up. - What?

They're still only a third of the way in, I don't know why.

I already sent the trainees down to the reactor hall to lower them by hand.

- What about the pumps? - I can't get through to Khodemchuk.

- The lines are down. - Fuck the phones and fuck Khodemchuk.

- Are the pumps on or not? - Stolyarchuk?

My control panel's not working.

I tried calling for the electricians.

I don't give a shit about the panel!

I need water in my reactor core!

Get down there and make sure those pumps are on.

Now!

What does the dosimeter say?

3.6 roentgen, but that's as high as the meter...

3.6... not great, not terrible.

We did everything right.

You, connect those hooks!

Get the pumps going!

Yeah, over here!

We're working bottom to top. Go in fast.

Vasily...

- Hey, Vasily, what's this? - I don't know, Misha.

Don't fuck around with it. Hook these up, come on.

Do you taste metal?

- Yeah, what is that? - I don't know.

The valves, Misha! The valves, let's go!

The valves! Come on!

What do you need?

We need to get into the reactor hall

to lower the control rods, but the door is jammed.

I don't think there are control rods.

I don't think there's a core.

No, you're... You're mistaken.

Akimov said.

Let's go.

No!

Ignatenko, get on his hose!

It's all right. Breathe.

Misha.

All right, all right. Easy, Misha.

Are you sure?

Akimov...

Move.

Come on, go!

Let's go!

Let's go!

Hey!

Hey!

Lyudmilla! Do you want to come with us?

Come where?

We're going to the railroad bridge to get a better look.

It's not like anyone can sleep with all the sirens.

I don't think you should go. It could be dangerous.

What do you mean dangerous? It's a fire. It's over there, we're over here.

- Mikhail. - What?

Oh, sorry.

Oh.

- Is Vasily...? - Yeah.

Did he say it was bad?

No. No, he said it was just the roof.

Well, he's never gotten hurt before.

None of the boys have.

He'll be fine.

Get some rest.

The tank, it's big enough.

This kind of explosion, the control tank on 71, it's 100 cubic meters.

One hundred and ten.

Hundred and ten. It could do this, definitely.

It's gone.

I looked right into it.

I looked into the core.

Did you lower the control rods or not?