Chernobyl - TV series Wow!

[GaryH]

For those of you who like historical drama, this is a can't miss. TV at its finest hour. I vaguely remember the actual occurrence but this series brought it into sharp focus. A disaster that the old Soviet regime tried to keep from the world and could have been even worse. What I really like about this show is that it focused on the heroes whose self sacrifice saved much of Europe. And there were thousands of heroes. I especially like the coal miners who worked around the clock for a month in hellish conditions to contain the nuclear reactor.

I am surprised that they actually showed this in Russia. The Russian government is not happy and they are going to make their own version in which they blame the Americans.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...king-version-Chernobyl-blame-AMERICA-CIA.html

But there are journalists in Russia who aren't afraid to speak the truth. Why is it that America has to tell the truth about Russian heroes and not Russia? This is why a free press is so important.
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/06/04/putins-media-struggle-to-deal-with-hbos-chernobyl-a65866

And finally something more ghoulish. The HBO show has increased tourism of Chernobyl by 30% - 40%. I don't understand why people would be attracted to this. I used to work down near the World Trade Center and after 9/11, I was disgusted by the number of people you would see daily taking smiling selfies near the site.
https://nypost.com/2019/06/06/tourists-are-flocking-to-chernobyl-thanks-to-hbo-miniseries/

But to end on a positive note, see this if you haven't. We see negative news in the papers every day. Now and then it is nice to look at some positives. The stories of the heroes who died preventing an even larger disaster is really inspiring.

 

[What's My Name]

Me too, especially when in the beginning it said that this disaster would impact people getting cancer for 100 years.

And finally something more ghoulish. The HBO show has increased tourism of Chernobyl by 30% - 40%. I don't understand why people would be attracted to this.

 

[hungry101]

But to end on a positive note, see this if you haven't. We see negative news in the papers every day. Now and then it is nice to look at some positives. The stories of the heroes who died preventing an even larger disaster is really inspiring.

You are exactly right Gary. I loved this series and watched every episode multiple times. It shows the Soviet Union for what it is. People like the minors, the scientists and various operators like the divers that turned the pumps on were the heroes. Various communist apparatchiks and the KGB preferred to put the Soviet people at risk. They said that the Chernobyl disaster helped to take down the Soviet Union. It was the last straw.

 

[GaryH]

Hungry - Your post reminded me of a SP I saw last year in Montreal. When I told her I was from the U.S., she said that she hated the U.S. but loved the Soviet Union. She said she was from Moldova and could not have been older than 23. She could never have lived in the Soviet Union, so I wondered why she would love it. Then I found this old article of a small break away country from Moldova that still celebrates the old Soviet Union and all of its communist icons. (Maybe she's from there?) It is actually a tourist destination for people who want the old Soviet Union experience. Again I ask - Are these people crazy?

https://nypost.com/2018/02/22/500k-people-live-in-a-country-that-doesnt-exist/

 

[Bred Sob]

She could never have lived in the Soviet Union, so I wondered why so would love it.

I think the answer is probably right there: because she did not live in the Soviet Union and has no clue what life was like in there. Happens a lot, unfortunately, and not only in Moldova / Transnistria, but in Russia itself as well.

 

[oobe]

she did not live in the Soviet Union and has no clue what life was like in there.

Same as "make America great again", manufactured nostalgia is a tool as old as political propaganda (see: the Old Testament & paradise lost)

 

[Bred Sob]

Same as "make America great again"

No. Nothing in common. Although it is all Trump's fault, who can argue with that. Chernobyl, global warming, high indy prices and what not.

In case you did not notice, there are many Trump threads as it is, not sure why you have to drag him in here as well.

 

[GaryH]

Disaster porn and cheerful selfies at sites of horrible deaths. Is this a problem with self obsessed millennials or a problem with society in general?

https://nypost.com/2019/06/12/chernobyl-instagram-thirst-traps-are-not-cool-hbo-series-creator/

Whether it is at Chernobyl or Auschwitz these people must know that this is not cool. What type of reaction are they expecting when they post these selfies on Instagram? Maybe it is just to attract controversy to drive more people to their account?

 

[Gaviote]

Loved the TV show, very realistic

 

[albator666]

A very good tv show and a lot realist too. It s just funny to see some actor of Game of Throne in it. I really like the Valery character as well as the scientist lady. both have very convincing acting performance. I like those kind of small production of HBO.Too bad they d9n't do too much. Lets hope the best in the future

 

[horny4ever]

A very good tv show and a lot realist too. It s just funny to see some actor of Game of Throne in it. I really like the Valery character as well as the scientist lady. both have very convincing acting performance. I like those kind of small production of HBO.Too bad they d9n't do too much. Lets hope the best in the future

What channel? Video torn please

 

[donbusch]

12 Aug 2019, New York Times - American intelligence officials are racing to understand a mysterious explosion that released radiation off the coast of northern Russia last week, apparently during the test of a new type of nuclear-propelled cruise missile hailed by President Vladimir V. Putin as the centerpiece of Moscow’s arms race with the United States.

American officials have said nothing publicly about the blast on Thursday, possibly one of the worst nuclear accidents in the region since Chernobyl, although apparently on a far smaller scale, with at least seven people, including scientists, confirmed dead. But the Russian government’s slow and secretive response has set off anxiety in nearby cities and towns — and attracted the attention of analysts in Washington and Europe who believe the explosion may offer a glimpse of technological weaknesses in Russia’s new arms program.

Thursday’s accident happened offshore of the Nenoksa Missile Test Site and was followed by what nearby local officials initially reported was a spike in radiation in the atmosphere.
Late Sunday night, officials at a research institute that had employed five of the scientists who died confirmed for the first time that a small nuclear reactor had exploded during an experiment in the White Sea, and that the authorities were investigating the cause.

Read more at https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&sou...aw2kEPkM4VyxCSf8LWT62ezk&ust=1565715380601842

 

[Valcazar]

I was going to bring this here too. Seems like the Russian government's default position of lying hasn't changed much.

 

[GaryH]

don -

Thank you for this article. How did I miss this news? Russia developing nuclear-powered cruise missiles to evade antimissile systems and then another nuclear accident. And the inevitable cover up of the seriousness of the accident. What's that old saying - Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it?

 

[Valcazar]

It has been all over the news since the weekend.

As far as the actual cruise missile, most people seem to think it wouldnt work. That won't stop the Russians from blowing themselves up trying to make it work, though.

 

[donbusch]

Not sure what the Russians were thinking. The Nenoska Missle Test Site is too close to major population centres to be experimenting weapons with a nuclear component. Google Maps places it roughly about 50km to Severodvinsk, home to 192,000+ people. There appears to be important submarine bases nearby too. It’s also less than 300km from Finland’s border.

Yes, so very true GaryH - those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.

 

[GaryH]

Saw a news report on the BBC last weekend about the current condition of Chernobyl. Wildlife is thriving there with the disappearance of people. And there are cats and dogs running around, even though the TV show seemed to imply they were all eradicated. The government may allow new building construction on the outskirts of the zone. There are also people who have been living in the forbidden zone for the past 30 years. They interviewed one 80 year old woman who has been living in her same home all these 30 years. She ignored the orders to vacate. She takes a drink of vodka every morning to keep her healthy. Ah such is the power of good Russian vodka!

 

[hungry101]

I'm still waiting for Putin to release the Soviet's version of what really happened. It seems that a CIA operative infiltrated the Chernobyl staff and planted a bomb. Oh My!

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/06/04/putins-media-struggle-to-deal-with-hbos-chernobyl-a65866