The story of one man: General Tarakanov

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:44

Man-made disasters since the beginning of the 20th century, unfortunately, have been an integral companion of mankind. Centralia, now called nothing more than "Silent Hill", the collision of "Mont Blanc" and "Imo" in Halifax Bay, the Bhopal disaster, they all had completely different causes, but their consequences are the same - the death of a huge number of people, destruction, defeat of the affected territories and their unsuitability for life. However, what man-made disaster comes to mind when we talk about the Soviet or post-Soviet space? Perhaps the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant that occurred on April 26, 1986 near the city of Pripyat. "One of the most powerful nuclear power plants in the world" - this thesis alone speaks volumes.

A moment of history

Chernobyl nuclear power plant was the first facility of its kind in Ukraine. Its launch took place in 1970. Especially for the accommodation of employees of the newnuclear power plant was built in the city of Pripyat, designed for about 80 thousand inhabitants. On April 25, 1986, work began on shutting down the fourth power unit of the nuclear power plant. Their goal was a simple renovation.

During this procedure, on April 26, 1986, at 1:23 am, an explosion thundered, which was only the beginning of the disaster. Less than an hour after the start of extinguishing the fire, the employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations began to show signs of radioactive exposure, but none of them was going to stop working. General Tarakanov Nikolai Dmitrievich was appointed head of work to eliminate the consequences of the disaster.

Biography

He was born on May 19, 1934 in the village of Gremyache on the Don, in the Voronezh region. He grew up in a simple peasant family. In 1953, the future General Tarakanov graduated from a local school, after which he entered the Kharkov Military Technical School. In the 1980s, he served in the Civil Defense Research Institute, was the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Civil Defense of the USSR. It was Major General Tarakanov - one of those heroes who stood in the way of the worst enemy of mankind - radiation. In 1986, few people understood what happened at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. And even if they knew that there was an explosion, they still had little idea of its consequences.

Fighting the invisible death

It's enough that the first fire brigades that arrived at the scene were not equipped with any radiation protection equipment. They put out the fire "with their bare hands", which, of course, affectedfurther on their he alth. Most of them died from radiation sickness in the first months, and some even in the first days after the explosion. General Tarakanov did not find Chernobyl in this form. His tasks included organizing the cleanup of the fourth power unit from radiation contamination.

He arrived at the place later, albeit a small, but still a period of time. Initially, it was planned to use special robots imported from the GDR, however, according to the memoirs of General Tarakanov himself, these machines were not adapted to work in conditions of extreme radiation contamination. Their use at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant turned out to be useless, the machines simply did not work. At the same time, it was decided to involve ordinary soldiers in cleaning the roof of the fourth power unit from the remnants of nuclear fuel.

Master Plan

It was here that Nikolai Tarakanov - General with a capital letter - proposed a specific plan. He was well aware that soldiers should not be allowed to be cleaning for more than 3 - 4 minutes, otherwise they risk receiving lethal doses of radiation. And he followed his plan unquestioningly, since none of his subordinates spent more than the allotted time there, with the exception of Cheban, Sviridov and Makarov. These three climbed onto the roof of the fourth power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant three times, but they are all alive to this day.

Initially, it was assumed that General Tarakanov, upon arrival at Chernobyl, would lead the operation from a command post located 15 kilometers from the place of work. However, he found this unreasonable, because at such a distance it was impossible to control suchimportant and subtle work. As a result, he was equipped with a point near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Subsequently, this decision greatly affected his he alth.

The soldiers spoke extremely warmly about their commander, because he was next to them, also fought with radiation.

After some time, the question arose of conferring the title of Hero of the USSR on General Tarakanov. However, due to tense relations with superiors, Nikolai Dmitrievich never received this award. He himself does not lament over this, but nevertheless admits that he feels some resentment.

Today's days

Now Tarakanov Nikolai Dmitrievich suffers from radiation sickness, which he has to fight with the help of medications. In his few interviews, he honestly admits that he is depressing by the current attitude of the state towards the liquidator soldiers, who decontaminated the territory of the former Chernobyl nuclear power plant at the cost of their lives. They did this not for the sake of awards, it was their duty, and now they have been undeservedly forgotten. Nikolai Dmitrievich very much hopes that he will catch the day when this omission will be corrected.