The city of Chernobyl ( Pripyat ) before the nuclear accident - 1982 (translated)

#HBO #Chernobyl #Pripyat
"What is special about the new recently born city? Besides the fact that it was created thanks to the electrical giant, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant?"

Driven by that question, the documentary "Involvement", produced in 1982, presents the Pripyat city and interviews the main people responsible for planning it. Throughout the interviews, the concern with creating a pleasant city and encouraging permanent housing for its workers is noticeable, that process didn't happen frequently in industrial cities of the same size. From the beginning there is also the memory construction of audacity from its creators:
"The city of Pripyat is lucky, those who created it, managed to not only put a particle of their hearts in the creation of their hands and minds. They even found the courage to break established ideas and stereotypes."

Among the aspects that differentiated the new city from other Soviet cities, according to its builders, was the landscaping, the afforestation, resulting from the preservation of the old trees in the region, and the constant attention to these aspects, carried out in parallel to the new housing construction. and expansion of the city, as well as verticalization as a solution in the creation of a compact city.
In a second part, there is also a social concern with the population, whether in the educational field, or even in commercial services. Among the problems faced by the city was the high birth rate, which demanded the creation of new places in kindergartens and schools. Concern over the population's problems, according to Voloshko, president of the City's Executive Council, allowed Pripyat to quickly finish his works, including the delivery of the first nuclear reactors in Chernobyl.
The identity of an exemplary city, which fulfills all the directive plans and expands its service to citizens and the country's economy, despite the difficulties and at all costs, is remarkable. The audacity with which its creators wanted to be recognized is also remarkable. They would have broken bureaucratic rules in the construction of the city, either in the construction of a large swimming pool, in a city where such construction would normally not be authorized, or even in the flooding of the stream for the construction of a river station, but whose initially alleged motive was the "health needs".
In addition to the high birth rate, the city also used Komsomol youth labor, something relatively common in the country's buildings and factories. For the training of workers and workers in Chernobyl, a distance learning branch was opened in the city.
Finally, the implementation of nuclear power plants is also advocated, which in comparison with thermoelectric plants would emit less thermal loads and soot. In addition to these environmental concerns, the option for nuclear energy for the potential military use of this technology is not evidenced.

The following were interviewed:
president of the City Executive Council
Vladimir Pavlovich Voloshko
chief of Construction Management at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant
Vasiliy Trofimovich Kizima
chief architect of the city project
Gennadiy Ivanovich Oleshko
chief of construction site
Anatoliy Grigoryevich Loza
chief physician of the city hospital
and medical candidate of sciences (doctor)
Vitaliy Aleksandrovich Leonenko
engineer
Lyubov Andreyevna Subbotina
brigadier of the Complex Brigade
and deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR
Vladislav Vasilievich Bokov
physician-hygienist
Ivan Ignatyevich Stepanushko
and the head of the industrial and sanitary laboratory
Mikhail Mikhaylovich Luchinskiy

On April 26, 1986, Anatoly Dyatlov had two options: to postpone the safety test, or to ignore some details of the reactor's operation and proceed with that. Perhaps the city's identity contributed to decision making.

Translated by Jordan Rocha
Thanks to:
Maia Mikheitchik (my teacher)
Eva Eugênia Karpovkina,
Alissa Kogan
(they are from a facebook translators group)

Видео The city of Chernobyl ( Pripyat ) before the nuclear accident - 1982 (translated) канала Автоэкспорт СССР