The Russian government hates HBO’s Chernobyl, may make its own show
As if purposefully echoing the themes of HBO miniseries Chernobyl, about how the Soviet Union tried to control the narrative around the 1986 nuclear meltdown, members of the Russian media and government have expressed displeasure with the content of the critically lauded docudrama, and may even make their own series.
Chernobyl does an excellent job of placing the events of the disaster in context. The context, however, is not particularly flattering for those in power at the time. The most frustrating obstacle faced by characters on the show is not the radiation itself, but the constant attempts by the government to restrict the flow of information and prevent admission of their own wrongdoing. Throughout the series, the audience is reminded at multiple junctures that the Soviet establishment hates to be “humiliated” and will take measures to protect itself from blame even if it means leaving its own people vulnerable. This miniseries, which shines a bright spotlight on the governments incompetence and stubborn commitment to illusion, was bound to irk a couple of Russian officials.
According to The Moscow Times, Russian citizens have taken notice of the series, and Russian network NTV will be making its own show about the incident. Headed up by director Alexei Murdov, the show will follow KGB agents as they attempt to spoil a CIA conspiracy to sabotage the plant. The Russian establishment is coming off more than a little insecure here, and seem to be trying to further deflect blame rather than acknowledge the accusations made by HBO’s show. They are trying to sweep reality under the rug in favor of a more palatable and comforting narrative.
To anyone who watched Chernobyl, that should feel awfully familiar. There, the Soviet government tried to obscure the narrative until the truth was no longer recognizable. And here we are again, with the Russian government failing to admit wrongdoing or acknowledge the citizens who were on the ground fighting to contain the disaster and instead shifting the blame onto a foreign scapegoat.
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If the NTV series does end up being produced, it will surely be a laughable attempt at silencing one of the most profound docudramas of all time. The best it can hope to do is act as supplement to, or shadow of, HBO’s excellent series.
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