Alexander Akimov

Who was Alexander Akimov?

Aleksandr Fyodorovich Akimov was the shift supervisor of the night crew that worked at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Unit #4 on the night of the accident, April 26, 1986.

Akimov opposed conducting the test in such conditions of the reactor, but was ordered to continue by his superior. The reactor was in an unstable, unsafe state for a test to be run, but his superior, Anatoly Dyatlov threatened him with job termination. Akimov continued the test because of this.

The turbine was shut down as planned, and the power surged. Akimov pressed the AZ-5 to shut down the poisoned reactor. The control rods seized around 2-2.5 meters into the reactor, but the boron bars had a graphite cover that caused an increase in power. The reactor then exploded, and the communications networks were suddenly flooded with calls and information - Akimov heard reports of massive reactor damage, but would not believe it and therefore relayed false information about the state of the reactor for a few hours.Once he knew the full extent of the accident, he worked with his crew in the reactor building until early morning, trying to pump water into the exposed reactor.