RUSSIAN state TV is preparing to broadcast its own drama telling the story of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster, but unlike the popular HBO series that has captivated audiences worldwide, the Russian version will suggest a CIA agent was there during the accident. The Russian series, also titled “Chernobyl,” is being produced by NTV, one of Russia’s main television channels. Shot in Belarus, the series has been in production since 2014 and is supported by Russia’s Ministry of Culture. The HBO series has been a global hit, including in Russia, praised by critics and viewers for its remarkable attention to detail. The Russian show sticks less closely to reality. Its director Aleksey Muradov told the Russian press that his version would include an alternative theory of the disaster. According to a description of the show, the plot will focus on a fictional contest between a U.S. CIA agent who infiltrates the power station to gather intelligence and a KGB counter-intelligence officer hunting him. “The hypothesis about American interference in the work of the Chernobyl power station exists. Many histories don’t rule out that on the day of the explosion an agent of the enemy security services was working at the station. Till this day it has not been established whether his activity was connected with the explosion,” said Muradov. The NTV show is surfacing amid a disgruntled reaction among Russian media to the HBO series. In Russia, the series has been criticized as diminishing the heroism of emergency workers and as overly-focused on the negative aspects of what it remains the world’s worst nuclear disaster.(SD-Agencies) |