> he is dismissive of his staff's concerns, he bullies them into submission, and he has a callous indifference to safety.
I suspect that you are sourcing "Midnight in Chernobyl", which is based on Medvedev's book, which is full of inventions.
> a regime that intentionally buries secrets, like them already knowing the unsafe design of the RBMK control rods.
This is an invention in the miniseries. See section 4.1 in the INSAG-7 about the Ignalina phenomenon.
> When the reactor power could not be restored to the intended level of 700 MW(th), the operating staff did not stop and think, but on the spot they modified the test conditions to match their view at that moment of the prevailing conditions.
This is a weak spot in the INSAG-7. The 700 MW was the upper limit, not the lower and this number was put in the test conditions by Dyatlov, who designed the test.
> operating rules were violated, and control and safety rods were placed in a configuration
The only operational rule violated was the ORM margin but there was no indication about this metric in the control room and the operators weren't aware of this violation. They were still prosecuted for this. Criminal investigation against Akimov and Toptunov was closed only in November 1986, six months after their deaths.
> INSAG, with the present report, does not retract INSAG-1, nor does it alter the conclusions of that report except as clearly indicated here.
I love this. "No, no, it wasn't bullshit that Legasov gave us in 1986."
> the operators to invent changes to nuclear safety tests
It is not that kind of nuclear safety test that was sent to them from above. The organization that designed the reactor proposed a new mode of operation but didn't bother to design anything. The changes to the design and testing were prepared locally at Chernobyl NPP, so it was Dyatlov who prepared the test program. Fomin authorized the test. The INSAG-7 report says that regulations NSR-04-74 and GSP-82, which were in force at the time of the accident, did not require the plant managers to obtain approval from someone else. In 1987, Fomin was sentenced to 10 years in a penal colony anyway.
I suspect that you are sourcing "Midnight in Chernobyl", which is based on Medvedev's book, which is full of inventions.
> a regime that intentionally buries secrets, like them already knowing the unsafe design of the RBMK control rods.
This is an invention in the miniseries. See section 4.1 in the INSAG-7 about the Ignalina phenomenon.
> When the reactor power could not be restored to the intended level of 700 MW(th), the operating staff did not stop and think, but on the spot they modified the test conditions to match their view at that moment of the prevailing conditions.
This is a weak spot in the INSAG-7. The 700 MW was the upper limit, not the lower and this number was put in the test conditions by Dyatlov, who designed the test.
> operating rules were violated, and control and safety rods were placed in a configuration
The only operational rule violated was the ORM margin but there was no indication about this metric in the control room and the operators weren't aware of this violation. They were still prosecuted for this. Criminal investigation against Akimov and Toptunov was closed only in November 1986, six months after their deaths.
> INSAG, with the present report, does not retract INSAG-1, nor does it alter the conclusions of that report except as clearly indicated here.
I love this. "No, no, it wasn't bullshit that Legasov gave us in 1986."
> the operators to invent changes to nuclear safety tests
It is not that kind of nuclear safety test that was sent to them from above. The organization that designed the reactor proposed a new mode of operation but didn't bother to design anything. The changes to the design and testing were prepared locally at Chernobyl NPP, so it was Dyatlov who prepared the test program. Fomin authorized the test. The INSAG-7 report says that regulations NSR-04-74 and GSP-82, which were in force at the time of the accident, did not require the plant managers to obtain approval from someone else. In 1987, Fomin was sentenced to 10 years in a penal colony anyway.