Leonid Toptunov | |
|---|---|
| Native name | Леонід Федорович Топтунов |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 16, 1960 |
| Died | May 14, 1986 (aged 25) Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Nationality | Ukrainian |
| Alma mater | Moscow Engineering Physics Institute |
Leonid Fedorovych Toptunov (Ukrainian: Леонід Федорович Топтунов; 16 August 1960 – 14 May 1986) was a Soviet engineer who was the senior reactor control chief engineer at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Reactor Unit 4 on the night of the Chernobyl disaster, 26 April 1986.[1]
Biography[]
Leonid Toptunov was born on 16 August 1960 in Mykolaivka, Buryn Raion, Sumy Oblast.
In 1983, he graduated from the Moscow Power Engineering Institute, with a specialist degree in nuclear power plant engineering. In March 1983, Toptunov began his career at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. He worked as a unit control engineer and senior reactor plant control engineer. On the night of 26 April 1986, Leonid Toptunov was working in the control room at the reactor control panel, with Aleksandr Akimov. During the accident, he was exposed to a radiation dose of 1,300 rem.
He died from the acute radiation poisoning on 14 May 1986 and was laid to rest at the Mitinskoe Cemetery in Moscow.
Recognition[]
In 2008, Toptunov was posthumously awarded with the 3rd degree Order For Courage by Viktor Yushchenko, then the President of Ukraine.[2]
He was portrayed by actor Volodya Stepanenko in the 2004 Zero Hour TV series. He was portrayed by Michael Colgan in the 2006 BBC production Surviving Disaster: Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster[3] and by Robert Emms in the 2019 HBO miniseries Chernobyl.
He is the protagonist of the independent 2020 italian novel "Un bengala nella notte" - "Bengal flares in the night".
References[]
- ↑ Татьяна, Грива. "Герои-ликвидаторы". https://chnpp.gov.ua/ru/about/labour-glory-ru/geroi-likvidatory.
- ↑ "Presidential Decree No. 1156/2008 of 12 December 2008". https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/en/1156/2008/sp:max100.
- ↑ "Surviving Disaster" Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster (TV Episode 2006) at the Internet Movie Database
External links[]
- Leonid Toptunov at Find a Grave
The original article can be found at Leonid Toptunov and the edit history here.