【Menshack stopped in front of another tombstone: Alexandra Menshakevich Petrov (1925-1950): Communist, from Moscow to Berlin, he never retreated, always moved forward.
"His name is Menshakevich..." A young man exclaimed, "Is he your son?"
Elder Menshak nodded and smiled proudly, saying, "He is my proud son. He fought back from Moscow all the way to Berlin, Germany, and planted our red flag on the Reichstag."
He raised his eyes and met countless heavy gazes. Instead, he burst into laughter, his smile was cunning like a child who successfully played a trick on an adult. "Don't feel sad for Shanya. He didn't die in battle. He died of illness."
"Shania was a lousy kid since he was young," Menshak shook his head helplessly, like an ordinary old man complaining to his neighbors about his disappointing child. "He came back from the battlefield safe and sound, and I praised him for being lucky. Who would have thought that in the winter of 1950, he died in bed due to a fever."
"How could he die so easily..." The old man curled up his index finger and knocked on the tombstone, muttering in a low voice: "You are such a worry."
A few drops of water fell to the ground and quickly evaporated.
…
………
The old Menshak stopped and looked intently at the name on the tombstone. The young people noticed that his fingers were trembling as he touched the tombstone.
There is a simple line of words engraved on the tombstone:
Ivan Ivanovich Petrov (1960-1986): a brave communist and firefighter who died in Chernobyl.
The young people were silent because of the location.
Elderly Menshak gently wiped away the tears from his eyes and suddenly showed an extremely proud smile, "This is my grandson. He is a loyal and brave young man."
"Do you know about the Chernobyl accident?" The old man did not want the young man to answer. This question did not need to be answered at all. Everyone knew about the Chernobyl accident. He continued: "When the reactor exploded, Ivan was one of the first 108 firefighters to put out the fire."
Picture after picture flashed by.
At 1:23 a.m. on April 26, 1986, a devastating explosion was heard at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. A few seconds later, a huge mushroom cloud rose.
"The radiation dose released by this explosion was more than 400 times that of the Hiroshima atomic bomb explosion. Reactor No. 4 was a sea of fire. At 1:26:03, Ivan and his team received the fire alarm. Two minutes later, they arrived at the scene and began to put out the fire without wearing any radiation protection equipment."
Young men in fire suits jumped off the fire truck and rushed towards the nuclear reactor with high-pressure water guns. Their exposed skin quickly turned black and peeled off under the strong nuclear radiation, and large areas of ulcers appeared on their bodies. Firefighters kept falling in the sea of fire, but no one stopped.
Menshak's voice sounded along with the picture: "18 hours later, the government set up a special investigation team to rush to the accident site to investigate. Generally speaking, a human body exposed to 500 roentgens of radiation for one hour will be fatal. The result of this investigation is that the radiation level above Chernobyl is 20,000 roentgens, and the radiation level inside the exploded reactor is 30,000 roentgens."
Unlike the calmness when he introduced his son's tombstone just now, the elderly Menshak seemed to be unable to keep a calm expression any longer. He choked violently and tried to open his eyes wide to prevent tears from falling. He muttered to himself: "Because of the intense nuclear radiation, we have not seen Ivan's body. We only heard that it has rotted away... like... a piece of rotten... meat."
Since arriving at this cemetery, the young people have been crying non-stop. At this moment, they choked with sobs: "I'm so sorry..."
"He's a hero..."
"...I will never forget him."
The old Menshak, on the other hand, calmed down.
But his expression seemed more numb than calm.
He has witnessed too many deaths in his life.
"Ivan was a Communist, and this was what he should do," said the elderly Menshak. "Many people died at that time."
"34 hours after the accident, 53,000 residents of Chernobyl were evacuated. Later, the government evacuated all residents within 30 kilometers of the nuclear power plant. But... it was too late. Due to the severe nuclear radiation, many people died and many were disabled. Most of their offspring were deformed..."
The screen flashed, showing all kinds of strange and deformed children. Their faces were hideous and their expressions were painful, which made people shudder. 】
Xie Xun almost cried out in surprise.
This is a scene that only appears in thrillers.
Xie Xun knew very little about backward energy such as nuclear energy. He never expected that this terrible energy was used in the ancient Earth!
How will things develop next? How can the Soviet Union reduce the negative impact of nuclear radiation?
[“In order to detect the radiation environment, the government dispatched helicopters to collect air samples over the nuclear reactor more than 500 times. Later, helicopters came and went for many days, pouring 5,000 tons of boron carbide and sand on the exposed nuclear reactor to absorb the neutrons produced by the chain reaction. This finally stopped the nuclear fission reaction and reduced the radioactivity outside the nuclear power plant by a hundred times.”
Before the young people could smile with satisfaction, the old Menshak continued:
"The helicopter responsible for the airdrop did not have any radiation protection facilities. More than 600 pilots were severely exposed to nuclear radiation. Many of them died, and those who stayed behind also suffered from radiation sickness... At that time, they boarded the helicopter with a smile on their face."
In one old photo after another, the pilots drank vodka with a smile, said goodbye to people with a smile, climbed onto the helicopter with a smile, and went to their death calmly.
"We may not see tomorrow," one pilot said to his friends with a smile.
So the gratified smiles on the faces of the young people in peacetime froze at their mouths, and their eyes showed a kind of bewilderment, panic, and deep sadness.
Menshak's recollection continued: "Because Ivan and his team had injected 20,000 tons of water above the reactor to put out the fire, the temperature of the nuclear reactor below was too high, and the bottom was already a piece of molten lava, and a strong steam explosion was likely to occur. In order to prevent this disaster, three engineers carried out this suicide mission. They dived into the water in the basement, opened the drain valve, and let the water drain out... The nuclear reactor was under their bodies. Fortunately, they survived."
…
"In order to prevent the lava from sinking and contaminating water resources, the miners dug tunnels from the side of the reactor and injected liquid nitrogen into the tunnels to lower the temperature of the lava so that it could be solidified and sealed later... The miners were exposed to nuclear radiation for a long time, and many of them had their life spans cut in half. Many of them also suffered from incurable radiation sickness, and some... gave birth to deformed children."
…
"Later, the army came and they started to build a sarcophagus to isolate the radioactive source. Before that, they had to clean up the reactor..."
The scene cuts in again, showing a well-dressed middle-aged soldier standing at the front of the team, with a line of subtitles appearing in front of him: General Taraknov, Commander of the Soviet Engineering Corps.
He slowly scanned the endless soldiers, with a brave and fearless look on his face. He waved his arms and shouted, "Comrades, please rest! Everyone knows their tasks. The political commissar and I just went to the roof. There is nothing special there! Everything is ready. Everyone shovels twice and then comes down quickly. Remember the protection tips! Ten people per group, no more than 90 seconds! I will go up first, followed by the political commissar, the Communists and the Communist Youth League members. Other comrades follow behind, pay attention to safety. The holidays and the sanatorium on the Black Sea are ready for us. For the Soviet motherland!"
…
Five months later, the nuclear reactor was completely cleaned up and a red flag was flying at the highest point of the nuclear power plant.
"During the nearly two-year rescue operation, a total of 600,000 Soviet people were recruited, including thousands of occupations and positions... My descendants also responded to the call-up and did some minor work... Fortunately, they were infected with relatively mild nuclear radiation and survived successfully..."
…
The elderly Menshak continued to move forward, and the silent tombstones were like signposts, marking the past.
"This is...Andre. He and I are brothers in the same trench."
The birth and death years on the tombstone are 1910-1991.
The young people's faces relaxed a little. Eighty-one years old could be considered a long life. This man finally did not die young.
"I'm so sorry, did he die of illness?"
The elderly Menshak shook his head and replied indifferently: "He committed suicide. On the day Gorbachev announced the dissolution, he ended his life with a shotgun."
“We are the remnants of the old era, and the new era has no ship that can carry us.”①
Menshak looked up at the sky, stretched out his hand to block the dazzling sunlight, squinted his eyes and muttered to himself: "Why am I still alive?"】
Xie Xun opened his eyes wide, feeling a huge sense of absurdity in his heart.
Of course, he had done his homework before and knew that the Soviet Union would not last long and would soon disintegrate. But at this moment, after hearing about the glorious and tragic past of this country, and knowing how loyal, brave, selfless and pure its people were, the country's sudden demise became particularly unbearable.
How could such a powerful country, with such brave and courageous people, fall apart so easily? What happened?
Xie Xun was not puzzled for too long, and soon the memories of the old Menshak gave him the answer.
The collapse of the Soviet Union was the result of the combined effects of internal and external factors.
There is peaceful evolution in Western countries outside and failed economic and political reforms at home.
The Soviet Union had the most powerful steel army in the world, but its people were hungry.
Then, under the attack of Western sugar-coated bullets, the purity and firmness of the party members were shaken, and many doubts suddenly appeared among the party members.
At the same time, in the eyes of corruption among party members, large numbers of parasites embezzled state property, bribery was rampant, production efficiency was low, and a large number of privileged classes were bred.
The new world of equality for all that the proletariat dreams of seems to be getting further and further away from them.
These privileged classes questioned the system, the policies, the legitimacy of the party's rule, and the necessity of the Soviet's existence.
Later, Gorbachev came to power and implemented reforms, implemented political "pluralism" and a multi-party system, and gave up the leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
【“At that time, Gorbachev held a referendum, and 80% of Soviet people opposed the dissolution of the Soviet Union, but in the end the Soviet Union still disintegrated.”
The elderly Menshak waved his cane and suddenly went into a rage at the top of his lungs. "Yeltsin, that traitor! He betrayed the party! He betrayed his faith! He was the one who forcibly dissolved the Soviets! And Gorbachev, that coward! That wimp! That traitor! Why didn't he die? How could he live to be a ridiculous movie actor, announcing the disintegration of the Soviet Union in his movies again and again!"
The scene flashed again. In order to prevent the disintegration of the Soviet Union, some soldiers launched a coup in an attempt to save the Soviet Union.
On August 23, 1991, Yeltsin demanded at the National People's Congress that the party members who launched the coup stop all activities, arrested the leaders who participated in the coup and charged them with treason.
On the eve of the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Marshal Akhromeyev committed suicide and left a suicide note: "When the great country for which we have devoted our lives is about to perish, when everything I regard as the meaning of life is being destroyed, I can no longer live. I have the freedom to choose to end my life, and I will fight to the last breath of my life."
On December 26, 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed and Russia was born.
The old Menshak closed his eyes and burst into tears.
"We dedicated our youth and blood to our country, but when our country is gone, we are left destitute..."
The music starts: "Do you know that being in the fog is like being in a cemetery? Once you lose your footing, you will sleep forever in a foreign land."②
"This is Norman. He loves smoking, but after the collapse of the Soviet Union, he couldn't afford cigarettes and could only pick up cigarette butts on the road to smoke..."
"To love life, hold faith and yearning, and to watch over her suffering for this love."
"This is Emma. She sold all her military medals to buy food for her family..."
"With unwavering determination, I do not blame the fickleness of fate. With sincerity, I am not afraid of the vicissitudes of life."
"This is Andrei. He lost both legs on the battlefield, but Yeltsin refused to pay him a subsidy. His children regarded him as a burden. In the end, he chose to commit suicide out of despair."
"The light of dawn illuminates your loyalty, and the dawn moment writes the chapter of the motherland."
"This is Okinets. He used to be an excellent pilot... He got radiation sickness. He has no money. His children need to eat, so he can only steal potatoes..."
"The dawn here is so quiet, with layers of mist lingering like bandages, and the lake reflects the blood-red glow."
"Every year, tens of thousands of party members and soldiers commit suicide..."
Menshak passed the last tombstone, pointed to the empty space beside him, and said calmly: "This is my grave."
"My name is Menshak, I am a Communist Party member and political commissar. I lived in the Soviet Union and died in Russia."
"The dawns here are silent, the red dawn streams through the apple trees, the blazing sun is like a bee sting."
The author has something to say:
① In One Piece, Whitebeard's last words before his death seem to be very suitable to describe the old party members after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
②Song "The Dawns Here Are Quiet"
All the names on the tombstones in the movie are fictional, but their deeds are real.
P.S. Let's take a look at the Fukushima nuclear power plant next door in Japan. It is a wonderful irony. This kind of national mobilization, with people fighting bravely and fearing no death, can only exist in our socialist country.
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