There's A Russian TV Version Of 'Chernobyl' On The Way Which Blames It On The CIA

HBO's Chernobyl is great. You don't even need to know that it's doing a Bryan Adams at the top of the IMDb ratings charts to know that.

That absolutely terrifying bit where the 'bio-robots' clear graphite from the roof. Jared Harris' enormous glasses, which seem to get bigger from scene to scene. On top of that, Stellan Skarsgård does some career-best looking into the middle distance, and if you've seen Mamma Mia you'll know that he really had to go some to top that.

Except not everyone's entirely happy with it. The extremely dim view that the series takes of the Soviet state's secrecy and denial of reality hasn't gone down that well with some in Russia - the Moscow Times' Ilya Shepelin has reported that pro-Kremlin media voices have derided the accuracy of the series, with R0ssia 24 anchor Stanislav Natanzon saying that "the only things missing are the bears and accordions".

So, to redress the balance, a Russian-made series retelling the story of Chernobyl is in production. This one, though, will follow KGB operatives as they attempt to get hold of a CIA operative who works at the Chernobyl power plant and who's suspected of attempting to sabotage the reactor core. It's a conspiracy theory, basically.

It might feel a bit reds-under-the-bed, but it does appear to be true. The Hollywood Reporter says that the series is being funded in part by the Russian culture ministry to the tune of 30 million rubles (£362,000), and is being shown on natural gas behemoth Gazprom's free-to-air channel NTV, which is known for generally giving two thumbs up to the Kremlin through its programming.