Nikolai Fomin
Chief engineer of the plant who approved the safety test.
Last updated
Nikolai Fomin was chief engineer of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant at the time of the disaster. Born in 1937 in Novoekonomichne in Donetsk Oblast, he had held the post since 1981. As chief engineer he approved the turbine safety test that led to the explosion of the reactor.
Last updated 2026-09-29 from the source article.
Lore & Background
Fomin began his career at the Zaporizhzhia thermal power station and moved to the Chernobyl plant in 1972. The test he approved as chief engineer was run under the responsibility of his deputy, Dyatlov.
He learned of the accident at about 4 am on April 26, 1986, and took part in the clean-up. He was later arrested together with plant director Bryukhanov. He had been a party member and was expelled after the disaster.
Reader's Guide
The trial was first scheduled for March 24, 1987, and had to be postponed several times after Fomin attempted suicide. In court he blamed the operators for departing from the test plan. He and Bryukhanov were found guilty and each sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Fomin received psychiatric treatment several times while in prison. He was released early for health reasons and transferred to a psychiatric hospital. After leaving hospital he worked at the Kalinin Nuclear Power Plant. Since retiring in 2000 he has lived in Udomlya with his family.
In the television series Chernobyl, a dramatisation, he is portrayed by Adrian Rawlins.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Nikolai Fomin (engineer) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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