Historian on Saturdays: Oleksandr Gogun. The 1941 DniproHES demolition: truth and myths (28.03.2024)
An unscheduled episode of the “Historian on Saturdays” series with historian Oleksandr Gogun (ru-orig), filmed after Russian missiles struck DniproHES in March 2024. Gogun carried out archival research in Moscow and found two key documents about the demolition of 18 August 1941: the State Defence Committee (GKO) order signed by Stalin (17.08.1941) and the investigation file of the demolitionist Boris Epov. He goes through, by name, the seven main myths about the event: thousands/tens of thousands of victims, “the NKVD did it,” pre-planned mining, a 25–30 m “tsunami,” sunken ships, and more. A source for the article on the DniproHES demolition as an example of Soviet falsification (for decades the USSR blamed the Germans) and, at the same time, a caution against the reverse mythologising of the death toll.
Key moments
- 03:30 Gogun's two archival finds in Moscow: the GKO order signed by Stalin (17.08.1941) and the investigation file of demolitionist Boris Epov
- 06:14 Casualties: by Gogun's estimate, dozens — at most about 200 (Red Army soldiers and partisans); documented civilian deaths: zero
- 07:39 The myth that 'the NKVD did it' — in fact it was Red Army sappers
- 10:18 The 25–30 m 'tsunami' is a myth; by Volodymyr Linnikov's calculations the water rose ~5.5 m
- 12:14 The full text of the GKO order of 17 August 1941 to demolish DniproHES is read out
- 17:00 The tens-of-thousands casualty myth was seeded by Nazi propaganda (March 1942) and Fyodor Pigido's book
- 38:39 All those who directly demolished DniproHES named: Epov, Bednyakov, Osipov, Afanasyev — all army, not a single Chekist
- 57:00 The Germans demolished DniproHES separately — in autumn 1943 during their retreat; comparison with the 2023 Kakhovka dam demolition