Half a year before the disaster – in November 1985 – he {Vlasov N.N.} visited the station as part of a massive Inspection Commission – which found no serious violations. He had been there before – but only to inspect the alarm and annunciator systems and protective structures. He wasn't admitted to the sanctuary - “the holy of holies” of ChAPS (Chernobyl Atomic Power Station). How could he be admitted, if all the “nuclear” documentation was kept “locked behind seven seals” in Moscow !– and one had to ask Moscow for admition to any high security facility – such as an atomic power station.

What struck me first was the abandonment. There was this complete desolation. As we drove past those villages that were all around, one couldn't help the feeling of forlornness and desolation – all those houses and yards overrun with weeds... At the beginning it was slightly depressing, you know...