Turfseer From the title of his new documentary, you might come to believe that Chad Gracia is an undercover ornithologist skulking about in the former Soviet Union, attempting to discover a new species of woodpecker. Be assured that this is not exactly what his documentary is about— although he has found an "odd bird" in the guise of one Fedor Alexandrovich, a Ukrainian performance artist, who insists he has discovered the cause of the nuclear accident at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in 1986.Alexandrovich was temporarily separated from his parents as a child after the Chernobyl disaster and placed in a state run orphanage. Back then it was discovered that he had been poisoned by Strontium-90 radiation and still suffers from health problems related to the Chernobyl explosion.Alexandrovich's focus is on the Duga over-the-horizon radio antenna which was designed by the Soviets in 1976 to counter what was perceived as American encroachment in the surveillance sphere during the Cold War. The antenna emitted a chopping sound which was dubbed in the west as "The Russian Woodpecker." Some speculated that this was an attempt on the part of the Soviets at mind control but truth be told, the project was considered a failure (the signal was ineffective due to the effect of the Aurora Borealis and had no deleterious consequences in the U.S.).Alexandrovich goes about interviewing various scientists and aging former Soviet officials (sometimes with a hidden camera) to find out if there was a connection between the Woodpecker and Chernobyl. Of course his interviewees emphatically deny the connection but Alexandrovich, in the spirit of any grand conspiracy theorist here in the U.S., determines that one particular Soviet official (his name escapes me), who was in charge of the Duga radar system, was principally responsible for the Chernobyl disaster. Alexandrovich's accusation comes without a shred of proof and one wonders whether the Soviets would be that stupid to intentionally cause the Chernobyl disaster which would not only eliminate their adversaries but possibly contaminate their own territory due to something as simple as a conglomeration of shifting winds.The Russian Woodpecker contains some fascinating footage of Chernobyl before and after as well as shots of the monstrous Duga. Alexandrovich doesn't really serve his cause well by prancing around in the deserted Chernobyl ghost town dressed like a pixieish Peter Pan.Alexandrovich, a self-styled Ukrainian "patriot", is thankfully no nationalist. His critique of both the former Soviet Union and its current incarnation hit the mark especially when we see how he's forced (at the behest of I believe a former KGB operative) to put in a disclaimer at the beginning of the film, indicating he holds no grudge against Russia (Alexandrovich is accused of "selling out" by a colleague who is unable to sympathize despite Alexandrovich's genuine fear that the KGB or other sinister Russian force might do harm to his young son).Nonetheless, Alexandrovich fails to inject any critiques of his own country Ukraine, notably famous for its long history of anti- semitism (the former president of the Ukrainian Republic, Simon Petlura, is still hailed as a hero in some quarters in the country, despite his links to the atrocious pogroms against the Jews right after World War I). The documentary ends highlighting the Ukrainian rebellion against the pro-Russian president in 2014. The filmmakers make their point about the dangerous resurgence of Russian nationalism. Nonetheless, there are two sides to a story, and the Ukrainians have their share of nationalists who are just as bad as their Russian counterparts. Chad Gracia is best when he chronicles the past utilizing some neat archival footage. Alexandrovich's conspiracy theory remains unproven and this tends to detract from the overall power of the filmmaker's vision.

Valery R. Polyakov I watched this movie at Landmark in SF. The movie is the best documentary that I have seen in years! It is informative, suspenseful, and entertaining. The movie is trying to pin down the cause of the nuclear reactor breach at Chernobyl Nuclear Power station in 1986, which is still the worst technological disaster in human history. The protagonist is investigating the accident despite stonewalling by former officials at great personal risks. The investigation is taking place during the last months of the now deposed Yanukovich's oppressive regime, when Ukraine finally shed away the last remnants of "sovietism." I was always convinced that the Chernobyl accident was a result of an extreme recklessness and total indifference to the value of a human life, so typical of the Soviet regime. After watching the movie, I am not so sure anymore. Something far more sinister and culpable could have been in play. Go watch the movie. You will not regret it!

oeoremo In the world of IIO and misinformation, the known fascist right sector/Svoboda actions in Maidan, including mounting evidence of right sector sniping their very own to force the 'new Ukraine'; we find in this 'Russian woodpecker', an American cuckoo. A 'contrivation' of CIAHollywood/Joel Harding proportion.An artist-proclaimed in the flyer as cult-hero, BUT only in the producers dreams. A noble quest and the evils of empire surround the making of this sophisticated propaganda piece. Why 'Victoria NULAND' s name doesn't feature in the credits alongside 'Yats' and the 5 billion USAID put into the coup d'état, can only be oversight on the NY side of the operation. But. They say disinformation has to contain truth, or it doesn't serve. And who knows whether the central premiss is correct? We know that Governments murder their own citizens -even the remotest fool knows 911 was an inside job- but to hide the facts of right sector /USA involvement in the coup behind this heroic sentimentality rap, is anti-history and can only place the makers of this work as myth makers. propagandists. To feature the terrible famine, but not Ukrainian fascist SS committing Babi-Yar...and their descendants running the Ukrainian Rada hand-in-hand with USAMO, is a crime of conscience.

Tcepo We have all been told the 1986 Chernobyl disaster was an accident. This movie presents a frightening case that it was no accident. By revisiting the available facts and through multiple interviews, the movie leads us through a maze that eventually points the finger at communist politicians in Moscow. If this incident happened in a vacuum it could be hard to believe. However, if you look at Ukrainian-Russian relations over the past 100 years a pattern develops. In the 1930's a famine orchestrated by Moscow killed millions of Ukrainians. After WWII Moscow orchestrated the execution and exile of many more. Today, we have the instigation and military support of "rebels" in Eastern Ukraine leading to thousands of more deaths. Successive Russian governments have repeatedly shown a callousness to the value of a life, especially a Ukrainian life. Suddenly the case made in this movie follows a shocking but established pattern and provides a warning for all of us.