In the third episode of the Chernobyl series, there is a scene in the Kremlin, which ends with the camera holding on to a painting that’s hanging on the wall. That painting is Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan on 16 November 1581 painted by Ilya Repin. The painting depicts the moment after Ivan the Terrible got into a fight with his son and fatally hit him on the head. Ivan appears to be experiencing great grief as he holds his dying son. This painting is indicative of the episode as many of the characters are discussing the loss of life that will need to happen in order to clean up the disaster, which you can clearly see fills them with grief and sorrow for having to condemn these people to almost certain death. This is just the same as how Ivan the Terrible feels grief for an action he caused. This is also representative of much of the disaster aftermath in general. Initially, many of the politicians didn’t think it was a big deal and severely underplayed the gravity of the situation. This later caused even more troubles and caused many people a lot of harm that could have been avoided if it were taken completely seriously at the start.

The camera held on to this painting for a recognizable moment in order to give time for it to sink in as this happened just after it was announced that many more men would be needed to essentially sacrifice their lives in order to help with the cleanup effort. It was a subtle decision, but even if the viewer doesn’t know what the painting is or the history behind it, the imagery of it alone is enough to convey to the viewer the emotions being felt and the graveness of what is transpiring.

“The picture portrays a grief-stricken Ivan the Terrible cradling his mortally wounded son, the Tsarevich Ivan Ivanovich. The elder Ivan himself is believed to have dealt the fatal blow to his son.”