Chernobyl: Russian communist party calls for ‘disgusting’ HBO show to be banned

It's the highest rated TV series of all time

A Marxist-Leninist political party has called for a ban of historical TV miniseries Chernobyl in Russia, dubbing the show “disgusting”.

In a statement, party member Sergey Malinkovich spoke of the party’s intentions to lobby TV regulator Roskomnadzor about how the show represents Russia.

The party will request that the regulator blocks local access, stating that the series “turned a tragedy into an object of ideological manipulation,” “demonising the Soviet regime and Soviet people”.

The party has also called for a libel lawsuit against Chernobyl’s writer, director and producers. But, according to Roskomnadzor, a formal complaint has not been received as of yet.

Despite this, Malinkovich has conceded that the series correctly portrayed key moments of the nuclear disaster.

This comes after the announcement that a Russian version of the series had been commissioned, partially funded by the culture ministry.

Chernobyl – which stars Jared Harris and Stellan Skarsgård – tells the story of the 1986 nuclear disaster in Soviet Ukraine, and has been met with high acclaim.

The show is the highest rated TV series of all time on IMDB, beating out competitors such as Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones.