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Chernobyl Shoe Factory Scene

psfonseka · 327.5K views · 2019-06-02 · 2:09

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Overview

Scene from episode 2 of HBO's Chernobyl in which an official who once ran a shoe factory is put in charge of a critical role. It shows how unqualified appointees end up in charge of technical matters.

On Hacker News

Used as an analogy whenever commenters criticize unqualified people placed in charge of expert fields.

Discussed on HN; no positive recommendation is recorded in this export · HN mentions 2019–2025

Topics

Film & TV clipsManagement, leadership & organizationsNuclear power & fusion
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chernobylhbomanagementincompetencetv scene

What people said

_Algernon_ · 2025-07 · Reference

It's not apathy, it is weaponized incompetence. It was a contributing factor to Chernobyl. It is funny how the US is so opposed to communism, but copies the mistakes of the soviet union. Replace 'worked in a shoe factory' with 'were a reality TV star', 'was a fox news agitprop host', or similar for any of the current US leadership in the scene from Chernobyl and it fits like a glove. [VIDEO]

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HopenHeyHi · 2023-04 · Joke / meme

> I’d have to see your coworker’s post to really know if it was hate speech. You sound like the guy from the shoe factory: [VIDEO]

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snake_plissken · 2021-01 · Reference

Kind of unrelated but when you mentioned Soviet shoe factories, this scene from HBO's Chernobyl takes on a whole new dimension: [VIDEO] "I'm a nuclear physicist. Before you were deputy secretary, you worked in a shoe factory." "Yes, I worked in a shoe factory. And now I'm in charge. To the workers of the world."

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Sources

Video by psfonseka, played through YouTube.

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