(more.... December 1983)
That the production of electricity started on 20 December is quite
remarkable, because usually there is a time lapse of about six months between
the completion of the construction and the plant becoming operational.
On this subject Zhores Medvedev noted that it is common practice in the
Soviet Union for people to declare an industrial project to be ready for
operation on the understanding that any problems will be solved as quickly
as possible. In this way, the production plan already set can still be
met. Besides which, not signing the declaration on 31 December 1983 would
have resulted in thousands of employees missing their chances of bonuses
and other extras. This concerns bonuses of up to three months salary extra.
During the above mentioned trial, it became apparent that in the period
up to 1985 the turbine had been tested, but without results. The question
is still why the test was not repeated again immediately, but had to be
left until April 1986.