Visit. Biografia. he was barely eating or sleeping. Soviet Response to Legasov's Report. The apparatchikor, more accurately, the caricature of the apparatchikpours himself a glass of vodka from a carafe that sits on his desk and responds, Yes, I worked in a shoe factory. Instead, thousands of people came to Kiev, on Legasov was the one who pushed for honesty and It is necessary to get rid of people who interfere with work. [1] Even before the Chernobyl disaster, Legasov was known to stress the need for new security and safety methods to prevent large catastrophes. Bryukhanov was accused of mismanagement and that operator error was the primary cause of the accident, while design flaws were also a factor. He just happened to be where he was in the food chain of Soviet science, where someone is important enough to appear before the government . Ignatenkos monologue in Alexievichs book is some of the most memorable reading I have ever done. [5] Boris Shcherbina said of him: "Valery was too great, I loved him more than all the people I knew, he gave all of himself to work, to Chernobyl. He was appointed by the Soviet Government to investigate the Chernobyl disaster less than 24 hours after it occurred. He was 51. Instead, it is filled by an entirely fictional, fantastical trial at which a large group of peoplescientists, we are toldare given an accurate assessment of events in an accessible, brilliant speech, the likes of which Soviet courts didnt feature. [3] A escola atualmente possui seu nome e um busto de bronze na entrada, ostentando sua imagem. His move was well executed and probably was the biggest PR/ propaganda victory during late Cold War, but the steps Legasov took to achieve it was very unpopular in the higher circle of scientists in his country, who thought that Legasov has revealed too much in Vienna. Sooner or later, that debt is paid. Valery was a proponent of transparency between the commission's findings and the public in spite of the Soviet government's efforts to downplay the Chernobyl . Legasov found that the plant personnel were ready to do anything, but they had no real understanding of how to plan and organise. Ulana Khomyuk, played by Emily Watson, in 'Chernobyl' on HBO. [7] Legasov developed a plan to extinguish the reactor fire using nitrogen gas pumped throughout the plant's pipe network but the pipes were too badly damaged to be effective. [3] [4] [5] Ele frequentou a escola secundria em Kursk. [5] When on trips to other regions, sometimes as part of his scientific duties, he often visited the nearby cultural, artistic and religious sites. Jared Harris as Valery Legasov: HBO, Rudi Blaha / Associated Press. [28] Ustynyuk was called to Legasov's office and found him to be "extremely agitated and low-spirited" following the decision. Quotes. Before I get to what the series got so terribly wrong, I should acknowledge what it got right. Chernobyl explosion. For her other books, Alexievich interviewed people about their experience of the Second World War, the Soviet war in Afghanistan, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It smelled like burnt piles of collected leaves, the cough of a newly revived chimney, roasted chestnuts, the scent of a man's hands after hours spent in a wood shop. 1. On May 5, he already showed signs of radiation sickness (nuclear tan and hair loss) and by May 15, cough and insomnia began to kick in. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. been evacuated forever, but I couldnt find the moral strength to tell it to by the Soviet Government to investigate the Chernobyl disaster less than 24 In Episode 3, for example, Legasov asks, rhetorically, Forgive memaybe Ive just spent too much time in my lab, or maybe Im just stupid. . closing title card: [with photo of real-life Legasov] Valery Legasov took his own life at the age of 51 on April 26, 1988, exactly two years after the explosion at Chernobyl. Conference Footage. Eighteen years ago, we published an article about the life and death of Valery Legasov. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. [27] Resistance came from the old guard who resisted change and among younger reformers who regarded Legasov as a relic of the previous Era of Stagnation. Poppy Montgomery. Did Valery Legasov really commit suicide? During this time he married a woman . But resignation is a depressing and untelegenic spectacle. He was a patriot and grieved for what that happened, for the country, for people that suffered His empathy was disturbed and, it seems, it did eat him up from the inside., Plus, as she recalls, the radiation sickness didnt make it easier. Valery Legasov : And now Dyatlov will spend the next ten years in a prison labor camp. His life was never the same. The grave of Valery Legasov (1936-1988) at the Novodevichye Cemetery in Moscow. Physicists make up the majority. Yes. [5], In 1976, Legasov was elected a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union. April 26 was Saturday. "No one leaves. I wanted to include quotes from the real tapes of Valery Legasov. Father used to bring the documents home. Posted just six days ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/chernobyl/comments/1198y6j/how_many_of_valery_legasovs_quotes_from_the_hbo/. [37] However, the operators were found to have deviated from operational procedures, changing test protocols on the fly, as well as having made "ill judged" actions, making human factors a major contributing factor. For two years he worked as a released secretary of the VLKSM committee, he was elected to the bureau of the Soviet District Committee of the Komsomol and to the Moscow City Committee of the Komsomol. [18] His colleague This plan was rejected on 26 April 1988, the day before his death. A. Ustynyuk said of Legasov: "His main quality, which set him sharply apart from all the great organizing scientists I knew, was his exceptional dedication to the cause. He felt that the leadership would be split between the council and the USSR Academy of Sciences, saying "This will lead to disaster. I dont believe any of the many lines said by the character were said by the real person. magicalquote.com. His decisions helped save millions of lives, but he paid the ultimate price. Later, dolomite was also added to act as a heat sink and a source of carbon dioxide to smother the fire. When one looks at the chain of events, why someone acted in this way and another in that way and so on, it is impossible to point to a single culprit, an initiator of all the unpleasant events that led to the crime. No carafe, no vodka in the workplace in front of a hostile stranger, and no boasting Im in charge.. It is true that Europe survived; it is not true that anyone got to the truth, or told it. Legasov continued his attempts to introduce reforms in academic chemistry by establishing an interdepartmental council to try to overcome stagnation in the field. The most notable thing he said was: After I had visited Chernobyl nuclear power plant, I came to the conclusion that the accident was the inevitable apotheosis of the economic system which had been developed in the USSR over many decades. In fact, it wasnt the carrot of a single promotion, or even several promotions, and it wasnt one nasty and abusive boss. In fact, Legasov would have lived in an entirely different kind of squalor than the fireman did. [25] Some details were censored by the Central Committee, including the full extent of the design flaws,[1] the institutional and cultural problems that led to the accident,[1] the full extent of the fallout,[1] as well as the ineffective efforts in dropping liquid nitrogen into the reactor. Tula, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, Educated At: But he wasnt, he wasnt an ambitious man, his daughter believes. Pikalov (having driven around the exploded reactor with a high-range dosimeter): It's not three roentgen.It's 15,000. All rights reserved. In Chernobyl, which was created and written by Craig Mazin and directed by Johan Renck, the material culture of the Soviet Union is reproduced with an accuracy that has never before been seen in Western television or filmor, for that matter, in Russian television or film. Valery Legasov didn't have problems with the government. There have been stories in the media in Russia and abroad, many of them on the odd tourist industry that has sprung up in the disaster zone; there has been a BBC documentary and a bizarre American-Ukrainian documentary. This is a lie. [7], At Vnukovo airport, Legasov met Boris Shcherbina, the head of the government commission dealing with the accident response. [7], Excessive hierarchy has always been contraindicated for science, it stifles it. [19], In the public sphere, he still kept to the official position that nuclear power was safe. Whatever I touch - everything is ruined: no one needs anything! [1] Legasov admired the leadership of Boris Shcherbina, particularly for his ability to grasp what the specialists were telling him and his decision making. This opening scene of HBOs Chernobyl mini-series sets the tone for the horrific story of the 1986 nuclear disaster and Valery Legasov, a prominent Soviet inorganic chemist, who played a key role in Chernobyls response team and subsequent investigation into its causes. I know who I am, and I know what Ive done. Those people, although diminished in influence, still had enough power to ruin Legasov's career. Legasov himself was a beneficiary of that systemic corruption; although he was talented enough to deserve his position, his rise to his office was in no small part due to being the protg of one of the biggest names in Soviet Nuclear science. The best part of those tapes are his admission that the roots Chernobyl disaster lies in a systematic fault in Soviet science and bureaucracy, along with his interview with Adamovich. Even though one was only allowed to spend a maximum of two weeks at the site, Legasov spent four months (!) and the parade took place just days after the explosion. Legasov was told he was assigned to a government commission that was looking into the accident. You can make all the birth plans in the world, but at the end of the day - go with the flow. So they voted him down at the elections to the Academic Council. The depiction of Valery Legasov (played by Jared Harris) is mostly accurate. Up until Chernobyl, he was being groomed to be the de facto leader of the Soviet scientific community - a place full of politics and nepotism. Both leaders have promised to make their countries great again, and they have a way of alighting on the same points of reference. Valery Legasov was a respected chemist who led the investigation behind what caused the meltdown at Chernobyl. But the real story of Valery Legasov in Chernobyl, played by Jared Harris, makes it somehow even more tragic. With that in mind, here are some facts As expected, this story has become surrounded by many different rumors. The army was slowly built up in the jungles of eastern Cambodia during the late 1960s. This is not a good thing. It was not the first time that he attempted suicide. While nobody knows exactly the right reason for his suicide, Herein lies one of the series biggest flaws: its failure to accurately portray Soviet relationships of power. [1] He also considered the possibility of ground water contamination to be extremely low, but precautionary work was initiated to cool the reactor using an underground system. [19] Legasov had the opportunity to visit nuclear power plants in the West, such as the Soviet designed Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant in Finland, and was shocked at the higher safety standards, better equipment, a containment structure and superior construction. Iannone, 48, professes little concern, arguing that a sales surge from shoppers afraid to visit stores during the Covid-19 outbreak could provide the kind of OS Supported: Windows 98SE, Windows Millenium, Windows XP (any edition), Windows Vista, Windows 7 & Windows 8 (32 & 64 Bit). Contain the spread of misinformation. about Valery, and some of his memorable quotes. A year earlier, in 1987, he took a lethal dose of . 1989. Press J to jump to the feed. Top Valery Legasov Quotes. Save. [13] Working on reactor design was taboo for a chemist in the institute but he focused instead on related technologies, as well as assisted with the management of the institute. According to his daughter, Inga Neither Tass nor the evening television news broadcast Vremya on Friday gave the cause or place of death.