Posted just six days ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/chernobyl/comments/1198y6j/how_many_of_valery_legasovs_quotes_from_the_hbo/. [7], At Vnukovo airport, Legasov met Boris Shcherbina, the head of the government commission dealing with the accident response. It being television, and very well-received television at that, it is the series, rather than the books, that will probably finally fill the vacuum where the story of Chernobyl should be. It was Legasov who was directly involved in organizing the liquidation process of the Chernobyl nuclear accident. The series actually makes use of one of the stories in her book: the story of Lyudmilla Ignatenko (Jessie Buckley), who broke the rules by staying with her firefighter husband in the hospital until he died, even though she was pregnant. General Nikolai Tarakanov: It's not humbling, it's humiliating. [3]Entre 1949 e 1954, ele frequentou o ensino mdio na escola Nmero 56 em Moscou e se graduou com uma medalha de ouro. [1] After the meeting, Scherbina told him that he could work from Moscow but was quickly ordered back to Chernobyl. One of the first to grasp the scale of the catastrophe, Valery Legasov was on hand to mitigate the consequences. An excellent student and a born leader, he could have chosen any university, thanks to his top marks at school, but set his mind on the Mendeleev Moscow Institute of Chemistry and Technology, which prepared specialists for the nuclear industry and energy sector. But how did an inorganic chemist and radiochemistry expert find himself dealing with nuclear disaster? Legasov was . That is how we keep the people from undermining the fruits of their own labor. This statement has everything: the bureaucratic indirectness of Soviet speech, the privileging of fruits of labor over the people who created them, and, of course, the utter disregard for human life. When one considers the chain of events, it is impossible to find a single culprit, a single initiator of events, because it was like a closed circle.. He was the chief of the investigation committee of the Chernobyl disaster. [2] While he was a shy student, he excelled in both academic work and social activities being elected secretary of his school's Komsomol committee. MOSCOW (AP) _ Valery A. Legasov, a physical chemist who led the commission the investigated the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, has died at the age of 51, the official Soviet news agency Tass announced. Sooner or later that debt is paid". No carafe, no vodka in the workplace in front of a hostile stranger, and no boasting Im in charge.. Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. [1] Mikhail Gorbachev was furious and accused the nuclear designers of covering up dangerous problems with the Soviet nuclear industry for decades. Later, dolomite was also added to act as a heat sink and a source of carbon dioxide to smother the fire. [1] Spending four months in and around Chernobyl,[23] he received a high dose of radiation. I'm wondering how many of the quotes from the show are accurate, particularly the opening and closing quotes about the cost of lies. (I once asked Alexievich if people actually talk like that; she agreed that the quality of Ignatenkos speech was Shakespearean.) In the series, though, Ignatenkos story is partly shown and partly told by Khomyuk. In a July 3 meeting of the Soviet politburo on the Chernobyl crisis, the Soviet deputy energy minister, G.A. (miniseries) To them, a just world is a sane world. [5], For around two years, Legasov worked as an engineer at the Siberian Chemical Combine in the city of Tomsk-7, as a shift supervisor. A lot changed after Chernobyl. Legasov was also the person who delivered a five-hour oral report on the causes of the disaster at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna - an honest and detailed report that calmed down the international community but angered colleagues at home. [11] He often visited the theater with his wife, having a love of reading Russian and foreign literature, particularly the works of Yuri Bondarev. site, he became very tan and weak. Conference Footage. Essentially everything he did at the trial was done by Dyatlov in real life. A man in a sweater and large horn-rimmed glasses sits in a kitchen listening to his own voice coming from a cassette player. It is necessary to get rid of people who interfere with work. Did Valery Legasov kill himself because of his problems with the Soviet government, as shown in HBO's Chernobyl? Valery legasov was a nuclear physicist. 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. [3] A escola atualmente possui seu nome e um busto de bronze na entrada, ostentando sua imagem. Yes. I know that in the miniseries he speaks of the cost of lies, but I know that the miniseries isnt very accurate sometimes. of the show. [7], Legasov married Margarita Mikhailovna and had two children, Inga Legasova and Aleksey Valeryevich. Where I once would fear the cost of truth, In January 1986, Legasov co-authored a propaganda piece in Soviet Life magazine claiming there had been no nuclear accidents that had seriously threatened personnel or risked contamination, which ignored multiple serious nuclear incidents in the Soviet Union. He came to the conclusion that the explosion was a result of a number of factors, including the reactors constructive flaws and human factor - the staff was unaware of the flaws and that the tests they had carried out could have provoked an explosion. [7] This resulted in huge resources being allocated to Chernobyl. When I looked at this device, I was confused by, for example, an unusual and, in my opinion, insufficient construction of safety systems, that would work in extreme situations. 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. In the absence of a Chernobyl narrative, the makers of the series have used the outlines of a disaster movie. I witnessed all this, but it was hard for me to intervene in the process purely professionally while general declarations on this subject were received with hostility. and effects of the Chernobyl accident. But this reactor was not considered bad because of safety reasons. at last is the gift of Chernobyl. We cut the phone lines. How the show differs from real life. He has succeeded in sending his message: Legasov claims political pressure censored the mention of Soviet nuclear secrecy in his report to the IAEA, secrecy which forbade even plant operators having knowledge of previous accidents and known problems with reactor design. single initiator of events, because it was like a closed circle, To be a scientist is to be naive. This plan was rejected on 26 April 1988, the day before his death. Similarly repetitive and ridiculous are the many scenes of heroic scientists confronting intransigent bureaucrats by explicitly criticizing the Soviet system of decision-making. As a young man he attended School No. And this part is tragic, confusing and incomprehensible. So, even if he didn't necessarily speak about that, did he say any notable things in his tapes? [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. 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 . Valery Alekseyevich Legasov (1 September 1936-27 April 1988) was a Soviet Inorganic Chemist who is known for his involvement in the cleanup of the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster. A subreddit to discuss the Chernobyl Disaster that happened on the night of April 26, 1986, and the Exclusion Zone that isolates the city of Pripyat from the rest of the world. As expected, this story has become surrounded by many different rumors. Scribbling and formalism have reached such a scale that it is already difficult for science to bear this cross. How much do you know about the rich history of the engagement ring? The relevant passages in Higginbotham's 'Midnight in Chernobyl' with respect to the Vienna Conference say:. [1], In August 1986, he presented the report of the Soviet delegation at the special meeting of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna. The one noticeable mistake in this respect concerns the series makers apparent ignorance of the vast divisions between different socioeconomic classes in the Soviet Union: in the series, Valery Legasov (Jared Harris), a member of the Academy of Sciences, lives in nearly the same kind of squalor as a fireman in the Ukrainian town of Pripyat. Physicists make up the majority. In the popular HBO mini-series "Chernobyl," early episodes show scientists Valery Legasov, played by Jared Harris, and Ulana Khomyuk, a composite character played by Emily Watson . This website uses cookies. Valery Legasov Real Person Mixed Historical Accuracy. The real Valery Legasov. He deserves death. The problem is not just that Khomyuk is a fiction; its that the kind of expert knowledge she represents is a fiction. Chernobyl explosion. There was such unpreparedness, such disorder, such fear. Jun 2, 2019. The city that does not exist. Legasov continued his attempts to introduce reforms in academic chemistry by establishing an interdepartmental council to try to overcome stagnation in the field. HBOs latest drama series Chernobyl paints a rather accurate picture of A whole team of specialists worked on the report, Inga Legasova remembers. There was a vacuum. Glimmers of this understanding appear in the HBO series, too. [23], With the first draft of Legasov's report received by the Central Committee, some were shocked and one minister forwarded it to the KGB with the recommendation that the authors be prosecuted. While nobody knows exactly the right reason for his suicide, The state plane was already waiting. Thank you!! disaster as an inevitable apotheosis of the USSRs economic system. According to his daughter, Inga In the final episode, Legasov, testifying as a witness, tells a Soviet court that the disaster happened because the tips of the control rods were made of graphite, which sped up the reaction, when the control rod was supposed to slow it down. 1."The truth doesn't care about our needs or wants- it doesn't care about our governments, our ideologies, our religions- to lie in wait for all time. Old guards of Soviet science were unexpectedly finding themselves in the backfoot as a result of the backlash from the Chernobyl incident. Valery Alekseyevich Legasov (Russian: ; 1 September 1936 27 April 1988) was a Soviet and Russian inorganic chemist and a member of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union. presentation to the International Atomic Energy Agency. 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. Obviously " you'll be begging for that bullet by the morning" And along those lines of how quickly death would arrive. [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. Article from . character commits real-life suicide. "[11], I feel sick thinking about exactly what is most likely to happen to us in the near future [Major industrial accidents will happen] unless the necessary measures are taken. Legasov found that the plant personnel were ready to do anything, but they had no real understanding of how to plan and organise. 2023 The Thought & Expression Company, LLC. And you, chemists, are now making him almost a great martyr And in Chernobyl he screwed up enough - the shelter of the fourth unit turned out to be far from optimal. [28] Legasov had an article on industrial safety entitled "From Today to Tomorrow" published in Pravda on 5 October 1987 but it received little interest. It was almost by accident that he found himself included in the state commission on response to the Chernobyl disaster on April 26, 1986, his daughter Inga Legasova recalls. They always do. And now Im in charge. He toasts, in what appears to be the middle of the day: To the workers of the world. No. Terms of Use [7], Excessive hierarchy has always been contraindicated for science, it stifles it. [28] Ustynyuk was called to Legasov's office and found him to be "extremely agitated and low-spirited" following the decision. (Its English title, depending on the translation, is Voices from Chernobyl or Chernobyl Prayer.) The reason, she said, was that none of her interlocutorspeople who lived in the area affected by the disasterknew how they were supposed to talk about it. [5] The proposals triggered a significant backlash from the existing scientific leadership. He adored her.. Legasov: It means the core is open.It means the fire we're watching with our own eyes is giving off nearly . [28] During his stay, journalist Ales Adamovich interviewed Legasov and he expressed concerns that a similar nuclear accident could still occur. He wasnt meant to be in Chernobyl. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. [7] One Kurchatov scientist warned him that the helicopter drops might not be effective but Legasov replied that they had to be seen to do something. Allegedly, Mikhail Gorbachev crossed his name out of the list of those to be awarded for the response work at Chernobyl, noting that other scientists dont recommend it. That is how we keep the people from undermining the fruits of their own labor.". [7] Legasov received many telegrams from around the world containing advice ranging from benevolent to provocative. "[5] That afternoon, he briefly visited his daughter. 'Chernobyl' creator and writer Craig Mazin discusses depicting the 1986 nuclear disaster, the HBO miniseries' slow-burn success and how the story resonates with climate change denialism. The engagement ring hasnt always been what it is today. It was not the first time that he attempted suicide. The real conflict was between Legasov and another senior scientist not shown so far in the show. I was reading some portions of it but it felt as if he was mainly speaking on what happened and his experiences. This is exactly how Soviet courts worked: they did the bidding of the Central Committee, and the prosecutor wielded more power than the judge. 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. In private he campaigned for reactor safety and institutional reorganization. 2023 Cond Nast. Sooner or later, that debt is paid. He is no better or worse than any manager of this rank, and he followed the accepted rules of the game, moving up the career and scientific ladder he took on too much, especially in recent years. There are so many different interpretations of how and why this happened, that it is . She also gets herself arrested and then immediately seated at a meeting on the disaster, led by Gorbachev. [20][21] He had been involved in work on industrial safely with the GKNT (State Committee for Science and Technology), in which he had explored the risks involved in energy generation. I was filled with trust and respect for him Valery Alekseevich himself flew over the reactor by helicopter 5-6 times a day. We hardly see any of the evacuees at all, and we are given only one indication that some people resisted and refused to leave: an old woman who, at the beginning of Episode 4, obstinately continues milking her cow after she is repeatedly ordered to move. The final episode of Chernobyl also contains a scene that encapsulates the Soviet system perfectly. This, at last, is the gift of Chernobyl." Father used to bring the documents home. The lead scientist dealing with the nuclear disaster, it's Valery Legasov who is perhaps the closest thing to a "central" character that Chernobyl has and the fate that is presented for Legasov in . But this caused a storm in the Ministry. What is happening in Chornobyl and how do self-settlers live here. Our fact check confirmed that the real Valery Legasov hung himself on April 26, 1988, two years after the Chernobyl disaster (his body was found by his son on the 27th). The army was slowly built up in the jungles of eastern Cambodia during the late 1960s. The IAEA report made a huge impact and father instantly became very popular. Two weeks later, on August 25, Valery Legasov, wearing a gray suit and striped tie, his face puffy and haggard behind thick glasses, took the floor on the opening day of the special . This is what I was passionately working on, mainly figuring out the dangers in sources of energy alternative to nuclear energy. They'll deny it, of course. [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. [28] He gave interviews to Novy Mir and Yunost in which he changed his public stance and expressed his concern that cultural failings and Soviet science losing its way had led inevitably to nuclear disaster. Ulana Khomyuk, played by Emily Watson, in 'Chernobyl' on HBO. A chemist, he dared to define the topics of physics laboratories and departments. Legasov in the show is basically a fictional character. Even the house pets left in the exclusion zone after people are evacuated are shown through the eyes of men who are sent there to execute them. I am writing an informative speech on Chernobyl. Anatoly got a call via the vertushka [the nickname for a closed state telephone line]. Aleksandar Mishkov / published 3 years ago. If you believe that any Site Content infringes upon your copyright, please notify us by email support@quotecatalog.com. people. Chernobyl accident. Kongo and the Scramble for Africa - History Of Africa with Zeinab Badawi, Khmer Rouge Years of Terror and Genocide in Cambodia, Shark Fin Trade Facts Why do We Need to Stop It. He was 51. [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. In August 1986, he was invited to speak at the IAEA in Vienna, presenting a report to foreign colleagues about the catastrophe and why it happened. [37], On 20 September 1996, Russian president Boris Yeltsin posthumously conferred on Legasov the honorary title of Hero of the Russian Federation, the country's highest honorary title, for the "courage and heroism" shown in his investigation of the disaster. Midnight in Chernobyl Key Figures. This Happy to read and share the best inspirational Valery Legasov Real quotes, sayings and quotations on Wise Famous Quotes. [1] When the first government commission group returned to Moscow, Legasov was asked to stay by Scherbina but was replaced by his scientific rival Evgeny Velikhov in the formal hierarchy. He saw his main goal was not in justifying the Soviet Union and hide certain information, but, on the contrary, to educate the world community on what to do in such situations, Inga told Russian newspaper, MK. And father was attending a meeting of the RAS Presidium with academic [Anatoly] Alexandrov (who was president of the RAS at the time). - MagicalQuote. The biggest fiction in this scene, though, is Khomyuk herself. It is better to move around the zone with a dosimeter. The answer is NO. His headmaster observed that Legasov "is a grown up man, a future statesman, a talented organizer. Answer: His housekeeper, who discovered the body. This was one of the biggest challenges for the creators Slowly, once the most powerful in the country, they began to lose the standard of modern equipment. 56 in Moscow and graduated with a gold medal. Valery Alekseyevich Legasov (Russian: ; 1 September 1936 - 27 April 1988) was a Soviet and Russian inorganic chemist and a member of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union.He is now mainly remembered for his work in containment of the Chernobyl disaster and presenting the investigation findings to the International Atomic Energy Agency . At least 31 people died in the explosion and its aftermath, in the world's . I have to start the part where I create my memoir. April 26 was Saturday. The show opens with Legasov's . After recording five audio tapes containing information about Chernobyl, he goes outside to hide them away from the watchful eye of KGB agents. Legasov wrote a report to prevent a future nuclear disaster. Important Quotes. The tapes were recorded at the lowest point of a very successful man's life, and it shows. The Legasov tapes are kinda useless for finding cool quotations. Viktor Alekseyevich Sidorenko had repeatedly criticised it. The total amount of materials dumped on the reactor weighed about 5,000 tons, including about 40 tons of boron compounds, 2,400 tons of lead, 1,800 tons of sand and clay, and 600 tons of dolomite, as well as sodium phosphate and polymer liquids (Bu93). )", "Chemist, investigator of Chernobyl nuclear accident dies at 51", "Legasov suicide leaves unanswered questions", INSAG-7 The Chernobyl Accident: Updating of INSAG-1, "A bust of Hero of Russia Valery Alekseevich Legasov will be installed in Tula", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Valery_Legasov&oldid=1140547362, Chief Scientific Advisor of the commission investigating the Chernobyl disaster, This page was last edited on 20 February 2023, at 15:52. " Legasov: [showing pictures of the damaged reactor] The atom is a humbling thing. I know who I am, and I know what Ive done. The New Yorker may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers.