Though lauded by the international community for his openness about the causes of the Chernobyl disaster, Valery Legasov became alienated in the Soviet scientific community and died by suicide two years after the infamous nuclear meltdown.
International Atomic Energy Agency/Wikimedia CommonsValery Legasov, the Soviet scientist who investigated the Chernobyl disaster.
The worst nuclear disaster in world history happened on April 26, 1986, when the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant suffered a catastrophic meltdown. And Valery Legasov was the man sent to handle it.
A chemist by trade, Legasov acted quickly to contain the Chernobyl disaster. He also later lead the investigation into its root causes, and shared his findings with the world. Though lauded by the international community, Legasov became alienated by scientists in the Soviet Union. Some felt he’d been too transparent; others were jealous of his newfound fame.
Tragically, he died by suicide in 1988 — just one day after the second anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. Legasov left behind a slew of notes and tapes in which he voiced his disillusionment with his government.
This is his story.
Valery Legasov, The Soviet Chemist Summoned To Chernobyl
Born on Sept. 1, 1936, in Tula, Russia, Valery Alekseyevich Legasov was drawn toward the sciences at a young age. After performing well in school, he attended the Mendeleev Moscow Institute of Chemistry and Technology, which specializes in the nuclear industry, worked at the Siberian Chemical Plant to help develop plutonium for nuclear weapons, and earned his Ph.D. at the Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy.
YouTubeValery Legasov was a prestigious Soviet scientist whose life changed in the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster.
Legasov quickly built a reputation in the field of inorganic chemistry and, at the age of 45, Russia Beyond reports that Legasov became one of the youngest members inducted into the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Indeed, things were going exceedingly well for Legasov by the 1980s. He was married with two children, had won a number of prestigious prizes for his work, and believed strongly in communism.
But everything changed for Valery Legasov on April 26, 1986.
That morning, shortly after 1 a.m., reactor four at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Pripyat exploded during a safety test. According to the Atomic Archive, the explosion blew the 1,000-ton roof off the reactor, and released massive amounts of radiation into the atmosphere.
International Atomic Energy AgencyThe Chernobyl disaster began on April 26, 1986, when reactor 4 at the nuclear power plant exploded.
Legasov, then at a meeting with the Russian Academy of Sciences, was tapped to join the state commission. He went immediately to Chernobyl and arrived around 8 p.m. that night, where, according to Nuclear Engineering International, a crimson glow was visible in the sky.
Then, Legasov got to work.
Inside The Attempt To Contain Chernobyl
When Valery Legasov arrived, the workers at Chernobyl were in a state of disorder. They wanted to act, but no one was giving any clear instructions. Thus, over the next several days, Legasov made several crucial decisions.
IAEA ImagebankThe Soviet city of Pripyat before the Chernobyl disaster.
First, he ordered the immediate evacuation of the surrounding town of Pripyat, then home to almost 50,000 people. Though word took time to spread — the next day, April 27, Legasov noted that there were still “mothers…pushing prams and children were playing in the street – just like any other Sunday” — the evacuation happened relatively smoothly. That said, some left in their own cars, which Legasov noted should not have been permitted, as they could spread the radioactive contamination.
Next, Legasov made the decision to dump a mixture of boron, lead, and dolomite clay onto the smoldering ruins of Chernobyl from helicopter, in order to extinguish the radioactive flames and prevent any chain reactions. According to reporting from MKRU, Legasov also flew over the site in a helicopter five to six times a day to take measurements in the aftermath.
But though Legasov pressed the government to create a “press group” which could share information and advise the public, the group was not created.
IAEA ImagebankA helicopter over Chernobyl.
“They were afraid of panic, so they tried to keep information under wraps. This was the point where my father clashed with the country’s leadership at the time,” says Inga Valeryevna, Legasov’s daughter, stated. “My father, on the contrary, proposed widely informing the public so that people would understand what was happening and know how to behave.”
Ultimately, it would fall to Valery Legasov to explain Chernobyl to the world.
Valery Legasov Explains Chernobyl — And Is Alienated In The Soviet Union
In August 1986, Valery Legasov spoke before the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna to explain what had happened during the Chernobyl disaster. Mikhail Gorbachev, the leader of the Soviet Union, had been called to explain the catastrophe, but Soviet officials decided it would would be better if a scientist went instead. So Legasov went.
Before a group of 500 experts from 62 countries, Legasov spoke for five hours and spent another hour answering questions. He spoke openly and honestly, telling the IAEA that the Chernobyl disaster was due to a number of factors, including human error and fatal flaws in the reactor itself.
IAEA ImagebankValery Legasov was tasked with explaining Chernobyl to the international community, and though he was lauded for his honesty, some believed he’d been too open.
Though the international experts at the IAEA had been initially hostile — they had expected Gorbachev to account for what had happened at Chernobyl — they were impressed by Legasov’s knowledge and openness. In the aftermath, Legasov was named “Person of the Year” in Europe and listed among the top 10 scientists in the world.
But the reaction among his fellow Soviet scientists was different. Some felt that Legasov had been too open, and had shared classified information with the world. The Ministry of Medium Machine Building even believed that Legasov should be prosecuted for sharing too much. Meanwhile, other scientists were envious of Legasov’s newfound fame, and, Legasov thus found himself increasingly isolated within the Soviet scientific community.
Indeed, Legasov was not recognized for his work at Chernobyl. Though he was considered for the title of Hero of Socialist Labor, he was passed over. Instead, Legasov was given a personalized watch. To add insult to injury, Legasov was also not chosen for a seat on the scientific and technical council of the Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy, where he had once been a deputy director, by a vote of 129-100 from his peers.
Meanwhile, Valery Legasov had also began to suffer from the effects of radiation sickness.
The Tragic Suicide Of Valery Legasov
Valery Legasov had begun to suffer from radiation sickness while still investigating Chernobyl. According to Russia Beyond, he spent four months near the nuclear power plant, and developed a “nuclear tan” and signs of hair loss by May 5, and insomnia and a bad cough by May 15.
According to MKRU, he was ultimately diagnosed with radiation pancreatitis, stage 4 radiation sickness, and doctors found evidence of bone marrow damage. Legasov suffered from nausea and bad headaches, and his limbs and fingers started to go numb.
“Everything inside me is burned out,” he purportedly told his friends.
IAEA ImagebankThough he’d been voted “Person of the Year” in Europe, Valery Legasov found himself increasingly isolated at home, and suffering from radiation sickness.
Then, on April 27, 1988, the day after the two year anniversary of Chernobyl, Valery Legasov died by suicide.
Legasov left no note, but he did leave behind recordings of his memoirs, during which he discussed Chernobyl. Some have claimed that portions of the memoir were erased; Legasov’s daughter has stated that she doesn’t know if this is true, but that the “family archive has been preserved.”
True or not, Legasov’s memoirs are a damning indictment of the Soviet system as they stand.
“After I had visited Chernobyl… 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,” he stated.
“Neglect by the scientific management and the designers was everywhere with no attention being paid to the condition of instruments or of equipment… When one considers the chain of events leading up to the Chernobyl accident, why one person behaved in such a way and why another person behaved in another etc, it is impossible to find a single culprit, a single initiator of events, because it was like a closed circle.”
And though he was isolated in life, Valery Legasov’s legacy has been reexamined since his death. On Sept. 20, 1996, he was posthumously awarded “Hero of the Russian Federation,” and Russian president Boris Yeltsin stated that Legasov deserved the distinction for the “courage and heroism” he displayed in his investigation. Meanwhile, Legasov was also depicted in the 2019 HBO show “Chernobyl.”
HBOActor Jared Harris played Valery Legasov in the HBO series Chernobyl.
As for Chernobyl today? The area is still radioactive, and surrounded by an exclusion zone of roughly 1,000 square miles. It remains a stark reminder of the world’s worst nuclear disaster, a scar on the earth, even as the people who tried to stop the catastrophe have been gradually forgotten.
After learning the true story of Valery Legasov, see about how how animals are thriving in Japan’s Fukushima Exclusion Zone. Then, discover the terrifying story of the Runit Dome, the concrete “coffin” holding hazardous nuclear waste in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that is starting to crack.
