Valery Alexeyevich Legasov

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Valery Legasov.

Valery Alexeevich Legasov ( Russian Валерий Алексеевич Легасов , scientific transliteration Valerij Alekseevič Legasov ; born September 1, 1936 in Tula , Soviet Union ; † April 27, 1988 in Moscow , Soviet Union) was a Soviet scientist in the field of inorganic chemistry. He was a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences . His most famous activity was that of the head of the investigation committee that was established after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster on April 26, 1986.

Life

Valery Legasov was born in Tula to a working class family. He graduated from the Dmitri Mendeleev Chemical and Technical University and worked at the Kurchatov Institute for Atomic Energy. He obtained his first degree in the higher education system of the USSR in 1967 and his doctorate in chemistry in 1972 . From 1983 until his death he was the head of the chemical engineering department at the Faculty of Chemistry at Lomonosov University in Moscow. In 1981 he became a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

After the Chernobyl disaster, Legasov was a key figure in the government commission that was supposed to investigate the causes of the disaster and develop a plan to remedy the consequences. He made the most important decisions to avoid major explosions and briefed the government on the situation in the zone. He immediately reported to his colleagues and the press about the safety risks of the destroyed reactor and called for the immediate evacuation of the city of Pripyat . In August 1986 he presented the report to the Soviet delegation at a special meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. His report on the extent and the consequences of the catastrophe was not very convincing to his Western colleagues. The figures were described as “too high” and “untrustworthy”, the scope of the disaster should be assessed as lower and played down.

Legassov's grave

Valery Legasov was found dead in his home near Moscow on the morning of April 27, 1988, two years and one day after the Chernobyl explosion. He had committed suicide by hanging. Before that, he had created an audio document as a political testament in which he disclosed further details about the Chernobyl disaster, in particular named a significantly larger group of those responsible.

Awards

In September 1996 Legasov was posthumously awarded the Hero of the Russian Federation by a decree of the then Russian President Boris Yeltsin . During his lifetime Legasov was twice removed from the list of those to be honored by the then party leader Mikhail Gorbachev .

Media reception

Legasov's role in investigating the cause of the Chernobyl catastrophe takes up a significant role in the HBO miniseries Chernobyl . He is embodied by Jared Harris .

Web links

Commons : Valeri Alexejewitsch Legassow  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ TV broadcast (zdfinfo) ZDF History: The Chernobyl Legacy (2016)
  2. ↑ TV show ZDFinfo "Leschs cosmos" 30 Years after Chernobyl
  3. ↑ Герои Страны: Герой России Легасов Валерий Алексеевич (russ.)
personal data
SURNAME Legasov, Valery Alexeyevich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Легасов, Валерий Алексеевич (Russian); Legasov, Valerij Alekseevič (scientific transliteration); Legasov, Valeri Alekseevich (English transcription)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Russian chemist
DATE OF BIRTH September 1, 1936
PLACE OF BIRTH Tula , Soviet Union
DATE OF DEATH April 27, 1988
Place of death Moscow , Soviet Union