This is actually the transcription of some tapes Valery Legasov made before he died. He was a major player at the Chernobyl site, and considered a national hero. His suicide was shocking to the country. I became interested in him when I watched the HBO miniseries Chernobyl.
A lot of speculation surrounded his death, which occurred the day after the second anniversary of the disaster and the day before the investigation results were to be released. He had been trying to encourage reform and change in the industry to prevent further incidents, but no one listened to him. By reading the tapes, I hoped to learn some insight into the mind of the man.
This wasn't what I was expecting at all. It was mostly scientific terms and explaining how people did what they could at the time. He did place blame a few times, but he was very cautious about it. He kept mentioning the main cause of the incident being waiting 10 years.
Then there was the repetition. The tapes weren't just made for one reason. One part was for an article, so a lot of the previous important information was repeated. He praised the firefighters and made sure it was known they hadn't been there in vain. He also mentioned the evacuation a few times and approved of the way that was organized.
Overall, unless you know a lot about chemistry and are interested in how Legasov viewed the problems he faced at Chernobyl, I think you could skip this one. He doesn't really get into his state of mind. He mainly sticks to the facts when he can. He's a sad figure, and I wish he would've been listened to.
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