Biography
The Soviet chemist inorganized Valery Legasov was part of the Soviet Academy of Sciences. Until certain events, the name of a man who knew few people, but after the accident at the Chernobyl NPP, it did not leave the headers of newspapers and magazines for a long time. He made a huge contribution to the investigation of this tragedy, but because of the unexpected and mysterious death, it did not have time to voice the facts found.Childhood and youth
The biography of the future academician began in Tula, where he was born on September 1, 1936. Shortly after the birth of the son, the family moved to Moscow, there is a boy and went to study at school. His parents were simple employees, and Valery from the first years of study filed serious hopes, together with the certificate of maturity, he received a gold medal.
After the school of Legasov, he entered the Moscow Chemical Technology Institute named after D. I. Mendeleev (now PCTU), on the physicochemical faculty, successfully graduated from it in 1961. At the same time, he worked in the same university by the Secretary of the Committee of the SBCMM, in this position he participated in the census of the Charter of the Communist Union, considering its individual provisions with incorrect. Such activity was rewarded and prescribed a young man chapter Committee. In this post, he organized the festivals of young people and students, met delegations from different countries.
The science
Legasov studied so well that immediately after the release from the university decided to enter the graduate school, for this he chose the Institute for Nuclear Energy named after I. V. Kurchatov. There, his career quickly went uphill. At first, the young man worked as a junior researcher, after a while he was upgraded to the elder, and soon he became the head of the laboratory. At 31, Valery Alekseevich becomes a candidate, after 5 years, Dr. Chemical Sciences. At that time, the problems of noble gases studied, and after another 4 years he received state awards for developing in the field of study of chemical compounds.Another sphere that the scientist has deeply researched - energy technological systems. In the work, the man united design developments, technology and science and with other chemists created a new type of fuel, which became an important step towards the creation of nuclear reactors. Long before the accident in Chernobyl, the scientist was concerned about security issues in industry. Therefore, the understanding of the scientific community met and created by it the concept of zero and acceptable risk.
At 45, Lemaces elected members of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, which made it the youngest Soviet academician. And even earlier, working at the Institute of Atomic Energy named after I. V. Kurchatov, he becomes Deputy Director for Research, in 1984 he gained an increase before the first departer of the Institute. From 1983 to and until the end of the days, the scientist headed the Department of Chemical Technology and Radiochemistry at the Chemical Faculty of Moscow State University.
The Chernobyl accident
At the end of April 1986, the country learned about a terrible event - an accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. People did not imagine the real scale of this event, despite the fact that the Ministry of Energy received encryption with special signals denoting explosive, fire, radiation and nuclear danger.
To organize the elimination of the accident, a commission was rapidly created under Boris Shcherbin, and Legasov Valery went there. Although he was a nuclear physicist, a man was actively engaged in security issues, and therefore could have real help. About the fact that the real catastrophe happened, the academician understood at the entrance to the place of the accident, seeing the crimson sky.
To make real conclusions about the scale of the accident, helicopters were launched into the sky, which circled the exploded reactor. From survey, it became clear - there is a threat of a re-explosion. Never a second, academician on the armored personnel carrier of chemical troops went to the epicenter of events - to estimate the risk of neutron emission.
Presumably, then he received the first radiation dose of 100 x-rays. After examining the reactor and appreciating the situation, Valery insists on the complete evacuation of Pripyat, until the special services arrived in place, waiting for a special team from Moscow. While residents left the city, Legasov organized the reactor cast a special mixture to suppress radioactive emissions.
Many, including politicians, underestimated the damage caused by the country of an accident. On May 5 of the same year, the scientist spoke at the meeting of the Politburo and revealed the real picture of the tragedy, and also put forward proposals to eliminate terrible consequences. He understood how much harm brings every minute of stay in the epicenter, but he spent 4 months on Chernobyl, hid the testimony of the dosimeter.
The academician could not believe in the absence of the country's leadership of an immediate response to comply with safety requirements for emergency nuclear power plants. Moreover, the considerations expressed them in the Politburo caused only the irritation of Mikhail Gorbachev. Despite this, Legasov had to appear on the IAEA in Vienna, all the events were all waiting for her caution, fearing the claims for the punishment of the USSR for a poisonous cloud moving towards Europe. The scientist 5 hours acted with the report and did not comply with the authentic nature and scale of the tragedy. The reputation of the country was rescued, but for the remaining NPPs began to develop new projects to protect. In the USA, Valeria recognized the man of the year.
Lessuz's triumphal performance did not like everyone, for openness and honesty to other countries, many colleagues stopped supporting a scientist, and some representatives of power expressed him a hostility. Moreover, a man did not allow to publish articles that imagine the entire truth about the accident.
In scientific circles, his initiative on the creation of the Institute of Nuclear Security was also not supported. Against the background of common experiences and some press, Lemaces had a depression, according to some reports, in 1987, he even attempted suicide by drinking a large number of sleeping pills. Then he was saved, and the story did not become published publicly.
Personal life
Not so much is known about the personal life of the Soviet scientist. Margarita Mikhailovna's wife from the first day of marriage supported the spouse at work. Seeing his permanent employment and knowing obsession, at home she gave him female warmth and love, cared for her husband until recent days. In a happy marriage, a couple were born two children - son and daughter.At that time, when a man disappeared on a nuclear power plant, he began to lose health quickly, after a weekly radiation, the academician lost a lot of hair, he looked greatly, looked exhausted and tired. Having learned from relatives about their health, after seeing a couple of hours with his wife and children (the daughter with her husband, at the time, just worked in the Soviet embassy and recently returned from abroad), went to Pripyat again.
So their meetings passed the next 4 months, and then another 1.5 years, the scientist worked hard on reports and research. The spouse until the latter remained nearby, seeing the spiritual and physical condition of her husband, as he could helped. His death became a big grief for Margarita Mikhailovna.
Death
At the end of April 1988, the country learned about the death of Valery Lemaces. The tragedy occurred on the eve of the second anniversary of the Chernobyl accident. The day before that, a man returned home from work, the spouse noticed that he did not respond to colleagues, but did not give this attention. At that time, a son with his family lived in the house with them. The next day, everyone went to work, and he first returned to the lunch break and found his father hanged. At first, 2 versions were put forward - murder and bring to suicide.
No suicide note was found, but the investigators discovered 5 audio cassettes with the records of the scientist about their conclusions regarding the accident at NPPs, which were not announced, but some of them were erased. Doctors decided that the patient physically and morally a man was brought to despair, and therefore did not come up with another way to get out of his state. According to the investigation, the official cause of death is called suicide.
Legasova buried in Moscow at the Novodevichy Cemetery. Instead of the usual photo, his grave is decorated with a sculpture standing on one knee of a man crashed into a matter.
Memory
In memory of the great scientist, films were filmed and writing books, published articles in newspapers.
In 2017, an article on a scientist called "How Academician Lemaces was killed, who conducted his own investigation of the Chernobyl catastrophe, appeared on the Moscow Komsomol Center website. There is a biography, work on power plants and stories of close people about how they were experiencing this tragedy together. Many and other publications came in honor of Lemaces.
In honor of Valery Alekseevich, the Moscow School No. 56 was named, in which he studied.
In 2019, it became known that the American Channel HBO removes the series "Chernobyl" about an accident at NPPs in Pripyat. As long as 5 episodes are planned, the action unfolds after the catastrophe, the actual role of Valery Leger, the actor Jared Harris played the main role.
Awards and titles
- Academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences
- Leninsky Prize
- State Prize of the USSR
- Order of the October Revolution
- Order of Labor Red Banner
- Honorary Citizen of the Tula region
- Hero of Russia (awarded posthumously)