Valery Legasov

Valery Alekseyevich Legassow (Russian Валерий Алексеевич Легасов, scientific transliteration Valery Alekseevic 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 work was that of the head of the investigation committee, which was established after the Chernobyl disaster on April 26, 1986.

Life

Valeri Legassow was born in Tula as a child of a working class family. He graduated from the Mendeleev Institute of Chemical Technology in Moscow and worked at the Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy. He obtained in 1967 the first degree in the university system of the USSR in 1972 and his Ph.D. in chemistry. From 1983 until his death he was head of the department of chemical engineering at the Faculty of Chemistry of Moscow State University in Moscow. In 1981 he became a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

After the Chernobyl disaster Legassow was a key figure in the government commission to investigate the causes of the disaster and develop a plan to remedy the consequences. He made ​​the most important decisions in order to avoid bigger explosions and informed the government about the situation in the zone. He told his colleagues and the press directly on the security risks of the destroyed reactor and demanded the immediate evacuation of the city of Pripyat. In August 1986, he presented the report of the Soviet delegation at a special meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. His report on the extent and consequences of the catastrophe worked there unconvincing on its Western counterparts. The figures were described as " too high" and " implausible ".

Valeri Legassov was found dead at his home near Moscow on the morning of April 27, 1988, two years after the explosion of Chernobyl. He had taken his own life by hanging.

Awards

In September 1996 Legassow the award was by a decree of the then Russian President, Boris Yeltsin posthumously awarded Hero of the Russian Federation.