(legasov) was a reluctant hero. he never—he didn’t make that choice in his life, and he never thought he was going to have to be. […] i like the idea of he was afraid, and he was afraid because he understood at every turn what the consequences were, of just remaining there, and also, at certain point, trying to subvert the narrative. —jared harris@chernobyl podcast#6

“Well, it seems like it’s well in hand, so if there’s nothing else, meeting adjourned.”

Of course, you presume I’m too stupid to understand.

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important maneuvers

Legasov was a rather zealous member of the party. he was considered a real Soviet, and a loyalist, somebody that you could count on to just toe the party line. this was a pretty avid Communist. his father was not just a Soviet true believer, he was more almost like one of the inquisitors, somebody whose job was basically to make sure that you were Soviet enough. that’s the environment that Legasov grew up in. […] the dissemination of his tape memoirs essentially gave everybody the courage to stand up and starting talking about this, but only in combination with his suicide. that it was his suicide that was just not possible to ignore. somebody like Legasov should not commit suicide in the Soviet Union. and that statement was not something you could repress. […] in his memoirs, he speaks quite clearly about the need for reform in the scientific community, and by extension, the people that control the scientific community. and so, following that, there are increased efforts for transparency within the community, and the RBMK reactors do undergo procedures to reduce the possibility of something like Chernobyl happening again. a lot of new rules are put into place. essentially, a lot of rules that you would have thought wouldn’t need to be there, are now there. —craig mazin

Chernobyl 1x03 | progress

#sir thats my emotional support deputy chairman of the council of ministers and head of the bureau for fuel and energy