Quotes

1:23:45 [1]

Valery Legasov: What is the cost of lies? It's not that we'll mistake them for the truth. The real danger is that if we hear enough lies, then we no longer recognize the truth at all. What can we do then? What else is left to abandon even the hope of truth and content ourselves instead with stories? In these stories, it doesn't matter who the heroes are. All we want to know is: "Who is to blame?" In this story, it was . He was the best choice. An arrogant, unpleasant man, he ran the room that night, he gave the orders... and no friends. Or at least, not important ones. And now Dyatlov will spend the next ten years in a prison labor camp. Of course, that sentence is doubly unfair. There were far greater criminals than him at work. And as for what Dyatlov did do, the man doesn't deserve prison. He deserves death. Legasov: But instead, ten years for "criminal mismanagement". What does that mean? No one knows. It doesn't matter. What does matter is that, to them, justice was done. Because,

1:23:45 [1]

Aleksandr Akimov: Comrade Dyatlov? Comrade Dyatlov?! Anatoly Dyatlov: What just happened? Leonid Toptunov: I don't know. Vyacheslav Brazhnik: There's a fire in the turbine hall. Dyatlov: The turbine hall... The control system tank. Hydrogen. [addressing Akimov] You and Toptunov, you morons blew the tank. Toptunov: No, that's not-- Dyatlov: This is an emergency, everyone stay calm. Our first priority is to-- Valeriy Perevozchenko: It exploded! Dyatlov: We know. Akimov, are we cooling the reactor core? Akimov: We shut it down, but the control rods are still... They're not all the way in, I disengaged the clutch -- Dyatlov: Alright, I'll disconnect the servos from the standby console. [to two other engineers] You two, get the backup pumps running, we need water moving through the core, that is all that matters! Perevozchenko: There is no core! It exploded, the core exploded! Dyatlov: He's in shock, get him out of here. Perevozchenko: The lid is off. The stack is burning, I saw it. Dyatlov

1:23:45 [1]

Viktor Bryukhanov: [dryly] I take it the safety test was a failure. Anatoly Dyatlov: We have the situation under control. Nikolai Fomin: Under control? It doesn't look like it's under control. Bryukhanov: Shut up, Fomin. [to Dyatlov] I have to tell the Central Committee about this. Do you realize that? I have to get on the phone and tell Maryin, or God forbid Frolyshev, that my power plant is on fire. Dyatlov: No one can blame you for this, Director Bryukhanov Bryukhanov: Of course no one can blame me for this. How can I be responsible? I was sleeping. Tell me what happened. Quickly. Dyatlov: We ran the test exactly as Chief Engineer Fomin approved. Unit Shift Chief Akimov and Engineer Toptunov encountered technical difficulties, leading to an accumulation of hydrogen in the control system tank. It, regrettably, ignited, damaging the plant and setting the roof on fire. Fomin: The tank is quite large, yes. It's the only logical explanation. Of course, Deputy Chief Engineer Dyatlov was d

1:23:45 [1]

Anatoly Dyatlov: I dropped the rods from the other panel. Aleksandr Akimov: They're still up. Dyatlov: What? Akimov: They're still only a third of the way in, I don't know why. I already sent the trainees down to the reactor hall to lower them by hand. Dyatlov: What about the pumps? Leonid Toptunov: I can't get through to Khodemchuk, the lines are down. Dyatlov: Fuck the phones and fuck Khodemchuk. Are the pumps on or not? Akimov: Stolyarchuk? Boris Stolyarchuk: My control panel's not working. I tried calling for the electricians-- Dyatlov: I don't give a shit about the panel! I need water in my reactor core! Get down there and make sure those pumps are on. Now! Dyatlov: What does the dosimeter say? Akimov: Ah, 3.6 roentgen, but that's as high as the meter-- Dyatlov: 3.6. Not great, not terrible. Akimov: [quietly, to Toptunov] We did everything right.

1:23:45 [1]

Dyatlov: What's wrong with you? How'd you get that number from feedwater leaking from a blown tank? Anatoly Sitnikov: You don't. Dyatlov: Then what the fuck are you talking about? Sitnikov: I... [clears throat] I walked around the exterior of building 4. I think there's graphite on the ground in the rubble. Dyatlov: You didn't see graphite. Sitnikov: I did. Dyatlov: You didn't. YOU DIDN'T! Because it's NOT THERE! Nikolai Fomin: What, are you suggesting the core... what? Exploded? Sitnikov: [almost a whisper] Yes. Fomin: Sitnikov, you're a nuclear engineer. So am I. So please tell me how an RBMK reactor core explodes. Not a meltdown, an explosion. I'd love to know. Sitnikov: I can't. Fomin: Are you stupid? Sitnikov: No. Fomin: Then why can't you? Sitnikov: I... [stammers] I don't see how it could explode. [Fomin looks satisfied] But it did. Dyatlov: [pounds the table, swaying on his feet] Enough! I'll go up to the vent block roof. From there, you can look right down into reactor buildin

1:23:45 [1]

Zharkov: I wonder how many of you know the name of this place. We all call it "Chernobyl", of course. What is its real name? Viktor Bryukhanov: The Vladimir I. Lenin Nuclear Power Station. Zharkov: Exactly. Vladimir I. Lenin. [points to the image of Lenin on the nearby wall] And how proud he would be of you all tonight. Especially you, young man, the passion you have for the people. For is that not the sole purpose of the apparatus of the State? Sometimes we forget. Sometimes we fall prey to fear. But our faith in Soviet socialism will always be rewarded. Now the State tells us the situation here is not dangerous. Have faith, comrades. The State tells us it wants to prevent a panic. Listen well! It's true, when the people see the police, they will be afraid. But it is my experience that when the people ask questions that are not in their own best interest, they should simply be told to keep their minds on their labor and leave matters of the State to the State. We seal off the city. No

Please Remain Calm [2]

Dmitri: You work too hard. Ulana Khomyuk: Where is everyone? Dmitri: Oh, they refused to come in. Ulana: Why? Dmitri: It's Saturday. Ulana: Why did you come in? Dmitri: I work too hard. It's boiling in here. [opens a window. A radiation alarm goes off. Dmitri immediately closes the window and then checks the alarm's reading.] Eight millirontgen. Leak? Ulana: No, it would've gone off before. It's coming from outside. Dmitri: The Americans? Ulana: Iodine-131. It's not military, it's uranium decay: U-235. Dmitri: Reactor fuel? [Ulana goes to a phone] Ignalina, maybe? 240 km away? Ulana: [calls the Ignalina power station] Yes, this is Ulana Khomyuk, with the Institute of Nuclear En...looking for...[listens to the person on the phone] Alright, stay calm- [gets interrupted by the other person on the line before getting hung up on] They're at 4. It's not them. Who's the next closest? Dmitri: Chernobyl, but that's not possible. They're 400 km away. Ulana: Well, then that's too far for 8 millir

Please Remain Calm [2]

Mikhail Gorbachev: Thank you all for your duty to this commission. We will begin with Deputy Chairman Shcherbina's briefing, and then we will discuss next steps if necessary. Boris Shcherbina: Thank you, Comrade General Secretary. I'm pleased to report that the situation in Chernobyl is stable. Military and civilian patrols have secured the region, and Colonel General Pikalov, who commands troops specializing in chemical hazards, has been dispatched to the plant. In terms of radiation, plant director Bryukhanov reports no more than 3.6 roentgen. I'm told it's the equivalent of a chest X-ray. So if you're overdue for a check-up... Gorbachev: And foreign press? Shcherbina: Totally unaware. KGB First Deputy Chairman Charkov assures me that we have successfully protected our security interests. Gorbachev: Good. Very good. Well, it seems like it's well in hand, so... if there's nothing else, meeting adjourned. Valery Legasov: [Pounds table] No! Gorbachev: Pardon me? Legasov: Uh, we can't ad

Please Remain Calm [2]

Boris Shcherbina: How does a nuclear reactor work? Valery Legasov: What? Shcherbina: It's a simple question. Legasov: It's hardly a simple answer. Shcherbina: Of course, you presume I'm too stupid to understand. So I'll restate: Tell me how a nuclear reactor works, or I'll have one of these soldiers throw you out of the helicopter. Legasov: A nuclear reactor makes electricity with steam. The steam turns a turbine which generates electricity. Where a typical power plant makes steam by burning coal, a nuclear plant... Legasov: [Draws diagram] In a nuclear plant, we use something called fission. We take an unstable element like Uranium-235, which has too many neutrons. A neutron is, uh— Shcherbina: The bullet. Legasov: [Impressed] Yes, the bullet. So, bullets are flying off of the uranium. Now...if we put enough uranium atoms close together, the bullets from one atom will eventually strike another atom. The force of this impact splits that atom apart, releasing a tremendous amount of ener

Please Remain Calm [2]

Legasov: [Sees the reactor, horrified] What have they done? Shcherbina: Can you see inside? Legasov: I don't have to. Look. That's graphite on the roof. The whole building's been blown open. The core's exposed! Shcherbina: I can't see how you can tell that from here. Legasov: Oh, for God's sakes! Look at that glow! That's radiation ionizing the air! Shcherbina: Well, if we can't see, we don't know. [to the pilot] Get us directly over the building! Legasov: Boris, if we fly... Shcherbina: Don't you use my name! Legasov: ...directly over an open reactor... Shcherbina: I didn't ask your advice! Legasov: ...we'll be dead within a week! Dead! Pilot: Sir? Shcherbina: Get us over that building, or I'll have you shot! Legasov: [to the pilot] If you fly directly over that core, I promise you, by tomorrow morning, you'll be begging for that bullet! [the pilot considers this, and turns away from the Chernobyl plant]

Please Remain Calm [2]

Fomin: It's overkill. Pikalov's showing off to make us look bad. Bryukhanov: It doesn't matter how it looks. Shcherbina is a pure bureaucrat, as stupid as he is pigheaded. We'll tell him the truth in the simplest terms possible. We'll be fine. [Both exit the jeep] Pikalov! Bryukhanov: Comrade Shcherbina, Chief Engineer Fomin, Colonel-General Pikalov, and I are honored at your arrival. Fomin: Deeply, deeply honored. Bryukhanov: Naturally, we regret the circumstances of your visit, but as you can see, we are making excellent progress in containing the damage. [Pulls out his notepad] We have begun our own inquiry into the cause of the accident, and I have a list of individuals who we believe are accountable. Bryukhanov: Professor Legasov, I understand you've been saying dangerous things. Fomin: Very dangerous things. Apparently, our reactor core exploded. Please, tell me how an RBMK reactor core explodes. Legasov: I'm not prepared to explain it at this time. Fomin: As I presumed, he has n

Please Remain Calm [2]

Pikalov: It's not three roentgen. It's fifteen thousand. Bryukhanov: Comrade Shcherbina— Shcherbina: [Turns to Legasov] What does that number mean? Legasov: It means the core is open. It means the fire we're watching with our own eyes is giving off nearly twice the radiation released by the bomb in Hiroshima. And that's every single hour. Hour after hour, [looks at his watch] 20 hours since the explosion, so forty bombs worth by now. Forty-eight more tomorrow. And it will not stop. Not in a week, not in a month. It will burn and spread its poison until the entire continent is dead. Shcherbina: [Turns to the soldiers] Please escort Comrades Bryukhanov and Fomin to the local Party headquarters. [Turns to Bryukhanov] Thank you for your service. Bryukhanov: Comrade— Shcherbina: You're excused. Fomin: [As he's being taken away] Dyatlov was in charge. It was Dyatlov! Shcherbina: Tell me how to put it out. Pikalov: We'll use helicopters. We'll drop water on it like a forest fire— Legasov: No,

Please Remain Calm [2]

Shcherbina: It's been smooth. Twenty drops. [notices Legasov's expression] What? Legasov: There are fifty thousand people in this city. Shcherbina: Professor Ilyin, who's also on the commission, says the radiation isn't high enough to evacuate. Legasov: Ilyin isn't a physicist. Shcherbina: Well, he's a medical doctor. If he says it's safe, it's safe. Legasov: Not if they stay here. Shcherbina: We're staying here. Legasov: [impatiently] Yes, we are, and we'll be dead in five years! [Shcherbina looks shocked] I'm sorry, I'm... I'm sorry. Shcherbina: [sits in stunned silence as the phone starts to ring; after several seconds, he answers it] Shcherbina. [listens] Thank you. [hangs up] A nuclear plant in Sweden has detected radiation and identified it as a byproduct of our fuel. The Americans took satellite photos. The reactor building, the smoke, the fire. The whole world knows. The wind has been blowing toward Germany. They're not letting children play outside... in Frankfurt. [glances ou

Please Remain Calm [2]

Ulana Khomyuk: When the lava enters these tanks, it will instantly superheat and vaporize approximately 7,000 cubic meters of water, causing a significant thermal explosion. Gorbachev: How significant? Khomyuk: We estimate between two and four megatons. Everything within a thirty-kilometer radius will be completely destroyed, including the three remaining reactors at Chernobyl. The entirety of the radioactive material in all of the cores will be ejected at force and dispersed by a massive shock wave, which will extend approximately two hundred kilometers and likely be fatal to the entire population of Kiev, as well as a portion of Minsk. The release of radiation will be severe, and will impact all of Soviet Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Byelorussia, as well as Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and most of East Germany. Gorbachev: What do you mean, "impact"? Legasov: For much of the area, a nearly permanent disruption of the food and water supply, a steep increase in the rates of

Please Remain Calm [2]

Nuclear Worker: Now you want us to swim underneath a burning reactor. Do you even know how contaminated it is? Legasov: I... I don't have an exact number. Nuclear Worker: You don't need to have an exact number to know if it will kill us. But you can't even tell us that. Why should we do this? For what, for four hundred rubles? Shcherbina: You'll do it because it must be done. You'll do it because nobody else can. And if you don't, millions will die. If you tell me that's not enough I won't believe you. This is what has always set our people apart. A thousand years of sacrifice in our veins. And every generation must know its own suffering. I spit on the people who did this. And I curse the price that I have to pay. But I'm making my peace with it. Now you make yours. Go into that water. Because it must be done. Alexei Ananenko: [stands] Ananenko. Valeri Bespalov: [stands] Bespalov. Boris Baranov: [stands] Baranov.

Open Wide, O Earth [3]

Shcherbina: What will happen to our boys? Legasov: Which boys? The divers? Shcherbina: The divers, the firefighters, the men in the control room. What does the radiation do to them precisely? Legasov: At the levels some of them were exposed? Ionizing radiation tears the cellular structure apart. The skin blisters, turns red, then black. This is followed by a latency period. The immediate effects subside. The patient appears to be recovering. Healthy, even. But they aren't. This usually only lasts for a day or two. Shcherbina: [beat] Continue. Legasov: Then the cellular damage begins to manifest. The bone marrow dies, the immune system fails, the organs and soft tissue begin to decompose. The arteries and veins spill open like sieves, to the point where you can't even administer morphine for the pain, which is… unimaginable. And then three days to three weeks, you are dead. That is what will happen to those boys. Shcherbina: And what about us? Legasov: Well, we've⁠...We've gotten a stea

Open Wide, O Earth [3]

Mikhail Shchadov: Who's in charge here? Andrei Glukhov: I'm the crew chief. Shchadov: I am Shchadov, Minister of Coal Industries. Glukhov: We know who you are. Shchadov: How many men do you have? Glukhov: On this shift, 45 here, a hundred in total. Shchadov: I need all one hundred men to gather their equipment and get on the trucks. Glukhov: [smirking] Do you? To where? Shchadov: That's classified. Glukhov: Come on, then. Start shooting. You haven't got enough bullets for all of us. Kill as many as you can. Whoever's left, they'll beat the living piss out of each of you. Soldier: You can't talk to us like that! Glukhov: Shut the fuck up! This is Tula. This is our mine. We don't leave unless we know why. Shchadov: You're going to Chernobyl. Do you know what's happened there? Glukhov: [somewhat less confident] We dig up coal, not bodies. Shchadov: The reactor fuel is going to sink into the ground and poison the water from Kiev to the Black Sea. All of it. Forever, they say. They want you

Open Wide, O Earth [3]

Shcherbina: Have you ever spent time with miners? Legasov: No. Shcherbina: My advice, tell the truth. These men work in the dark; they see everything.

Open Wide, O Earth [3]

Legasov: She was arrested by the KGB. You are the first deputy chairman of the KGB. Aleksandr Charkov: [amused] I am. That's why I don't have to bother with arresting people anymore. Legasov: But you are bothering with having us followed. Shcherbina: I think the deputy chairman is busy... Charkov: No no, it's perfectly understandable. Comrade, I know you've heard the stories about us. When I hear them, even I am shocked. But we are not what people say. Yes, people are following you. People are following those people. And you see them? [indicates two agents behind him] They follow me. The KGB is a circle of accountability. Nothing more. Legasov: You know the work we're doing here. You really don't trust us? Charkov: Of course I do. But you know the old Russian proverb: "Trust, but verify." And the Americans think that Ronald Reagan thought that up. Can you imagine? It was very nice speaking with you. [turns to walk away] Legasov: I need her. Charkov: [turns back] So you will be accounta

Open Wide, O Earth [3]

Legasov: Are you alright? Khomyuk: They didn't hurt me. They let a pregnant woman in with -- oh, it doesn't matter. They were stupid. I was stupid. Dyatlov won't talk to me. Akimov, yes, Toptunov, yes, but... Valery, Akimov... his face was gone. Legasov: You want to stop? Khomyuk: Is that a choice I even have? Legasov: Do you think the fuel will actually melt through the concrete pad? Khomyuk: I don't know. A forty-percent chance, maybe. Legasov: I said fifty. [chuckles] Either way, the numbers mean the same thing: "Maybe". Maybe the core will melt through to the groundwater. Maybe the miners I've told to dig under the reactor will save millions of lives. Maybe I'm killing them for nothing. I don't want to do this anymore. I want to stop. But I can't. I don't think you have a choice any more than I do. I think, despite the stupidity, the lies, even this, you are compelled. The problem has been assigned, and you will stop at nothing until you find an answer. Because that is who you are.

The Happiness of All Mankind [4]

Old Woman: You know how old I am? Soldier: I don't know. Old. Old Woman: I'm 82. I've lived here my whole life. Right here, that house, this place. What do I care about "safe"? Soldier: I have a job. Don't cause trouble. Old Woman: Trouble? You're not the first soldier to stand here with a gun. When I was 12, the Revolution came. Tsar's men, then Bolsheviks. Boys like you marching in lines. They told us to leave. No. Then there was Stalin and his famine, the Holodomor. My parents died. Two of my sisters died. They told the rest of us to leave. No. Then the Great War. German boys, Russian boys. More soldiers, more famine, more bodies. My brothers never came home. But I stayed, and I'm still here. After all that I have seen... so I should leave now, because of something I cannot see at all? No. Soldier: [takes the milk bucket and dumps it out; the others honk the horns of their trucks] It's time to go. [the old woman simply grabs the bucket and starts milking the cow again] Please stand

The Happiness of All Mankind [4]

I have only two rules. One: Don't point this gun at me. That's easy, right? You can point it at this piece of shit [camera pans to Garo smoking a cigarette], I don't give a fuck -- never me. Two: If you hit an animal and it doesn't die, keep shooting until it does. Don't let them suffer. Or I'll kill you, understand? I mean it. I've killed a lot of people.

The Happiness of All Mankind [4]

Look. This happens to everyone the first time. Normally when you kill a man. But for you a dog. So what? There's no shame in it. You remember your first time, Garo? My first time, Afghanistan. We were moving through a house and... suddenly a man was there and I shot him in the stomach. Yeah, that's a real war story. There are never any good stories like in movies - they're shit. A man was there, boom... stomach. I was so scared I didn't pull the trigger again for the rest of the day. I thought, 'Well, that's it, Bacho. You put a bullet in someone. You're not you anymore. You'll never be you again.' But then you wake up the next morning and you're still you. And you realize: that was you all along. You just didn't know.

The Happiness of All Mankind [4]

Legasov: [showing pictures of the damaged reactor] The atom is a humbling thing. General Nikolai Tarakanov: It's not humbling, it's humiliating. Why is the core still exposed to the air? Why have we not already covered it up? Legasov: We want to, but we can't get close enough. The debris on the roof is graphite from the core itself. Until we can push it off the roof back into the reactor, it'll kill anyone who gets near it. You see the roof is in three levels. We've named them. The small one here is Katya, one thousand roentgen per hour. Presume two hours of exposure is fatal. The one on the side, Nina, two thousand roentgen. One hour, fatal. Tarakanov: We used remote-controlled bulldozers in Afghanistan. Shcherbina: Too heavy. They'd fall right through. Tarakanov: So then...? Legasov: Moon rovers. Lunokhod STR-1s. They're light. And if we line them with lead, they can withstand the radiation. Shcherbina: We couldn't put a man on the Moon. At least we can keep a man off a roof. Legasov

The Happiness of All Mankind [4]

Of course I know they're listening! I want them to hear! I want them to hear it all! [outside, Legasov and General Tarakanov can easily hear] Do you know what we're doing here?! Tell those geniuses what they have done! I DON'T GIVE A FUCK! Tell them! Go tell them! Ryzhkov! Go tell them he's a joke! Tell fucking Gorbachev! TELL THEM! [smashes the phone to pieces, then drags them outside before tossing them into the grass, then turns to Legasov and Tarakanov] The official position of the State is that a global nuclear catastrophe is not possible in the Soviet Union. They told the Germans that the highest detected level of radiation was two thousand roentgen. They gave them the propaganda number. That robot was never going to work. [to one of the guards] We need a new phone.

The Happiness of All Mankind [4]

Tarakanov: Comrade Soldiers, the Soviet people have had enough of this accident. They want us to clean this up, and we have entrusted you with this serious task. Because of the nature of the working area, you will each have no more than ninety seconds to solve this problem. Listen careful to each of my instructions, and do exactly as you have been told. This is for your own safety and the safety of your comrades. You will enter Reactor Building 3, climb the stairs, but do not immediately proceed to the roof. When you get to the top, wait inside behind the entrance to the roof, and catch your breath. You will need it for what comes next. [indicates photographs of the roof] This is the working area. We must clear the graphite. Some of it is in blocks weighing approximately 40 to 50 kilograms. They all must be thrown over the edge here. Watch your comrades moving fast from this opening, then turning to the left, then entering the workspace here. Take care not to stumble. There's a hole in

The Happiness of All Mankind [4]

Tarakanov: Congratulations comrades. You are the last of 3,828 men. You have performed your duties perfectly. I wish you all good health and long life. All of you are awarded a bonus of 800 rubles. Tarakanov: Thank you. Soviet Soldier: I serve the Soviet Union. Tarakanov: Thank you. Soviet Soldier: I serve the Soviet Union. Tarakanov: Thank you. Soviet Soldier: I serve the Soviet Union.

Vichnaya Pamyat [5]

Fomin: I hear they might promote Bryukhanov. This little problem we have with the safety test, if it's completed successfully... yes, I think promotion's very likely. Who knows? Maybe Moscow. Naturally, they'll put me in charge once he's gone, and then I'll need someone to take my old job. I could pick Sitnikov. Dyatlov: I would like to be considered. Fomin: We'll keep that in mind. [Bryukhanov enters] Viktor Petrovich, preparations for the test have gone smoothly. Comrade Dyatlov's been working per my instructions, and reactor 4's output has been reduced to 1600 megawatts. With your approval, we're ready to continue lowering power to -- Bryukhanov: We have to wait. Fomin: Is, uh... Bryukhanov: Are you going to ask me if there's a problem, Nikolai? You can't read a fucking face? Three years, I've tried to finish this test. Three years. [lights a cigarette] I've just had a call from the grid controller in Kiev. He says we can't lower power any further. Not for another ten hours. Dyatlov

Vichnaya Pamyat [5]

I want you to think of Yuri Gagarin. I want you to imagine he had been told nothing of his mission into space until the moment he was on the launch pad. I want you to imagine all he had was a list of instructions he'd never seen before, with some of them crossed out. That is exactly what was happening in the control room of Reactor 4. The night shift had not been trained to perform the experiment. They hadn't even been warned it was happening. Leonid Toptunov, the operator responsible for controlling and stabilizing the reactor that night, was all of 25-years old. His total experience on the job? Four months. This was the human problem created by the delay. But inside the reactor core, something far more dangerous was forming. A poison. The time is 28 past midnight.

Vichnaya Pamyat [5]

Dyatlov: Raise the power. Akimov: No. I won't do it, it isn't safe. Dyatlov: Safety first, always. I've been saying that for 25 years. That's how long I've been doing this job, 25 years. Is that longer than you, Akimov? Akimov: Yes. Dyatlov: Is that much longer? Akimov: Yes. Dyatlov: [to Toptunov] And you, with your mother's tit barely out your mouth? [Toptunov is silent] See, if I say "it's safe", it's safe. And if the two of you disagree, then you don't have to work here. And you won't. But not just here. You won't work at Kursk, or Ignalina, or Leningrad, or Novovoronezh. You won't work anywhere ever again. I'll see to it. I think you know I will see to it. Raise the power. Akimov: [holds out the duty log] I would like you to record your command -- Dyatlov: [slaps the log out of Akimov's hands] Raise the power. Akimov: [to Toptunov] Together, then.

Vichnaya Pamyat [5]

Shcherbina: Do you know anything about this town, Chernobyl? Legasov: Not really, no. Shcherbina: It was mostly Jews and Poles. The Jews were killed in pogroms, and Stalin forced the Poles out. And then the Nazis came and killed whoever was left. But after the war, people came to live here anyway. They knew the ground under their feet was soaked in blood, but they didn't care. Dead Jews, dead Poles. But not them. No one ever thinks it's going to happen to them. And here we are. Legasov: How much time? Shcherbina: Maybe a year. They call it a...[coughs] They call it a "long illness". It doesn't seem very long to me. I know you told me, and I believed you. But time passed, and I thought, it wouldn't happen to me. I wasted it. I wasted it all for nothing. Legasov: For nothing? Shcherbina: Do you remember that morning when I first called you, how unconcerned I was? I don't believe much that comes out of the Kremlin, but when they told me they were putting me in charge of the cleanup, and t

Vichnaya Pamyat [5]

Legasov: Dyatlov broke every rule we have, and pushed a reactor to the brink of destruction. He did these things believing there was a fail-safe. A-Z-5. A simple button to shut it all down. But in the circumstance he created, there wasn't. The shut-down system had a fatal flaw. At 1:23 and 40 seconds, Akimov engages AZ-5. The fully-withdrawn control rods begin moving back into the reactor. These rods are made of boron, which reduces reactivity. But not their tips. The tips are made of graphite, which accelerates reactivity. Judge: Why? Legasov: Why? For the same reason our reactors do not have containment buildings around them like those in the West. The same reason we don't use properly enriched fuel in our cores. The same reason we are the only nation that builds water-cooled graphite-moderated reactors with a positive void coefficient... It's cheaper.

Vichnaya Pamyat [5]

Legasov: No one in the room that night knew the shutdown button (AZ-5) could act as a detonator. They didn't know it, because it was kept from them. Kadnikov: Comrade Legasov, you're contradicting your own testimony in Vienna. Legasov: My testimony in Vienna was a lie. I lied to the world. I'm not the only one who kept this secret. There are many. We were following orders, from the KGB, from the Central Committee. And right now, there are 16 reactors in the Soviet Union with the same fatal flaw. Three of them are still running less than 20 kilometers away, at Chernobyl. Kadnikov: Professor Legasov, if you mean to suggest the Soviet State is somehow responsible for what happened, then I must warn you, you are treading on dangerous ground. Legasov: I've already trod on dangerous ground. We're on dangerous ground right now, because of our secrets and our lies. They're practically what define us. When the truth offends, we—we lie and lie until we can no longer remember it is even there. Bu

Vichnaya Pamyat [5]

Charkov: [reads file] Valery Alexeyevich Legasov, son of Alexei Legasov, Head of Ideological Compliance, Central Committee. Do you know what your father did there? Legasov: Yes. Charkov: As a student, you had a leadership position in Komsomol. Communist Youth, correct? Legasov: You already know. Charkov: Answer the question. Legasov: Yes. Charkov: At the Kurchatov Institute, you were the Communist Party secretary. In that position, you limited the promotion of Jewish scientists. Legasov: [beat] ...Yes. Charkov: To curry favor with Kremlin officials. You're one of us, Legasov. I can do anything I want with you. But what I want the most is for you to know that I know. You're not brave. You're not heroic. You're just a dying man who forgot himself. Legasov: I know who I am, and I know what I've done. In a just world, I'd be shot for my lies, but not for this, not for the truth. Charkov: Scientists... and your idiot obsessions with reasons. When the bullet hits your skull, what will it mat

Vichnaya Pamyat [5]

To be a scientist is to be naive. We are so focused on our search for truth, we fail to consider how few actually want us to find it. But it is always there, whether we see it or not, whether we choose to or not. The truth doesn't care about our needs or wants. It doesn't care about our governments, our ideologies, our religions. It will lie in wait for all time. And this, at last, is the gift of Chernobyl. Where I once would fear the cost of truth, now I only ask: "What is the cost of lies?"