Meetings with V. A. Legasov
In the near future, at the initiative of the Council of Veterans of the Radiochemical Plant of the Siberian Chemical Plant, a book will be published entirely devoted to the history of the creation and development of the Plant. The creators are trying to make sure that not a single worthwhile detail is lost, so that people, thanks to whose work the plant “grew” in a short time and began to work successfully are not forgotten.
One of the brightest pages in the history of the plant can be called the work of Valery Alekseyevich Legasov, a simple engineer in the 60s, and later became a world-famous academician. He was one of the first to be at the site of the Chernobyl accident at that time, and was hardly one of the first to realize the seriousness of the consequences of this disaster and began to sound the alarm. Legasov’s life ended tragically, for many reasons.
Today we present to your attention the memories of this man, written by Nikolai Vladimirovich Dedov. Nikolai Vladimirovich’s notes should form the basis of one of the chapters of the new book.
Valery Alekseyevich Legasov arrived at the Plant in February 1961 with a group of graduates of the Moscow Institute of Chemical Technology. A very important period has come at the plant - the launch of facility No. 15. The international situation of that time dictated its own laws: it was necessary to eliminate the US monopoly in the field of nuclear weapons, so the commissioning schedule was very strict: the stock was loaded into the head department of the main workshop of the facility, first - not-irradiated, then - irradiated uranium blocks, while in the final departments, the installation and commissioning works were completing by an accelerated pace. Despite the urgent pace of installation, the acceptance of the equipment wasn’t easy: people were aware of their responsibility both from the point of view of the safety of the upcoming work and from the point of view of the importance of the events being held.
For us, students, who had just graduated from various institutes of the country, mainly of Tomsk, Moscow, Leningrad, the responsibility was very high: it was necessary to master and perform complex technological operations and manage subordinate personnel.
We worked in different shifts and met only during their changing, often staying on the second shift if necessary. We were young, physically strong, full of strength and energy (the medical selection of personnel was extremely strict).
Valery Alekseyevich, like everyone else, quickly joined the staff of the workshop and in August 1961 was appointed shift supervisor. From the very first steps, he won the respect of others, the ability to manage a shift team and workshop. The experience of relationships with people, accumulated during his work as secretary of the Komsomol organization of the Moscow Chemical Institute during his studies, affected him. Despite the intense shift work, we sometimes got together, often at Valery Alekseyevich’s apartment, celebrated various holidays. Valery was an equal among equals, easy to communicate, never sought to stand out, although there were opportunities for this. Not everyone could resist the temptation to take advantage of such a situation: it was secretly known that his father was the head of the department of the Central Committee of the Party and, as they informally said, received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for participating in the revolutionary events in Cuba. We didn’t ask Valery about this: then it wasn’t the time to publicly discuss such issues.
Judging by the authority that Valery gradually and steadily gained, he had a good prospect at the plant, but Valery Alekseyevich in his spare time was persistently preparing for admission to postgraduate study and after two years of work in Tomsk successfully passed the exams at the I.V. Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy. Candidate’s and doctoral dissertations were defended, the topics of which were closely related to practical tasks. At the same time, V.A. Legasov was elected secretary of the Institute’s Party committee. It was a hectic time. Academician Sakharov started a political fuss, and managed to find a number of supporters among good scientists, but weak politicians. The merit of V.A. Legasov as the secretary of the Party committee was expressed in the fact that, as V.D. Rusanov, an employee of the institute, now academician, told me, he tactfully and skillfully managed to guide those who got lost on the right path.
As Valery Alekseevich told me, Sakharov, as a mathematician, together with a group of his colleagues solved the task of creating a hydrogen bomb set by I.V. Kurchatov. This is something that other equally outstanding scientists of the Institute could have solved with the same success.
1975. The time has come for the re-election of the President of the USSR Academy of Sciences. A number of candidates were submitted, coordinated in the Central Committee of the CPSU. The candidacy of A.P. Alexandrov, at that time director of the Kurchatov Institute, was represented by Valery Alekseevich to M.A. Suslov, a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU, and in the presence of B.N. Ponomarev, a candidate for the Politburo of the Central Committee. Valery Alekseyevich convinced Suslov that the time was coming to find and create fundamentally new solutions to energy problems and that the candidacy of A.P. Alexandrov as one of the creators of nuclear reactors was the most suitable in this regard. There were interesting moments during the interview. As Valery Alekseyevich told me, he said to Suslov: “Mikhail Andreyevich, you didn’t understand me…” - to which Ponomarev immediately corrected him: “Mikhail Andreyevich understood you!” Valery Alekseevich didn’t immediately pay attention to Ponomarev’s remark and during the conversation said again: “Mikhail Andreyevich, you probably don’t know…» and Ponomarev again immediately and firmly corrected Legasov: "Mikhail Andreyevich knows!” “That’s when I realized,” said Valery Alekseyevich, “that such expressions are inappropriate in conversations at this level.”
As you know, A.P. Alexandrov was elected president of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
V.A. Legasov was appointed First Deputy director of the Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy, and while A.P. Alexandrov worked at the Academy of Sciences, he actually had to lead a huge Institute at that time, although there were many corresponding members and academics there. All this spoke of Legasov’s extraordinary talent as a leader. In 1976, he was elected a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences, at the same time he was awarded the USSR State Prize for a number of works.
Despite my fairly frequent business trips to Moscow, knowing Legasov’s huge employment (by this time he was in charge of the problems of hydrogen energy, plasma reactor safety technologies), I tried not to take up his time, but when I had to call and meet, Valery Alekseyevich always found time for a good friendly conversation. He was always easy to communicate, never referred to the lack of time, didn’t show a shadow of arrogance, carefully asked about business, about mutual acquaintances, and offered to appoint the meeting time to the interlocutor. Only once, when I went to see him at the pre-appointed ten o'clock, the secretary informed me that Valery Alekseyevich had been urgently called to the Central Committee. The meeting was rescheduled for 4 p.m., but during this period of time Valery Alekseevich asked Doctor of Science V.D. Rusanov to acquaint me with the institute. Then, I learned a lot of new and interesting things: I visited the Tokamak, I was told in detail about the mechanism of isotope separation in cold plasma. I was particularly impressed by the visit to Kurchatov’s house, which by that time had been turned into a museum. The guide was the director of the museum, the former head of security of I.V. Kurchatov. We looked through a lot of unpublished photos, I learned a lot about Kurchatov’s associates, about the meetings held here, about how outstanding scientists made fun of each other. Already during the construction of the house, the architect ordered to replace everything in wooden structures with oak, “This is forever!”
At the end of the day, a meeting took place. It should be noted the modesty and simplicity of the furnishings of his small office. I told Legasov that he had been appointed an official opponent for my dissertation. “When will be the defense?” - he asked. I replied that I would have time to complete the material by the fall (the conversation took place at the end of January). Valery firmly told me: “You will defend in March!” “I don’t have time to…” “You’ll make it!” I had to work hard.
After the defense, we talked with him about plasma chemistry at the plant. I complained that interesting work has begun, but the plant wants to carry out some administrative changes that may negatively affect the pace of work.
“Don’t worry!” he said just two words, and I didn’t think that with all his busy schedule he would remember our conversation.
Not only remembered. After that, our group continued to work quietly.
Valery Alekseevich had the talent to see the perspective of the problem. Already in those early years, I listened to his speech at the conference, when he spoke about the prospects for the development of powder technologies. And only at the end of the 80’s these works were given great importance in the West. By 2000-2004, special national programs were created in the USA and many other countries, in the development of which hundreds of millions of dollars are invested. Unfortunately, there are no funds for this in Russia right now.
A lot could be told about this extraordinary man. At least how in England (apparently the author means Vienna – translator’s note) his appearance in the hall, where the international conference was held after the Chernobyl disaster, was met with standing and applause from the participants, or how in the USSR he was already congratulated on being awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor, but at the last moment his candidacy was crossed off the list thanks to the intrigues of some famous people. How he was not elected to the Interdepartmental Council on Chemistry. I know all this from the oral stories of his colleagues, our mutual friends.
Even such a strong, purposeful, efficient, cheerful person could not stand the intrigues of envious people.
The memorial plaque is rightfully installed on the wall of the house where Valery Alekseevich lived, in whose apartment we often met with friends, and reminds us of a resident of our city - an outstanding man who worked for the glory of our country.
Nikolai Vladimirovich Dedov
The leading specialist of NIKI, Doctor of Technical Sciences
A former employee of a radiochemical plant
Defended his candidate’s and doctoral dissertations on the job
Currently engaged in scientific activities
For the development of new technologies for the production of nanopowders, he was awarded the honorary title “Engineer of the Year-2002”
p.s. thanks to @donat5dio for sharing this article <3
@elenatria @legasovas @connihd @bewareofdragon @fuerst-von-argot @leonaevelyn @alyeen1
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