Nikolai Tarakanov quotes from Chernobyl

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

That is the most important thing, General. Under no circumstances can men go up there. Robots only.

Tarakanov

What about this large section here?

Shcherbina

[grimly] Masha.

Legasov

Twelve thousand roentgen. If you were to stand there in full protective gear head-to-toe for two minutes, your life expectancy would be cut in half. By three minutes, you're dead within months. Even our lunar rovers won't work on Masha. That amount of gamma radiation penetrates everything. The particles literally shred the circuits in microchips apart. If it's more complicated than a light switch, Masha will destroy it.

Shcherbina

It would be fair to say that that piece of roof is the most dangerous place on Earth.

Tarakanov

[sits in stunned silence for a moment, before taking a draw from his cigarette] So... what do we do?

Shcherbina

That's what we wanted to ask you.

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 roof. Take care not to fall. You will need to move quickly, and you will need to move carefully. Do you understand your mission as I have described it?

[in unison]: Yes, Comrade General!

Tarakanov

These are the most important ninety seconds of your lives. Commit your task to memory, and do your job.

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.

I serve the Soviet Union.

Tarakanov

Thank you.

I serve the Soviet Union.

Tarakanov

Thank you.

I serve the Soviet Union.