Vichnaya Pamyat

Lore & Background

Twelve hours before the explosion, the plant managers learn that the planned safety test must be put off, and they decide to go ahead after a short delay. After the accident the KGB rewards Legasov for leaving the design flaw out of his testimony in Vienna, and insists that reforms must wait until after the trial.

At the trial Legasov describes how mismanagement of the test pushed the reactor to the brink. He then sets out the design flaw of the AZ-5 emergency shutdown button and admits that his testimony in Vienna was a lie. As punishment he is stripped of his titles and cut off from the scientific community. The episode closes with his memoirs circulating after his death and the remaining reactors being retrofitted.

Reader's Guide

The trial is where the drama departs most clearly from the record. Commentators have pointed out that Legasov being present at the trial is one of the liberties taken for dramatic purposes. The epilogue of the series itself acknowledges that Khomyuk is fictional, a composite of Soviet scientists. One journalist who spent a decade researching the disaster has argued that there was no need for scientists to uncover the truth, because many nuclear scientists knew all along that the reactor had problems.

The finale was the most watched episode in the United Kingdom, with 2.112 million viewers, and drew 1.089 million in the United States.

Did You Know?

• Michael McElhatton plays the prosecutor at the trial.
• Hilton McRae plays the judge presiding over the trial.