Status Updates From Voces de Chernóbil: Crónica...

On covering up Chernobyl:
It was more like a conspiracy of ignorance and obedience. The principle of their lives, the one thing the Party machine had taught them, was never to stick their necks out. Better to keep everyone happy...I’d bet there’d been a call from the Kremlin, right from Gorbachev, saying, you know, I hope you Belarussians can keep from starting a panic, the West is already making all kinds of noises.

“Por un lado, nuestra civilización es antibiológica, el hombre es el peor enemigo de la naturaleza, y por otro, es un creador. Transforma el mundo. Crea, por ejemplo, la torre Eiffel o las naves cósmicas. Lo único es que el progreso exige víctimas y cuanto más lejos vayamos, más serán las víctimas”.

“Tenemos que responder a una pregunta: ¿Quiénes somos? Sin esto, no cambiará nada. ¿Qué es para nosotros la vida? ¿Y qué es para nosotros la libertad? La libertad, solo sabemos soñar con ella. Pudimos ser libres pero no lo hemos conseguido. Una vez más no lo hemos logrado”.

“Desde el punto de vista de nuestra cultura, pensar en uno mismo es una muestra de egoísmo. Algo propio de los pobres de espíritu. Siempre encuentras algo que está por encima de ti. De tu vida”.

No one listened to the scientists and the doctors. They pulled science and medicine into politics. Of course they did!

Fifty rubles back then could get you a nice suit. And people talked more about the rubles than the radiation. They got these tiny bonuses. Or tiny anyway compared with the value of a human life.
It was funny and tragic at the same time.

The commander says: “Only volunteers go up on the roof. The rest can step aside, you’ll have a talk with the military prosecutor.” Well, those guys stood around, talked about it a little, and then agreed. If you took the oath, then you should do what you have to. I don’t think any of us doubted that they’d put us in jail for insubordination. They’d put out a rumor that it would be two to three years.