Quote of the day by Valery Legasov: 'Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later...'

Valery Legasov was the Soviet scientist who exposed the failures behind the Chernobyl disaster and became a symbol of truth and accountability.

After the Chernobyl explosion in 1986, a technician reported a radiation reading of 3.6 Roentgen per hour using a low-capacity meter, while the actual reading was over 15,000 Roentgen per hour.

The quote 'Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later, that debt is paid' is attributed to Legasov and reflects how continuous deception contributed to the Chernobyl disaster and the fall of the USSR.

Lies do not change facts but delay facing them, and when reality catches up, the cost is paid in lost lives and broken trust.