entitled "From Today to Tomorrow" published in Pravda on 5 October 1987 but it received little interest. He gave interviews to Novy Mir and Yunost in which he changed his public stance and expressed his concern that cultural failings and Soviet science losing its way had led inevitably to nuclear disaster. After a colleague said his leadership was still needed, he said "No, you don’t understand. I know that it can be difficult; you need to endure, wait it out. And here is a completely different situation – everything inside me is burned..." and on another occasion "I'm now, like the mythical Midas, only he turned everything he took into gold, and as for me – everything turns into air, even worse, into a vacuum. Whatever I touch - everything is ruined: no one needs anything! And there is still so much to do!" Legasov continued his attempts to introduce reforms in academic chemistry by establishing an interdepartmental council to try to overcome stagnation in the field. This plan was rejected on 26 April 1988, the day before his death. Ustynyuk was called to Legasov's office and found him to be "extremely agitated and low-spirited" following the decision. He felt that the leadership would be split between the council and the USSR Academy of Sciences, saying "This will lead to disaster. I must resign." That afternoon, he briefly visited his daughter. Ustynyuk called Legasov at 22:30 on the same day saying he might still prevail with support from other top scientists that had not been consulted on the decision. Death On 27 April 1988, the day after the second anniversary of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident and one day before he was due to release the outcomes of the investigation into the causes of the disaster, Legasov hanged himself in the stairwell of his Moscow apartment (though some sources say inside his apartment, others in his office). He was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow. Legasov was 51 years old. By the time of his death, Legasov had been exposed to 150 rem (1.5 Sv) of radiation, which was far above safe levels. There are several theories concerning Legasov's motivations and state of mind. David R. Marples has suggested the adversity of the Chernobyl disaster on his psychological state was the factor leading to his decision to take his own life and that Legasov had become bitterly disillusioned