Probably for all of us the word “explosion” is rarely associated with something good and positive. An explosion is destruction, the destruction of something, this is something that will not allow life to proceed along the same route. As proof, we can cite an explosion atomic bomb dropped on Japanese cities. The explosion then caused enormous destruction, and the cities had to be rebuilt over the course of many years. And although much more time has passed since the Japanese disaster than since the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, they still remember it, realizing that with an explosion, even something that has been built over many centuries can be destroyed in an instant.

No one will argue that the explosion of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was terrible. Thousands of people suffered very seriously back then. Those who were at the epicenter of the explosion died on the spot. Others died later due to radiation sickness, which haunted the residents of cities and surrounding areas for a long time.

A similar catastrophe awaited us, but on a much larger scale. This happened when there was an explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Thirty years have already passed, but we still remember with a shudder what happened on April 26, 1986.

The world before Chernobyl

Once upon a time, in an area not far from Pripyat, life was in full swing. In the city, one of the most promising in the USSR, they exploited Newest technologies that time. It seemed that nothing and no one could disrupt the planned course of this atomic giant, because it seemed indestructible. But it is impossible to predict the exact fate of certain events. The explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant entailed terrible consequences that we feel to this day.

Many, many people were forced to leave their homes, hastily evacuate, throw away their usual things and many other things that were expensive. The explosion in Chernobyl caused the city of Pripyat to be completely deserted, turning into a ghost town, about which films are made and articles are written.

Probably, many of us have seen photos of the empty Pripyat - it was the one that was first devastated by the explosion in Chernobyl. When they offer an excursion to Pripyat, they also show a photograph of this neglected, scary city. The first thing we see is a Ferris wheel, abandoned high-rise buildings, abandoned schools where children once studied... Now there is nothing alive there. Dolls, broken furniture, and broken dishes are scattered where children's laughter was recently heard. All this was caused by the explosion in Chernobyl, the consequences of which we still see today.

It would seem that more than 30 years have passed. It seems to many that everything that happened was just bad dream, who disappeared after suddenly waking up. But the specter of the Chernobyl accident does not go away. Too much catastrophic consequences brought an explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Largely because of it, the environment has deteriorated and the health of tens of thousands of people and future generations has been undermined.

The explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is called the largest nuclear disaster; it is difficult to imagine a more complex and terrible tragedy in this area. But what was the reason, who is to blame for this happening? Could this have been avoided?

The explosion of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant: a lesson for man

Exploitation nuclear power plant near was started in 1977. At that time, this project carried great hope, since it was this power plant that supplied energy to 1/10 of the territory of the Soviet Union, which existed at that moment. An explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant seemed impossible, because it was a huge structure that looked reliable and indestructible. Nothing foreshadowed that very little time would pass (less than ten years) and a real curse would fall on the world.

However, the explosion of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant occurred. It will take many lives, seriously harm people's health, destroy a promising economy and cause enormous damage to the entire Soviet Empire.

It must be said that the 20th century is characterized as the beginning new era. It was at the beginning of the 20th century that civilization began to actively develop, which made human life much easier, but at the same time, perhaps, made us lose caution somewhere. A person somewhere forgot that he cannot always influence events, and, most importantly, one small mistake can lead to a huge, irreparable tragedy. And one such example is the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant after the explosion

We are already accustomed to images of desolation, since each of us watched films about the Apocalypse, where entire cities were empty, when entire cities disappeared and people were forced to start life anew. We see on the screen destroyed buildings, broken things, lonely people, broken windows, empty rooms and so on. But the worst thing is that in Chernobyl this is all happening for real.

Pictures of Chernobyl after the explosion tell of desolation and horror reigning there. It has everything that is sometimes even impossible to imagine in the scariest films.

Pictures of Chernobyl after the explosion can be found in abundance on the Internet, but there are even brave souls for whom pictures are not enough, and they go there themselves. However, this is actually prohibited because it is dangerous. Of course, if you really want to see it with your own eyes, then there is always the opportunity to go there on an excursion, where you will be taken to safe places.

The date of the Chernobyl explosion is forever etched in the memory of the whole world and has become one of the most fatal moments on planet Earth, since this disaster caused the destruction of our planet. Our home suffered enormous damage from which Mother Earth still cannot recover. The date of the Chernobyl explosion is a date of mourning for flora, fauna, and indeed for all humanity.

Facts about the Chernobyl explosion that were hidden for a long time

So, the fatal explosion occurred on the night of April 25-26. The explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant killed many people, and caused criticism towards the Soviet authorities. April 26, 1986 became a fateful date not only for the former Soviet Union, but also for the whole world.

The most interesting thing is that it is no longer possible to name the exact reason why all this happened. The explosion at Chernobyl is considered a consequence of the human factor, in other words, negligence and imprudence. But then in the USSR at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant they were very attentive to various details. The experiment that was carried out on the day of the tragedy was planned and there were no signs of trouble. The explosion in Chernobyl sounded like a bolt from the blue, and for many it became a horror for many years.

Let's look at those facts that were unknown for some time and were hidden for certain reasons. Perhaps these facts will help to better understand the causes of the Chernobyl tragedy. Although, again, it is still impossible to name the exact reasons, because we will not go back to the past.

Negligence of builders

There is a version that the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, which was being built at an accelerated pace, even before the accident occurred, raised concerns among both experts and engineers. Already two years after the station went into operation, signals and warnings about technical flaws in the new building began to arrive. It turns out that the destruction of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was simply inevitable, but for some reason they did not pay any attention to it. In 2006, declassified archives were found that confirmed the presence of poor-quality installation and construction work, violations of technological discipline, as well as the presence of violations of radiation safety rules. As a result of all this, five accidents and 63 equipment failures occurred at the station even before the latest emergency. The last such message is said to be dated February 1986.

Chasing results

The explosion occurred in the fourth power unit, which was brought to its design capacity three months earlier than planned. This version is also considered as the cause of the explosion in Chernobyl, which occurred on the night of April 25-26 at 1 hour 23 minutes, to be especially precise. The accident occurred while a planned experiment was being conducted. The purpose of the experiment was to study the possibility of using the inertia of the reactor to generate additional electricity in the event of an emergency shutdown of the reactor.

The experiment was to be carried out with a reactor power of 700 megawatts. But before use began, the level suddenly dropped to 30 megawatts. The operator noticed the error and tried to correct it. After some time, the power was restored, and at 1:23 am the experiment continued with a power of 200 megawatts. After just a few seconds, the power began to increase rapidly. Reacting to what was not happening, the operator pressed the emergency protection button, but for a number of reasons it did not work.

A little later, after studying all the facts, it is precisely actions of this nature that will be considered as the cause of the explosion in Chernobyl. However, they also claim that these actions were completely planned, were previously provided for in the briefing and were not carried out in emergency mode when the reactor was shut down. But still, the exact causes of the Chernobyl accident are not known to this day.

Lack of “safety culture”

After the emergency button was pressed, two explosions occurred, the interval being only a few seconds, and as a result, the reactor was almost immediately destroyed. State Commission blamed the Chernobyl nuclear power plant personnel entirely for the tragedy; everyone supported this version. However, recent facts have made people doubt this.

The year of the Chernobyl explosion became fatal, but versions are constantly changing, and it is very difficult to come to one thing. It is clear that the human factor played an important role here, but you cannot rely on this alone. Perhaps there was something else here that could not be predicted. And as proof, 20 years later, a new report confirmed that such a categorical opinion turned out to be wrong.

It was confirmed that the actions of the personnel were fully consistent the necessary rules, so it was difficult to influence the course of the accident. In addition, nuclear energy experts stated that safety at the nuclear power plant was low, or rather there was no safety culture as such. We can talk a lot about this, but the truth is one: the explosion took place, and its consequences are catastrophic.

Lack of staff awareness

Experts claim that personnel at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant were not aware that there was a danger in the changed working conditions. Before the accident, the ORM was less than the value allowed by the regulations, but the personnel who took over the shift were not aware of the current ORM, and therefore did not know that they were violating the regulations.

Perhaps the most terrible thing is that even after the explosion occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the first ones - the firefighters who came to put out the fire - were not aware of the further danger. Few ordinary people could imagine that radiation could be very life-threatening. At that moment, they thought only about destroying the fire, saving what could still be saved. As a result, something terrible happened: out of twenty firefighters, only six survived. This is all very terrible.

Illiterate actions of personnel when working with the reactor

Just 20 years later, KGB officers found themselves at the site of the Chernobyl accident and were able to claim that the clear cause of the explosion was the fourth power unit, some kind of error that was not corrected in time. Perhaps it happened that the block had to be stopped at a certain moment in order for it to come out of the iodine pit, but for some reason this was not done. One of the reasons was that the block began to be raised.

Why were they hiding the causes of the accident?

The causes of the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant were classified in order to prevent mass panic. After all, the lives and health of many people depended on it. Knowing real reasons explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, people would lose their composure and panic, and this is very undesirable, especially before evacuation.

The year of the Chernobyl explosion seemed like a very ordinary year, but then it became clear that this was not so. However, such a truth could not be hidden for long; the cause of the explosion of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant had to come out sooner or later. The terrible ones appeared within a few days, when people began to die from radiation sickness. Soon, when the radioactive cloud reached Europe, the whole world learned about the great atomic disaster. The cause of the explosion of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant could not be ignored, but at the same time, it is impossible to accurately answer this question even now.

The explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant as a death sentence

On April 27, 1986, after the explosion, more than 100 people were sent to hospital, and already at two o’clock in the afternoon a mass evacuation began, during which more than 45 thousand people were evacuated. People were forced to leave everything they loved, give up their usual way of life and go into the unknown. The Chernobyl accident deprived people of their home, their favorite atmosphere and a sense of personal security. In total, by the end of 1986, about 116 thousand people from 188 settlements were evacuated.

In May 1986, the USSR government decided to mothball the fourth power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. This was done in order to avoid the release of radionuclides into the environment and prevent further contamination in the station area. Already in November 1986, the so-called “Sarcophagus” was built, that is, an insulating concrete shelter designed to stop the further spread of radiation.

In the first three years after the accident, more than 250 thousand workers visited Chernobyl, sent there in order to minimize the consequences of the disaster. Subsequently, the number of employees increased further. And although the causes of the Chernobyl accident are still unknown, much has been done to minimize the terrible consequences.

If you want to know more, you can enter “Chernobyl NPP causes of the accident” in the search engine. However, do not forget that the Internet is not very reliable source information. For example, some sources claim that the death toll from the accident is in the thousands, although this is absolutely not true.

In 1993, the second power unit was installed at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, and in 1996 the first power unit, and already in 2000 the third was installed, which became the last in this matter.

December 15, 2000 was the last day for Chernobyl, and this marked the end of everything. The great, once powerful nuclear power plant ceased to exist forever.

The Verkhovna Rada Ukraine has come to the decision to completely liquidate the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 2065. In addition, in the very near future it is planned to build a special storage facility for draining spent nuclear fuel. This project will make the destroyed nuclear power plant safe.

Consequences of a deadly experiment

Quite a lot has already been said about the consequences of the fatal explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, but the essence remains the same. An Exclusion Zone was formed 30 kilometers around the station. Along with this territory, the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant especially affected villages and cities within a radius of 100 kilometers. The lands where it was raining at that moment were especially contaminated with radiation. After all, radioactive elements contained in large particles fell along with precipitation. More than five hectares of land were taken out of agricultural use.

It should be noted that the Chernobyl disaster surpasses the notorious Hiroshima and Nagasaki in terms of the power and scale of damage. According to some experts, the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant provoked the development of diseases in people such as cataracts and thyroid cancer, increased the risk of cardiovascular problems, leukemia and other terrible problems that cannot be avoided even 30 years after the accident.

The explosion of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant turned the idea of ​​human power upside down, since it was then that proof was presented that not everything in this world is subject to man, sometimes what is destined to happen cannot be avoided. But let's take a closer look at what exactly caused the explosion of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, whether it could have been avoided, and in general, what should be expected in the future. Will we never get rid of the consequences of the terrible event that happened in the eighties of the 20th century?

Echoes of Chernobyl today

The Chernobyl zone, the explosion in the area of ​​which shocked the whole world, became famous throughout the world. Even now, not only Ukrainians are interested in this problem, but also residents of other countries who are interested in ensuring that such a tragedy does not happen again. After all, no matter how sad it is, this tragedy even now poses a danger to every inhabitant on Earth. Moreover, some scientists agree that the biggest problems are just beginning. There is, of course, some truth in this, because the main global catastrophe did not occur on the day of the explosion, but only later, when people began to develop radiation sickness, which is still rampant today.

The event that occurred on April 26, 1986 once again proved that it is stupid to divide people into countries and nationalities, what if any terrible disaster, then everyone around can suffer, regardless of skin color and material income.

The Chernobyl explosion is a clear example of the need to be careful when dealing with nuclear energy, because one slight mistake will lead to a catastrophe on a global scale. Unfortunately, the Chernobyl explosion has already occurred, so we cannot return time and stop this disaster, but at the same time we can protect ourselves and others from the same mistakes in the future.

No one will argue that there is very little positive in the events that occurred on April 26, 1986, however, our task is not only to remember, but also to prevent something like this from happening again. We never know what will happen next, but we must act in such a way as not to harm nature and the environment.

Women and children were the first to be evacuated. There was a shortage of buses in this corner of the former Soviet Union. To take 50 thousand people out of the city, buses from other regions of the country came here. The length of the bus column was 20 kilometers, which meant that when the first bus left Pripyat, the last one could no longer see the pipes of the power plant. In less than three hours, the city was completely empty. He will remain this way forever. At the beginning of May, the evacuation of people living in the 30-kilometer Exclusion Zone around Chernobyl was organized. Disinfection work was carried out in 1,840 settlements. However, the Chernobyl exclusion zone was not developed until 1994, when the last residents of the villages in its western part were moved to new apartments in the Kyiv and Zhytomyr regions.

Today Pripyat is a city of ghosts. Despite the fact that no one lives there, the city has its own grace and atmosphere. It did not cease to exist, unlike neighboring villages, which were buried in the ground by excavators. They are only indicated on road signs and village maps. Pripyat, as well as the entire 30-kilometer Exclusion Zone, is guarded by police and patrol services. Despite their constant vigil, the city was repeatedly subjected to robbery and looting. The entire city was plundered. There is not a single apartment left where the thieves have not visited and taken all the jewelry. In 1987, residents had the opportunity to return to collect a small portion of their belongings. The Jupiter military plant operated until 1997; famous swimming pool"Lazurny" operated until 1998. On this moment they have been looted and destroyed even more than the apartments and schools in the city combined. There are three other parts of the city that are still in use: a laundry (for the Chernobyl nuclear power plant), garages for trucks, and a deep well with a pumping station that supplies water to the power plant.

The city is full of 1980s graffiti, signs, books and images, mostly related to Lenin. His slogans and portraits are everywhere - in the palace of culture, hotel, hospital, police station, as well as in schools and kindergartens. Walking around the city is like going back in time, the only difference is that there is no one here, not even birds in the sky. You can only imagine the picture of the era when the city flourished, during the tour we will show you historical photos. To give you a vivid impression of the times of the Soviet Union, we offer a Soviet uniform, retro walk in our RETRO TOUR. Everything was built from concrete. All buildings are of the same type, as in other cities built under the Soviet Union. Some houses are overgrown with trees so that they are barely visible from the road, and some buildings are so worn out that they collapsed from large quantities melted snow. Chernobyl is life example how Mother Nature takes its toll on the efforts of many people. In a few decades, only ruins will remain of the city. There is no corner like this in the world.

April 26 is the Day of Remembrance for those killed in radiation accidents and disasters. This year marks 33 years since the Chernobyl disaster - the largest in the history of nuclear energy in the world. A whole generation has grown up without this terrible tragedy, but on this day we traditionally remember Chernobyl. After all, only by remembering the mistakes of the past can we hope not to repeat them in the future.

In 1986, an explosion occurred at Chernobyl reactor No. 4, and several hundred workers and firefighters tried to put out the fire, which burned for 10 days. The world was enveloped in a cloud of radiation. About 50 station employees were killed and hundreds of rescuers were injured. It is still difficult to determine the scale of the disaster and its impact on people’s health - only from 4 to 200 thousand people died from cancer that developed as a result of the received dose of radiation. Pripyat and the surrounding areas will remain unsafe for human habitation for several centuries.

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1. This 1986 aerial photo of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine, shows the damage from the explosion and fire of reactor No. 4 on April 26, 1986. As a result of the explosion and fire that followed it, a huge amount of radioactive substances was released into the atmosphere. Ten years after the world's largest nuclear disaster The power plant continued to operate due to an acute shortage of electricity in Ukraine. The final shutdown of the power plant occurred only in 2000. (AP Photo/Volodymyr Repik)
2. On October 11, 1991, when the speed of turbogenerator No. 4 of the second power unit was reduced for its subsequent shutdown and removal of the SPP-44 steam separator-superheater for repair, an accident and fire occurred. This photo, taken during a journalists' visit to the plant on October 13, 1991, shows part of the collapsed roof of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, destroyed by fire. (AP Photo/Efrm Lucasky)
3. Aerial view of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, after the largest nuclear disaster in human history. The photo was taken three days after the explosion at the nuclear power plant in 1986. In front of the chimney is the destroyed 4th reactor. (AP Photo)
4. Photo from the February issue of the magazine “ Soviet life": main hall of the 1st power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on April 29, 1986 in Chernobyl (Ukraine). Soviet Union admitted that there was an accident at the power plant, but did not provide additional information. (AP Photo)
5. A Swedish farmer removes straw contaminated by radiation a few months after the Chernobyl explosion in June 1986. (STF/AFP/Getty Images)
6. Soviet medical worker examines an unknown child who was evacuated from the nuclear disaster zone to the Kopelovo state farm near Kiev on May 11, 1986. The photo was taken during a trip organized by Soviet authorities to show how they deal with the accident. (AP Photo/Boris Yurchenko)
7. Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev (center) and his wife Raisa Gorbacheva during a conversation with the management of the nuclear power plant on February 23, 1989. This was the first visit of the Soviet leader to the station since the accident in April 1986. (AFP PHOTO/TASS)
8. Kiev residents queue for forms before being tested for radiation contamination after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, in Kyiv on May 9, 1986. (AP Photo/Boris Yurchenko)
9. A boy reads a notice on the closed gate of a playground in Wiesbaden on May 5, 1986, which reads: “This playground is temporarily closed.” A week after the Chernobyl nuclear reactor explosion on April 26, 1986, the Wiesbaden municipal council closed all playgrounds after detecting radioactivity levels of 124 to 280 becquerels. (AP Photo/Frank Rumpenhorst)
10. One of the engineers who worked at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant undergoes a medical examination at the Lesnaya Polyana sanatorium on May 15, 1986, a few weeks after the explosion. (STF/AFP/Getty Images)
11. Defense activists environment mark railway cars containing radiation-contaminated dry serum. Photo taken in Bremen, northern Germany on February 6, 1987. The serum, which was delivered to Bremen for onward transport to Egypt, was produced after the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident and was contaminated by radioactive fallout. (AP Photo/Peter Meyer)
12. A slaughterhouse worker places fitness stamps on cow carcasses in Frankfurt am Main, West Germany, May 12, 1986. According to the decision of the Minister for social issues In the federal state of Hesse, after the Chernobyl explosion, all meat began to be subject to radiation control. (AP Photo/Kurt Strumpf/stf)
13. Archival photo from April 14, 1998. Workers at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant walk past the control panel of the destroyed 4th power unit of the station. On April 26, 2006, Ukraine celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl accident, which affected the lives of millions of people, required astronomical costs from international funds and became an ominous symbol of the dangers of nuclear energy. (AFP PHOTO/GENIA SAVILOV)
14. In the photo, which was taken on April 14, 1998, you can see the control panel of the 4th power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (AFP PHOTO/GENIA SAVILOV)
15. Workers who took part in the construction of the cement sarcophagus covering the Chernobyl reactor, in a memorable photo from 1986 next to the unfinished construction site. According to the Chernobyl Union of Ukraine, thousands of people who took part in the liquidation of the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster died from the consequences of radiation contamination, which they suffered during their work. (AP Photo/Volodymyr Repik)
16. High-voltage towers near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on June 20, 2000 in Chernobyl. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

17. A nuclear reactor operator on duty records control readings at the site of the only operating reactor No. 3, on Tuesday, June 20, 2000. Andrei Shauman angrily pointed at a switch hidden under a sealed metal cover on the control panel of the reactor at Chernobyl, a nuclear power plant whose name has become synonymous with nuclear disaster. “This is the same switch with which you can turn off the reactor. For $2,000, I’ll let anyone push that button when the time comes,” Schauman, acting chief engineer, said at the time. When that time came on December 15, 2000, environmental activists, governments and simple people all over the world breathed a sigh of relief. However, for the 5,800 workers at Chernobyl, it was a day of mourning. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

18. 17-year-old Oksana Gaibon (right) and 15-year-old Alla Kozimerka, victims of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, are treated with infrared rays at the Tarara Children's Hospital in the capital of Cuba. Oksana and Alla, like hundreds of other Russian and Ukrainian teenagers who received a dose of radiation, were treated for free in Cuba as part of a humanitarian project. (ADALBERTO ROQUE/AFP)


19. Photo dated April 18, 2006. A child during treatment at the Center for Pediatric Oncology and Hematology, which was built in Minsk after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. On the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, representatives of the Red Cross reported that they were faced with a lack of funds to further assist the victims of the Chernobyl accident. (VIKTOR DRACHEV/AFP/Getty Images)
20. View of the city of Pripyat and the fourth reactor of Chernobyl on December 15, 2000 on the day of the complete shutdown of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (Photo by Yuri Kozyrev/Newsmakers)
21. A Ferris wheel and a carousel in a deserted amusement park in the ghost town of Pripyat next to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on May 26, 2003. The population of Pripyat, which in 1986 was 45,000 people, was completely evacuated within the first three days after the explosion of the 4th reactor No. 4. The explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant occurred at 1:23 a.m. on April 26, 1986. The resulting radioactive cloud damaged much of Europe. By different estimates from 15 to 30 thousand people subsequently died as a result of radiation exposure. Over 2.5 million residents of Ukraine suffer from diseases acquired as a result of radiation, and about 80 thousand of them receive benefits. (AFP PHOTO/ SERGEI SUPINSKY)
22. In the photo from May 26, 2003: an abandoned amusement park in the city of Pripyat, which is located next to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (AFP PHOTO/ SERGEI SUPINSKY)
23. In the photo from May 26, 2003: gas masks on the floor of a classroom in one of the schools in the ghost town of Pripyat, which is located near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (AFP PHOTO/ SERGEI SUPINSKY)
24. In the photo from May 26, 2003: a TV case in a hotel room in the city of Pripyat, which is located near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (AFP PHOTO/ SERGEI SUPINSKY)
25. View of the ghost town of Pripyat next to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (AFP PHOTO/ SERGEI SUPINSKY)
26. Photo from January 25, 2006: an abandoned classroom in one of the schools in the deserted city of Pripyat near Chernobyl, Ukraine. Pripyat and the surrounding areas will remain unsafe for human habitation for several centuries. According to scientists, complete decomposition The most dangerous radioactive elements will take about 900 years. (Photo by Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
27. Textbooks and notebooks on the floor of one of the schools in the ghost town of Pripyat on January 25, 2006. (Photo by Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
28. Toys and gas mask in the dust in the former primary school abandoned city of Pripyat on January 25, 2006. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
29. In the photo on January 25, 2006: an abandoned gym of one of the schools in the deserted city of Pripyat. (Photo by Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
30. What remains of the school gym in the abandoned city of Pripyat. January 25, 2006. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
31. A resident of the Belarusian village of Novoselki, located just outside the 30-kilometer exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, in a photo taken on April 7, 2006. (AFP PHOTO / VIKTOR DRACHEV) 33. April 6, 2006, an employee of the Belarusian radiation-ecological reserve measures the level of radiation in the Belarusian village of Vorotets, which is located within the 30-kilometer zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (VIKTOR DRACHEV/AFP/Getty Images)
34. Residents of the village of Ilintsy in the closed zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, about 100 km from Kyiv, pass by rescuers from the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Ukraine who are rehearsing before a concert on April 5, 2006. Rescuers organized an amateur concert on the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster for more than three hundred people (mostly elderly people) who returned to live illegally in villages located in the exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP/Getty Images) 37. A construction crew wearing masks and special protective suits on April 12, 2006, during work to strengthen the sarcophagus covering the destroyed 4th reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (AFP PHOTO / GENIA SAVILOV)
38. April 12, 2006, workers sweep away radioactive dust in front of the sarcophagus covering the damaged 4th reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Because of high level radiation teams only work for a few minutes. (GENIA SAVILOV/AFP/Getty Images)

Thirty years ago, on the border of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, the unexpected happened: an express train called “atomic energy”, sent from Obninsk station in the Kaluga region in 1954, derailed.

Until the tragic night of April 25-26, 1986, when one of the four power units of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was destroyed by an explosion and everything that followed, we could not even imagine how great the retribution for someone’s arrogance and carelessness could be. While extinguishing the fire that broke out at the fourth power unit and in the first, most acute days of eliminating the consequences of the accident, 31 people received lethal doses of radiation and died within three months. Consequences high exposure caused the deaths of 60 to 80 people over the next fifteen years. Another 134 people suffered radiation sickness of varying severity.

In addition to the disabled powerful nuclear power plant (four power units of 1000 megawatts each), the deaths of operators, firefighters and liquidators, three neighboring republics, which have now become independent states, lost large territories long inhabited by people as a result of radiation contamination. More than 115 thousand people were evacuated from the 30-kilometer resettlement zone alone, which captured the border areas of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.

And in total, according to updated data, the picture of contamination with radioactive cesium-137 from the destroyed power unit looks like this. Ukraine, from whose territory emissions occurred - 41,900 (6.9% of total area). 12 regions were affected.

Russia - 59,900 (0.34% of the territory, from the European part - 1.46%). 14 regions with a population of about 3 million people were affected. Belarus - 46,450 square kilometers (23.3% of the total territory). The Gomel and Mogilev regions suffered the most.

9.2 billion rubles were allocated from the Russian budget in the period 1992-2015 for the implementation of six federal target programs to overcome the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster.

For comparison: Austria - 8600 (10.3%), Bulgaria - 4800 (4.35%), Finland - 11500 (3.4%), Sweden - 12,000 (2.7%), Switzerland - 1300 (3. 15%).

Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Igor Semenenya from the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Belarus gave the following details at a recent meeting with Russian and Ukrainian colleagues. In the territories of radioactive contamination in his republic alone there were 3,678 settlements, in which 2.2 million people lived. Before the accident, 340 industrial enterprises operated in these territories. As a result of the accident, 479 settlements in Belarus disappeared - they were literally razed to the ground. Over the next 30 years, the number of settlements in the affected areas decreased to 2,193.

According to economists' calculations, Belarus suffered economic damage in the amount of 235 billion US dollars, which is equivalent to 32 of the republic's budgets in 1985. The people who suffered the most from the Chernobyl accident Agriculture: 1.8 million hectares of agricultural land in Belarus were contaminated with cesium-137. Of these, 265 thousand hectares (about 15%) have been taken out of economic use. But even in this situation, people did not give up. Since 1993, such lands have been carefully returned for special use. Currently, agricultural production is carried out on 936 thousand hectares of land contaminated with cesium-137 and partially strontium-90.

Infographics "RG" / Leonid Kuleshov / Alexander Emelyanenkov

As stated by the First Deputy Chairman of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Academician Sergei Chizhik, overcoming the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster has become one of the most costly undertakings for Belarus in its entire history. According to unofficial estimates, up to 10 percent of GDP is spent on this annually. And in total, since 1990, the Republic of Belarus, according to its internal estimates, has spent 22 billion US dollars on assistance to victims and rehabilitation of territories - more than two million a day.

As a result, experience has been accumulated that can be in demand in other countries, noted Academician Chizhik. - Already now, it seems to us, it would be useful to join forces to refine legislative framework according to standards, how to use contaminated areas, what methods to improve the health of the population.

In turn, the assistant to the head Russian government Gennady Onishchenko, speaking at an international conference in St. Petersburg dedicated to the Chernobyl disaster, admitted that thousands of people experienced its consequences. According to him, in Russia alone there are 600 thousand accident liquidators and persons equivalent to them. At the same time, the number of settlements with dangerous levels of radiation contamination in Russia is decreasing, and in 50 years there will be only a few dozen of them, Onishchenko assured.

And the Minister of Environment and natural resources Ukraine Ostap Semerak, who recently visited the Chernobyl nuclear power plant site, said that “Chernobyl is not only a tragedy.” History, he said, “we cannot rewrite, but we can definitely change the attitude towards the zone.” The Ukrainian minister sees it “not as a memorial, but as a unique platform where technical experiments and scientific research can be carried out.”

Verbatim

No one died from radiation sickness in Belarus. And only for thyroid cancer is there a proven increase among liquidators.

Alexander Rozhko, Director of the Center for Radiation Medicine and Human Ecology, Republic of Belarus.

The Chernobyl accident became a national disaster in 1991, when the government decided to lower the detection limits of long-term effects. After such a recount, the victims turned out to be 7 million people.

Elena Melikhova, Head of the Laboratory of IBRAE RAS, Russian Federation.

In the Chernobyl exclusion zone, the presence of 323 species of fauna has been proven, 66 species are listed in the Red Book of Ukraine. And 80-90 percent of radionuclides are carried outside the zone by the Pripyat river runoff. The rest is fires, wind, technogenic migration.

Sergei Paskevich, head of the sector of the Institute of Nuclear Power Plant Safety Problems of the National Academy of Sciences, Ukraine.

(From speeches at the trilateral meeting "Minsk Initiative", April 2016).

How it was

Nikolai Kuznetsov: “We knew why and where we were going”

In Chernobyl (in contrast to the events five years ago at the Japanese Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant), reconnaissance flights of helicopters over the destroyed unit began literally in the first days. According to experts, without this it would have been difficult to assess the overall situation. At the same time, professional photography and filming began - from a helicopter and inside the 4th power unit itself.

It so happened that these tasks were entrusted to Nikolai Nikolaevich Kuznetsov, the head of the recently created video group at the Institute of Atomic Energy, recalls his colleague, friend and namesake Nikolai Kuharkin. - The resulting footage, studied in detail by designers, designers and scientists, made it possible not only to outline actions to stabilize ongoing processes, but also to plan work to eliminate the consequences of the accident and assess the possibility of constructing a shelter over the destroyed block, preventing the further spread of activity.

There was a tragic episode. On October 3, 1986, a helicopter flying over the nuclear power plant site caught its propeller on a crane cable, fell and crashed... Flights were suspended for several days, but then resumed. And our guys, without flinching, continued to work honestly, without showing fear or confusion. This is also a considerable merit of Nikolai Nikolaevich, because he educated his team not by orders, but, above all, by personal example.

After Kuznetsov’s death, his partner Konstantin Checherov told how they were filming inside the destroyed power unit:

I'll tell you about the machine room. We worked during the day, of course. It's summer. Almost no rain. Clouds were rare. Most of the glazing in the turbine room was intact. This amazed me. And the roof is broken. Broken by what fell from above. It was quite light, and there was such a psychological feeling that we would spend a cleanup here, remove what was unnecessary, and we could work on the block again. We didn’t see anything special or large-scale that needed to be removed...

Radiation background? At the entrance there are somewhere around 200-250 roentgens per hour, but after that it’s not clear how many - the instruments went off scale. While I am measuring the background, Nikolai Nikolaevich is taking pictures. It’s as if these mind-numbing numbers on the dosimeter don’t exist. He comes and calmly, methodically takes pictures of everything around him, so that he can then scrutinize everything - in a place where there is no background and where the commission is meeting. He understood the importance of this recorded observation and was in no hurry to respond to my warnings. I told him: “N.N.! 250-300 per hour.” “I know,” he answers...

Video footage shot by Nikolai Kuznetsov and his group formed the basis of the first film, which was shown in June 1986 to members of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee. He also prepared video materials for the report of the Soviet delegation to the IAEA in the fall of the same year.

Direct speech

Do not exchange your memory for hryvnias and rubles

Boris Oleynik, Chairman of the Presidium of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation, Kyiv:

Today we are experiencing a moment when the Chernobyl accident moves from the sphere of communicative memory (it covers an array of memories and impressions available to two generations - children and their fathers) into the sphere of cultural memory of the nation (that which is formed and exists as a common heritage of the nation for all generations in process of its historical development).

What the memory of the tragedy will be, its perception in the minds of Ukrainians, Russians, Belarusians, other nations and nationalities in the 21st century, largely depends on what we remember, say, tell about it, you and I...

What would you like to draw attention to in this regard?

Firstly, to the fact that in Ukraine, in the interpretation proposed at the state level, although “behind the scenes”, without accompaniment, the Chernobyl tragedy turned primarily into a man-made disaster. Her perception in modern conditions, if I may put it this way, “technogenized.” This turn of the topic is obviously determined by the logic of life itself; it is in a sense natural and, of course, very important. Important, but I'm sure not enough. Downside technogenization turned out to be dehumanization. Attention is mainly focused on the Shelter object. Where can I get money for it? How is the construction going? Etc. Human and, if you want, national dimension accident, if not completely and completely forgotten, then, in any case, pushed aside, and quite far away. This cannot be allowed, under no circumstances. Chernobyl is a humanitarian phenomenon no less than a technological one.

Secondly, the formation of a common approach to the accident and everything that is connected with it in one way or another requires special attention among Ukrainians, Belarusians, and Russians. Thirty years ago we lived in single state, now we live in different ones. It seems important that the Ukrainian view of the Chernobyl accident in its main parameters is comparable with the Russian and Belarusian views, and perhaps coincides with them. Under no circumstances should we allow national views and approaches to contradict each other, provoking mutual hatred, confrontation, and alienation.

Thirdly, it would be worth seriously thinking about such an aspect of the problem as the international, global, global context of the Chernobyl accident. In other words, to include this tragic incident in the general chain of events on the scale of a much wider space than the space of Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and even all of former USSR. It would be worth taking as one of the fundamental guidelines for applying our joint efforts the writing of the history of Chernobyl not as a man-made disaster, but first of all as a phenomenon of social existence, personal life, as a set of phenomena and processes associated with the emancipation of national consciousness, the search for a renewed identity. In a sense, in the spirit of Voltaire’s tradition of perceiving the history of modern times as “the history of the human spirit.”

Chernobyl exploded 30 years ago. Soviet people We found out about this three days later. And on the day of the accident there were weddings in Pripyat - it was a blooming spring Saturday. Nikolai Ivanovich Ryzhkov spoke in an interview with RG about how they managed to avoid panic, the secrecy regime and the trial of the CPSU. In 1986, as Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, he headed the task force of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee to eliminate the accident.

In life, you have had to “resolve” the most difficult and sometimes tragic situations. Spitak, Leninakan, Chernobyl. Under what circumstances did you first hear about the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant?

Nikolay Ryzhkov: It was Saturday morning. I was getting ready for work, and at about eight o’clock the government telephone rang at the dacha where I lived. Minister of Energy Anatoly Ivanovich Mayorets reports that an accident occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. At night. I ask: "What happened?" - “I don’t really know.” We agreed that by 9 o'clock in the morning I would be provided with complete information.

To be honest, I didn’t have any very disturbing thoughts. In our big country accidents happened often, and you get used to it. I was driving to work and thinking: “Well, what could have happened there? You know that at any station - nuclear, steam, coal or gas - there is always a turbine, a wheel with all kinds of blades. It happened that we had, say, a wheel blown apart. Somewhere there was a defect. Sometimes a piece of the turbine blew through the roof. They changed the equipment and continued to live. So, between us, I calmed myself down. But when I arrived and contacted Mayorts again, I realized that everything was much worse. At the fourth block, the reactor was completely destroyed, and things started to get worse...

The situation was extraordinary, where did you start?

Nikolay Ryzhkov: They immediately began to prepare a draft resolution on the creation of a Government Commission that would deal with what happened. I found my deputy Boris Evdokimovich Shcherbina, who was in charge of fuel energy, in Orenburg on a business trip. I called him to Moscow, we talked for literally 20 minutes, I told him what I knew. All members of the commission have already been gathered at the airport. And two hours later working group led by Shcherbina was already in Ukraine. They called from there and reported what was really happening in Chernobyl.

I leafed through the minutes of the meetings... Reports on the work done, reports from ecologists, doctors, the number of deaths is increasing, England, France, Italy are recalling their students... Are you feeling nervous? Did you meet almost every day?

Nikolay Ryzhkov: In the first days after the tragedy - twice a day. Then every day. I think there were about forty-odd protocols collected. Special equipment was installed in Chernobyl; it was possible to turn on the speakerphone in Moscow and listen to what issues the commission was discussing. Normal work was going on, there was no squealing. Of course, there was toughness. But for someone to become hysterical, for someone to lose control of themselves, this did not happen. We controlled ourselves. Because we understood that if we were out of order, if we began to collapse mentally, panic would begin in the country...

And in order to avoid it, a decision was made to strengthen the secrecy regime? Here I read in Protocol No. 6 a recommendation for the media to ensure “unity in assessments of the main events”... Today, 30 years later, do you think that this was the right decision? Or maybe you would act differently now?

Nikolay Ryzhkov: I would have done the exact same thing. Let's start with secrecy.

Firstly, no one made a special decision on how many lines about the tragedy to be given in this or that newspaper.

There was such black humor at one time. Question in a civil defense lesson: “What to do during nuclear explosion? Answer: “Put on a white robe and crawl to the cemetery.” And what should I tell the country? Guys, the reactor exploded, the radiation around is off the charts, who can save themselves? Is it possible to do such things?

A crazy panic would set in...

Nikolay Ryzhkov: Certainly. And we were convinced of this. There was no complete panic in Ukraine, but there was panic among the authorities. I'm not talking about the highest echelon. He didn't run away. But average, yes.

Nikolai Ivanovich, and when did you arrive in Ukraine?

Nikolay Ryzhkov: On the morning of May 2, we flew there: me, Chebrikov from the KGB, Ligachev from the CPSU Central Committee and several other people. We traveled from Kyiv to Chernobyl by car. We stopped in two or three villages along the way. It’s so good in Ukraine at this time, everything is blooming... I still remember one grandmother. We say: “Pollution, radiation...” And she: “What kind of dirt? Potatoes are like potatoes, clean”... You see, we ourselves have just begun to understand that death is all around, but it is not visible. But people generally treated this matter calmly: “What is there? What kind of radiation?”... They were used to seeing death in its terrible manifestations, but here the gardens are blooming, spring is coming, the air is fragrant... And we had to shout to them: “Don’t Are you kidding me, death is spinning around you?

But all this does not mean that we did not understand: we need to immediately save people. Just so you know, Pripyat is a city with a population of 50 thousand people. On Saturday evening, Shcherbina called me and reported the situation: “We measured the radiation... Pripyat needs to be evacuated. Urgently. The station is nearby, it is throwing out radioactive contamination.” And in the city people live to the fullest, weddings are taking place... I decide: “Tomorrow there is an evacuation, today prepare trains, buses, tell the people to take the most necessary things, money, documents and everything. No furniture.” On Sunday at lunchtime, Shcherbina called: “Nikolai Ivanovich, there are no people in Pripyat. Only dogs are running.” Where there was a need to save, we saved in an organized manner.

Still, it turns out that we weren’t ready for anything like this, with all our fixation on civil defense?

Nikolay Ryzhkov: Yes, we were not ready. This is the first time this has happened. Although the Americans had an accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant before Chernobyl in 1979, they kept everything classified. Only specialists heard that something happened there. There is no information on what to do in such a situation.

So, on May 2, we arrived at Chernobyl, got into a helicopter and flew over the reactor. The only protection is a lead sheet on the floor and special white overalls. We fly a little further from the destroyed reactors - the Geiger counters are ringing quietly, as we approach the reactor - they are ringing louder, and just above the vent, they begin to “scream” like crazy... We landed, sat down in the hall of the district party committee and began to listen to the scientists. And they explain: here is Pripyat, here is the station. The “wind rose” here is such that Kyiv was practically not damaged. The wind drove the radioactive cloud towards Belarus, it covered the Gomel region, reached Bryansk, and touched Smolensk. All this is shown to us on the map.

Then they said that we did not know the true picture of the radiation situation. It's all nonsense. We had several sources of information: from ecologists, from geologists, from meteorologists, from the military, from civil defense. We compared all these graphs with each other and analyzed why some data did not match. They superimposed all the maps on top of each other, resulting in a “blot” that captured the infected areas of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.

Is this how the exclusion zone emerged?

Nikolay Ryzhkov: Yes, but it was the “blot” that was contagious, not the circle. Moreover, the border of the danger zone crossed rivers and streams, passed along settlements. How can we be here? Who should be evacuated and who should be left behind? I sat and thought for a long time; I had to make a decision. To say: let’s, along the “blot” border, cause trouble, separate families and the population. And then radiation does not keep strict boundaries. And then they took a compass, placed its sharp leg on the map at the “Pripyat” point, set aside the radius to the farthest edge of the “blot” (it turned out to be 30 kilometers) and drew a circle. People were evacuated from there. More than a hundred thousand people were taken out. Don't panic...

Much has been written about the May Day demonstration in Kyiv. Allegedly, Rada Shcherbitskaya (the wife of the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine) called Mikhail Gorbachev: her husband doubted whether to hold the traditional procession. It was decided to carry it out.

Nikolay Ryzhkov: I didn't take any part in this. And frankly, I have a hard time believing that the Rada called Gorbachev. I only know one thing (and this is not only our data, Ukraine also conducted its own research), radiation in Kyiv on May 1 was practically normal. Well, on the second of May I was there myself.

You said that we were not prepared for such a disaster. Which services were most unprepared?

Nikolay Ryzhkov: On May 1, after the demonstration, we gathered in my office in Moscow. They summed up the first results of the work to eliminate the consequences of the explosion, discussed who had coped with their work and who had not. Oddly enough, Civil Defense fared worst of all.

They jumped and ran in gas masks, but when it came down to it, nothing happened. They came up with the idea of ​​using machines with brushes to clean the streets, but they only raised radioactive dust...

The doctors also let us down: they could not organize checkpoints in the infected areas, supply the population with the necessary drugs, iodine... Together with the Minister of Defense Dmitry Yazov, we had to sign a document on the mobilization of several battalions of reservist doctors. Doctors are liable for military service. That same night they were put in uniform and sent to Chernobyl. Three days later the situation returned to normal.

When did help from abroad arrive?

Nikolay Ryzhkov: This interest Ask. We needed means to clean the walls from radiation; we did not have such chemicals. But no one helped us. Abroad they only shouted and criticized for daring to release radiation, but no one bothered to send help. We didn’t have enough iodine to save children, we bought it for gold rubles. No one suggested that taps were needed to close the reactor.

But didn’t foreign doctors come to Moscow for consultations and help? Have you tried to invite, say, Japanese radiation disease specialists?

Nikolay Ryzhkov: We cooperated more with the Americans. But these were private initiatives of doctors. I repeat, there was no organized state assistance, no supplies of medicines, equipment. The West was absolutely indifferent to our misfortune, they say, Russia got caught, let it get out of its own way... We were only criticized... However, after the report presented by Academician Valery Legasov at the IAEA, they had to admit: the experience of eliminating the consequences of the Chernobyl accident is invaluable for the world.

The topic of Chernobyl is now widely discussed in Ukraine. For example, Rada deputies are demanding compensation from Russia, which “is the legal successor of the USSR, but all these years has remained aloof from the problem.” How was the Chernobyl burden distributed among the Union republics? Did Russia really not help Ukraine?

Nikolay Ryzhkov: Everyone helped. Here's an example. The question was how to extinguish the reactor. Scientists gave a recommendation: throw lead and sand. Sand was found nearby, and the pilots used homemade baskets for it. But there was no lead nearby. I gave the command: wherever the lead was, wherever it was being transported at the moment, deliver it to Ukraine. And all the trains with lead - in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Russia - went to Chernobyl. And no one then counted how much lead he sent. Let the current Ukrainian politicians not engage in nonsense. They were in a single state and received help from the entire Union. But in 1991 they decided to live independently and took away the property they were owed, plants, factories, nuclear power plants. What kind of conversations can there be now? We don't owe them anything. Russia also inherited, say, Mayak in the Urals, where we still throw money. Does Ukraine help us?

How did the global tourism business react to the news of the Chernobyl disaster?

Nikolay Ryzhkov: The flow of tourists to the USSR decreased by 20 percent. Do you know who was the first to discover radiation? Swedes. Two hours after the explosion, they reported that in the Soviet Union “something happened at a nuclear power plant.” Sensors located throughout their territory recorded that radiation was coming from outside.

Nikolai Ivanovich, forgive me for the question: after the collapse of the USSR and the ban on the CPSU, you participated in several courts. How did they end?

Nikolay Ryzhkov: How? Here he is, alive and well. But seriously, I came new government, deputies from the streets, from rallies. The first years after the accident everything was calm. We have adopted a powerful reactor improvement program, developed social projects support for victims. We began an audit of the remaining nuclear power plants and changed equipment. The cause of the explosion was also found out. In general, they did what they were supposed to do. But then came 1989, elections to the Supreme Council. In the struggle for parliamentary seats, Chernobyl came into play. What have we not heard enough of during this time? This topic was not ignored during the trial of the CPSU. I was invited as a witness. I stood on the podium for seven hours and answered questions of this type: “Comrade Ryzhkov, the protocol you signed says that in such and such a village radiation of so many rem was recorded. But we have other data...”. I endured for a long time. And then he asked: “Why do you think that the chairman of the government of a multimillion-dollar country should know how many rems are in each village? Why aren’t you interested in how many of these same rems I grabbed when I arrived in Chernobyl five days after the accident?”

Right on the street, a guy came up to me a few years ago and said: “Why did you extinguish the reactor with sand and lead? I’m a specialist and I know how it should have been done.” I say: “Where were you then? I would have come and helped with advice.” Another, at the Supreme Council, hands out a photograph: “Look what you have done, it will happen to people too!” And in the photo there is a calf with a mutation: the teeth are long and stick out from the mouth. I took the photo and showed it to my deputy. A couple of hours later he brings me an American magazine with this photo.

However, when the election tension subsided, the deputies’ interest in Chernobyl died down.

You handed over your archive, in particular, documents on Chernobyl to the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History. Is it available?

Nikolay Ryzhkov: Go and read. I have been submitting my documents there for twenty years. Didn't keep anything secret. Please contact us, we will give you everything. Dig. By the way, I was just there today. I took this medal “Participant in the liquidation of the consequences of the Chernobyl accident”, once a year I wear it for a few hours. Although I really don’t like the word “liquidator”.

Secret decisions of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee in 1986 were provided by Rosarkhiv.

Meanwhile

Welcome to Chernobyl

Since 2010, the Ukrainian authorities have officially allowed excursions to the exclusion zone of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. According to the UNIAN agency, this was done in order to attract additional funds for the maintenance of the Chernobyl zone in order to “bring it to the level of self-sufficiency” in the future. However, already in 2011, a scandal broke out over this issue between the Prosecutor General’s Office and the then Ministry of Emergency Situations. The security department was categorically against tourist trips to the “dirty” territory, but the Ministry of Emergency Situations ultimately won. Since then, the army of people wishing to visit the Chernobyl zone has been growing tirelessly, the Ukrainian news agency claims. At first there were 2-3 thousand of them a year, but in 2015 the number of extreme sports enthusiasts exceeded 15 thousand. All excursions are coordinated with the SBU and the police.

The cost and conditions of travel to the zone vary from travel agency to travel agency. For example, in the Go2chernobyl company, all trips are processed through the administration of the Chernobyl exclusion zone. For citizens of Ukraine, a one-day trip will cost 699 hryvnia, for a foreigner - 1,999 hryvnia. A two-day visit for a Ukrainian is 2,202 hryvnia (on an all-inclusive basis: accommodation, meals, insurance). For a foreigner under the same conditions, the trip will cost 5,999 hryvnia. In the Chernobyl Tour company, all prices are initially indicated in dollars. Day trip for citizens of Ukraine and Belarus it will cost 95 dollars, for foreigners - 115 plus 14 dollars for an English-speaking guide. Statistics from recent years indicate that among those wishing to travel to the exclusion zone, approximately 60-65 are foreigners.

Lenin Avenue in Pripyat, our days

Black smoke spreads in a thick veil across wide fields along the city district. He talks about an event that forever changed life in quiet, young Pripyat, majestic Chernobyl and Ukrainian villages nearby. The Chernobyl disaster was to blame for everything. April, which was supposed to bring sun, joy and spring freshness, was instead swept into the radiation vortex of the Chernobyl disaster and its consequences.

Pripyat resident takes a photo for memory

When did the Chernobyl disaster happen? Facts about the Chernobyl disaster

The end of April was marked for the city of Pripyat by preparations for May Day holidays and demonstrations. The carousels were about to start working. The Ferris wheel was about to set off on an exciting journey over the picturesque atomic city. The playful children were looking forward to the opening of the amusement park. After all, cotton candy, snow-white ice cream and the melody of a brass band especially lifted the mood.

No signs of trouble. People, as usual, returned home from work and spent time in a quiet family circle. However, Saturday evening, April 25, 1986, was on the eve of a fateful turn. In a matter of hours, it will become known about the disaster that happened in Chernobyl.

Consequences of the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant

The Chernobyl disaster occurred as a result of an experiment conducted in the fourth power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Perhaps the disaster at Chernobyl could have been avoided if not for a stupid coincidence.

It turns out that experimental work The study of the turbogenerator run-out had to be carried out by a completely different shift of workers specially trained for this task. However, life made its own adjustments. The workers of the ill-fated shift decided that they must implement the assigned tasks. So, starting tests of the RBMK-1000 reactor, the Chernobyl NPP personnel who took over for their shift began to reduce power.

Graffiti made by a stalker in an abandoned house

What exactly happened?

The disaster at Chernobyl in 1986 was inevitable. This was clear already after the first power surges of the new type of reactor. As is known, the work could be considered successful at a power of 700 mW, but reducing the power to 30 mW did not cause any concern among the personnel. Having increased the power to 200 mW, the nuclear plant employees began the decisive stage of the experiment of the fourth power unit. He became the cause of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.