Chernobyl has not always been associated with thousands of broken lives and loss of homes as a result of a terrible disaster. Until April 26, 1986, it was considered one of the many cities of the Soviet Union with great potential. But the spring of 1986 irreversibly changed everything…
In fact, the history of Chernobyl begins long before the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. In particular, the first mentions of it appear already in the Ipatiiv Chronicle dated 1193 – at that time the city was part of the Kyivan Principality. Years passed and the city became overgrown with a castle, which during the long history of its existence was first robbed by the Tatars, and then passed from one Kyiv owner to another. And during the time of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, the city was even subordinated to the Zaporozhian Army.
By 1880, the number of people living in Chernobyl had grown to 6,483. It is interesting that at that time Jews had been living in the city for two centuries, and their share was only growing. As a result, in the 19th century, Jews became the main ethnic group in Chernobyl. The Chornobyl Hasidic dynasty was even founded here, and the city itself became the center of Hasidism.
Unfortunately, even then, in the 19th century, greedy Moscow paws encroached on this magical city, destroying everything in its path. In particular, it is known about at least two Jewish pogroms in Chernobyl in 1905 and 1919, as a result of which the majority of Jews suffered. It was committed by the Black Hundreds – Moscow ultra-nationalist organizations.
As happens with many cities or even countries, Chernobyl “licked” its wounds and continued to develop. In the 1930s, ship repair workshops were built here. And already in the 70s – the first stage of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant appeared 15 km from Chernobyl, as well as the city of Pripyat. And who knows what this city would be like now, if it weren’t for human negligence that led to the terrible disaster on April 26, 1986, a wound from which the city will never heal…
Chernobyl disaster – interesting facts
The disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant happened on the night of April 26, when most of the residents of the region were sleeping in their homes. It was then that two powerful explosions took place, which completely destroyed the fourth power unit. As a result, a huge amount of such radioactive substances as isotopes of uranium, plutonium, iodine, cesium and strontium got into the air. The huge radioactive cloud formed after the explosion covered 12 regions of Ukraine, as well as the territory of Poland, Belarus, Russia and even Sweden, Norway, Austria, Finland and many others. But that was only the beginning.
As numerous fires broke out on the territory of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, firefighters arrived almost immediately to extinguish them. But as it was accepted in the Soviet Union that everything bad should be kept quiet, no one told the firefighters that the fire was actually not in the building of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, but in the reactor. As a result, all those who first arrived to eliminate the fire received huge doses of radiation, which caused the terrible death of each of them in the coming days.
Despite the obvious terrible consequences, the authorities of the Soviet Union continued to try to keep quiet about the Chernobyl tragedy, which could shake the image of the USSR in international relations. In a situation where every minute can save a life, the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was talked about only 36 hours after it began. Then it was announced about the “temporary” evacuation of only Pripyat residents with a promise to return in three days. They were forbidden to take luggage and pets with them.
But the hypocrisy of the USSR authorities did not end there. In particular, the leadership of the CPSU forbade the cancellation of the parade on May 1, which was held in Kyiv, in order to show that there is no danger. As a result, thousands of people came out to Khreshchatyk, the main part of which are schoolchildren. And this is only 5 days after the explosion of the fourth power unit.
Only on May 2, even on the 6th day after the tragedy, another evacuation of the population was announced, but this time already from the 30-kilometer zone, the entrance to which and the city of Chernobyl. Today, this very territory is called the exclusion zone.
By the summer of the same year, not only firefighters and military personnel were involved in liquidation of the consequences of the accident, but also military reserves and freelancers. And even weeks after the tragedy, the participants in its liquidation began work with “bare hands” without special gas masks, which could not but lead to the receipt of large doses of radiation.
In order to somehow limit emissions and the impact of harmful substances that poison not only the air, but also the land and water, it was decided to build a sarcophagus over the destroyed block. Its construction was completed by the end of 1986. And 14 years later, in 2000, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant finally stopped working. But later, another sarcophagus was needed, which was created on top of the first one in 2016. According to scientists, the second sarcophagus should guarantee safety for the next hundred years.
It is worth noting that the Ukrainian diaspora played an important role in the coverage of the Chernobyl accident, which did not remain silent for a moment. Ukrainians went abroad to demonstrations and meetings to draw the attention of other countries to the danger. As a result, the Chernobyl issue was brought up for consideration at the UN.
What conclusions should the world have made? The question remains rhetorical. But human negligence is a very dangerous thing that can lead to thousands of ruined lives. And their own imperial ambitions, which at that time filled the entire leadership of the CPSU, gave rise to the same negligence and irresponsibility. But as shown by the events after February 24, 2022, when Russia not only invaded the territory of Ukraine, but also seized the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, taking its workers hostage until the end of March of the same year, Katsap’s descendants did not draw any conclusions.
