Chernobyl became known after the terrible disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The older generation remembers well the day when the alarming message of the President of the USSR M. S. Gorbachev sounded on TV that on April 26, just 110 km from Kyiv, the most serious man-made disaster in the nuclear power industry occurred, which later claimed the lives of thousands of people and became a source of radioactive infection of a vast territory of 200 thousand square meters. km. The consequences of the tragedy are still being felt not only by Ukraine, but also by the territories of Russia and Belarus adjacent to it.
Chernobyl Museum in Kyiv
So that humanity does not forget about the dangers that nuclear energy can pose, in 1992 the Chernobyl Museum was opened. Kyiv allocated for it the buildings of the fire station with an area of 1100 square meters. m. Currently, the museum's exposition has more than 7,000 copies, telling about the eventsthe night the accident happened, and the aftermath of the disaster. A strong impression on visitors is made by the road leading to the halls of the Museum. On it, plaques with the names of villages and towns, which were abandoned after the tragedy, are attached to the ceiling. In connection with the accident, 76 villages and settlements disappeared from the territory of Ukraine.
An uprooted apple tree lies on the road. This is a biblical symbol of life, the knowledge of evil and good. Red apples are scattered along the road, symbolizing prosperity and joy. They seem to say that the lives of many thousands of people have changed in an instant. People left their homes, and fields and gardens were overgrown with weeds, thousands of hectares of land were destroyed. The road to the halls of the museum symbolizes the road to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
Museum exhibits
The Chernobyl Museum (Kyiv) has created expositions that make it possible to realize the consequences of the destructive action of an out-of-control atom. The path leads visitors to the Temple in the center of the hall. There is an iconostasis here, some elements of which were brought from the Ascension Church, which fell into the exclusion zone. Not far from the iconostasis there is a boat symbolizing Noah's ark, candles are constantly burning here, as a symbol of maternal and child happiness ruined by radiation. There are always a lot of toys in the ark, which are left by children during a visit to the museum. The entrance to the iconostasis is entwined with barbed wire with an orange shamrock - a symbol of increased radiation.
In the center of the hall, a functioning diorama has been recreated,which shows what Chernobyl was like before the accident, the moment when the catastrophe occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, as well as how the station looks now. Before the eyes of the visitors, there is a moment of explosion and destruction of the station, after which a sarcophagus appears above it.
The ceiling of the hall is made in the form of a map of the world. It flashes the lights of all nuclear power plants on all continents. The floor of the hall looks like a slab for biological protection, which should be on the main reactor.
Photos and videos about the Chernobyl tragedy
The National Museum of Chernobyl presented not only the exposition of the nuclear power plant. Here you can see previously classified video materials about how several explosions occurred, during which two plant workers died immediately, how the fire started, how people left the city, and how the fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was extinguished. Among these materials, you can see photos of the cemetery of military equipment that took part in the liquidation of the accident.
The exhibits of the museum contain documents, photographs and maps marked "Secret". In addition, there are things exhibited by the liquidators of the accident, valuable icons and handicrafts taken out of the exclusion zone, samples of protective suits, in which the military and firefighters were engaged in extinguishing the fire on the territory of the station. Given the concept and nature of the presentation of the material, the Chernobyl Museum (Kyiv) has no analogues in the world.
Evacuation of people
Among the photos and videos you can find documentary footage of the evacuation of people who did not know the scale of the incident andexpected to return to the city in 3 days. None of them could have imagined that they would never see their hometown again, and that they would have to start life anew in a new place.
The evacuation of people was launched on April 27, when no one in the world knew about the tragedy. 1225 buses arrived in the city of Pripyat, where the Chernobyl workers lived. Two diesel trains were brought to the railway station. More than 50 thousand people left the city in three hours. Buses brought people to different parts of Kyiv. One of these places was Kontraktova Square, next to which a museum was opened. Until the end of 1986, a 30-kilometer exclusion zone was created near Chernobyl. From there, the entire population and more than 60 thousand heads of farm animals were taken out.
Fire fighting at the station
After the accident, none of the scientists could predict the course of events. Specialists feared a second explosion of other objects, so it was decided to throw boric sand and other materials at the flaming reactor, which extinguished the nuclear reaction. For this purpose, an aviation division was involved in full strength, which was engaged in the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.
In order to drop the load exactly into the reactor, it was necessary to fly at a low altitude above the reactor, the combustion temperature of which exceeded 1000°C. Because of this, several helicopters fell to the ground, and by a lucky chance, none of the pilots died. Only one helicopter fell into a burning reactor along with the crew, but this fact was classified by manyyears.
How they cleaned the roof
The most tragic pages of the liquidation of the accident are associated with cleaning the roof from pieces of graphite that flew out of the reactor. According to experts, it was about 300 tons. The workers of the nuclear power plant and the fire department of the city were the first to join the work. They were later replaced by conscripts. Video cameras were installed on the roof, which showed the soldiers which pieces to remove first.
They were all warned about the danger, so only volunteers went to the roof. To protect the soldiers from radiation, lead armor was made for them, covering the torso, the back of the head, and other vital organs. The radiation dose was so high that they were on the roof for no more than a minute, after which they were taken to a clean area. The officers testified that the guys were given 1000 rubles each and were immediately transferred to the reserve.
Construction of a sarcophagus over the Chernobyl
To reduce the radiation background, it was decided to build a sarcophagus over the exploded reactor. All work was carried out by specialists with experience in working with radiation sources from specially equipped shelters.
Remote control devices were used for this. Protective steel structures were assembled in clean areas and transported to the site by heavy duty cranes. People who went to the most dangerous places were provided with special protection, so none of them received a radiation dose exceeding the allowable value.
The construction of the sarcophagus was carried out according to the project,developed by Leningrad scientists. To ensure the scope of work, 4 factories of reinforced concrete structures were built near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Vehicles with a special permit could enter the territory of the station, so the cars brought the cargo to a certain place, after which it was reloaded onto vehicles operating in the accident zone. All these events are described in the museum expositions.
The Book of Memory at the Chernobyl Museum
Chernobyl nuclear power plant is the tears and pain of Ukraine. The Book of Memory is dedicated to the people who accepted the challenge of the uncontrollable atom. It contains about 5 thousand names.
The Book of Memory is an electronic search engine that every visitor has access to. It contains the names and photographs of all the liquidators of the accident, there is information about the dose of radiation received by each of them, what work they did in the disaster zone. Photos of people who are no longer among the living are marked with a yellow-black circle. Some images are under the wing of a white angel. This is a photo of children who were born after the accident and are currently struggling with illnesses caused by the effects of radiation.
International Importance of the Museum
Chernobyl Museum (Kyiv) leaves no one indifferent. He is well known outside of Ukraine. Several times the museum staff organized exhibitions abroad. After that, numerous reviews and new exhibits began to arrive here.
Many foreign media respond to the philosophical orientation of the expositions. The museum was visited by more than 80 foreign delegations, as well as heads of state andgovernments from many countries around the world. The UN Mission, which was headed by the Secretary General of this organization, the President of the OSCE, as well as the President of the European Commission, visited here. All of them noted that the museum expositions play an important role in the spiritual development of a person.
Thanks to the work carried out by the museum, the US Congress initiated a program to improve the he alth of the children of Chernobyl. As part of the program, 5 Ukrainian-American he alth centers were built in Ukraine in the areas most affected by the accident. More than 116,000 children were examined in order to detect thyroid diseases. The Ukrainian-Cuban program "Children of Chernobyl" also operates, according to which about 18 thousand children with oncological, orthopedic and other diseases underwent rehabilitation in Cuba.
How to get to the Museum
Today everyone can visit the Chernobyl Museum in Kyiv. Its address: Per. Khoriva, d. 1. It is open from 10.00 am to 18.00 pm every day except Sunday. Getting to it is easy. Trams number 13, 14 and 19 stop next to it, as well as bus number 62. The most convenient way to get to it is by metro. You need to go to the stop "Kontraktovaya Plosha".
A visit to the museum gives an idea of what disasters can happen to humanity due to possible mistakes in nuclear energy, so not only students and schoolchildren, but also serious delegations come to the Chernobyl Museum (Kyiv). The ticket price is considered symbolic. For schoolchildren and students it is 5 UAH, for adults - 10UAH For servicing foreign delegations with an interpreter, you need to pay 100 UAH. For the liquidators of the accident, the entrance to the museum is free.
