TRAGEDY OF CHERNOBYL

On April 26, 2024, the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus opened a photo-documentary exhibition «Chernobyl: Pain and Memory», prepared by the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus and dedicated to the Day of the Chernobyl Tragedy.

On April 26, 1986, an accident occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant – a planned shutdown of the reactor, which lasted 20 seconds, seemed to be a routine check of electrical equipment. However, a few seconds later, as a result of a sharp surge in voltage, a chemical explosion occurred, as a result of which about 520 types of dangerous radionuclides were released into the atmosphere.

The intense fire lasted 10 days, during which time the total release of radioactive materials into the environment amounted to about 14 exabecquerels (about 380,000,000 curies). More than 200,000 square meters were exposed to radioactive contamination. km, of which 70% are on the territory of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.

Station workers and firefighters were the first to take part in eliminating the consequences. Military, police, miners, doctors and simply concerned citizens were sent to combat the consequences of the explosion of the power unit. Later they began to be called «liquidators». The bulk of the work to eliminate the accident was completed in 1986–1987. The total number of «liquidators» (including subsequent years) was more than 600,000 people.

The Chernobyl accident forced the world to take a new look at the development of technological progress. Experts estimate that the total power of the explosion was more than 100 times greater than the power of nuclear weapons used during World War II. The damage caused to Belarus by the Chernobyl disaster, calculated over a 30-year period of overcoming it, is estimated at 235,000,000,000 US dollars, which is equal to 32 budgets of the republic in 1985. Experts from all over the world are still eliminating the consequences of the largest disaster in the history of peaceful nuclear energy.

The consequences of the tragedy – not only socio-economic, environmental, but also spiritual – are still felt, and the echo of the Chernobyl disaster will sound for many more decades. That is why the history of this disaster and the history of overcoming its consequences deserves people to know and remember about it.
On December 8, 2016, the UN General Assembly, by its resolution, proclaimed April 26 as the International Day of Remembrance of the Chernobyl Disaster. In Belarus, April 26 is the Day of the Chernobyl Tragedy.

The funds of the National Archives contain resolutions, memos, certificates, minutes of meetings and decisions of the Government Commission for liquidation of the consequences of the Chernobyl accident, documents on the resettlement of the population from contaminated areas, on the health status of affected people, on the provision of international assistance in connection with the accident. Of particular interest are also documents about historical and cultural values found in contaminated areas.

Leading archivist of the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus V.P. Garmatny introduced the exhibition to employees of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus and the Department of Archives and Records Management of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus.

1. Leading archivist V.P. Garmatny introduces employees and the Ministry of Justice to the exhibition of documents.

2. Leading archivist V.P. Garmatny introduces employees and the Ministry of Justice to the exhibition of documents.

3. Employees of the Ministry of Justice get acquainted with the exhibition of archival documents.

4. Employees of the Ministry of Justice get acquainted with the exhibition of archival documents.