Search

• History
• Halls
• Exhibition archive
• Events archive
• Conferences archive
• Publications
• Posters Gallery
• Achievements
• Museum theatre

Press release for the virtual exhibition "About those who came together with the" peaceful atom "in a fierce, unequal battle" to the Day of honoring the participants in the liquidation of the Chernobyl accident

On December 14, 2020, the Art Museum presents a virtual exhibition "On those who came together with the" peaceful atom "in a fierce, unequal battle" to the Day of honoring the participants in the liquidation of the Chernobyl accident. The official basis for honoring at the state level those who are popularly called Chernobyl victims was the Decree of the President of Ukraine "On the Day of Honoring Participants in the Elimination of the Consequences of the Chernobyl Accident" of November 10, 2006 № 945/2006, which, in particular, stated the very reason for the appearance of this document "in order to celebrate the courage, dedication and high professionalism of the participants in the liquidation of the Chernobyl accident and to support the initiative of NGOs and the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy of Ukraine."

This became an additional reason for the citizens of our country to honor real heroes, those who, at the cost of incredible effort and sacrifice, risking their own health and lives, managed to stop the enraged "peaceful atom", this invisible and insidious enemy who broke out of control and put all mankind is in danger of total destruction, raising many questions and forcing certain conclusions.

The date of December 14 was chosen not by chance, because on this winter day in 1986 the construction of an insulating structure over the emergency fourth power unit of Chernobyl Shelter, better known to the general public as "Sarcophagus", which provided storage of radioactive waste at the destroyed reactor. ceased to be a source of radioactive contamination of the environment, giving humanity the opportunity to catch their breath and radically reconsider their relationship with nature and reflect on the other side and the terrible price and disastrous consequences of scientific and technological progress. It should also be noted that the construction of the "Sarcophagus", which lasted 206 days, employed 90 thousand people, among whom were many of our compatriots.

After all, Kirovohrad region then sent more than 20,000 of its sons and daughters - firefighters, military, medics, law enforcement officers, workers of various civilian professions - to tame the "peaceful atom". Hard work and dangerous trials fell on their shoulders. But none of them showed cowardice and acted as required by the order and

circumstances, guided by the motto "First think about the homeland, and only then - about yourself." Unfortunately, achieving of goal of saving the humanity costed these people much. The ranks of these wonderful people are inexorably thinning. Many are no more in this world. Others, struggling with serious illnesses, continue the difficult service, becoming for others a worthy example of conscientious service to their people. They do not like to talk about the events of 34 years ago and only sometimes, quite rightly, complain that they are mentioned only twice a year, leaving the rest of the time alone with their problems. Even museums dedicated to the Chernobyl theme have become obsolete, which means that people still do not understand the depth of the abyss into which they could have slipped in the spring of 1986, did not realize that the Chernobyl

The catastrophe is not only our history, the lessons of which we stubbornly do not want to learn, but also, unfortunately, our present, as Chernobyl, forever a symbol of the global environmental catastrophe of the twentieth century, daily reminds itself of many problems in various spheres of life and the fate of millions of people. After all, the scale of this tragedy is so catastrophic, and the consequences are so terrible, all-encompassing and long-lasting, that it gives us the full right to consider all of us Chernobyl victims.

Therefore, the purpose of the presented virtual exhibition is to remind people of the terrible events of the spring of 1986 by means of fine arts, forcing them to think again about the terrible price of technological progress and to warn against such catastrophes that could lead to the complete destruction of human civilization. Leontiy Orlyk's painting The Watchman (1985), written a year before the tragedy, is dedicated to the heroic profession of firefighters, whose contribution to the aftermath of the Chernobyl accident is difficult to overestimate.

Well, what could have happened to our planet, if not for the feat of these people, clearly demonstrates the work of Nikolai Bondarenko "The Tragedy of Chernobyl" (1989-1990). This is not only an illustration of the worst course of events at the time, but also, perhaps, of our future, if humanity does not come to its senses and draw the appropriate conclusions. Volodymyr Chorny's work "The Face of Chornobyl" (2008) from the series "Ukrainian Tragedies" can also be considered a warning. The artist managed to convey not only the huge devastating consequences of the Chernobyl disaster, but also the prevailing atmosphere in the accident area, which creates an association with the war zone - traces of destruction, as if after a fierce battle, people in overalls, appropriate equipment, vehicles involved in liquidation. consequences of the accident and removal of people from the contaminated area.

The tragedy of the situation, in this case, is amplified by the general dark background of the picture made in the original technique of "monotype". After all, the statistics of the Chornobyl catastrophe really resemble military statistics, as its victims were more than three and a half million people, of whom one and a half million are children. Some died immediately without even realizing what had happened, others died for a long time in terrible physical and mental anguish, many people were permanently crippled, disabled, terminally ill, felt defective and unneeded.

The number of thyroid diseases, oncological diseases, and the number of people suffering from allergies, which is a consequence of a weakened immune system, remain a constant and terrible trend. At one time, the whole world was shocked by the results of research by Japanese scientists, who, irradiating pigs, proved that each new generation born after Chernobyl will be sicker than the previous one, thus outlining a rather sad prospect for humanity. Chernobyl also became a large-scale economic, social and demographic catastrophe, as more than 300,000 people were evicted from the worst-hit areas, the lion's share of which was "overboard" in the agony of the Soviet Union. It was then, for the first time in many years, that the problem of migrants and their difficult relations with the local population arose due to competition for jobs, housing, etc.

The disastrous consequences of Chernobyl were manifested even in the change in the structure of the affected areas. After all, the elderly, as a rule, refused to evacuate, preferring to die at their homes isntead of evacuation to an unknown lands. Mostly young people, skilled workers and people with a propensity for entrepreneurship, exactly those who had prospects for employment in a new city, left.

Therefore, the characteristic feature of the affected regions is still the excess of mortality over the number of births, which only increases the perception of the region as unsafe to live. By the way, it was then that many of us first heard the term "Depressed Region", which is so popular today, eloquently illustrated in Vladimir Plitin's painting "And the Star Fell to Polina" (1993). It reflects not only the terrible environmental consequences of the Chernobyl disaster, but also the doom of people who remained living in their homes, refusing to relocate. The work of master Volodymyr Slyvka, a tapestry woven from wool "Echoes of Chernobyl" (1986), also creates a corresponding emotional tension. Unfortunately, we have to state once again that the tragic events of 34 years ago, their terrible consequences and prospects are a natural phenomenon and a shameful result of a long war of people against nature in order to actually turn her into a slave who will fulfill all the whims of the so-called "kings" of nature.

Technological progress has finally clouded the minds of people who have felt the illusion of invincibility and impunity. As a result, nature, which was once the cradle, home and breadwinner of man, eventually became his ruthless enemy, avenging large-scale environmental cataclysms, which is why even a series of documentaries on the channel "Mega" with the eloquent title "Revenge of Nature". It remains only to pray to God that he restores in man the dulled instincts of self-preservation and gives an understanding of the futility of war with nature. After all, only by learning to live in harmony with her will humanity have a chance for the future.

 

Oleg Yurchenko - Head of the Department of  Tourist, Local Lore and Information Work.

Kropyvnystkyi Art Museum