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The exposition "Chernobyl: unhealed wound of Ukraine" has been presented at the Art Museum

On April 26, 2021, the exhibition "Chornobyl: Unhealed Wound of Ukraine" was opened at the Art Museum on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the Chernobyl accident - a global environmental catastrophe of the twentieth century, which threatened humanity with complete destruction. This is a continuation of the systematic work of our museum to cover the Chernobyl issue with the help of works of fine art of the relevant thematic direction, which aims to remind people of the Chernobyl disaster, warn of recurrence of such cataclysms and make them think about the terrible price of man. Moreover, Chernobyl is not only our past, as some naively believe, but also our present and, unfortunately, future, as numerous studies by domestic and foreign scientists, acting as a stern, perhaps the last caveat, reveal the terrible consequences of the devastating long-term strike of the "peaceful atom" in the spring of 1986.

35 years is a solid enough period to rethink what happened, to thoroughly study the causes of the accident, to draw certain conclusions based on common sense and a simple and completely natural desire to save themselves and their descendants from imminent death.

Even for a developed country with a powerful material and technical resource, it is very difficult to overcome the consequences of a catastrophe of such a level as the Chernobyl accident. What to say about Ukraine, which, having announced a course for European integration, in practice stubbornly continues to follow the Latin American course, including the attitude to the problems of life of an ordinary person who does not have the honor to belong to the political beau monde or law enforcement agencies. To make sure of this, it is enough to simply communicate with the Chernobyl heroes who saved not only Ukrainians but also the whole world from imminent death, listen to their problems and quite fair insults to the country that mentions them only twice a year - during official celebrations. on the occasion of the next anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster and honoring the Chernobyl victims themselves, which has long taken the form of a farce. It is understandable, because it is much easier to lay flowers at a monument and say beautiful words than to provide real benefits and a civilized medical examination and treatment for Chernobyl victims.

It is bitter to realize that Chernobyl has become one of the symbols of Ukraine, but not because it gives us reason to be proud of our homeland, but on the contrary - a cause for shame before civilized countries for their insignificance and barbarism. The Chernobyl catastrophe was a disgraceful defeat of the Soviet system in the face of nature, which does not forgive the arrogance of those who decided to subdue it, instead of learning to live with it in harmony and harmony. Once again, I would like to recall the words of the famous French writer Jules Verne, who when asked by a journalist whether he shares the opinion of those who claim that man is the "king of nature" replied: "In any case! Man is a child of nature, and he is a foolish child! ” But the opinion of people of this level is usually not listened to, because the average citizen is so anxious to feel "king of nature."

At one time, the warnings of foreign and Soviet experts about the reverse side of scientific and technological progress and the possible consequences of risky experiments with the "peaceful atom" were ignored and considered anti-Soviet. In this sense, we can mention the cult Soviet film "Nine Days of One Year" (1962), which for the first time in the Soviet space raised the issue of suicide scientists and the cost of human life, but the Soviet audience, especially female audiences, paid more attention to the film's love line. .

Due to the large number of victims and devastating consequences, Chernobyl is often associated with war, as well as the very concepts and definitions generated by this disaster - "Post-Chernobyl Generation", "Children of Chernobyl". And doesn't the problem of migrants from the Chornobyl zone evoke certain associations?

The dry statistics of the Chornobyl catastrophe, as well as the statistics of the war, do not take into account the grief of an individual, his family members, etc. She simply voices the following data - the victims of the "peaceful atom" were more than three and a half million people, of whom one and a half million - children. Some died a martyr's death at once, others remained crippled, disabled, and terminally ill forever. In fact, all those who had the misfortune to be born after Chernobyl, involuntarily becoming a representative of the "post-Chernobyl generation" with the corresponding consequences, have certain health problems. At one time, the whole world was shocked by the results of research by Japanese scientists, who proved that each new generation born after Chernobyl will be sicker than the previous one, thus outlining a rather sad prospect for humanity. So it should come as no surprise that the number of thyroid diseases, oncological diseases, allergic manifestations, etc. remains a constant and terrible trend.

The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant dealt a devastating blow to the Ukrainian flora and fauna, as there was a mass death of conifers, microorganisms, mammals, loss of plant and animal reproductive function. And although over time this problem was partially solved naturally, but irreversible mutational processes became widespread, which led to the emergence of hybrid animals and plants.

So it is no coincidence that scientists, experts and concerned representatives of various organizations from many countries around the world are trying to draw attention to the unresolved Chernobyl problems, predicting the catastrophic consequences on a global scale.

Leontiy Orlyk's painting The Watchman (1985) reminds us of the exploits of firefighters, the first people to fight the Chernobyl disaster. At one time, our region also made a significant contribution to the liquidation of the Chernobyl accident, sending 20,000 firefighters, medical workers, law enforcement officers, etc. to hell. It is to them, the heroes and the great martyrs, that humanity must always be grateful for its salvation.

Mykola Bondarenko's painting "The Tragedy of Chornobyl" (1994), which eloquently illustrates the worst case scenario due to the loss of control over the "peaceful atom", shows the reverse side of scientific and technological progress. This is a warning, a call to be vigilant and not to allow the priority of scientific and technological advances over the moral improvement of man and the development of his consciousness.

Chernobyl was also 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 in their home before rescuing in unknown places. Mostly young people, skilled workers and people with a propensity for entrepreneurship, ie those who had prospects for employment in the 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 tolive.

Volodymyr Plitin's painting "And the Fallen Star of Polina" (2006) is dedicated to this problem, which reflects not only the terrible ecological consequences of the Chornobyl catastrophe, but also the doom of the people who remained living in their homes, refusing to relocate.

The atmosphere of devastation and anomalous zone is also reflected in the work "Where is the stork that flew over Pripyat?" (2006), made in batik technique by the master and artist Natalia Zavaliy, who donated her work to the stock collection of the Museum of Arts on the eve of the 35th anniversary of the terrible tragedy.

Volodymyr Chorny's work "The Face of Chornobyl" (2008) from the series "Ukrainian Tragedies" performed in the "monotype" technique can also be considered a warning. The artist managed to convey not only the huge devastating consequences of the Chernobyl disaster, but also the atmosphere prevailing in the accident area at that time, which creates an association with the war zone: traces of destruction, as if after a fierce battle, people in overalls - fighters of the advanced war , appropriate equipment, vehicles involved in the aftermath of the accident and the removal of people from the contaminated area. The tragedy of the situation is amplified in this case by the general dark background of the picture.

This work has a special symbolic meaning. After all, what happened at the end of April 1986 was a natural result of the long war of people against nature in order to actually turn her into a slave who will fulfill all the whims of the proud "kings of nature." Technological progress has finally clouded the minds of people who have felt their invincibility and impunity. As a result, nature, which was once the cradle, home and breadwinner of man, eventually became his ruthless enemy, avenging man with large-scale environmental cataclysms. Each of them is a powerful blow to the excessive ambitions and pride of people who, due to their mental limitations and short-sightedness, continue to cut the bitch on which they sit, not realizing that only in the ability to live in harmony with the nature of their salvation.

 

Oleg Yurchenko - Head of the

Department of Tourism, Local Lore and Informational Work

Kropyvnytskyi Art Museum