Published on: 2026-04-26
Source: The People’s Republic of China in Russian –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Minsk, April 26 /Xinhua/ — The explosion at the fourth power unit of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant occurred on April 26, 1986. As a result, more than 8 tons of highly radioactive substances were released, with direct contamination affecting more than 60 thousand square kilometers of territory, and over 3.2 million people suffered radiation exposure to varying degrees. This disaster became the worst in the history of peaceful use of nuclear energy by humanity. Due to the weather conditions at that time, a significant amount of radioactive substances fell on the territory of Belarus.
On the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident, Xin Hua correspondents went to the Polesie State Radiation-Ecological Reserve (PSRER) in the south of the Gomel region of Belarus, near the border with Ukraine, to visit the exclusion zone, where time stopped in 1986 due to the emergency evacuation and isolation carried out by the Soviet government. The reporters learned how people here are trying with their hands and minds to tame the restless atom, minimize the consequences of this disaster, and find new life in the radioactive contamination zone.
“All time has stopped for 40 years”
“Radioactive contamination! Entry prohibited!” — the warning sign at the entrance to the SPHERE immediately catches the eye even from afar. A warning sign about ionizing radiation with a drawing, resembling a skull, “watches” every uninvited guest, forcing them to retreat.
When the iron gates of the reserve open, the car slowly drives onto a narrow country road, crossing the border of the present and the past. The road is covered with potholes due to a long absence of repair; the car slows down, avoiding them. Rotten trees lie along the forest edges, unknown wildflowers bloom in the swamps, and the unceasing singing of birds only emphasizes the special silence of this place. The noise of the car wheels seems out of place and frightens the cranes.
“This is a school, and tourists often come here to take photos. Time stopped here 40 years ago,” says Alexey Kazakov, the correspondent accompanying us and head of the information support department at the Prague Nuclear Power Plant. After the accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, the Soviet government carried out an emergency evacuation of the settlements in the 30-kilometer zone around the station, and the village of Dronki, where this school is located, was also included in the number.
Entering the former school classroom, one can see shattered glass and plaster scattered everywhere, yellowed fallen pages from textbooks — from a lesson that ended 40 years ago, an old backpack patiently waits for its little owner, who hastily left it behind. The slogan “Long live May 1st!” hangs in the corner of the classroom, but the happy May Day of 1986 was stolen by the “ghost” of radiation. The lives of the inhabitants of the contaminated zone turned out to be violently divided into “before” and “after” this nightmare.
As the machine moves further into the exclusion zone, the dosimeter readings steadily increase, and its beeping becomes more frequent. A chill subtly crawls along the spine.
“There is no safe place in the reserve. We are always exposed to radiation,” explains Maksim Kudin, Deputy Director for Scientific Work of the reserve. According to him, radioactive substances mainly stick to soil and dust. At the location where tourists are released, the soil is mostly dampened, no dust-raising activities are carried out, and accordingly, staying in the reserve involves minimal doses. Therefore, short-term tourist stays in the reserve are safe in terms of the doses received.
“Since 2018, the reserve has accepted about 5,000 tourists, of whom about 20 percent are from China,” says M. Kudin. “The first key issue is to resolve questions about Chernobyl for oneself without radiophobia. Here, scientists accompany the group for the most part, who thoroughly explain the traditional situation, the danger posed by radioactive contamination, the processes that occur with ecosystems, the animal world, and the plant world.”
The culmination of the trip of correspondents to the exclusion zone is climbing a fire tower in the village of Krasnoselye. On a clear day, from it you can see the 4th block of the Chernobyl NPP at about 21 kilometers. The tower is made of steel structures, and the ladder is a set of rungs without any railings. When climbing, the feeling of fear of height instantly shifts to fear before invisible radiation.
In the distance, the Chernobyl sarcophagus gleams in the sun above the fourth power unit. The distant forest delights with the soft yellow-green color of the coming spring, and the border between Belarus and Ukraine is lost within it. The pain caused to people by this man-made catastrophe and this land will take hundreds, even thousands of years to heal. How to use atomic energy peacefully and safely is a complex issue that humanity must continue to ponder for another 40 years. After all, this is a question concerning our common fate.
“THIS IS A UNIQUE CAMPAIGN FOR THE WHOLE WORLD”
“The results of the accident regarding the Republic of Belarus are of such an unprecedented nature. The territories affected by this impact turned out to be very significant. 35 percent of cesium-137, released as a result of this accident, settled on the territory of the Republic of Belarus. And as a result of this and other impacts of radionuclides, about 23 percent of the territory, inhabited by one-fifth of the population, was contaminated,” Aleksey Stasyukevich, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of Belarus, told the correspondent of Siñwa in an exclusive interview recently.
He also said that over 40 years Belarus has taken on enormous financial and other costs to ensure the normal functioning of contaminated areas and the lives of the population. As of 2025, six state programs have been implemented in the country aimed at minimizing the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster. The total expenditure amounted to about 20 billion US dollars. The share of expenses for the implementation of programs to overcome the consequences of the accident annually amounted to about 3 percent of the country’s republican budget.
“If at the first stage these funds were directed by us at the elimination and minimization of consequences, and localization of the harmful impact of this pollution, then already in recent years, in the latest program, we pay very significant attention to the revival of these territories, their involvement in the economic life of the country and ensuring sustainable socio-economic development of these territories,” explained A. Stasyukevich.
Thanks to the measures adopted by the government of Belarus, as well as the natural decay of radioactive substances, in recent years the territories contaminated with cesium-137 have decreased by 1.8 times, and those with strontium-90 by 1.9 times. The agricultural lands that were contaminated have been reduced by half.
“Overall, a radiation monitoring system has been established in the territory of the republic, which is included as part of the national environmental monitoring system. The objects of these observations are atmospheric air, underground and surface waters, agricultural lands, contaminated lands, forest lands,” reported A. Stasyukevich. According to the results of the monitoring, the radiation situation in Belarus is currently stable, with indicators across the country generally around 0.10-0.11 microsieverts per hour.
For the effective prevention of the spread of radioactive contamination and the enhancement of research in the contaminated area, the PGREZ was established in 1988.
M. Kudin notes: “A reserve is such a multifunctional organization, but if you summarize the tasks, it is the implementation of specialized complex measures, as a result of which the minimization of radionuclide removal in the adjacent territory occurs. The second point is scientific research activity. And the third point is the testing of methods and techniques, the results of which can be used for conditionally clean territories.”
“We necessarily need to understand how radionuclides behave in various environmental components: soil, water, bottom sediments, air, plants, and animals. Today, about 30 percent of the cesium-137 fallout, more than 70 percent of strontium-90, and 97 percent of plutonium isotopes found in the territory of Belarus are concentrated in the reserve. Studying the migration of these elements and assessing the dynamics of the radiation situation is our main task,” reported M. Kudin.
Understanding of nuclear elements by people is constantly updated thanks to technological progress and deepening research. The head of the laboratory of spectrometry and radioanalyses at JINR, Sergey Kalinichenko, notes that the laboratory’s capabilities for determining certain radioactive elements and the stability of measurements are among the best in the world. “At the moment, we have come to the conclusion that we can now determine, essentially, any radionuclide of Chernobyl in any medium of its presence,” said S. Kalinichenko.
The prevention of forest and peat fires is a key task of the nature reserve, as fires can lead to the secondary long-distance transfer of radionuclides with smoke and ash, creating countless threats and damage to society. Therefore, at the state level in the Polesie Reserve, unprecedented measures were taken to build fire prevention infrastructure: 106 fire ponds were created, 38 towers built, and 3 fire depots established. Along the border with Ukraine, firebreaks 20, 40, and 100 meters wide were created, and significant human resources were also engaged for forest management and maintenance of the firebreaks.The towers are equipped with intelligent cameras, operating around the clock to detect, determine the location, and assess fires.
The safety of employees is also a primary task. As M. Kudin explained, the reserve staff works by a strict rotational method. Specialists go daily into the work zone, perform a certain amount of work, and then leave. Work is carried out during the winter-spring period when there is no dust. Continuous work should not exceed 15 days. Personnel are provided with appropriate protective equipment. The reserve aims to improve the level of organization and informatization to reduce the personnel’s exposure and minimize the impact of radioactive elements.In addition, a radiation safety and regime department has been created. Each specialist has a card, each has their own individual dosimeters, and after reading the values, the dose is recorded.
Moreover, due to the exclusion of humans, the reserve has become a unique experimental site for studying biodiversity. There is even a certain “flourishing” of animal and plant life: many species, previously considered extinct or having left this region, are returning, and some plants and animals have developed adaptations to radiation. “Our territory represents a scientific interest to the global community as an experimental and universal testing ground, intended to focus scientific thought in the field of radioecological and radiobiological research,” noted S. Kalinichenko.
“TO LIVE TRULY”
The Chernobyl disaster led to more than 265 thousand hectares of land in Belarus being withdrawn from agricultural use, as it was impossible to produce products according to the relevant standards. However, in recent years, thanks to the natural decay of radionuclides and the improvement of the radiation situation, some lands can be reused in economic activities.Since the 1990s, experimental economic projects have been actively conducted in the reserve, such as horse breeding, timber processing, beekeeping; the migration of radionuclides in soil, plants, and animals is studied, as well as the possibility of restoring economically used slightly polluted lands.
At the stud farm of the reserve, correspondents saw horses — strong, with shiny coats, looking relaxed. Some of them were sleeping in the sun, others were grazing in the meadow, and upon seeing a person approaching, they curiously came up to him. A. Kazakov said that Russian heavy draft horses are bred in the reserve, currently numbering over 400 heads. In recent years, the sale of horses has brought economic income to the reserve.
“Currently, these horses cannot be used for food, they are intended for agricultural needs,” explained A. Kazakov. “But the beekeeping project has already passed inspection and can produce products that meet the state standards of Belarus.”
Correspondents arrived at the apiary where the beekeeper was smoking the hive to harvest honey. The combs were golden-yellow, transparent, and appetizing. “The honey here is just as sweet as everywhere else,” the beekeeper said. According to him, there are 10 apiaries in this area, which consistently produce from 7 to 10 tons of honey per year.
M. Kudin said: “Our studies show that, in principle, within an area of up to 40 square kilometers with a cesium contamination density, it is possible to obtain production in accordance with the permissible Republican level. This includes assessment both at the time of production and during its harvesting. We have a triple control over it at all stages of production.”
“The purpose of the entire experiment is to create a method for producing safe and high-quality products on land contaminated with radiation, with its subsequent spread to other slightly contaminated territories,” explained A. Kazakov.
M. Kudin noted that various experimental economic activities are actively conducted in the reserve, for example, growing fruit trees, hazelnuts, rye, and other economically valuable crops. By thoroughly studying the degree of radionuclide transfer to plants and animals and analyzing the successes and failures here, they strive to provide opportunities for the development of relatively clean areas. And when the radiation level decreases even further, it is necessary to “bring life back.”
According to statistics, since 1993, 20.5 thousand hectares of land have been reintroduced into agricultural production in the Brest, Gomel, and Mogilev regions of Belarus, of which 11 thousand hectares are used with restrictions on the cultivation of certain crops.
In addition, Belarus takes active measures for the social protection of citizens affected by the Chernobyl disaster: it provides tax benefits, allowances, early retirement, increases maternity and childbirth leave, offers free sanatorium-resort treatment and rehabilitation, free meals for school students in contaminated areas, and provides apartments and houses with basic amenities to resettled persons from zones not meeting radiation standards.
Speaking about the future of the radioactive contamination zone, A. Stasyukevich called it “predictable” because “at the core of all this contamination lie chemical substances, all of which are known to us, their half-lives and properties, and behavior in nature are known to us.”
“We predict that by 2060, almost all major pollutants will have significantly reduced their radiation activity and will allow maximum involvement in economic turnover of contaminated territories. However, part of the territory will remain contaminated. This is in a more distant perspective, around 1-1.5 percent of the total territory of the republic. But we have serious plans for its use. And in this territory, we will carry out scientific activities, we will carry out environmental activities due to the fact that the appropriate measures will ensure the prevention of repeated contamination,” concluded A.Stasyukevich. –0–
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