The Absurdity of Chernobyl
Remembering Spring 1986
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
The nuclear disaster at Chernobyl affected 23 percent of Belarusian territory: 3,678 villages and towns, where more than half a million people lived. Soviet information and evacuation policies ensured that the accident and its consequences failed to secure a place in society's collective consciousness. The residents of the 415 villages within the “zone” were not resettled together, but spread out over thousands of villages and towns throughout Belarus. Thus, their memory and the memory of them were pulverized. After 25 years, Chernobyl remains a blind spot even for those directly affected. It is time to take a look back at the first month after the disaster.
(Osteuropa 7/2011, pp. 95–106)