On the night of April 25-26, the event “Chornobyl.35” will take place in Pripyat.
For several years in a row now, we have been gathering in Pripyat on the night of April 26 to honor the memory of those who gave their lives and health, left their home and everything that was dear to them, because of the Chernobyl accident. 35 years have passed since the explosion, but our pain has not abated, we still remember the events of those days, and we still feel their consequences.
Yes, of course, time does not stand still. As the years go by, the face of the Exclusion Zone changes, so do we. Every year on April 26 at 01:23 we cross the symbolic threshold – and move on. Although we know that we will return to these painful memories: when another relative or friend leaves us, when another building collapses due to old age, or when another former settlement is destroyed by the elements.
This year we will tell you about all this. But we will also show what the exclusion zone has become now, who lives here and what gives these places meaning.
Pripyat remembers. Therefore, our action will be opened by the collaboration of the Music and Poetry Project “Evterpa” and “PRIPYAT.Pianos” by composer Volodymyr Savin. Poets “Evterpi” will read poems by famous “Chernobyl” authors and their own works for musical improvisation, which will be performed on a virtual instrument that was created by recording the sounds of abandoned pianos in Pripyat. The main theme of this part of the action will be loneliness, which will always be felt by people forced to leave their homes. We will see fragments of their past lives – on the screen installed in the central square of Pripyat, archival footage taken here before the accident will be displayed. At the end of this part of the action, we will turn to the cult film “Threshold” directed by Rolland Sergienko and the heroes of this film.
And the lighting of 35 candles – according to the number of years that have passed since the accident – we will all become members of the service of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and view the icon presented by the ARTEFACT project – the icon “Chernobyl Savior”. The icon depicts the participants of the LNA at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on a par with the saints, and features the famous Chornobyl pine – an image that was not invented by man – both looks like a cross and a trident, which is the emblem of Ukraine.
The service will be conducted by Archbishop Fedor of Poltava and Kremenchug together with the ministers of St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Cathedral.
Chernobyl is still with us: both in the sense of life and in the sense of continuing the struggle. This word alone symbolizes struggle. And we continue to fight for ourselves and for the whole of Ukraine, eliminating the consequences of the Chernobyl tragedy, the challenges of the global Covid-19, living with the fact that the war in eastern Ukraine has been going on for so many years. Therefore, the culmination of the action will be the play “Nation” based on the book of the same name by Maria Mathios performed by the Ivano-Frankivsk National Academic Drama Theater. Ivan Franko, – an action that has been demonstrated for 10 years on various venues in all parts of Ukraine.
But as long as people overcome the consequences of the accident, the exclusion zone becomes home to hundreds of species of animals that exist freely in these areas. Theoretically, any species from all over the planet could live here. Want to imagine what it’s like? We will show you this as part of Denis Kopylov’s “Ark. Chernobyl” project, which will also be presented tonight and aims to change the attitude to the zone – from a place of destruction to a place where nature comes to life over man.
Guests: former residents of the city of Pripyat, participants of the Chernobyl NPP, cultural and artistic figures, volunteers, journalists.
Approximate duration of the event: 3.5 hours.
The organizer of the Action – the president of IGO “Center PRIPYAT.com” the former inhabitant of the city of Pripyat Aleksandr Sirota
Co-organizers of the Promotion:
Frankivsk Drama Theater
Valery Korshunov and Artefact art-project
Music and poetry project of Evterp and LINZA production
Vladimir Savin and the PRIPYAT.Pianos project
Denis Kopylov and the Ark.Chernobyl project
Promotion partners:
State Agency of Ukraine for Exclusion Zone Management
Chornobyl Research and Development Institute
CBRN Ecotest
Center for organizational, technical and information support of UZV
NGO European Institute of Chernobyl
Contamination Zone
ChernobylLab
Chernobyl Zone – Radioactive Team
Public Council at DAZV
Orthodox Church of Ukraine
Special thanks:
Chornobyl Research and Development Institute – for the organization of transport to the venue of the Action for the Frankivsk Drama Theater
Complex “Stalker”, p. Dytyatky
Regarding the conditions of participation, please contact Aleksandr Sirota via chornobyl.info@gmail.com.
For accreditation for the media, please contact lanauainform@gmail.com or Ruslan Chechulin
As the event takes place in quarantine, we urge participants to use their own vehicles.
Since you’re here…
Contamination Zone is a group of people who are united by our love for the Chernobyl Zone. We are a non-profit organisation and every year we raise thousands of euros for good causes in the Chernobyl Zone, such as firefighting equipment, monument restoration, animal welfare and more.
If you are planning or thinking about a trip to the zone, please check out our trips to Ukraine in 2023 and if you still have unanswered questions, feel free to get in touch!
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Charlie Tango(https://contamination.zone)