Lukashenko intends to analyse results of revival of territories affected by Chernobyl disaster
While being reported today on the development of the Gomel Region areas affected by the Chernobyl disaster, President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko voiced his intention to comprehensively analyse the results of the revival of these territories, BelTA reports
Among those present at the meeting were Head of the President Administration Dmitry Krutoi, Chairman of the State Control Committee Vasily Gerasimov, Deputy Prime Minister Anatoly Sivak, Chairman of the Gomel Regional Executive Committee Ivan Krupko, Emergencies Minister Vadim Sinyavsky, Aide to the President and Inspector for the Gomel Region Ruslan Parkhamovich, and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly on Legislation and State Construction Mikhail Rusy.
The participants focused on support measures, environmental programmes and socio-economic initiatives for residents of the Gomel Region areas affected by the Chernobyl accident.
The President noted that 2026 will mark the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, and this date is important for Belarus: although the country was not involved in the construction of that nuclear power plant, nor in its operation, nor in the causes that led to the accident, it suffered the most. “The tragedy has affected Belarus and its people more than anyone else," Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
The Head of State recalled that the first decade since the accident had been a time of uncertainty and fear-mongering, “I remember that well. As a deputy, I visited these areas, I was interested in what was happening there. There were ten years of mess. Some people were being resettled, some objects were being built, something was being done – but we then came to our senses, realising that there would be no other land for Belarusians, and there would be no other country either. We needed to decide how life in Belarus would be organised, including on these lands. A number of programmes were adopted, we called them ‘the Chernobyl programmes’.”
At that time, there was no certainty that all the measures being taken were developing in the right direction. As noted by the President, there was simply no experience of overcoming disasters like that. Therefore, according to him, those who took the first steps to overcome the Chernobyl disaster should not be accused. At that time, there was not enough knowledge about the effects of low radiation doses on the human body.
"We did not know what it was. As regards Hiroshima and Nagasaki, those were atomic bomb explosions, with a great number of the related consequences – such as the shock wave, the temperature, and the radioactive contamination of people with large radiation doses. We understood that as humanity already had some experience, but there was no understanding [with regard to Chernobyl]. In our actions, we were guided by the intention not to make worse,” the Head of State said.
“Were we right or not?… I voiced that back then, 30 years ago: time will pass, it will put everything in its place, and we will understand whether our actions were right or not. We can draw certain conclusions already. If we had not dealt with that problem or, even worse, begun dealing with it the way we did in the first ten years, then Belarus would no longer exist at all: everyone would have fled somewhere, and so on," the Head of State said.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Belarus was actually single-handedly overcoming the consequences of the Chernobyl accident, without receiving any financial assistance. Significant resources were allocated to the revival and development of the affected districts. "We have invested much money there: Br5 billion over the past 10 years. Those were busy years, we did a lot, and we took even some unpopular steps. We did not spend money carelessly, though some might wish to get that money: we rather concentrated it on the projects that people needed. We were building housing, providing our citizens with clean water, laid sewerage lines, dealt with sanitation and gasification, and so on. A lot has been done, and time has shown that we acted absolutely correctly,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.
Therefore, by the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl accident in 2026, it seems logical to sum up certain results of the work done. The Head of State promised, “Forty years are a long time. We will have a serious discussion on this topic next year," the President promised.
In the meantime, the Head of State asked responsible officials about the situation in the affected districts, adding that he would personally visit the so-called Chernobyl areas in the near future. Speaking about the further development of these territories, Aleksandr Lukashenko focused on changing some approaches. First of all, this concerns financing issues, where more independence and initiative are needed, and dependent approaches should be eliminated.
"How can we help there, if necessary? If no help is needed, then nobody will interfere. It is necessary to wean our people off this approach [to rely on someone else], especially in the eastern regions – including (and perhaps above all) in the Gomel Region. We need to live within our means and earn money ourselves," Aleksandr Lukashenko set the task.
