President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky intends to open the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone for tourists and scientists. He signed the corresponding decree on Wednesday, July 10, while visiting the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
“Today I signed a decree that will be the beginning of the transformation of the exclusion zone into one of the growth points for the new Ukraine,” Zelensky said after a new sarcophagus for the fourth power unit was commissioned.
He also said that the Chernobyl zone is a unique place on the planet where nature is recovering from the global man-made disaster.
“We have to show Chernobyl to the world: scientists, environmentalists, historians, tourists,” Interfax quoted the Ukrainian leader as saying.
For these purposes, Vladimir Zelensky plans to create a "green corridor" for tourists, to lift bans and remove the preconditions for corruption.
“These are bribes taken from tourists, and the illegal export of scrap metal, and the use of natural resources. We will stop all this very soon, ”he explained.
Zelensky noted that today this territory of Ukraine needs to be given a new life.
“Let's finally stop scaring people, visitors, turn the exclusion zone into a scientific and future tourist magnet. We will do here the land of freedom, which will become one of the symbols of the new Ukraine - without corruption and stupid bans, with investments and the future. We will do this together with you, ”said Zelensky.
It is worth noting that the plans for the transformation of the Chernobyl zone and built the predecessor of Zelensky in the presidency of Peter Poroshenko. Thus, on the day of the anniversary of the Chernobyl NPP disaster on April 26, 2018, he stated that the exclusion zone should become the territory of innovative technologies.
- Zelensky during a visit to the Chernobyl NPP
- © Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / Handout via REUTERS
“We have to learn a lesson from those events. The modern Chernobyl zone should become the place of new progressive technologies, the territory of changes, ”he wrote then in his Twitter.
A few months later, in December last year, in an appeal dated to the day of honoring the participants in the liquidation of the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Poroshenko declared that the exclusion zone becomes a “territory of change”.
“Without exaggeration, it can be said that thanks to the enthusiasm, responsibility and high professionalism of the people who work there, as well as great international support, the Chernobyl zone finally becomes a territory of change,” Interfax-Ukraine quoted him as saying.
At the same time, Zelensky plans to make the zone not only a tourist destination, but also to provide the opportunity for the EU and NATO to conduct exercises on accident prevention and response here.
As political scientist Rostislav Ishchenko noted in an interview with RT, Kuchma was planning to make a tourist magnet out of Chernobyl, but since then four presidents have changed, and the situation in the region has not changed.
“For these purposes, we need infrastructure and tourists, which are not and are not expected. Zelensky just need to talk about some plans to tell, so he shares them. Objects of the Chernobyl NPP are closed. Almost no one lives in the exclusion zone, and everything there is quietly falling apart - these are, in fact, abandoned territories, ”Ischenko said.
Return to the screens
Recall that on April 26, 1986, an accident occurred at the fourth power unit of the Chernobyl NPP, which led to the explosion of the reactor.
As a result, there was a colossal release of radioactive substances into the external environment - 50 thousand square meters were contaminated in Ukraine. km in 12 regions, in Belarus - 46.5 thousand square meters. km and 60 thousand square meters. km - in Russia. Radioactive particles from Chernobyl reached Europe.
- Shot from the series "Chernobyl" studio HBO
- © Shot from the TV series “Chernobyl” / HBO
The remaining three power units gradually stopped, and in December 2000, the station completely ceased its operation.
The first sarcophagus around the fourth unit for environmental protection was built by the efforts of approximately 90 thousand people in November 1986. He was a simple concrete box. It soon became clear that such protection was not enough and should be replaced. However, the construction of a new sarcophagus began only in 2007 and was completed in November 2016.
The catastrophe at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant again became the focus of world attention after the TV series “Chernobyl”, telling about the accident and the actions of the liquidators, was shown on the American HBO television channel in the spring of 2019. Thanks to naturalistic staging, high-quality detailing and good acting, the series has gained high popularity and has awakened a new wave of interest in the events of those years.
"According to the principles of marketing"
However, Ukrainian politicians do not share Zelensky’s optimism and do not believe in the reality of his plans.
Thus, according to the source RT in the Radical Party, Chernobyl became for the president only a convenient tool for campaigning.
“He needs to demonstrate victory over corruption schemes. And the simplest option is a small object like Chernobyl. But in fact, it is so insignificant both for the world community and for Ukrainians that it will not give a result. Even if a corrupt official is detained there with a thousand dollars in his pocket, it will only cause laughter. Everyone is well aware that billions are stolen in Ukraine, ”said the deputy.
The interlocutor of RT from the Popular Front party adheres to the same point of view.
“In Ukraine, corruption is observed in all spheres, but the president of Ukraine drew attention to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Every year, it is visited by 50-60 thousand people, which is negligible on a state scale. If I were Zelensky, I would have thought that the country has an epidemic of measles and hepatitis C, a war, an extremely poor population. But the main question now is for some reason Chernobyl, ”says the source.
According to the RT source in the Self-Help party, the new president has no political victories, and he is trying to demonstrate his influence at least at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
“Above the station you can hang a flag that this territory is free from corruption, only there will be no sense from this. The population wants the main corrupt officials to go to jail, not the Chernobyl NPP security guard. Such decisions can only bring down Zelensky’s rating, since this is an imitation of the fight against bribery, ”explained the source.
Zelensky has interesting ideas, but this one looks blasphemous, since Chernobyl in the memory of the peoples of the former USSR is a symbol of a terrible tragedy, Vladimir Shapovalov, deputy director of the Institute of History and Politics of the Moscow State University, recalled in an interview with RT.
“Chernobyl today performs a tourist function, because there are many adventure seekers who are trying to see and find something there. The poor Ukrainian state wants to earn at least some money, but still this topic should be closed for commercialization, ”the expert believes.
According to him, everything that the President of Ukraine is saying now should be considered solely in the context of the election campaign, including this initiative.
“Zelensky and his political technologists act strictly according to the principles of marketing: they want to somehow associate with the television series of the same name so that widespread advertising and fashion for this product will extend to the party. However, this is not an abstract series for the Western audience, but it is the pain and fate of many Ukrainian citizens who suffered directly or indirectly in this tragedy. I think this initiative will not bring any points to the “Servant of the People”, since Zelensky has touched on a topic that is too painful for the Ukrainian people, ”concluded Vladimir Shapovalov.