Sad Beauty of Chernobyl’

… One should never forget the powerful explosion which happened on April 26, 1986  at the Chernobyl nuclear plant (situated near the town of Chernobyl*, just 110 km north from Kiev, the capital of modern Ukraine),  and which has led to noticeable radioactive contamination of adjacent territories of Russia, Ukraine, and Belorus, affecting subsequently directly and indirectly the lives of millions of people.

Driven by the necessity always to remember about this tragic event, and to know what influence it exerted on the surrounding territories, and directly affected the way of people’s living there, we invite all you, dear friends, to attend on May 8, starting from 6 pm, the

Multimedia presentation of book “Charnobyl” and exhibition of Charnobyl Zone photography of renovated Belarusian photographer, ethnographer and publisher Dzianys Ramaniuk,

which will take place in Winstanley Lecture Hall of Trinity College.

*The name of the town is spelled slightly differently according to which language it is translated from: Chernobyl’ (Russian) – Chornobyl’ (Ukrainian) – Charnobyl’ (Belorussian).

Date: 8 May 2009
Venue: Winstanley Lecture Hall, Trinity College, Trinity St., Cambridge, CB21TQ
Time: 6.00-7.15 pm
Admission: free

Contacts:

Vadzim Dzemidchyk, vdemid ..?at?.. essex.ac.uk

Ekaterina Shipigina, ekaretina.shipigina ..?at?.. russiancambridge.org

The mysterious Zone** – like a forbidden fruit – has allured and continues to allure many people. But only a few individuals are able to penetrate here and see the consequences for their own eyes. And even fewer witnessed the terrible events of the first years. However, photography provides an objective record of the time before the disaster and the changes that have taken place here during the 23 years that followed…

**The term Zone is used here to denote not only the territory closed for visiting but also the whole area
which suffered the effects of Chernobyl radiation.

Dzianys Ramaniuk

…This book now in your hands is a ‘path-finder’ that will lead you into the depths of the Zone, show its past and present state and help you understand the scale of what happened and to consider the results…

Dzianys Ramaniuk