The first photograph of Unit Four after the accident, shot from a helicopter by Chernobyl plant photographer Anatoly Rasskazov, at approximately 3.00pm on April 26, 1986.

Photograph by Anatoly Rasskazov, April 26, 1986, courtesy of Ukrainian National Chernobyl Museum.

Chernobyl Nuclear Accident, 1986

The disastrous meltdown in the 4th reactor of the Chernobyl (Chornobyl) Atomic Electrical Station occurred on April 26th, 1986. This collection contains Ukrainian and national KGB reports, Communist Party directives, and Ukrainian Academy of Science measurements which discuss technical issues with the plant, details of the accident, and emergency responses across the republic. It shows that updates from the construction site and first few years of plant operation were dire as early as the 1970s. The collection also demonstrates that the government failed to inform the public of the true scope of radiation damage for years after the accident. Adam Higgonbotham, author of Midnight in Chernobyl, introduces parts of the collection in an essay for Sources & Methods. See also the Digital Archive collection on Ukrainian Nuclear History.

The first photograph of Unit Four after the accident, shot from a helicopter by Chernobyl plant photographer Anatoly Rasskazov, at approximately 3.00pm on April 26, 1986.

Photograph by Anatoly Rasskazov, April 26, 1986, courtesy of Ukrainian National Chernobyl Museum.

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Soviet Union. Committee for State Security (KGB)

Ukraine. Committee for State Security (KGB/KDB)

City of Kiev Communist Party Committee

Ukraine. Council of Ministers

Academy of Sciences of Ukraine

Ukraine

Chernobyl

Eastern Europe

Ukraine

Kiev

Russia

Moscow

Eastern Europe

Soviet Union

Eastern Europe

Armenia

Ukrainian Nuclear History

Soviet Nuclear History

Popular Documents

August 14, 1984	Report from Colonel M.A. Turko, Director of the 6th Department of the KGB Administration, to the Director of the Pripyat City Department of the Ukr. SSR KGB Administration for the City of Kiev and Kiev Oblast, Lieutenant Colonel Comrade Iu. V. This document summarizes the specialists' report on the lack of reliability of the reactors at Chernobyl, citing that the lack of protective layers and other structural flaws in the reactor that could lead to radioactive contamination and accidents.
September 15, 1982	Chair of the Committee of State Security [KGB] of the Ukrainian SSR to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, 'Informational Message for 14 September 1982' The document discusses the number of foreigners who visited the Ukrainian SSR, rumored military training of OUN fighters in Southern England, the suspected murder of a Soviet ship captain in international waters, and a Unit 1 reactor accident at Chernobyl in 1982.
May 21, 1986	VCh Message from Moscow, dated 18:20, 21 May 1986 Sent by Deputy Minister Shchepin, the telegram states that those who are under observation for radiation exposure, but who do not show signs of serious radiation sickness, will be discharged with a diagnosis of “vegetative-vascular dystonia”. Those who have been diagnosed with radiation poisoning of higher degrees will be given the diagnosis “serious radiation sickness from associated exposure to radiation” with notes on its level of severity and specific details of complications, including radiation burns.
March 1, 1984	Report to M. Z. Banduristiy, the KGB Chief of the Ukrainian SSR in Kiev and the surrounding region on the emergency at the 3rd and 4th units of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant This report discusses to violations of reactor designs and the disintegration of load-bearing concrete due to extreme temperatures and improper wall insulation.
July 9, 1997	Memorandum of Conversation: Meeting with Ukrainian President Kuchma (following NATO-Ukraine Charter signing): NATO-Ukraine, Ukrainian Domestic Situation, Chornobyl Replacement Power President Clinton and President Kuchma discuss economic conditions inside Ukraine, Russia-Ukraine relations following Ukraine's signing of an agreement with NATO, and replacing reactors in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

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Chernobyl Nuclear Accident, 1986