Gomel opens Chernobyl museum

Gomel opened a museum dedicated to the history of the region after the Chernobyl catastrophe. The museum was set up under the Gomel oblast emergencies department. It is hosted in one of the agency’s administration buildings. According to the information given to BelTA in the emergencies department’s press service, the museum showcases documental testimonies about the events which followed the explosion at nuclear plant. The exposition nests in three halls. There is a special stand dedicated to firemen-liquidators with top-secret files dating back to 1986. Among them is the list of villages located in the 30-km exclusion zone, instructions on obligatory medical examination of foreigners who were in Gomel oblast during the explosion and many others. The museum also has a collection of firemen’s overalls and equipment, photos, testimonies of witnesses. One stand displays children’s drawings about the catastrophe. The museum was set up to preserve the memory about the liquidators and show the scale of the catastrophe.