Evacuation poster
At the centre stands a poster explaining what civilians should do during evacuation. Its diagrams turn an enormous emergency into actions people could understand and follow.
A travelling museum exhibition
Chornobyl.What remains.
We can speak of Chornobyl in numbers. Or through objects: the case of an instrument, protective gear, a newspaper printed before the accident. We will show you a few here. The rest are worth meeting in person.
PRYPIAT / FERRIS WHEEL / CONTEMPORARY FOOTAGE VIDEO: TIMEPRO TV / PEXELS
ARCHIVE / 1986
Begin with people.
Seven minutes from 1986. This footage from Suspilne’s archive shows power plant workers, cleanup workers and miners. Their work remains on film.
Watch the footage 1986 / 07:25 / SUSPILNE MEDIA ARCHIVE01 / INTRODUCTION
One date
is not enough.
On 26 April 1986, the accident at Unit 4 of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant changed many lives. Protective clothing, instruments, printed testimony and original artworks stand side by side in this exhibition. Each object gives that date a human dimension.
26041986
II / THE COLLECTION AT A GLANCE
Among the museum’s exhibits
Seven strands of the collection, from personal documents to equipment made for protection. This is a map of what the museum holds. A few objects appear in closer detail below.
01International recognition and nuclear safety
An original letter from US Vice President Al Gore to academician Oleksandr Kliuchnykov, a Hero of Ukraine; an original letter from the Fukushima nuclear plant (Japan, 2011); a complete set of liquidator access passes from 1986–2015 and Kliuchnykov’s personal awards. Also displayed are documents of Professor Valerii Shakhovtsov, who led the Chornobyl operational headquarters on behalf of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, and a certified high-strength bolt from the New Safe Confinement arch.
02Rare coins and medals
National Bank of Ukraine silver medals set with real diamonds and natural rubies; an O. Koviniev “20 years of Chornobyl NPP” medal from an edition of 50; an experimental folding “Slavutych 1986/1991” medal from the Leningrad Mint. The collection also includes the complete colour-printed NBU “Chornobyl. Rebirth” wildlife coin series and a limited 2021 Niue silver coin, “Chornobyl. Tragedies of Humanity”.
031986 and the daily life of the cleanup
Original Soviet and foreign newspapers and magazines from April and May 1986; porcelain with emblems from the Chornobyl plant canteen; and original special-meal vouchers. Mineral-water and Cabernet wine bottles recall everyday life for cleanup workers in the Zone.
04Radiation protection — the roof workers
ID-1 and DP-5 dosimeters, L-1 and OZK protective suits. A remarkable set of heavy improvised lead armour was made by liquidators from lead sheets to clear graphite fragments from the roof of Unit 3.
05Film, sound and interaction
Documentary films shot by scientists beneath the sarcophagus inside Unit 4; limited “Sounds of Chornobyl” glow-in-the-dark vinyl records. The “AZ-5 Button” interactive simulator plays declassified recordings of Chornobyl plant dispatchers and the first fire crews.
06Cultural heritage
A large-format reproduction of Ivan Marchuk’s “Chornobyl Madonna” bearing his original handwritten signature; Petro Yemets’s original painting “Nightingale Season”; Yurii Kostenko’s colour helicopter photograph of the destroyed reactor in the first days after the accident; and a rare Japanese photo book about villages evacuated from the Zone.
07An artefact of the present war
An artistic and technical model made from decontaminated fragments of a hostile Shahed-136 / Geran-2 drone that damaged exterior elements of the New Safe Confinement arch during the current war.
OPERATIONAL STAFF / MEMORIAL INSTALLATION
Professor Shakhovtsov’s office
A memorial reconstruction of the workspace of Valeriy Shakhovtsov, head of the Chornobyl plant’s operational staff for the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR. Documents, maps, communications and instruments meet on one desk. Select an object to explore its place in the story.
Choose an object on the desk
Certificate and personal effects
A small certificate gives this history a name. The museum passport identifies Valeriy Shakhovtsov’s liquidator certificate and personal effects as original exhibit objects.
Explore the objects up close ↗Emergency case
An open briefcase sits behind the typewriter. Explore a case in detail on its own page: first-aid kit, documents, money, savings book, bonds and party card.
Explore the case and its contents ↗Documents and typewriter
The typewriter, papers and folders evoke the staff’s daily work of recording, checking and passing on information. Alongside measurements, there were always words on paper.
Map and camera
A map of the Kyiv region and a camera bring two views of the terrain together. The exhibit passport also describes a model of a special camera for photography from a Mi‑8 helicopter.
Explore the objects up close ↗Communications and instruments
At right are a field telephone and measuring equipment. The passport lists a TA‑57 telephone, a radiometer and an ID‑7 dosimeter charger (ZD‑5).
Explore the objects up close ↗Changing light
The lamp, green clock display, ashtray and vase form another layer of the scene. According to the passport, the gallery’s warm light gives way to UV light that reveals luminescent details.
Explore the objects up close ↗The image shows the warm lighting state. The installation’s UV lighting can be seen at the exhibition.
02 / PROTECTION
Protection.
People.
Two figures. Two sets of equipment. Choose a display case to explore what each contains.
01 / Left display case
“Roof Cat”
Equipment used to collect radioactive debris from the reactor roof.
Protection
- Lead protective armour
- Rubber apron
- Military helmet liner
- Lead protective helmet
- OZK-1 chemical protective suit
- GP-5 gas mask
Instruments
- DP-11 radiometer
- Stopwatch
02 / Right display case
Dosimetrist
A set of measuring instruments, protective equipment and personal belongings.
Measurement
- DP-5V dose-rate meter with extension rod and probe
- ID-1 personal dosimeter
Protection
- U-2K respirator
- ZN-2 chemical protective goggles
- OZK-1 trousers with overboots
- Chemical protective gloves
- OKZK-D head covering (“Legasovka”)
Personal items
- Soviet waterproof commander’s watch
- Soldier’s belt
- Soldier’s canteen
- Komsomol badge
Visualization based on a photograph of a museum object 03 / MEASUREMENT
The invisible
can be measured.
Your eye finds the needle first. Then the scale, selector, probe and worn case come into view. Select a marker to see what each part did.
04 / MACHINES IN MINIATURE
Where people
could not safely go.
A childhood dream of space stands beside a machine that worked near the destroyed reactor. Select either marker to discover its story.
Visualization based on a photograph of the museum dioramaFrom the Moon to the reactor roof
On the left is a “Lunokhod-2” toy familiar to children in the late 1970s. On the right is a model of STR-1. Its designers drew on lunar rover engineering to clear radioactive debris where it was dangerous for people to work.
“Lunokhod-2” toy
A miniature copy of a Soviet lunar rover. Toys like this once appeared on shop shelves; this one is now part of the museum’s story.
STR-1 robot model
The real STR-1 drew on lunar rover chassis design. Controlled remotely, it cleared radioactive debris and cleaned surfaces on the plant’s roofs.
Visualization based on a photograph of the museum modelA cab built for protection
The KrAZ‑256B1‑030 was no ordinary dump truck. Beside the model, under glass, are a sphere of protective glass and a sample of lead. Select an object to explore the design.
A real KrAZ‑256 in the Chornobyl zone, 2010. This truck has a standard cab. The 1986 special version appears in the factory archive.
IAEA / DANA SACCHETTI · CC BY-SA 2.0 ↗05 / ARCHIVE
The parade that death watched
“The parade that death watched” recalls the May Day demonstration on Khreshchatyk in Kyiv on 1 May 1986, just five days after the Chornobyl accident. At the centre of the display is an authentic invitation to the government viewing stand, surrounded by photographs and objects from the celebration.
Exhibition visualization based on museum materials 01 / 06
A place on the stand
The original invitation to the government viewing stand sits at the centre. Personal names are obscured; the document and the day it names are what matter here.
Full story and imageKhreshchatyk in the frame
These photographs show Kyiv’s May Day demonstration. The festive crowd walked through the city centre five days after the Chornobyl accident.
Full story and imageThe holiday in small things
Pennants, ribbons, badges, pocket calendars and postcards recall the official celebration. Their bright colours now read differently.
Full story and imageA paper, two dates
The display visualization shows a May Day front page. The museum collection also holds an issue of Krasnoye Znamya dated 13 April 1986: its call for the holiday was printed before the accident.
Full story and imageA classified message
Cipher telegram No. 398, dated 1 May 1986, reported the radiation situation to Moscow. Beside the festive objects, its spare lines feel especially stark.
Full story and imageA voice from overseas
A non-postal charity stamp issued by the Ukrainian diaspora in Detroit in 1987. Its figure of Death and the word CHORNOBYL made a political response to the disaster.
Full story and imageINTERNATIONAL RESPONSE / 1991
Pierre Cardin. “Never again”
A small medal carries words in several languages and a memory that travelled far beyond Chornobyl. Nearby are photographs of Pierre Cardin and his autograph. Explore each object.
01“Never again” medal
1986 and 1991. Chornobyl and a call not to repeat the tragedy appear in several languages.
Explore the full story ↗02At the power plant
03Pierre Cardin and the grandmothers of Prypiat
A well-known photograph shows Pierre Cardin seated beside grandmothers from Prypiat.
Explore the full story ↗04Autograph and document
A signed 1991 portrait; a separate certificate concerns the autograph itself.
Explore the full story ↗
EVERYDAY LIFE / THE CHORNOBYL PLANT CANTEEN
Tableware marked by the plant
An ordinary meal can disappear from a story this large. The museum holds porcelain from the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant canteen. A red emblem on white draws us back to the people for whom the plant was a place of everyday work.
01The plant emblem
A small red emblem appears on the plates and other porcelain pieces. Up close, it says more about where they were used than any stage setting could.
02Porcelain from Korosten
The Korosten Porcelain Factory made this tableware. Both the maker’s mark and the objects matter here: they recall everyday life at the plant.
06 / ART INSTALLATION
Evening.
The 25th.
A telephone, a lamp, a clock and a television. The calendar reads 25. In the installation “Pripyat’s Last Night”, tomorrow still seems like it will be an ordinary day.
Art installation · visualization based on its photographTELEPHONELAMP25 APRILCLOCKTELEVISION
07 / ART AND SOUND
Memory cannot fit inside an archive.
Masks catch the green light. At the exhibition, the turntable will play Sounds of Chornobyl. Here memory takes shape, colour and a voice to hear in person.
ART / LIGHT AND SCENT
One painting. Two worlds.
“Ukraine. Chornobyl. Rebirth” by Yuliia Chemerys has two visual states. In the light, a tree is in bloom. In darkness, luminous branches and the outline of the plant emerge. Switch the light to see it change.
A scent no screen can carry
Beside the painting are bottles of a Chornobyl scent created by perfumer Yevhen Lazorchuk. Visitors will be able to see both states of the work and experience the scent at the exhibition.
Painting photographs supplied by the museum; bottles visualized from an object photographANOTHER GAZE / IVAN MARCHUK
Chornobyl Madonna
Beside the painting transformed by darkness is a very different visual language. In Ivan Marchuk’s work, a face and hands emerge from a dense weave of lines. Open four details for a closer look.
01The gaze
The face does not appear at once. It seems to gather out of darkness and fine lines.
02The hands
The hands beside the face are among the work’s most arresting gestures. Up close, they hold our gaze.
03The weave
Dense crossing strokes fill almost the entire surface. From a distance they form an image; close up, they become separate movements of the hand.
04The autograph
Beyond the image is Ivan Marchuk’s autograph. Open this detail to see the signature in the material supplied by the museum.
Open the full-size image ↗
AN EXHIBITION ON THE MOVE
We will bring this story to you.
A screen shows the shape of an object. In person, you can sense its size, material and the quiet space between exhibits. The exhibition will travel between cities and countries; dates for future stops will appear here.
SEE YOU WHERE YOU CAN COME CLOSER01 — 03 / Three installations
Choose an area of the gallery and look closer.01Graphite rod
01 / Three installations
Graphite rod
A small graphite rod stands on a mount in its own glass case. Up close, its uneven edges and texture become visible in a way a wide photograph cannot convey.
Exhibition visualisation based on an object photograph02Replica AZ‑5 button
02 / Three installations
Replica AZ‑5 button
A separate pedestal draws attention to a single hand movement. This is a replica AZ‑5 button; pressing it here starts the first minute of the supplied video with sound.
Exhibition visualisation based on an object photographYouTube plays the first minute after you press. The museum has not authenticated the recording in the video.
Open the source video on YouTube ↗03Six medals and coins
Six medals and coins
Six pieces stand in cases along the bottom shelf, with photographs of Chornobyl and Pripyat behind them: a liquidator medal, two Slavutych pieces, a pair of 25th anniversary medals and a coin from Niue.
01Liquidator medal
The medal “To a Participant in the Cleanup of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant Accident”. On its blue field, a red drop of blood is pierced by rays marked α, β and γ, symbolising alpha, beta and gamma radiation.
Exhibition visualisation based on an object photograph02Slavutych folding medal
The two parts of one medal sit in separate wooden cases lined with red velvet. The left part bears a leaf relief; the right bears “Slavutych” and “1986”. Together they form a folding medal.
Exhibition visualisation based on an object photograph0325 years of remembrance · two medals
Two silver medals mark the 25th anniversary of Chornobyl: one is set with a diamond, the other is gilded and set with a ruby. The shared photograph lets you compare them side by side.
Exhibition visualisation based on an object photograph04Niue · Human Tragedies, 2021
A 2021 silver commemorative coin from Niue. Its relief depicts the plant and people in protective equipment.
Exhibition visualisation based on an object photograph
01 / AFTER THE ACCIDENT / ENGINEERING
Two shelters. One responsibility.
The first Shelter enclosed the destroyed reactor in 1986. Three decades later, a new steel arch covered it. Behind both monumental structures stood human work and the precision of every connection.
Omar David Sandoval Sida / Wikimedia CommonsCC BY-SA 4.0
NOVARKA / ChNPP NFC / 2016 
Museum object photograph · Open full-size image ↗
Museum object photograph · Open full-size image ↗ 02 / Museum object photograph
A bolt from the New Safe Confinement
An authentic assembly bolt from the arch, displayed on its museum stand. The structure was assembled away from the reactor and slid over Unit 4 in 2016. Open the steps below to follow its story.
011986 · the Shelter+
A protective structure was built over the remains of Unit 4 after the accident. The acceptance certificate for the Shelter was signed on 30 November 1986.
022016 · the arch moves+
The New Safe Confinement was assembled away from the reactor to reduce worker exposure. In November 2016 it was slid over the old Shelter.
032019 · handover+
After sealing and system tests, the arch was commissioned and handed over to Ukraine. It also provides for future safe dismantling of unstable parts of the old Shelter.
FILM / EBRD / 2019
Watch how the arch was built
EBRD film · English · starts on request
EBRD / Source ↗02 / THE ZONE / PHOTO CHRONICLE
Pripyat. A city after its people left.
Fifty photographs of empty streets, rooms and machinery in the exclusion zone. They were taken in 2018–2021; each image shows its capture year.
Photo
03 / THE ZONE / WILDLIFE
Where people left, wildlife returned.
The exclusion zone remains restricted and carries a radioactive legacy. Yet the reserve monitors wild animals here: Przewalski’s horses, lynx and elk. Three commemorative coins from the museum collection open their stories.
Fifty views of wildlife, forests and greenery returning to the streets of Pripyat.
01 / Museum object photograph
Przewalski’s horse
Several herds of these wild horses are monitored in the reserve. The coin shows the animal; the accompanying booklet offers a photograph and the story of its recovery.
Open full-size image ↗
02 / Museum object photograph
Eurasian lynx
The lynx is a rare, elusive predator of the Polissia forests. Researchers record it with camera traps; this coin portrays it among woodland.
Open full-size image ↗
03 / Museum object photograph
European elk
Elk are among the reserve’s largest herbivores. Their tracks and presence help researchers monitor ecosystem change.
Open full-size image ↗
04 / THE ARCH / 14 FEB 2025
A shield that needed protecting.
On 14 February 2025, a Russian drone struck the New Safe Confinement. Cladding and some of the arch’s systems were damaged. This Chornobyl NPP image shows the impact site; monitoring after the attack found no radiation level above control limits.
01What happened+
The impact breached the outer and inner shells. A fire in the structure complicated repair of the protective barrier.
02Why it matters+
The arch contains radioactive dust and provides a workspace for dismantling the old Shelter. The damage affected both functions.
03What follows+
Chornobyl NPP, the IAEA and international partners are assessing damage and preparing repairs. Follow the official sources below for updates.
