Day of honoring participants in the liquidation of the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine

This date was chosen for a reason And the holiday itself went through a rather difficult path before becoming official As you know, on April 26, 1986, the largest man-made disaster in human history occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which became a real tragedy for millions of people Immediately after the fire was extinguished at the station, work began on constructing a shelter (sarcophagus) over the exploded reactor To eliminate the consequences of the accident and build a shelter, tens, even hundreds of thousands of residents from different parts of the former USSR were involved Most of them were citizens of modern Ukraine due to the fact that the station itself was located on its territory According to various sources, a total of more than 650 thousand people were recruited for these purposes As a result of such colossal efforts, already on November 30, 1986, the shelter was completed, and on December 14, 1984, a message was published in official publications that the state commission had commissioned a complex of protective structures above the reactor Even then, on December 14, 1986, the participants in the liquidation of the accident gathered for the first time to celebrate their victory Since then, every year in different places, liquidators have informally gathered throughout the country on this day In 1994, public organizations on behalf of all liquidators appealed to the president with a request to establish an official holiday for liquidators Then the decision was never made Officially, they were allowed to celebrate, government officials on this day solemnly laid wreaths near the monuments to the Heroes of Chernobyl, various events were often held, foreign delegations were received, round tables and conferences were held, and a guard of honor was assigned for events But, despite this, the holiday was not recognized at the state level Most people believe that this holiday was not established then because April 26 was already celebrated as the International Day of Remembrance for Victims of Radiation Accidents and Disasters Many thought that the second holiday would simply duplicate the first But, as many already understood then, this is far from the same thing For the participants in the liquidation, it was especially important that this holiday be recognized at the national level For them in particular, and for the country as a whole, it was extremely important that their services were recognized and not forgotten Only 20 years after the completion of the work, in November 2006, the President of Ukraine signed decree No 945/2006, which recognized December 14 as the Day of Honoring the Participants in the Liquidation of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Accident Although the holiday has been recognized at the official level, it is not a day off On this day, as before, a ceremonial laying of flowers is held, memorable evenings, concerts, exhibitions, and extracurricular activities in schools are held The main purpose of such events is to remind someone, to tell someone about what a heroic act the liquidators committed, and what significance this has for the modern generation