Skip to Main Content

Chernobyl Nuclear Accident, Chornobyl, Ukraine: A Resource Guide

Manuscripts

The Library has two major manuscript collections that relate to the Chernobyl disaster.

Revelations from the Russian Archives

The first collection is based on a 1992 exhibit held at the Library of Congress entitled "Revelations from the Russian Archives." The exhibit featured hundreds of once classified documents that were brought to light after the fall of the Iron Curtain. Touching upon several of the most pivotal moments in twentieth-century Russian history, the documents provided a fascinating "behind-the-scenes" look into the Soviet political apparatus. Included in this collection were several documents related to the unfolding drama of the Chernobyl disaster. Following the closing of the exhibit, the Library retained photocopies of the original documents in Russian. These copies remain in the European Reading Room where they can be requested. English translations of the documents are available in a volume published by the Library in 1997.

Cultural rescue in post-Chornobyl' Ukraine

The second manuscript collection is held in the American Folklife Center at the Library. It is a recorded presentation by Dr. Myron O. Stachiw of Roger Williams University. Dr. Stachiw discusses his field work in Ukraine studying the effects of the nuclear disaster on local culture. 

The following collection titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content, including finding aids for the collections, are included when available.