He presented me with the newly released Russian-language book on the medical effects of Chernobyl, with contributions from Ilin, I. Valerii Ingulsky of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and I were accompanied by another Yurii who was a translator with the Institute. The Center was located in the northernmost part of Kyiv. I had little time to gather myself and reflect on the experience.
My emotions were mixed: I felt some anger at the irresponsibility of the authorities, gratitude that I had been allowed such open access to Chernobyl and Prypiat, and fatigue after the excitement and shock of the previous day. After the excitement of the previous day, it was very hard to readjust to dry analysis of the situation and what was likely to ensue for its victims. The Center was under the directorship of the Ukrainian Minister of Health, Anatolii Romanenko, and was concerned with the monitoring of Chernobyl victims. My continuing research into Chernobyl was not over, because on the following morning, June 15, I had an interview with the staff of the Institute of Clinical Radiology at the Center for Radiation Medicine, affiliated with the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR. Download your free copy on E-International Relations.
This is an excerpt from Understanding Ukraine and Belarus: A Memoir by David R.
