This chapter analyses the Soviet state’s failure to adequately care for children, particularly after the Chernobyl disaster. The collapse of the ‘happy Soviet childhood’ myth during perestroika exposed poor conditions in orphanages and the overall lagging healthcare. As the state’s ability to provide for children weakened, society, independent initiatives, and families assumed greater responsibility. The Chernobyl children became a focal point for both state and public concern. While the Soviet government initially attempted to manage the crisis internally, their efforts were inadequate, leading to increasing public discontent and mobilization. As the state progressively lost legitimacy, society began to rally ‘in the name of the children’. Despite state-organized recuperation programs, the conditions remained sub-par, and the state’s attempts to address the children’s plight through the 1991 Chernobyl children program were too late and ineffective. This chapter highlights the Soviet Union’s structural incapacity to handle such disasters and the role of children in the broader social and political changes during the final years of the Soviet Union and beyond.

This chapter explores how the term ‘Chernobyl child’ expanded over time to encompass nearly all children from Belarus and Ukraine, categorized based on their perceived suffering and need for help. This classification, while useful for securing aid, often led to ethical dilemmas about who deserved assistance. Through specific examples, the chapter illustrates how this categorization not only shaped their experiences abroad but also influenced how they and others understood their identities. The chapter also delves into how these trips abroad served as a means for the children to cope with the trauma of the Chernobyl disaster. While these journeys opened their eyes to different cultures, they often involved significant emotional challenges, such as adjusting to unfamiliar environments and confronting the reality of their situation. These experiences, though difficult, played a crucial role in how the children processed their pasts and envisioned their futures. The chapter shows that, despite the challenges, the trips sometimes led to lasting relationships with host families, providing a complex blend of support and difficulty in dealing with their traumatic histories.

This chapter shows how the Chernobyl disaster turned Soviet children into a global concern, shifting their care from the Soviet state to international civil society. As the Soviet Union struggled with the overwhelming consequences, international efforts, particularly by religious and humanitarian groups from the West, stepped in to assist these children. This care included sending them abroad for medical treatment and recuperation, symbolizing a global responsibility that transcended Cold War divisions. A key element of this response was the partnership between the Belarusian ‘For the Children of Chernobyl’ and various North American organizations. These collaborations brought medical aid, facilitated recuperation trips, and raised global awareness of the children’s plight, turning them into symbols of shared humanity. Despite challenges such as cultural misunderstandings, differing expectations, and moral dilemmas in selecting which children to help, these collaborations forged enduring connections and played a crucial role in reflecting the potential and complexities of transnational humanitarian efforts and life in the Anthropocene.

This chapter explores the immediate and far-reaching effects of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 26 April 1986. It contrasts the Soviet Union’s portrayal of nuclear power as a symbol of progress with the grim reality following Reactor No. 4’s explosion. The Soviet government’s initial response, marked by secrecy and denial, worsened the disaster’s impact on the environment and the people. Globally, the reaction was swift, with countries demanding transparency and offering assistance, which the Soviet Union officially denied but secretly accepted. The disaster fuelled widespread fear and scepticism about nuclear energy, sparking anti-nuclear protests and policy changes worldwide. In the US, Chernobyl reignited debates over nuclear safety, closely monitored by government and intelligence agencies. A poignant outcome was the plight of the ‘Chernobyl children’, who faced an uncertain future. International efforts provided these children with medical care, reflecting global solidarity. The chapter emphasizes how Chernobyl became a symbol of nuclear peril and a catalyst for humanitarian action, as the world grappled with the lasting consequences of living in irradiated landscapes.

Blue skies. Sunshine. A fresh spring breeze rustles through the vibrant green leaves of young birches and tugs at women’s skirts. Children in shorts and dresses romp around a playground, scamper back and forth, and kick a ball about (Fig. 0.1). Mothers and fathers push strollers through the bright streets. It is hard not to notice how many children there are; the town seems so young, the spring day so beautiful. Even the two civil defence officials pacing through the idyll could not appear more relaxed if they tried. And yet – with their drab green overalls and grey-green respirators, they look as if they have come from another world. When someone enquires as to the reason for these strange outfits, they pause briefly to explain that it’s an exercise. It is just an exercise.

The Chernobyl children and their networks of concern are one of the reasons why a nuclear accident that was initially branded ‘typically Soviet’ in many parts of the world came into focus as a transnational disaster. These children brought the reality of Chernobyl into the everyday lives of hundreds of thousands of people in Europe and North America. They were living proof of the characteristic distress and fears associated with the accident. Far removed from the scene of the disaster, abstract headlines were replaced by the stories of actual individuals – albeit not always ones that confirmed the ideas and expectations of the children’s hosts.