As part of the annual "Science Festival" held at the Institute of Electronic Physics of the NAS of Ukraine (Uzhgorod), an unusual event took place dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster.
In the first part of the event, a young and talented Uzhgorod musician, producer, and director Dmytro Fesenko, whose father was one of the liquidators of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident and unfortunately passed away, presented a thematic performance that harmoniously combined the sounds of traditional electronic musical instruments with various sound devices and homemade sound gadgets, including an ocean harp (waterphone) and theremin, while simultaneously weaving scientific exhibits such as a Tesla coil, Rubens' tube, and "Jacob's Ladder" into the scenario. The program included authentic folk pieces modernized by Dmytro Fesenko and the well-known "Song about the Towel" with lyrics by Andriy Malyshko, performed in an unusual way that reflects the modern rhythm of life. The scientific audience was pleasantly impressed by the musician's virtuosity and use of unexpected sound sources.
In the second part, Oleksandr Kupnyi performed – a nuclear safety specialist, liquidator, dosimetrist, and founder of the information channel "Coffee with the Taste of Chernobyl". His father, Valentyn Kupnyi, a unique expert in the field of nuclear energy and safety, worked at the Chernobyl NPP from 1988 and was involved in the isolation structure "Shelter" built over the fourth power unit of the plant until the 2000s. Oleksandr Kupnyi himself worked at the Chernobyl NPP as a dosimetrist and undertook several expeditions to the sarcophagus together with his colleague Serhiy Koshelev, taking many interesting photographs of the explosion-damaged power unit during these risky trips. The guest told the participants about his first impressions of the zone, work inside the "Shelter" facility, doses, fears, myths about Chernobyl, and how the tragedy that once united people later became part of political manipulations. According to Oleksandr, as a specialist, he is particularly concerned about the low awareness of most people regarding radiation safety, especially the persistence of many myths related to radiation effects and how the basic principles of radiation safety are taught in schools. Finally, he spoke about the current state of the shut-down power units of the Chernobyl NPP and the "Shelter" facility, problems with monitoring radioactive contamination in the exclusion zone, the so-called "radiation tourism," and answered numerous questions from the audience, who were greatly interested in the presentation of one of the few specialists who have seen the Chernobyl NPP not from the outside, but from the inside.
According to the Institute of Electronic Physics of the NAS of Ukraine
