The book presents a record of oral accounts given by liquidators who participated in minimizing the effects of the Chernobyl disaster. The main research goal was to present the circumstances of actions taken in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in 1986–1988 from the perspective of direct participants of the events in question. The overall work is complemented with archival, press materials and other documentation never published before, as well as materials from the private archives of the survivors. The book presents the reality of the clean-up operations undertaken in the area of the catastrophe and shows the community of liquidators, their living conditions and everyday life in the Chernobyl Zone, as well as the reality in which Chernobyl veterans lived after returning to their homeland.

Pawe? Seku?a, Ph.D., is a historian and cultural expert. His scientific interests are focused on the issues of the history of Ukraine and its relations with the Russian Federation. He conducts research in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. He is the author of scientific publications on the various consequences of the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl.