Tag Archives: Babushkas

A Matter of Trust

One topic that comes up in both Voices from Chernobyl and The Babushkas of Chernobyl is the rift between farmers living near Chernobyl and the scientists/officials responsible for the nuclear reactor. The difference between these groups lies primarily in their respective relationships to nature. A monologue by an environmental inspector reveals that “[f]armers didn’t invent Chernobyl, they had their own relations with nature, trusting relations, not predatory ones, just like they had one hundred years ago, and one thousand years ago”  (Alexievich 173). This stands in sharp contrast to the “educated [people],” whom, after causing the Chernobyl disaster through their predatory approach to nature, ensured the farmers that “[t]here’s nothing to fear” (173). Despite the gradual shift since the emergence of the Soviet Union towards a hostile relationship with nature, the farmer’s fundamental relationship to nature has not changed. While historian Aleksandr Revalskiy claims that “Chernobyl is the catastrophe of the Russian mind-set,” he likely refers to the mindset of the Soviet elite rather than the farmers. He further claims the Russians “were raised with a particular Soviet form of paganism, which was that man was the crown of all creation, that it was his right to do anything with the world that he wanted” (175). In light of the comments of the environmental inspector, this predatory upbringing was likely more prevalent in urban areas, as it appears that rural farmers still held onto their traditional relationship with the world that they always have had.

The Babushkas in The Babushkas of Chernobyl carry on a trusting relationship with nature through their reliance on the land. Even though the scientists inform them of the detrimental effects of radiation, they continue to grow their own food and drink contaminated water out of both a love for their Motherland and the trust that nature will not harm them if treated with respect. The tragic aspect of this disaster is that those who had a trusting relationship with nature made up a large portion of those who were harmed by the actions of a few who did not. However, this relationship with nature may be one of the factors the doctor in the film refers to when he claims that “socio-psychological factors also greatly influence health” (The Babushkas of Chernobyl). Given the Babushkas’ old age, their traditional respect for the environment has possibly caused nature to return the favor by mitigating radiation’s impact on them.

In Living Memory

One theme that struck me throughout the film, The Babushkas of Chernobyl, and the book, Voices from Chernobyl, is the relationship between history, being forgotten, and life persevering. The babushkas in particular exemplified this interconnection of ideas—they live in abandoned, radioactive places and yet these women (those who are left) are living to the age of 80 and above. With minimal help from the outside world, they grow their own crops, brew their own moonshine and generally take care of themselves. Their headscarves are bright colors, as though to remind themselves that they are still alive and vibrant people, full of joy and a will to live despite the contamination around them, which they are consuming every day. Yet the contrast with the “stalkers” who are inspired by a video game to sneak into the contaminated zone acts as a stark reminder that some truly believe the Zone to be an empty yet thrilling place and worth nothing more than a good dare. The woman in the video of remarks that these “stalkers” are constantly forgetting that this zone is dangerous, as though they have forgotten the true history of what occurred there and see it solely through the modern lens of video games.

In the other short video we watched in class on Monday, the man remarks that returning to these contaminated and abandoned towns and homes is like looking into the past. There are photos and clothes and just the remains of these people’s lives. Which made me wonder—is looking at the babushkas’ homes still looking into the past? Are they isolated from time? Or are they themselves a remnant of history, living in isolation? But these homes are also reminders of abandonment, as a photographer describes in Voices from Chernobyl: “You wanted to just remember it: the globe in the schoolyard crushed by a tractor; laundry that’s been hanging out on the balcony for a year and has turned black; abandoned military graves, the grass as tall as the soldier statue on it, and the automatic weapon of the statue, a bird’s nest…People have left, but their photographs are still in the houses, like their souls” (Alexievich, 192). What these people leave behind is not just history, but part of who they are. And these babushkas of Chernobyl could be considered part of that which was left behind, even as they struggled and sneaked through barbed wire to come back to their homes. But they should not be remembered just as a part of history, but as living and vibrant people, which I believe the movie does a wonderful job of capturing.