15 years of captivity, or "Come tomorrow..."

(The story of one of Petr Yemets’ friends on how “Bells of Chernobyl” was “rescued”)


We have known each other for several years, and from time to time Petr Zaharovich raised the same topic ‘We should go to Kiev, take the pictures.’ He told that he left his Chernobyl collection about 15 years ago in the Scientific Center of Radiation Medicine, and never took it from there.

However, Petr Zaharovich didn’t insist much, and then I couldn’t even imagine how valuable those pictures were. Finally, just to support the artist, I decided to help.

Arriving at the institute and going up to the second floor, we saw the first work; it was the “Chernobyl Madonna”. We were delighted: it means the pictures are here! But the joy was premature.



The former rector (a good acquaintance of Petr Zaharovich, whose requests were used to leave the canvas) said that he was no longer a rector, but only a deputy. As for the paintings, they are all ready for dispatch or even already sent to Japan (there had already been an accident at Fukushima24).

Soon there were some more people dissatisfied with our visit (apparently, the workers of the institute), who also began to tell that there were no pictures, but, anyway, ‘come again tomorrow, come the day after tomorrow…’

The situation was really ambiguous: the canvases were transferred to the institution for storage without a written contract, and there weren’t many chances to return them. But frankly speaking, after a while the not very hospitable hosts changed their anger to mercy and even invited us to have a snack. Petr Zaharovich left for a moment from the office. He was absent for five minutes, seven, ten... I dialed his number on the phone. I heard him running and saying to me ‘They are deceiving us, the works are here, they hang in the assembly hall; where they should be.’

There was no point in telling the lies for the former rector, but another problem arose. The pictures may be given away only with the permission the first head of the institution, but he’s not in place. And again we heard ‘Come again tomorrow.’

But we understood: tomorrow we won’t see the paintings for sure... So we went to the anteroom and waited without knowing what would be next... And at some point, I saw that someone had moved from one cabinet to another. So, in fact, the rector is in place? Petr Zaharovich went into his office. He was absent for about ten minutes. At last, they went out together. The rector turned to his subordinates ‘Give the man his pictures; they’d been solving your problems for many years. Return the paintings to their owner.’

Already at home, Petr Zaharovich carefully revised and recounted his works. Some of the pictures were absent, but the main, program canvases were preserved.