The third sociological readings in memory of V. M. Vorona, Academician of the NAS of Ukraine: “Ukrainian society in the post-Chornobyl period. Marking the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster”

On 5 March 2026 the Institute of Sociology of the NAS of Ukraine held the third sociological readings dedicated to the memory of Valerii Mykhailovych Vorona, Academician of the NAS of Ukraine, on the theme of making sense of the social, economic and psychological consequences for Ukrainian society of the accident at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant on 26 April 1986.

Researchers prepared more than two dozen papers, most of which were presented at the two sessions of the readings (all the submitted materials will be covered in more detail in a separate collection, whose publication is expected later).

The readings were opened by the Director of the Institute of Sociology of the NAS of Ukraine, Doctor of Philosophical Sciences, Corresponding Member of the NAS of Ukraine Ye. I. Golovakha; he shared personal recollections of his trip to Chornobyl in the first days after the accident and of meeting the clean-up workers who, at the cost of their health and their lives, saved the city of Kyiv, Ukraine and the whole of Europe.

H. I. Chepurko, Doctor of Sociological Sciences, spoke about the considerable experience of the Department of Social Expertise in studying the social problems of the Chornobyl disaster and about the international cooperation of the department's researchers, in particular with colleagues from Japan (the presentation can be viewed here.) M. A. Parashchevin, Doctor of Sociological Sciences, presented the results of the Institute of Sociology's monitoring studies of the Ukrainian population's fears about the consequences of the accident, studied over 30 years. S. S. Dembitskyi, Doctor of Sociological Sciences, Corresponding Member of the NAS of Ukraine, presented the findings of empirical research on assessments of the harm done to people's personal lives, obtained by the Institute of Sociology in 2026. S. Yu. Solodko, Candidate of Sociological Sciences, outlined the main features of how the Chornobyl tragedy is reflected in cinema.

E. A. Afonin, Doctor of Sociological Sciences, spoke about his own experience of cooperating with research institutions and state bodies on Chornobyl-related matters; M. S. Shyrokova, Candidate of Sociological Sciences, presented a view of contemporary transformation processes in Ukrainian society (the presentation can be viewed here.) O. A. Rakhmanov, Doctor of Sociological Sciences, gave a thorough social and historical analysis of the transformation of Ukrainian society from 1986 to 2026; Ye. V. Siryi, Doctor of Sociological Sciences, analysed the challenges facing contemporary Ukrainian sociology in global and local space; N. O. Maistruk, Candidate of Sociological Sciences, set out a classification of the risks relevant to contemporary Ukrainian society.

The discussion took place in the traditional (offline) and digital (online) formats. All participants had an opportunity to watch the documentary film “Chornobyl: the lost reels” (producer S. Solodko) (https://youtu.be/oyUOCtzMs5M?si=nmqZm40l5q-XUKsa), which conveys the thoughts and feelings of direct witnesses of the disaster, the formation of the social perception of extreme events and the way these were reflected in people's later lives.

The screening was followed by a discussion of the main achievements of Ukrainian sociological thought in studying the problems connected with the consequences of the Chornobyl disaster; the difficulties of conducting sociological research today were also raised.

A brief review of the papers presented at the conference will appear in issue No. 2 of the journal “Sociology: Theory, Methods, Marketing” in the section “Academic life”.

The collection of materials of the third sociological readings is to be published in digital form (it will appear on the Institute's website) and in print.

The organising committee thanks all the participants of the meeting and looks forward to further cooperation.

We look forward to seeing everyone, as is now the tradition, on 5 March 2027!