"His own children went to the GDR". Co-founder of the "Children of Chernobyl" fund on why Lukashenka didn't like it

Iryna Hrushavaya, Berlin, Germany, April 2026. Photo: lookby.media

After the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, victims were helped by enthusiasts and volunteers — and three years later, this movement transformed into the "Children of Chernobyl" fund, which, among other things, took children from affected regions abroad for recuperation. At its origins stood Henadz and Iryna Hrushavy. An OSCE representative called the organization "the project of the century," but both Soviet and Belarusian authorities persecuted its employees for years — despite the fact that Henadz and Alyaksandr Lukashenka were colleagues in parliament.

On the eve of the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl tragedy, "Zerkalo" spoke with Iryna Hrushavaya. Among other things, she told why Lukashenka so disliked the initiative that helped affected children — including his own.

Павялічыць

As Iryna recalls, Alyaksandr Lukashenka and Henadz Hrushavy were personally acquainted, sitting together in parliament.

— It was strange that he suddenly became so disapproving of the fund's work, — she reflects. — Because in the first years, children from Shklov, [including] his own children, Viktar and Dzmitry, were in groups that went to the GDR. They traveled under our program. His children were there, Tsytsyankou's children were there — a very famous person at the time (Ivan Tsytsyankou, former head of affairs. After the referendum on changing state symbols in 1995 was held, but before its results were announced, he climbed onto the roof of the Government House building and removed the white-red-white flag, which was then cut into pieces. — Ed. note).

That is, Lukashenka knew what the fund was doing.

Lukashenka's friend Uladzimir Kanaplyou (Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly from 2004-2007. — Ed. note) also directly participated in the initiative's activities, adds Hrushavaya. The official once personally accompanied a group of children who traveled near Stuttgart, Germany.

— My daughter was actually there. That's why I know well [what happened] — she told me how wonderfully he treated the children and was very happy about everything we were doing. In general, we maintained good relations until the very end. That is, he also didn't understand such disapproval from Lukashenka, — notes the co-founder of the fund.

Iryna and Henadz explained the politician's attitude to themselves this way: he perceived their work as something that went against the Soviet way of life. And Lukashenka himself, the interlocutor believes, is a Soviet patriot who transferred the entire Soviet Union system to Belarus.

Павялічыць

Henadz Hrushavy (center) at the third "World After Chernobyl" congress, March 1996. The event was attended by 600 participants from 48 countries. Photo: lookby.media

— An image of an enemy was necessary, — she states. — And although there was Perestroika, and before that peaceful coexistence and the end of the Cold War — it seemed that everything was moving towards warming… But since [Soviet] ideology proved especially tenacious in our republic, the state elites did not want to accept changes and viewed everything coming from abroad with great caution. They thought: if humanitarian aid is brought here — it means they want to snoop something out.

The co-founder of the "Children of Chernobyl" fund gives an example: when the first group from Vetka was sent to Germany, mothers with children were invited on the trip, but unexpectedly no one wanted to go. Then Iryna started to find out what was going on.

— I received the answer: "The Ministry of Education told us that the children would be used as guinea pigs." I then said: "Listen, they won't be bigger guinea pigs anywhere than they are there," — she recalls.

Pressure on the fund continued almost until its end. In 1997, the authorities created the Department for Humanitarian Aid to control humanitarian aid flows, and in 2000, they introduced licensing for this aid.

In 2005, the initiative was evicted from its premises in the capital's Trinity Suburb, where it had been located since its founding.

In 2008, restrictions on travel abroad for children were introduced altogether. Now they could only be sent to countries with which Belarus had concluded agreements guaranteeing their return. Children were allowed to go abroad for recuperation only up to 14 years old and no more than three times to the same state. Eventually, in 2012, Henadz Hrushavy closed "Children of Chernobyl".

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