Chernobyl Evacuee's Daughter Shares Family's Survival Story and Lasting Health Impacts

Alina Rudya, born in Pryp’yat, was one year old when the Chernobyl nuclear disaster occurred on April 26, 1986. Her father, Constantine Rudya, served as the senior reactor control engineer on Reactor No. 2 that night. He remained at the site to work on the unaffected reactor while Rudya and her mother were evacuated.

Over a day after the explosion, Rudya and her mother relocated to Kharkiv, then to Kyiv, settling in the Troieshchyna district with other evacuees.

Medical professionals in Kharkiv lacked experience treating radiation exposure, leading to fear and uncertainty during initial care. Many evacuees, including Rudya's family, expected to return home soon but could not. Constantine Rudya later retrieved family valuables from their apartment, which were checked for radiation before removal from the exclusion zone.

As a child, Rudya underwent regular blood checks and medical monitoring, a requirement that continues today. She attended school with other children from evacuated families, normalizing the experience within her community.

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Rudya continued working at the plant for years and founded a scientific research center studying radiation effects on the environment. He collaborated with scientists from Germany, France, Japan, and the U.S. He visited hospitalized colleagues suffering from acute radiation sickness, many of whom later died.

Constantine Rudya died from an aggressive form of bone cancer linked to long-term radiation exposure from the disaster and subsequent work in the exclusion zone. Alina Rudya experiences thyroid-related health issues due to exposure to radioactive iodine-131, increasing her risk of thyroid cancer, and she maintains regular health checks.

Her father's interest in photography inspired her career as a professional photographer. She has visited the Chernobyl exclusion zone for photography projects and published a book titled Prypyat Mon Amour, documenting evacuees' stories. Rudya, now 41, lives between Berlin, Germany, and Palma de Mallorca, Spain, and views Chernobyl as part of her identity but not its entirety.

Rudya finds documentaries and series about Chernobyl emotionally difficult to watch, especially since she knew some individuals portrayed through family connections. The disaster altered her family's trajectory, potentially keeping them in Pryp’yat otherwise, but she continues to live fully through travel and work.