Oleg Kuznetsov: "At that time, red wine instantly disappeared from the shelves in Kyiv..."

37 years ago, on 26 April 1986, the Chornobyl disaster broke out, which is considered the largest in the history of nuclear power both in terms of the number of people killed and affected by its consequences and the economic damage. Oleg Kuznetsov, a former Dynamo tailor, shared his memories.

"When I took the field in the game against Spartak, I had no information about Chernobyl at all. We learned about the tragedy after returning from the Cup Final. We were given a few days off, and all the players' wives who had not left before we returned from France were also brought to Moscow. My wife and I went to Odesa to visit Igor Belanov.

Later, rumours spread that Chernobyl was very serious. They said that the decay period of radioactive elements could be thirty years. Blokhin allegedly had his own sources, he maintained relations with the powerful. And at the base in Koncha Zaspa, pre-flood military dosimeters appeared. People walked around with them, checking whether there was radiation on the base. The training process was also adjusted. Before that, we used to do pre-match exercises in the woods. But after the Chernobyl accident, we started doing it on the pitch - experts said that coniferous trees near our base could absorb radiation.

I also remember that in Kyiv, after the tragedy, red wine, which doctors recommended drinking to remove radiation, instantly disappeared from the shelves," Kuznetsov said.