Yuri Gaponenko, in 1986 the duty assistant of the head of the special commandant's office of the Khoiniki District Department of Internal Affairs, told that the Chernobyl accident divided life into before and after: "After the accident, of course, everything shrank, and even more after the collapse of the Soviet Union. But confidence appeared when President of Belarus Alexander Grigorievich Lukashenko talked to people. It was such a thorough conversation, and he said that everything should be done to make people live on this land. And we realized then that we would not be offended. We believed in his words, and it is coming true. We can see it for real. "
Viktor Vaskevich, in 1986, head of the general department of the Khoyniki District Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus, was present during these visits: "People were mostly thankful that the President was coming to the Chernobyl zone without fear. After his arrival, Victor recalls, some kind of assistance was provided, appropriate programs were developed, which had funding for the development of agriculture, infrastructure, and in general for people to live and somehow build their future.
