However, in 1986, a catastrophe occurred that would forever mark the city's name. It is likely that there is not a single person in the world unaware of its story, yet there are details that might be less known to the public.

FLAWED EXECUTION AND SECRECY

The Chernobyl power plant was one of the Soviet Union's largest nuclear facilities, designed also to produce weapons-grade plutonium necessary for atomic bombs. Thus, the complex served military purposes, albeit unspokenly.

From the outset, the power plant, originally named after Lenin, had numerous deficiencies.

For example, it lacked a concrete dome that could prevent the release of radioactive materials into the atmosphere in the event of an accident. Additionally, it did not have an adequate safety system, and the level of automation was rudimentary.

On the morning of April 26, 1986, a test was conducted to study the possible consequences of a power outage. However, it was poorly planned and carried out in complete disregard of safety regulations, resulting in the loss of control over Reactor 4 and two subsequent explosions. Approximately 1700 tons of graphite built into the reactor burned for 10 days after the explosion, releasing vast amounts of radioactive gases and isotopes into the atmosphere, which spread across Europe.

BANNED REACTOR DESIGN

An interesting aspect of the accident is that the RBMK reactor design, which was used in the Chernobyl power plant, had been prohibited in the United States since the late 1940s. Despite being aware of this, the Soviet leadership due to Cold War circumstances did not know their rival concluded that this type of reactor could become unstable and explosively dangerous during operation.

In 1987, the plant managers blamed for the accident were sentenced to 10 years in prison for abuse of office, negligence, and violation of safety regulations. Today, the well-known concrete dome constructed by hundreds of thousands of people around the reactor has been covered by a new steel sarcophagus completed in 2016, estimated to last 100 years.

DESOLATION OF PRIPYAT

Although the village of Chernobyl has medieval origins, the neighboring city of Pripyat does not have such a distinguished history. It was established to serve as a residence for workers of the nearby power plant. The city, filled with career-aspiring young people, had an average age of 25 years.

Naturally, the Communist Party attempted to conceal the accident, so successfully at first that four weddings were held in Pripyat on that day.

Despite this, eyewitness accounts started spreading rumors about the disaster, but the city's evacuation did not begin until the next day, April 27. In response to emerging international inquiries related to measurable high radioactivity levels across Europe, the party was compelled to make an official announcement after the May Day celebrations.

The evacuees from Pripyat could not take their pets or any valuable belongings with them due to the risk of radioactive dust settling on everything. The city’s population of fifty thousand was completely evacuated by May 5, while over a hundred thousand people from the surrounding 30-kilometer area of the power plant were forced to leave their homes. The number of people who died directly as a result of the accident does not exceed fifty, all of whom succumbed to fatal radiation poisoning during the emergency response. However, estimating the global indirect impact of the accident on human lives is still speculative.