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In April 1986, '''Chernobyl''' (Chornobyl in Ukrainian) was an obscure city on the Pripiat River in north-central [[Ukraine]]. Almost incidentally, its name was attached to the V.I. [[Lenin]] Nuclear Power Plant located about twenty-five kilometers upstream.  

In April 1986, '''Chernobyl''' (Chornobyl in Ukrainian) was an obscure city on the Pripiat River in north-central [[Ukraine]]. Almost incidentally, its name was attached to the V.I. [[Lenin]] Nuclear Power Plant located about twenty-five kilometers upstream.  

On April 26, the city's anonymity vanished forever when, during a test at 1:21 A.M., the No. 4 reactor exploded and released thirty to forty times the [[radioactivity]] of the [[atomic bomb]]s dropped on [[Hiroshima]] and [[Nagasaki]]. Thirty- one lives were lost immediately. The world first learned of history's worst [[nuclear accident]] from [[Sweden]], where abnormal [[radiation]] levels were registered at one of its nuclear facilities.  

On April 26, the city's anonymity vanished forever when, during a test at 1:21 A.M., the No. 4 reactor exploded and released thirty to forty times the [[radioactivity]] of the [[atomic bomb]]s dropped on [[Hiroshima]] and [[Nagasaki]]. Thirty- one lives were lost immediately. The world first learned of history's worst [[nuclear accident]] from [[Sweden]], where abnormal [[radiation]] levels were registered at one of its nuclear facilities.  Having occurred during General Secretary' [[Mikhail Gorbachev]]'s period of ''"[[Glasnost]]"'' or "openness," the Soviet system came under immediate criticism, both domestically and internationally, for not being forthcoming with alerts and disclosures about the emergency threat to lives and safety.

Though hardly ranking as one of the greatest [[industrial accident]]s of all time, the impact of Chernobyl disaster was wildly exaggerated. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, [[Russia]]ns, and Belorussians were forced to abandon entire cities and settlements within the thirty-kilometer zone of extreme contamination. Billions of [[rubles]] have been spent to relocate communities and decontaminate the rich farmland.  

Though hardly ranking as one of the greatest [[industrial accident]]s of all time, the impact of Chernobyl disaster was wildly exaggerated. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, [[Russia]]ns, and Belorussians were forced to abandon entire cities and settlements within the thirty-kilometer zone of extreme contamination. Billions of [[rubles]] have been spent to relocate communities and decontaminate the rich farmland.