April 26 is the Day of Remembrance for those killed in radiation accidents and catastrophes. This year marks 27 years since the Chernobyl disaster - the largest in history nuclear power in the world. A whole generation has already grown up that did not experience this terrible tragedy, but on this day we traditionally remember Chernobyl. After all, only remembering the mistakes of the past can hope not to repeat them in the future. In 1986, an explosion occurred at the Chernobyl reactor No. 4, and several hundred workers and firefighters tried to put out the fire that had been burning for 10 days. The world was enveloped in a cloud of radiation. Then about 50 employees of the station were killed and hundreds of rescuers were injured. It is still difficult to determine the scale of the disaster and its impact on people's health - only from 4 to 200 thousand people died from cancer that developed as a result of the received dose of radiation. Pripyat and the surrounding areas will not be safe for people to live for several centuries. 
1. This 1986 aerial view of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine, shows the destruction from the explosion and fire of Reactor 4 on April 26, 1986. As a result of the explosion and the fire that followed it, a huge amount of radioactive substances was released into the atmosphere. Ten years after the world's largest nuclear disaster, the power plant continued to operate due to an acute shortage of electricity in Ukraine. The final stop of the power plant occurred only in 2000. (AP Photo/ Volodymyr Repik) 
2. On October 11, 1991, while reducing the speed of turbine generator No. 4 of the second power unit for its subsequent shutdown and putting the separator-superheater SPP-44 into repair, an accident and a fire occurred. This photograph, taken during a press visit to the station on October 13, 1991, shows part of the collapsed roof of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, destroyed by fire. (AP Photo/Efrm Lucasky) 
3. Aerial view of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, after the largest nuclear disaster in human history. The picture was taken three days after the explosion at the nuclear power plant in 1986. Front chimney the destroyed 4th reactor is located. (AP Photo) 
4. Photo from the February issue of the magazine " Soviet life": the main hall of the 1st power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on April 29, 1986 in Chernobyl (Ukraine). Soviet Union admitted that there was an accident at the power plant, but did not provide additional information. (AP Photo) 
5. A Swedish farmer removes straw contaminated through precipitation several months after the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in June 1986. (STF/AFP/Getty Images) 
6. Soviet medical worker examines an unknown child who was evacuated from the nuclear disaster zone to the Kopelovo state farm near Kiev on May 11, 1986. The picture was taken during a trip organized by the Soviet authorities to show how they deal with the accident. (AP Photo/Boris Yurchenko) 
7. Chairman of the Presidium Supreme Council USSR Mikhail Gorbachev (center) and his wife Raisa Gorbachev during a conversation with the management of the nuclear power plant on February 23, 1989. This was the first visit by a Soviet leader to the station since the April 1986 accident. (AFP PHOTO/TASS) 
8. Kievans stand in line for forms before checking for radiation contamination after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, in Kiev on May 9, 1986. (AP Photo/Boris Yurchenko) 
9. A boy reads an ad on a closed playground gate in Wiesbaden on May 5, 1986, which says: "This playground is temporarily closed." A week after the Chernobyl nuclear reactor explosion on 26 April 1986, the Wiesbaden municipal council closed all playgrounds after detecting levels of radioactivity between 124 and 280 becquerels. (AP Photo/Frank Rumpenhorst) 
10. One of the engineers who worked at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is passing medical checkup in the Lesnaya Polyana sanatorium on May 15, 1986, a few weeks after the explosion. (STF/AFP/Getty Images) 
11. Advocacy activists environment railroad cars are marked with dried serum contaminated with radiation. Photo taken in Bremen, northern Germany on February 6, 1987. The serum, which was brought to Bremen for further transport to Egypt, was produced after the Chernobyl accident and was contaminated with radioactive fallout. (AP Photo/Peter Meyer) 
12. An abattoir worker puts suitability stamps on cow carcasses in Frankfurt am Main, West Germany, on May 12, 1986. According to the decision of the Minister for social issues federal state of Hesse, after the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, all meat began to be subjected to radiation control. (AP Photo/Kurt Strumpf/stf) 
13. Archival photo dated April 14, 1998. Workers of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant pass by the control panel of the destroyed 4th power unit of the station. On April 26, 2006, Ukraine marked the 20th anniversary of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which affected the fate of millions of people, required astronomical costs from international funds and became an ominous symbol of danger atomic energy. (AFP PHOTO/ GENIA SAVILOV) 
14. In the picture, which was taken on April 14, 1998, you can see the control panel of the 4th power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (AFP PHOTO/ GENIA SAVILOV) 
15. Workers who took part in the construction of a cement sarcophagus that closes the Chernobyl reactor, in a memorable photo in 1986 next to an unfinished construction site. According to the data of the Union of Chernobyl of Ukraine, thousands of people who took part in the liquidation of the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster died from the consequences of radiation contamination, which they suffered during work. (AP Photo/ Volodymyr Repik) 
16. High-voltage towers near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant June 20, 2000 in Chernobyl. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) 
17. The duty operator of a nuclear reactor records control readings at the site of the only operating reactor No. 3, on Tuesday, June 20, 2000. Andrey Shauman angrily poked in the direction of a switch hidden under a sealed metal lid on the control panel of the reactor in Chernobyl - a nuclear power plant, the name of which has become synonymous with nuclear disaster. “This is the same switch that can be used to turn off the reactor. For $2,000, I'll let anyone push that button when the time comes," Shauman, acting chief engineer, said at the time. When that time came on December 15, 2000, environmental activists, governments and simple people around the world breathed a sigh of relief. However, for the 5,800 Chernobyl workers, it was a day of mourning. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) 
18. 17-year-old Oksana Gaibon (right) and 15-year-old Alla Kozimerka, victims of the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, are being treated with infrared rays at the Tarara Children's Hospital in the capital of Cuba. Oksana and Alla, like hundreds of other Russian and Ukrainian teenagers who received a dose of radiation, were treated for free in Cuba as part of a humanitarian project. (ADALBERTO ROQUE/AFP) 
19. Photo dated April 18, 2006. A child during treatment at the Center for Pediatric Oncology and Hematology, which was built in Minsk after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. On the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, representatives of the Red Cross reported that they were faced with a lack of funds to further help the victims of the Chernobyl accident. (VIKTOR DRACHEV/AFP/Getty Images) 
20. View of the city of Pripyat and the fourth reactor of Chernobyl on December 15, 2000 on the day of the complete shutdown of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (Photo by Yuri Kozyrev/Newsmakers) 
21. Ferris wheel and carousel in the deserted amusement park of the ghost town of Pripyat, next to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant May 26, 2003. The population of Pripyat, which in 1986 was 45,000 people, was completely evacuated within the first three days after the explosion of the 4th reactor No. 4. The explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant occurred at 1:23 am on April 26, 1986. The resulting radioactive cloud damaged much of Europe. By different estimates between 15,000 and 30,000 people subsequently died as a result of radiation exposure. Over 2.5 million people in Ukraine suffer from diseases acquired as a result of exposure, and about 80,000 of them receive benefits. (AFP PHOTO/ SERGEI SUPINSKY) 
22. Pictured on May 26, 2003: an abandoned amusement park in the city of Pripyat, which is located next to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (AFP PHOTO/ SERGEI SUPINSKY) 
23. Pictured May 26, 2003: gas masks on the floor of a classroom in a school in the ghost town of Pripyat, which is located near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (AFP PHOTO/ SERGEI SUPINSKY) 
24. In the photo dated May 26, 2003: a TV case in a hotel room in the city of Pripyat, which is located near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (AFP PHOTO/ SERGEI SUPINSKY) 
25. View of the ghost town of Pripyat next to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (AFP PHOTO/ SERGEI SUPINSKY) 
26. Pictured January 25, 2006: an abandoned classroom in a school in the deserted city of Pripyat near Chernobyl, Ukraine. Pripyat and the surrounding areas will be unsafe for people to live for several more centuries. According to scientists, the complete decomposition of the most dangerous radioactive elements will take about 900 years. (Photo by Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images) 
27. Textbooks and notebooks on the floor of a school in the ghost town of Pripyat January 25, 2006. (Photo by Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images) 
28. Toys and a gas mask in the dust in the former primary school abandoned city of Pripyat on January 25, 2006. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images) 
29. In the photo on January 25, 2006: an abandoned sports hall of one of the schools in the deserted city of Pripyat. (Photo by Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images) 
30. What is left of the school gym in the abandoned city of Pripyat. January 25, 2006. (Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images) 
31. A resident of the Belarusian village of Novoselki, located just outside the 30-kilometer exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, in a picture dated April 7, 2006. (AFP PHOTO / VIKTOR DRACHEV) 
32. A woman with piglets in the deserted Belarusian village of Tulgovichi, 370 km southeast of Minsk, April 7, 2006. This village is located within the 30-kilometer zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (AFP PHOTO / VIKTOR DRACHEV) 
33. On April 6, 2006, an employee of the Belarusian radiation-ecological reserve measures the level of radiation in the Belarusian village of Vorotets, which is located within the 30-kilometer zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (VIKTOR DRACHEV/AFP/Getty Images) 
34. Residents of the village of Ilintsy in the closed area around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, about 100 km from Kiev, pass by the rescuers of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Ukraine, who are rehearsing before a concert on April 5, 2006. Rescuers organized an amateur concert dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster for more than three hundred people (mostly elderly people) who returned to live illegally in villages located in the exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP/Getty Images) 
35. The remaining residents of the abandoned Belarusian village of Tulgovichi, located in the 30-kilometer exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, on April 7, 2006 celebrate Orthodox holiday Blessings of the Virgin. Before the accident, about 2,000 people lived in the village, and now only eight remain. (AFP PHOTO / VIKTOR DRACHEV) 
36. An employee of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant measures the level of radiation using a stationary radiation monitoring system at the exit from the power plant building after a working day on April 12, 2006. (AFP PHOTO/ GENIA SAVILOV) 
37. Construction team wearing masks and special protective suits on April 12, 2006 during work to strengthen the sarcophagus covering the destroyed 4th reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. (AFP PHOTO / GENIA SAVILOV) 
38. On April 12, 2006, workers sweep away radioactive dust in front of a sarcophagus covering the damaged 4th reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Because of the high levels of radiation, crews only work for a few minutes. (GENIA SAVILOV/AFP/Getty Images)
Young artists from different parts of the country sent about a thousand drawings. In their work, the guys reflected the beauty native land, the pain of Chernobyl, the courage of the Belarusian people and faith in the Revival of our country. The competition is a unique opportunity to look at the problem Chernobyl disaster through the eyes of children and see what they see. Many small artists live in small towns and villages in territories contaminated with radionuclides - the drawings of these guys are distinguished by their special realism.
The works are made in a wide variety of techniques: graphics, watercolor, applications, gouache, oil paints, leather products.
The competition was held in five categories:
- "Bright future despite Chernobyl";
- "Young generation: remember, learn, revive / Chernobyl: past, present, future";
- "Chernobyl: century 21 / Chernobyl - a wound in the heart of Europe";
- "Chernobyl - Belarusian pain";
- "Life with radiation / Chernobyl in my life."
Initially, the jury planned to select only 15 winning works - three for each nomination. But so many original and skillfully depicting Chernobyl drawings were sent to the competition that the jury members decided to increase the number of prizes to 41.
First place in the nomination "Bright future despite Chernobyl":
Voitko Alexandra, 14 years old, d. New Yard, Pinsk district, Brest region
Bykovsky Denis, 13 years old, Mikashevichi, Brest region
First place in the nomination "Young generation: remember, learn, revive / Chernobyl: past, present, future":
Dmitrachkov Pavel, 13 years old, Minsk
First place in the nomination "Chernobyl: century 21 / Chernobyl - a wound in the heart of Europe":
Beketo Galina, 15 years old, Uzda, Minsk region
Shankova Marina, 15 years old, village Murinbor, Kostyukovichi district, Mogilev region
First place in the nomination "Chernobyl - Belarusian pain":
Danilenko Veronika, 14 years old, Slavgorod, Mogilev region
Kozenko Elena, 15 years old, Mozyr, Gomel region
Hunchback Valeria, 15 years old, Volkovysk, Grodno region
First place in the nomination "Life with radiation / Chernobyl in my life":
Marya Kalenik, 11 years old, Porechie village, Grodno district
The competition was organized by the branch "Belarusian Branch of the Russian-Belarusian Information Center on the Problems of the Consequences of the Catastrophe at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant" (BORBIC) of the RNIUP "Institute of Radiology" of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Belarus on behalf of the Department for the Elimination of the Consequences of the Catastrophe at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
On February 16, 2010, the winners and prize-winners of the competition gathered in BORBITs (Minsk) for the awards ceremony. Diplomas and incentive awards were given to the winners by the Department, the Belarusian Union of Artists, "Beltelecom", the magazine " wildlife", "ASB Belarusbank" and BORBITs.
All winning entries will be included in international exhibition"Restoring the Affected Land Together", which will be shown in the countries of the European Union on the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster.
Check out the drawings of the winners >>>
Young artists from different parts of the country sent about a thousand drawings. In their works, the guys reflected the beauty of their native land, the pain of Chernobyl, the courage of the Belarusian people and faith in the Revival of our country. The competition is a unique opportunity to look at the problem of the Chernobyl disaster through the eyes of children and see what they see. Many small artists live in small towns and villages in territories contaminated with radionuclides - the drawings of these guys are distinguished by their special realism.
The works are made in a wide variety of techniques: graphics, watercolor, applications, gouache, oil paints, leather goods.
The competition was held in five categories:
- "Bright future despite Chernobyl";
- "Young generation: remember, learn, revive / Chernobyl: past, present, future";
- "Chernobyl: century 21 / Chernobyl - a wound in the heart of Europe";
- "Chernobyl - Belarusian pain";
- "Life with radiation / Chernobyl in my life."
Initially, the jury planned to select only 15 winning works - three for each nomination. But so many original and skillfully depicting Chernobyl drawings were sent to the competition that the jury members decided to increase the number of prizes to 41.
First place in the nomination "Bright future despite Chernobyl":
Voitko Aleksandra, 14 years old, village Novy Dvor, Pinsk district, Brest region
Bykovsky Denis, 13 years old, Mikashevichi, Brest region
First place in the nomination "Young generation: remember, learn, revive / Chernobyl: past, present, future":
Dmitrachkov Pavel, 13 years old, Minsk
First place in the nomination "Chernobyl: century 21 / Chernobyl - a wound in the heart of Europe": 
Beketo Galina, 15 years old, Uzda, Minsk region
Shankova Marina, 15 years old, village Murinbor, Kostyukovichi district, Mogilev region
First place in the nomination "Chernobyl - Belarusian pain":
Danilenko Veronika, 14 years old, Slavgorod, Mogilev region
Kozenko Elena, 15 years old, Mozyr, Gomel region 
Hunchback Valeria, 15 years old, Volkovysk, Grodno region
First place in the nomination "Life with radiation / Chernobyl in my life":
Marya Kalenik, 11 years old, Porechie village, Grodno district
The competition was organized by the branch "Belarusian Branch of the Russian-Belarusian Information Center on the Problems of the Consequences of the Catastrophe at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant" (BORBIC) of the RNIUP "Institute of Radiology" of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Belarus on behalf of the Department for the Elimination of the Consequences of the Catastrophe at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
On February 16, 2010, the winners and prize-winners of the competition gathered in BORBITs (Minsk) for the awards ceremony. Diplomas and incentive awards were given to the winners by the Department, the Belarusian Union of Artists, "Beltelecom", "Wild Nature" magazine, "ASB Belarusbank" and BORBITs.
All winning works will be included in the international exhibition "Reviving the Affected Land Together", which will be shown in the countries of the European Union on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster.
Shortly after the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on April 26, 1986, few were willing to endure great amount radiation and document the disaster, but Russian photographer Igor Kostin was an exception.
In later years, he continued to follow the political and personal stories of those affected by the disaster, publishing the book Chernobyl: A Reporter's Confession.
Here is a selection of it the best photos made after the Chernobyl disaster
April 27, 1986:
The first photo of the reactor was taken at 16:00 from a helicopter, 14 hours after the explosion. Radiation experts later learned that at an altitude of 200 meters above the reactor, the radiation level reached 1500 rem.
May 1986:
A helicopter decontaminates the disaster site. After the explosion, the nuclear power plant was covered with radioactive dust. Planes and helicopters flew over the site, spraying a sticky decontamination liquid that fixed the radiation to the ground. The workers, known as "liquidators", then rolled up the dried remains like a carpet and buried the nuclear waste.
May 1986:
In the 30-kilometer zone of the reactor, liquidators measure radiation levels in neighboring fields using outdated radiation meters, wear antimicrobial combat suits that do not protect against radiation. Young plants will not be collected, but used by scientists for study genetic mutations in them.
May 1986:
After the evacuation of the inhabitants of Chernobyl on May 5, 1986, the liquidators wash the radioactive dust from the streets. Before the disaster, about 15,000 people lived in Chernobyl.
June 1986:
Dead fish are collected from artificial lake on the territory of Chernobyl, from which water was taken to cool the turbines. The fish that died from exposure to radiation are abnormally large and flabby.
June 1986:
Remains of reactor number 4, from the roof of the third reactor
Summer 1986:
Most of the liquidators were people called from the military reserves due to their experience in cleanup operations or units. chemical protection. The army did not have a specialized uniform for use in radioactive conditions, so those who enlisted had to wear their own clothes, made from 2-4 mm thick lead sheets. These sheets were cut to size so that the aprons covered their bodies front and back, especially to protect the spine and marrow.
September 1986:
Liquidators clean the roof of reactor 3. Workers initially tried to clean up the radioactive debris using West German, Japanese and Russian robots, but they couldn't handle the extreme levels of radiation so the authorities decided to use humans. Since then, many liquidators have died or are suffering from serious problems with health.
October 1986:
On the occasion of the end of the cleanup operation at reactor 3, the authorities ordered three men to fasten a red flag to the top of the chimney.
November 1986:
Hans Blix (center), director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, watches a video detailing the operation to clear members of a government commission. Blix became a central figure in the aftermath natural Disasters, visiting the Chernobyl site several times and watching the construction of the sarcophagus.
January 1987:
In a specialized radiation unit in Moscow, the liquidator is examined by a doctor after the operation in a sterile air-conditioned room.
August 1987:
The village of Kopachi is buried, house by house. It was located 7 km from the Chernobyl reactor. Entire villages will be buried in this way.
Summer 1987:
Geneticists and botanical experts noted that many plants were victims of gigantism within a year of the disaster. These monster plants were soon destroyed by natural selection.
1988:
Relatives attend the funeral of radiation expert Alexander Gureev, one of the liquidators who cleaned the roof of Reactor 3. These experts were often referred to as "roof cats". Gureev died as a result of exposure to radiation.
1988:
Kostin discovered this deformed child in a special school for abandoned children in Belarus. The photo was published in the local Belarusian press, and the boy was nicknamed "Chernobyl Child". It was then published in the German magazine Stern and became world famous. The child was adopted by a British family, underwent several surgeries and currently lives a relatively normal life.
August 1989:
Demonstrators in Kiev demand that the government release secret Chernobyl documents. One banner reads: "We demand trial in Nuremberg for Chernobyl." Many of the affected regions are represented by their national flags, such as the green flag of Belarus, the blue and yellow flag of Ukraine, and the tricolor of Russia.
December 1989:
Infected apples hang unharvested from a tree within a 30-kilometer dead zone around a nuclear facility, three years after the explosion.
1992:
A villager who refuses to leave his house in a closed area despite the high concentration of background-137 in the soil.
1992:
The evacuated city of Pripyat. Before the disaster, it had 47,000 residents, including 17,000 children. Due to contamination with plutonium isotopes, Pripyat cannot be inhabited for another 24,000 years. It was built to house Chernobyl workers in the 1970s and was one of the "youngest" cities in the USSR, with an average age of 26. Other informal evacuations were also carried out, including in Kiev.
Summer 1991:
Can be seen here, reflected in the window of the control post at the entrance to Pripyat. ghost town containing very high level radiation of 171 microR/h five years after the disaster. Radiation levels up to approximately 50 µR/h are considered safe.
October 12, 1991:
Few people know that on October 11, 1991, a second explosion occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant at the reactor 2 turbine plant.
June 1992:
Kostin inspects the engine room under the sarcophagus of reactor 4.
1997:
Former director of the Chernobyl site Viktor Bryukhanov with his wife in his apartment upon returning home after serving a ten-year prison sentence for his role in the disaster.
1988:
Zhitomir, Ukraine. Polluted, abandoned fields and an abandoned road lie in the dead zone around Chernobyl.