Today is the memorial day of the accident at Chernobyl. The accident happened at the 4th block of the nuclear reactor on April 26, 1986, at 01.24 hours. 30 million people in 19 Russian regions on a territory of 56,000 square km were affected by the release of cesium-137. 3 million people lived on the territory covered in cesium.
Over 100,000 civilians were involved in clearing up the damage. A total of 250,000 workers visited the zone. 116,000 people in 188 villages were evacuated in 1986. The nuclear power plant was fully shut down on December 15, 2000.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is on a visit to Chernobyl today, ITAR-TASS reports.
The president will meets his counterparts from Belarus and Ukraine, as well as people who took part in clearing the area. The Kremlin held a special ceremony to mark the day.
Awards were given to Oleg Kashin, Victor Vinogradov, Vyacheslav Gryzunov, Yevgeny Silayev from Ryazan Region, Nikolai Vinokurov from Chuvashiya, Nikolai Gladyshev from Tula Region, Sergey Kleymenov from Lipetsk Region, Leonid Kletsov from Bryansk Region, Alexander Joyda from Sverdlovsk Region, Vladimir Kudryashov from Astrakhan Region, Alexey Ovsyannikov from Krasnodar Territory, Vitaly Rozhnev from Perm Territory, Gennady Solodkov from Smolensk Region, Gennady Strigunov from Voronezh Region, Alexander Ushakov from Belgorod Region and Alexander Shabudkin from Moscow Region.
The president underlined the courage of the people working at Chernobyl. He reminded those listening that thousands of medals and orders were awarded.
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All-Russia held divine services in Kiev and prayers for the victims of the accident, RIA Novosti reports.
Every year since 1993 the memorial day starts with a bell striking. There were 25 strikes at 01.23 this year.
