Save the Strelok

25 years ago today, reactor 4 of Chernobyl NPP began it's destructive change into what is now known as the sarcophagus.  What followed was possibly the fifth largest, blatant disregard for human life the Soviet Union had committed in order to preserve the greater good, and unlike three of the four others*, it was kinda justified (using the term very loosely here).  Thirty died in the initial incident, thousands died within months, with hundreds of thousands affected for years to come.  The exact number of affected people is still unknown, and may never be fully tallied. 

A realistic depiction of the area.  Concept art from the game STALKER.

Fast forward to today, and the sarcophagus is being rebuilt; and there are still the few who are known as 'stalkers' that still watch over the reactor until the last of it's radioactive material and equipment is removed (supposedly by 2022).  However, the disaster couldn't, and shouldn't fade from memories.  For those who don't live nearby,  go check out Elena Filatova's place.  Full of fascinating footage and recent pictures of the exclusion zone.  I'm quite sure I've linked to it before, but in the interest of sparking more interest, go see it again.  Because history never stops being interesting... 

Just don't be caught at English Russia for the festivities.  They only seem to care that the Russian-style parties still don't stop in and around the reactor...

Good hunting Stalker.

*the four things I'm referencing here are (in no order): the gulags, the Finno-Russo war, and their incompetent leadership during WWII, along with the pogroms.  Well, I guess they weren't commies during the pogroms, but still...