Chernobyl

Chornobyl Чорнобиль (Ukrainian)
City
Administrative Centre, Radiation Control (2013)
Coat of arms
Chornobyl Location within Ukraine's Kyiv Oblast Show map of Kyiv Oblast Chornobyl Location within Ukraine Show map of Ukraine Chornobyl Location within Europe Show map of Europe
Coordinates: 51°16′20″N 30°13′27″E / 51.27222°N 30.22417°E / 51.27222; 30.22417
Country	Ukraine
Oblast	Kyiv Oblast
Raion	Vyshhorod Raion
First mentioned	1193
City status	1941
Abandoned	1986
Named after	Artemisia vulgaris
Government
• Body	State Agency of Ukraine on the Exclusion Zone Management
Area
• Total	25 km2 (10 sq mi)
Population  (2020)
• Total	~150 (est.)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	07270
Area code	+380-4593
ISO 3166 code	UA

Chernobyl,^[a] officially called Chornobyl,^[b] is a partially abandoned city in Vyshhorod Raion, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. It is located within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, 90 kilometres (60 mi) to the north of Kyiv and 160 kilometres (100 mi) to the southwest of Gomel in neighbouring Belarus. Prior to being evacuated in the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, it was home to approximately 14,000 residents—considerably less than adjacent Pripyat, which was completely abandoned following the incident.^[1] Since then, although living anywhere within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is technically illegal, Ukrainian authorities have tolerated those who have taken up living in some of the city's less irradiated areas; Chernobyl's 2020 population estimate was 150 people.^[2]

First mentioned as a ducal hunting lodge in Kievan Rus' in 1193, the city has changed hands multiple times over the course of its history. In the 16th century, Jews began moving into Chernobyl, and at the end of the 18th century, it had become a major centre of Hasidic Judaism under the Twersky dynasty. During the early 20th century, pogroms and associated emigration caused the local Jewish community to dwindle significantly. By World War II, all remaining Jews in the city were murdered by Nazi Germany as part of the Holocaust.

In 1972, Chernobyl rose to prominence in the Soviet Union when it was selected as the site of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant; Pripyat was constructed nearby to house the facility's workers. Located 15 kilometres (9 mi) to the north of Chernobyl proper, it opened in 1977. On 5 May 1986, nine days after Reactor No. 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded, the Soviet government began evacuating the residents of both Chernobyl and Pripyat in preparation for the liquidators' management of the disaster. Following their subsequent settlement in the newly purpose-built city of Slavutych, most of the evacuees never returned. From 1923 onwards, Chernobyl had been the administrative centre of Chernobyl Raion, which was dissolved and merged with Ivankiv Raion in 1988, owing to widespread radioactive contamination in the region. Ivankiv Raion, in turn, was dissolved and merged with Vyshhorod Raion during Ukraine's 2020 administrative reform.^[3][4]

Workers on watch and administrative personnel of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone are stationed in the city, which has two general stores and a hotel.^[5] Though the city's atmosphere remained calm after the disaster was contained, the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 sparked international concern about the stability of Ukrainian nuclear facilities, especially pursuant to reports that Russia's occupation of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone until April 2022 had caused a spike in radiation levels.^[6]

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).