Elena Filatova

The Chernobyl disaster, when Reactor No. 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded on 26 April 1986, is the worst nuclear disaster and the costliest disaster to have occurred in human history. The effects of the Chernobyl disaster, brought about by the radioactive contamination that chiefly spread throughout the Soviet Union and virtually all of Europe, have had a significant impact on millions of people and the environment, consequently serving as one of the greatest motivators for the anti-nuclear movement. Accordingly, both the incident itself and the aftermath have since been a prominent focus in the study and implementation of nuclear power around the world, and have also featured in numerous works of popular culture; film, literature, music, television, and video games, among other forms of arts and media, have either analyzed it in a non-fictional context or used it as a backdrop for fictional dystopian settings.