# Chernobyl disaster (1986)

URL: https://history-russia.com/timeline/1986-chernobyl-disaster
Categories: main-event

Reactor No. 4 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Ukrainian SSR exploded on 26 April 1986, spreading radiation across Europe. Officials delayed informing the public. In February the Mir space station had been launched. The town of Pripyat was evacuated; an exclusion zone remains. Chernobyl accelerated glasnost and eroded trust in the Soviet system.

## Why it matters
Chernobyl accelerated glasnost and eroded trust in the Soviet system.

Ruler at the time: [Mikhail Gorbachev](https://history-russia.com/rulers/mikhail-gorbachev)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Chernobyl disaster](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster)
- [Wikipedia — Mir](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mir)
- [Wikipedia — Perestroika](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perestroika)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Chernobyl disaster](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Chernobyl+disaster)
- [Wikipedia — Timeline of Russian history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Russian_history)