MALFORMATIONS

Between 1989-1990, a notable increase in genetic malformations in animals was noted. The following year, almost 400 deformed animals were born. In 1990, Igor Kostin took photographs of these mutations, including this eight-legged foal, and sent them to Mikhail Gorbachev to encourage him set up an international commission to investigate the causes of the changes; he received no reply from the Soviet leader.

CANDLES ILLUMINATE THE NIGHT

Candles illuminate the night, as people in silence think and remember...

UKRAINE'S PRESIDENT LAYS FLOWERS

Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko lays flowers at a Chernobyl monument in Kiev.

REMEMBERING FRIENDS WHO DIED

Memorial services dedicated to the Chernobyl disaster were held the early hours of Wednesday morning. Here, a couple lights up candles in the city of Slavutych, Ukraine -- located just outside the Chernobyl exclusion zone -- to honor those who died.

BLUE BALLOONS IN REMEMBRANCE

Blue balloons in remembrance of the people who died in Chernobyl, Belarus opposition leader Alexander Milinkevich releases balloons on Tuesday to mark the anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster in Gomel, the nearest Belarusian city to the exploded reactor.

THE PEOPLE DEMAND THE TRUTH

Demonstrators request the government make Chernobyl secret documents public during a march that ended in the Dynamo stadium in Kiev. A banner reads "We demand a Nuremburg tral for Chernobyl."

THE PAIN WILL ALWAYS BE THERE

Igor Kostin / Corbis

The former director of the Chernobyl site, Viktor Brioukhanov, sits with his wife in their apartment on his return home after serving a ten-year prison sentence for his involvement in the catastrophe.

CONCERT FOR CHERNOBYL

On Tuesday afternoon, a French group performed "La diagonale de Tchernobyl"

in front of Reactor no. 4 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the disaster.

BABUSHKA STAYS PUT

One of several Ukrainian villagers who have refused to leave their homes in the

"zone of exclusion."This babushka continues to live in a toxic land and eat the contaminated water and food.

TWENTY YEARS

Igor Kostin was born in Moldavia in 1936. After working as an engineer for ten years, he became a photographer for the Nowosti news agency. Kostin has been documenting the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster for 20 years.

ONLY ONCE IN A LIFETIME

In September 1986, reservists -- the so-called "liquidators" cleared 170 tons of rubble from the roof of the reactor complex. Normally, the liquidators ascended the roof only once, because the radiation dose they received there is the maximum authorized dosage a human being should receive in his entire life.

THE LIQUIDATORS

Reservists working in the disaster area -- the so-called "liquidators." They are building makeshift protective suits from lead sheets.

THE FIRST HELICOPTER TO FLY OVER

This photo was taken at 4 p.m from the window of the first helicopter to fly over the disaster zone to evaluate radiation levels above the site, 14 hours after the explosion. The overview of the exploded reactor is foggy due to radiation, which also explains why the shot was not taken too close to the window. Later, radiation experts learnt that levels reached 1500 rems, 200 meters above the reactor, despite the fact that their counters did not exceed 500 rems.

THE CHERNOBYL CHILD

Igor Kostin discovered this deformed child in a special school for abandoned children in Belarus. The photo, published in the local Belarus press, named the boy "The Chernobyl Child". Following the publication of the image in German magazine "Stern", the photo appeared throughout the world and the child was adopted by a British family. The boy underwent several operations carried out by a British surgeon and is now living a relatively normal life and going to school.

TO WORK UNDER A TOXIC CLOUD

When the Chernobyl plant was shut down, it was nevertheless necessary to assure its maintenance and surveillance. Employees head off by bus to begin another day's work in a highly contaminated environment.

CHECKING FOR RADIATION

A Soviet technician checks toddler Katya Litvinova, during a radiation inspection of residents of the village of Kopylovo, near Kiev, May 9, 1986.

THE RECHITSA ORPHANAGE

Children in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine have been suffering from the effect of the radiation released in April 1986. The Rechitsa orphanage in Belarus has been caring for the huge population of sick children,

ABANDONED CHILDREN

Twenty-one years after the disaster, abandoned mentally and physically handicapped children are being found and taken in by orphanages.

MENTALLY HANDICAPPED CHILDREN

Mentally handicapped children exposed to radiation

THE BIRTH DEFECTS DUE TO RADIATION

Sasha is one of the children at the Vesnova orphanage. More than five million children are living in the affected areas of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.

CHA0S

CHILDREN THE INNOCENT VICTIMS

THE CONTAMINATED RIVER TECHA

Muslyumovo, Russia

The contaminated river Techa

TWIN BROTHERS BOTH SICK

Minsk ,Belarus
Twin brothers Michael and Vladimir are 16 years old
Michael with hydrocephalus is five minutes older than Vladimir who is deaf
Picture by Robert Knoth

IRINA AND YELENA HAVE CANCER

Gomel, Belarus,

Two sisters with brain tumors. Irina is 19 and Yelena is 24

They left Chernobyl as soon as they were told, but the radiation was too strong.

Picture by Robert Knoth

RAMZIS IS ASHAMED AND SAD

Kurmanova, Russia

Ramzis Faisullin, is 16 years old, he suffers in school because of teasing by boys and girls, he hopes his children will not look like him

Picture by Robert Knoth

AINAGUL DOES NOT GROW ANYMORE

Semipalatinks, Kazakhstan

Ainagul Aksuatsky is 6 years old, but has not grown since the age of three, her parents took her out of school and have considered placing her in an orphanage because they do not have the money for her care, she tries to study at home now.

Picture by Robert Knoth

THE CHILDREN OF CHERNOBYL

The incident of troath cancer is alarming specially among little ones, who have to eat and get their chemotherapy through a tube in the chest.

Vova a 15 year old lost his leg due to cancer. from the radiation exposure, the cancer has now spread to his body.

Novinki Asylum, Minsk A nurse hugs a little 3 year old Yulya who's brain is in a membrane in the back of his head

Novinki Asylum, Minsk A nurse prepares a bath while Zgenya a 2 1/2 year old with a massive growth that contains his kidneys, sits and waits. the tumor is inoperable

Novinki Asylum, Minsk A nurse holds a 2 1/2 year old with a massive growth that contains his kidneys

Novinki Asylum, Minsk Irish university students, spend their summer helping the children

Novinki Asylum, Minsk A young boy smiles sitting on the lap of Katia Matusevich who directs the students volunteers and works with the children.

Novinki Asylum, Minsk A grade teacher, Ocsana Saveleva visited the asylum and never left, she teaches and cares for the children, and they love her

Novinki Asylum, Minsk The boys love the physical therapist Valentine

Novinki Asylum, Minsk A hydro cephalic little girl sit in silence among the chaos

Novinki Asylum, Minsk These boys rock and huddle all day

Novinki Asylum, Minsk This boy has to be restrain so he does not bite his hands until they bleed

Novinki Asylum, Minsk This little boy, cries all the time.

ALL GREEN BUT CONTAMINATED

All is green but contaminated and it will stay that way for many, many, many, years...

Picture by Elena Filatova

INSIDE THE CHERNOBYL PLANT

A rare picture of the inside of the Chernobyl plant.

The sun filters through the color stained windows

Picture by Elena Filatova

PROMETHEUS FIRE

Prometheus fire. This sculpture was in the center of the town, it was moved to the nuclear power plant after the accident. It is Prometheus stealing fire from Gods and giving it to the humans...
Picture by Elena Filatova

LEFT BEHIND

Many houses and apartments were left with memories like these portraits of two little brothers

Picture by Elena Filatova

THE DEAD TOWN

It seems like a normal town. There is a taxi stop, a grocery store, someone's wash hangs from the balcony and the windows are open, but there is nobody home, it is sad to think that those windows were opened to the spring air of April of 1986.

Picture by Elena Filatova

THE RADIATION

It is safe to be in the open air in Ghost Town. It is inside the houses where the real danger lies. One must be especially careful in houses with open windows facing the Atomic Power Plant. Taking such a walk with no special radiation detecting device is like walking through a minefiled wearing snowshoes. Chernobyl released more radioactive contamination than the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs combined, producing more than 200 times the Caesium contamination of the two nuclear bombs.

Picture by Elena Filatova

LOOKING AT THE SILENT CITY

From here, the shining cloud above the reactor must have been a staggering sight. Standing on the roof of the highest building in this empty town brings a feeling of being completely alone in the world - like this whole town is. Perhaps future archeologists will compare this town to Pompeii. The Soviet era is forever preserved here - in the radiation that will last for many centuries. Picture by Elena Filatova

RADIATION CARS

Every step toward the little cars adds 100 microroentgen to my geiger counter reading. Picture by Elena Filatova

ONLY THE ROAD IS NOT CONTAMINATED

It shows various levels of radiation on asphalt - usually on the middle of road - because at edge of the road it is twice as high. If you step 1 meter off the road it is 4 or 5 times higher. Radiation sits on the soil, on the grass, in apples and mushrooms. It is not retained by asphalt, which makes rides through this area possible.

Picture by Elena Filatova

EMPTY CITY

Around 70 percent of the fallout settled in Belarus where more than 3,500 settlements including 27 tens, and more then 2 million people were exposed to contamination Since de accident more than 134.000 Belarusian have moved to "clean"areas of the country..

Picture by Elena Filatova