It happened 22 years ago. On April 26th, 1986, at 1:23:53, Reactor number four of the Vladimir Ilyich Nuclear Power Plant suffered a thermal explosion, resulting in a complete core meltdown and the loss of many, too many lives.
With radiating debris covering miles and people not knowing what to do, Chernobyl marked the beginning of the fall of the Soviet Union and the collapse of the Eastern Block. It also served as ground zero for the world's first nuclear refugees.
For the distaster, we could blame one man, or a group of operators, or the Party, or the USSR as a whole. Or we could not blame anyone. I belive that the cause of the disaster was beyond the people, it was the combination of too many weak points at the same time.

Since my childhood, I am fascinated and scared of the story of Chernobyl. It haunts my dreams and makes me remember of an era I wish to live in but I can't as it was destroyed by the explosion that shook the whole world. One day, I hope I can visit the place, see Pripyat and the Red Forest and the great sarcophagus, battlefields of the Battle of Chernobyl. Until than, I merely ask you to remember. Remember those who have fallen victim and pray for those whose life are ruined because of the disaster.