Ghost Town Remains 25 Years After Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Disaster

A villager works the land in the abandoned village of Redkovka. After the Chernobyl explosion in 1986, some 1,000 villagers abandoned their homes in fear of radiation risk, (VOA - D. Markosian, April 2011)

Lida Masanovitz, 74, a former nurse, was born and raised in the now abandoned ghost town of Redkovka. She is now a pensioner earning 1,000 grivnia ($125), (VOA - D. Markosian, April 2011)

Ivan Khvostyn, 92, looks out of his window. During the Soviet Union, Khvostyn was a the head of the post office in the now abandoned village of Redkovka, (VOA - D. Markosian, April 2011)

Portraits of Lida and Mikhail Masanovitz. They met in Redkovka and have been married for 50 years, (VOA - D. Markosian, April 2011)

A view of the abandoned village of Redkovka, (VOA - D. Markosian, April 2011)

MIkhail Masanovitz, 73, looks out at his wife, Lida Masanovitz, 74, (VOA - D. Markosian, April 2011)

MIkhail Masanovitz, 73, poses for a portrait outside his home. Masanovitz was a farmer during the Soviet Union. Now he is a pensioner earning $125 a month, (VOA - D. Markosian, April 2011)

A bowl left behind in an abandoned home in Redkovka, Ukraine, (VOA - D. Markosian, April 2011)

The village of Redkovka was once considered a central town. After the Chernobyl explosion in 1986, some 1,000 villagers abandoned their homes in fear of radiation risk, (VOA - D. Markosian, April 2011)

Lida Masanovitz, 74, a former nurse, measures her blood pressure in her home. The Ukrainian government believes radiation-related diseases in Ukraine have nearly quadrupled since the 1986 power plant explosion, (VOA - D. Markosian, April 2011)

A view of villagers from an abandoned home, (VOA - D. Markosian, April 2011)