Vladimir Pravik

Volodymyr Pavlovych Pravyk (Ukrainian: Володимир Павлович Правик, Russian: Владимир Павлович Правик; 13 June 1962 – 11 May 1986) was a Soviet firefighter who died of radiation burns sustained during the Chernobyl disaster. He was posthumously awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union, the Order of Lenin, and the Ukrainian Star For Courage (later known as the Order For Courage).

Volodymyr Pavlovych Pravyk
Native name
Володимир Павлович Правик
Born13 June 1962
Chernobyl, Ukraine SSR, USSR
Died11 May 1986(1986-05-11) (aged 23)
Moscow, Russian SFSR, USSR
Buried
Mitinskoe Cemetery
AllegianceUSSR
Service/branchInternal Troops
Years of service1979–1986
RankLieutenant
AwardsHero of the Soviet Union

Life

Pravik was only twenty-three years old when the Chernobyl disaster occurred. He was a college graduate, engaged in creative endeavors such as photography, drawing, and poetry.[1] He was also a member of the Komsomol, the youth division of the Communist Party.[1]

Pravik was married to a kindergarten teacher, who had just given birth to their first child when he died.[1]

Chernobyl disaster

When the Chernobyl incident occurred, Pravik was supposed to be on his day off, but he had switched shifts with his friend Piotr Khmel.[1] He led the third watch response to a fire alarm, which was sent to Pripyat minutes after the Chernobyl explosion.[2] When he realized his small team would not be sufficient to control the blaze, he requested additional firefighters via a coded message sent to Pripyat, the town of Chernobyl, and Kiev.[2]

Pravik is thought to be the firefighter whose brown eyes turned blue due to massive radiation exposure.[3] He died fifteen days after the incident and was laid to rest at Mitinskoe Cemetery in Moscow along with twenty-seven other victims of the disaster. He was supposedly buried in a sealed zinc coffin.[4]

References
  1. Higginbotham, Adam (2019). Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster. New York: Simon and Schuster. pp. 58. ISBN 9781501134616.
  2. Lusted, Marcia Amidon (2011-01-01). Chernobyl Disaster. ABDO Publishing Company. ISBN 9781617840494.
  3. "Правик Владимир Павлович". warheroes.ru. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
  4. SAWYER, H. E. (2018). I AM THE DARK TOURIST: Travels to the Darkest Sites on Earth. SCB Distributors. ISBN 9781909394599.
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