March 19, 1949

The Red Forest is the ten-square-kilometre (4 sq mi) area surrounding the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant within the Exclusion Zone, located in Polesia. The name "Red Forest" comes from the ginger-brown colour of the pine trees after they died following the absorption of high levels of ionizing radiation as a consequence of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster on 26 April 1986. The site remains one of the most contaminated areas in the world today.

Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Updated Jul 22, 2026.

“March 19, 1949.” Wormwood Forest. Radio broadcast, March 19, 1949.