Several thousand Belarusian university graduates are being sent against their will to areas hit by radiation 22 years ago. Some, including Markouskaya, are protesting the work assignments Saturday as part of an opposition march held annually on the anniversary of the explosion.
They are taking a risk in challenging President Alexander Lukashenko, dubbed Europe's last dictator for his refusal to tolerate any dissent in the former Soviet republic.
His government has declared these regions no longer hazardous. Radiation levels have declined substantially in most areas near Chernobyl, but scientists disagree on the level of risk.
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Belarus suffered the most from the explosion of the Chernobyl reactor in neighboring Ukraine. Radiation was spewed over 23 percent of Belarusian territory, where 1.5 million to 2 million of the nation's 10 million people now live.
Many people from these areas moved away; Lukashenko now wants to repopulate them so agriculture and industry can be revived.
Only towns within 18 miles of the reactor are officially still considered unsafe. Critics say this has allowed the government to reduce spending on cleaning up the damage.
Buda-Koshelevo is among more than 1,000 cities and towns that the government has removed from the danger list. Doctors and environmentalists, however, say radiation dangers remain high.
"Living in the contaminated areas is linked to a huge health risk," said Professor Ivan Nikitchenko, a member of the Belarusian Academy of Sciences and a leader of an anti-nuclear organization.
Statistics about illness in the contaminated areas have been classified by the government.
But doctors are in high demand. The head of a Buda-Koshelyovo clinic, Alexander Khvesko, said 10 doctors were sent last year after completing their studies and 30 more are expected this year.
Some of the young professionals sent to contaminated regions last year have already fled.
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