Vladimir Pravik

Volodymyr Pavlovych Pravyk ( Ukrainian : Володимир Павлович Правик, Владимир Павлович Правик; 13 June 1962 – 11 May 1986) was a Soviet firefighter who died 15 days after the Chernobyl disaster, where he suffered from radiation burns. He was posthumously awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union, the Order of Lenin, and the Ukrainian Star For Courage, which later became the Order For Courage. He was laid to rest at Mitinskoe Cemetery in Moscow along with 27 other victims who died in the Chernobyl disaster.

Life
Pravik was only 23 years old when the Chernobyl disaster occurred. He was a college graduate, engaged in creative endeavors such as photography, drawing, and poetry. He was also a member of the Komsomol, the youth division of the Soviet Union's Communist Party.

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

Chernobyl disaster
When the Chernobyl incident happened, Pravik was supposed to be taking his day off but he switched shifts with his friend Piotr Khmel. He then led the third watch response to a fire alarm, which was sent to Pripyat minutes after the Chernobyl explosion. The young firefighter asked for additional firefighters via a coded message sent to Pripyat, the town of Chernobyl, and Kiev when he realized that his small team was not enough to confront the fire.

Pravik is thought to be the firefighter who, when experiencing massive amounts of radiation, had his eye color change from brown to blue. He died a fortnight after the incident and was supposedly buried in a sealed zinc coffin.