Lelechenko is a beautiful Ukrainian last name because it derives from the Ukrainian word leleka which in English means stork. Unfortunately, many popular accounts of the Chornobyl disaster omit this name and do not mention Olexander’s heroic actions of preventing an even larger tragedy. Olexander Lelechenko graduated from the Faculty of Electric Energy at Kyiv Polytechnic Institute in … Continue reading Chornobyl electrician Oleksander Lelechenko saved his younger colleagues from radiation exposure by walking through radioactive water three times to effect emergency repairs alone. His actions also prevented catastrophic hydrogen explosion