The Polessky Radiation and Ecological Reserve (more than 215 thousand hectares) was organized in 1988 in the Belarusian part of the exclusion zone of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on the territory of the three most affected areas of the Gomel region. The population has been evicted, and free movement is prohibited. The reserve was created for radiobiological and environmental research - it's official. Plus, so that they don't take anything away from there and spread radiation even more. The staff of the reserve is about 700 people, the annual cost is about 4 million US dollars. To the south is the Ukrainian part of the Exclusion Zone of the Chernobyl nuclear Power plant.