Editing Chernobyl exclusion zone (section)

===Pre-1986: Before the Chernobyl nuclear disaster===
Historically and geographically, the zone is the heartland of the [[Polesia]] region. This predominantly [[Rural area|rural]] [[woodland]] and [[marsh]]land area was once home to 120,000 people living in the cities of [[Chernobyl]] and [[Pripyat]] as well as 187 smaller communities,<ref name="iaeafaqs">{{cite web |url=http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/features/chernobyl-15/cherno-faq.shtml |title=IAEA Frequently Asked Chernobyl Questions |publisher=[[International Atomic Energy Agency]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110223010003/http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/features/chernobyl-15/cherno-faq.shtml |archive-date=23 February 2011 |url-status=dead |access-date=23 April 2012}}</ref> but is now mostly uninhabited. All settlements remain designated on geographic maps but marked as {{lang|ru|нежил.}} ({{lang|ru-Latn|nezhyl.}}) – "[[Ghost town|uninhabited]]". The woodland in the area around Pripyat was a focal point of [[partisan (military)|partisan resistance]] during the [[Second World War]], which allowed evacuated residents to evade guards and return into the woods.<ref name="mould2000" /> In the woodland near the [[Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant]] stood the "Partisan's Tree" or "Cross Tree", which was used to hang captured partisans. The tree fell down due to age in 1996 and a memorial now stands at its location.