Chernobyl is one of those outlandish and surreal places that is very hard to describe accurately. There is also the feeling you get whilst walking around the villages, towns, and the power plant where the explosion took place, that you can’t quite put your finger on. It is easier to convey the desperation but also mystery of this place though images so you can interpret it in your way. Every time I look at the photos I see them differently, this could just be me, but the place definitely has a lot to say, wether you know the story or not.
This radar was a Soviet-Union ballistic missile warning network. It coincidently has nothing to do with the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant but is located within the exclusion zone. It therefore cannot be dismantled as deposits of radioactive particles may be upset and released from the soil. The history of it and the mystery around it whilst is was active is very interesting and well worth some research.
One building that remains standing further outside the main town (most were taken down) is a nursery. Because the locals were told they could return to the area after three days everything is still in its place almost.
The new sarcophagus over Reactor 4. These are the only angles of the nuclear power plant you are allowed to photograph for some reason. An area that seems so toxic also seemed so normal.
The Pripyat hospital. Considering it was the town built to support and serve the power plant the hospital weirdly doesn’t have an anti radiation unit to deal with radiation sickness…
Pripyat was often described as the perfect Soviet town as it had a wide range of facilities to support the citizens. A supermarket with some of the first chest freezers in Ukraine, a gym, swimming pool, amusement park, a recreation lake to name a few.
The disaster here is so interesting!! We were exhausted by the end of the day romping round the exclusion zone as we had seen so much and learnt so much but I still want to know more, I found it just utterly fascinating. How wrong the Soviet Union and people in charge were about certain things and how they handled the explosion, even the health repercussions today and how those are handled today. It is harrowing stuff but just so alien. Especially with nuclear weapons becoming far more of a threat in our lives today learning about Chernobyl was so interesting and relevant, in some ways exciting if that is not too bold to say. If you are in Ukraine, GO!
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