Pripyat, Chernobyl - Oct 2011

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#1

I visited Pripyat in October with a group of others, had a tour of the zone and free roam around Pripyat over two days. Pripyat is the workers village for those who worked at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

These are my photos.

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On April 26th 1986 one of the four reactors at the Chernobyl power plant exploded. This then resulted in other explosions and the spread of nuclear contamination all over the surrounding area and even in other countries. There were many effects on people from all over. Many people who were at the plant trying to get the situation under control died from radiation poisoning within a few weeks of the accident. People hired to clean up the Chernobyl accident also had similar problems as they did not have proper protection. Now this plant and surrounding towns are abandoned and no-one can enter without permission from the government.

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The town of Pripyat is a true ghost town. People left in a rush leaving personal items behind, believing they would be returning for their belongings soon. It has been as they left it for 20 years, save for some vandalism by the government in an attempt to stop looters. Windows were broken across the town to prevent radiation building up within the buildings.

[align=center]Middle School No. 3

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There is a bridge between the Chernobyl plant and Pripyat which overlooks the reactors. When the disaster happened, many citizens of the town gathered on the bridge to watch, unaware of the danger. They all died within weeks of the accident.

[align=center]Hospital No. 126

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#2

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The basement of the hospital in Pripyat is one of the most radioactive locations outside of the reactor. After the accident the firefighters who were first on scene were taken to the hospital and their fire-protective suits are still lying in the basement today, too radioactive to be moved. Even in full protective gear you can spend no more than 30 seconds in the basement.

[align=center]Kindergartens “The Golden Key” and “Cheburashka”

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Even before the accident Chernobyl was a closed zone and Pripyat was built solely to house the workers of the plant. They could not leave the zone without acquiring a visa. In return they lived in the most modern town in the Ukraine, provided by the Soviet state. The fun fair, cinema, theatre, hospital, numerous schools and kindergartens were all unheard of in such a small town in a Communist nation, making this a truely unique location already.

[align=center]The Fun Fair

The Sports Hall & Swimming Pool

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#3

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Exterior Shots

Pripyat From Above

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Buryakovka Vehicle Graveyard

After the Chernobyl accident a vast number of vehicles were used around the site to aid with the clean-up. This is the graveyard for those non-military vehicles such as trucks, cranes, bulldozers, helicopters and so on. The vast majority of the vehicles have been buried due to their extremely high radioactivity. We had only 10 minutes to run around in here because of the high levels of radiation, and we weren’t allowed to touch anything.

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All in all, it was a trip I’ll remember for ever. It’s a location with an amazing history, and I would love to return and see more one day, however unlikely that may be.

Thanks for reading :sunglasses:

These and more are available on my flickr.

#4

Shared this on Twitter. Wonderful images. My favorites are the piles of masks and the vehicles, and that bit about the fire fighters’ attire. The idea of humanity’s objects left untouched for decades due to radiation is just so fucking eerie. They’re still right where the were, even now, just rotting their way past the history books and into the dumpier sects of the internet.

Nice work.

#5

nice pics !

#6

Beautiful (in a specific way)
I need to go there one day, really want to see the city with my own eyes after all my S.T.A.L.K.ing

#7

Amazing photography, you’re very lucky to have had the chance to visit there. I’d like to go there some day and experience it for myself. Just out of curiosity, how much did it set you back go on the tour and stay in Kiev, if that’s where you stayed.

#8

We went as a group of 36, and all in it probably cost £600. That’s flights, accommodation, spending money, food, everything.

2 days in the zone, staying in Slavutich - the modern workers village - then getting a train into the zone and a coach around it. We had around 8 hours free roaming in Pripyat itself. We also visited a missile silo come museum and stayed in a random hotel between that and Slavutich, and spent the final night in Kiev.

We had to go as a “scientific trip” though because they closed the zone to tourists. Basically the only difference was a trip to the labs in the zone for a talk about soil and animal analysis which was pretty interesting.

#9

To get there from Australia would probably be double that amount. Sounds like you fit in quite a lot of activities in a few days. Was it very cold when you went there?

#10

Ever since I was a kid in school and studied what happened at Chernobyl in modern history, Ive always been fascinated by the place… It’s one of the few places I absolutely must see with my own eyes before I die… Thanks for sharing these pics

#11

I would’ve loved to see some shots of those fire suits, but it sounds like no one can go into the basement without significantly shortening their life span, it’s strange to think about doing something so seemengly harmless that can be extremely deadly, no one’s been in that room since the disaster.

Great pictures, I also would like to see this place for myself one day.

#12

Great pictures and good to write with someone directly who has been to that place. When I was younger and recently knew about the happenings in Chernobyl and Pripyat I was always afraid of it, but now I am very fascinated by that place. I always get teased a bit more with every well made picture I get to see. I definitely want to go there.

But I thought Pripyat was opened to tourists last year? I thought radioactivity was small enough today that you could easily walk through the buildings without touching everything because most of it has been washed away by rain and air. I wouldn’t have imagined that there are still buildings in town with that high radioactivity.

#13

Must of been an exciting trip. I’d like to go there someday. Did someone bring a geiger counter?

#14

Why would anyone EVER upload to flickr? Jesus

#15

Really nice photographs. I’d really love to go there once in my life.

#16

Not really, no. They have cold winters but it was fine in October. Comfortable in a light weight jacket.

People have been in rarely with full protective gear, but even then only for 30 seconds at a time.

Pripyat has been open to tourists in the past, but currently because of the work with the new sarcophagus they’ve closed the area for tourists officially. Hasn’t stopped anyone visiting though, or so it seems to me.

The govt. always seem to be looking for excuses to close the zone though. The buildings in Pripyat are becoming pretty structurally unsound now, and it’s a fairly common belief that when some of the larger or more well known buildings start to fall apart they’ll use that as an excuse to restrict visits even further.

Yeah, there were a few around. The most radioactive parts are the moss and cracks in the concrete more or less everywhere - moss absorbs everything. The hospital is fairly high because it acted as a shield for the radiation from the plant (at least up to a point) since it’s a long building on that edge of the town. There are also artifacts such as the claws from one of the cranes that was used to pull material from the reactor which are just sitting in the town for you to hug if you want to. I didn’t get a reading myself but you can probably find out the levels without too much difficulty if you’re interested.

I know trolls are gonna troll, but seriously? That’s the best you could do? Go back to bed.

#17

great pics

#18

If you didn’t notice, I was pointing out that you were using one of the worst, so called “image hosts”, available.
Doing this is a stupid thing since there are way better ones out there. Imgur for example.

#19

Greatly appreciate the photos. Chernobyl and Pripyat are definitely two of my top places to visit. The other two being North Korea (if they’re still doing tours) and the Korean DMZ.

#20

Nice pictures, thanks for sharing. I’ve heard the whole area is filled with strange creatures, like huge earthworms longer than any other previously seen or new kind of insects

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