This fascinating short documentary by Maisie Crow explores the lives of survivors of the Chernobyl disaster and the workers still dismantling the plant today, in the city of Slavutych.
Archive for the ‘Chernobyl’ Category
Jan
04
Dec
22
‘The Fall’ – a presentation from RFE/RL
A monument for those who died in the Chernobyl disaster stands near the nuclear power plant’s reactor No. 4. On April 26, 1986, an explosion and fire released large quantities of radioactive material into the atmosphere, which spread across the western USSR and Europe.
I spent nearly two hours this afternoon going through the incredible multimedia project created by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty to commemorate the fall of the Soviet Union.
“The Fall – Twenty Years After the Collapse of the U.S.S.R.,” looks back on the momentous event and the developments leading up to it with video interviews, photographs and an interactive timeline and map.
Each of the stories told by the people who lived under Communism – the miner who was arrested by the KGB for predicting a mining accident; the villagers who lived through the 1932-33 Holodomor under Stalin’s rule; the men who escaped to Finland only to be arrested, sent back and put in a mental hospital – are fascinating glimpses into an oppressive society.
If you have any interest whatsoever in this part of the world, I highly recommend checking this out.
Here it is: http://ussrfall.com/
Nov
29
Ukraine bans tourism to Chernobyl zone (UPDATE)
aaaa A hallway inside one of Pripyat’s secondary schools, June 22, 2011.
It was once a Soviet city of the future, a community of new apartment complexes, community centers, hotels and restaurants. There was even a shiny, new amusement park built to celebrate its future.
But on the night of April 26, 1986, it all came to a disastrous end for Pripyat and its 40,000-plus residents, when reactor No. 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant melted down, spewing radioactive material into the air and across much of Europe.
In the 25 years since, scientists, journalists and nuclear experts have visited the ghost city and its surrounding area, often referred to as the “Chernobyl Dead Zone” or “Chernobyl Exclusion Zone,” to study and report on the fallout. In 2011, Ukraine’s Emergencies Ministry opened the area up to tourists, allowing them a glimpse, perhaps, into a post-apocalyptic world.
Emergencies Ministry experts said they’d developed a map of routes that were safe for visitors, and that the radiation situation in the territory was stable. Nearly 10,000 people toured the area, until June 22 of this year, when it was closed down for unexplained reasons. (I was on the last tour that day.)
And at about $180 a pop, the tour brought in millions. The Emergencies Ministry said the money could help fund industrial projects within the contaminated area, such as repairs to the crumbling sarcophagus surrounding reactor No. 4. But the general prosecutor’s office said the money didn’t go to repairs. In fact, the money couldn’t be traced.
This is one reason why Kiev’s District Administrative Court last week banned tours of the Chernobyl area. The main reason, though, the court said, was that the Emergencies Ministry did not have the permission of the Interiors Ministry to allow the tours.
On its official website, the attorney general’s press office said Friday, ”Ukraine’s law prohibits tourism to the area that suffered radioactive contamination from the Chernobyl disaster.”
Still, the Emergencies Ministry hopes to reopen the area to visitors soon, after a review of safety rules and potential health hazards.
New rules could require tourists to carry personal security badges while in the area and to apply for a tour at least 10 days in advance.
The Chernobyl tour is one of the most popular tours in Eastern Europe. Forbes magazine named it one the world’s most “exotic” tourist destinations.
View more of my photos of the Chernobyl Exlcusion Zone taken on the last tour, June 22, 2011.
UPDATE:
Visits to the Chernobyl zone will again be permitted, Ukraine’s Emergencies Ministry said Friday. But new rules have been put in place for those hoping to tour the area. The way it’s stated in a story published by the Kyiv Post is confusing, but access to the area should be allowed not only to Ukrainians, but foreign citizens, too.
From the Dec. 2 Kyiv Post story:
Under the new rules, for traveling to the exclusion zone, a written request has to be submitted to the Ukrainian State Agency for Management of the Exclusion Zone within ten days before the trip.
The request has to contain the person’s contact information, citizenship, aim and terms of the trip, a description of the information that a visitor of the Chornobyl zone would like to receive during the trip, as well as written confirmation that the person has no legal bans on traveling to the exclusion zone.
Applicants for traveling to the exclusion zone may receive a refusal to make the trip if they are below 18 years old, if the written request is filled in improperly, if repairs or research activities are being carried out in the area indicated in the request, due to bad weather conditions in the exclusion zone, or if law enforcement agencies report that the person has involved in terrorist activity.
A person can visit the exclusion zone for five days.
Jul
26
Photo essay for Matador Travel
Following my excursion to the Chernobyl exclusion zone, I put together a photo essay for Matador Travel. The photo essay, Touring Chernobyl, 25 years on, is live now.
Jul
11
Part IV: Chernobyl
The morning of June 22, my uncle and I left Kiev to partake in an excursion through the Chernobyl exclusion zone. We’d later find out that it would be the last, at least for now. But first, some background.
It was 25 years ago, on April 26, 1986, that reactor No. 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded, spewing radiation nine times that of Hiroshima into the air. A radiation cloud spread over much of Europe and western Russia, exposing millions of people to radiation. More than 350,000 people were evacuated from what is now the 30 kilometer exclusion zone, including some 45,000 residents of Pripyat, the city built for workers of the plant and their families.
Entering Chernobyl a quarter century later requires passing through three secured checkpoints marked with signs that read, “Stop! Forbidden zone.” Before making our way to Pripyat, we stopped in the town of Chernobyl, where a few thousand people have returned to live. There, we met our guide, a young man by the name of Misha. Misha told me he’d been working as a guide in the zone for about a year. It was later that he informed me that our tour would be the last. “I’ll be returning to Kiev with you,” he said.
Pripyat was eerie. With people out of the picture, nature has taken over. It looks post-apocalyptic. If the world ended tomorrow, a couple decades from now I’m sure most of the world would look the same, trees growing inside buildings and up from roads, vines hanging over rooftops, a deafening silence. Free to roam about for 45 minutes, I headed first to the school building. Inside I found discarded furniture, course books and attendance books, gas masks and children’s dolls. The paint on the walls was mostly peeled off, and many of the windows were broken out. I got lost for a few minutes and couldn’t find my way out. I remember standing in a hallway and hearing only the sound of a drip and nothing more.
Next I went to the swimming pool, which was housed in an adjacent building. I checked that out and strolled around snapping photos for a few minutes, then I explored some of the darkened rooms of the building. Books, posters and other items were littered across the floors, tables were turned over and chairs broken into pieces.
We then made our way to the amusement park. Set to open on May 1, 1986, as part of the town’s May Day celebration, the park never opened. A ferris wheel called the big dipper, bumper cars and a rotating swing ride now sit rusted and overgrown.
A short walk from there, located in the town’s main square, is the former palace of culture (community center), a restaurant and a hotel. The windows of the palace of culture are all broken out and trees now grow in the sills.
Less than two kilometers from the Pripyat town center sits the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. On that fateful night 25 years ago, residents came to the small overpass on the northwest side of the plant to view the fire. Most of those who did died not long thereafter from acute radiation sickness. When we arrived at the plant things were in a much calmer state. A concrete barricade with barbed wire now surrounds the plant. When we finally got the chance to view reactor No. 4 I was shocked by the condition of the sarcophagus built to contain the radioactive material. Moisture stains were prevalent, and cracks and holes were even visible. Work began last year on the New Safe Confinement meant to contain the reactor for the next 100 years. The cost is in the billions of dollars, and it’s expected to be completed by 2013.
After a brief lunch we set off for a ride through the town of Chernobyl, eventually making our way past the security checkpoints and out of the exclusion zone. The trip to Chernobyl was certainly the most intriguing day of my month-long holiday. If you would have told me 18 months ago that I’d be standing 100 meters from the place where the world’s worst nuclear disaster occurred I wouldn’t have believed you. My uncle and I spoke about our trip there for days to come, in awe, I think, of what we saw. Only in hindsight could I really grasp the magnitude of the event. I had to let my experience sink in. Now that it has, I feel lucky that during my life I’ve not been directly affected by such a catastrophe, and great sympathy for those who have.
Note: You can view more photos from my Chernobyl excursion here.
Jul
10
Part III: Kiev (the first time around)
I’d arranged for an apartment on Pushinkinskaya Street in Kiev, just one block from the city’s main drag, Khreshatik. An apartment is almost always a better alternative to a hotel in Kiev. For one, it’s cheaper ($40-$60 a night). And another thing, it’s a whole apartment, spacious, with kitchen appliances and all. After arriving at Zhulany Airport, a taxi brought my uncle and I to the apartment, where we enjoyed a short rest from the previous night’s 8-hour Prague-Katowice train ride and that morning’s 5-hour airport wait and hour-and-a-half flight.
In the afternoon I showed my uncle around the city. We began, of course, on Khreshatik, moving our way north toward Independence Square (made famous by 2004′s Orange Revolution), and then to the Upper Hill neighborhood, St. Sofia Cathedral and St. Michael’s Monastery. The weather was a perfect 80 degrees, and the sun reflected off the golden domes of the churches. From there, we made our way to Andriyivskyy Descent. The 720-meter cobbled street winds its way from Upper Hill to the historic Podil neighborhood below, passing St. Andrew’s Church, the former home of famous Ukrainian writer Mikhail Bulgakov (“The Master And Margarita”) and dozens of kiosks of artwork, handicrafts and antiquities. We stopped at one of the kiosks along the way so that my uncle could buy his fiancé a hand-made scarf. I bargained with a woman over the price, and she ended up coming down about 50 gryvnia (about $6.25). From the bottom of the descent, we strolled along the Dnieper River and then took the funicular back up the hill.
I chose a restaurant near Zaloti Varota (Golden Gate), called Fountain, for Craig and I to eat at. It’s situated in a circular courtyard, shaded by large trees, with a three-tiered fountain in the middle of it all. We ordered a range of different Ukrainian foods, including varenyky (dumplings filled with cabbage, potatoes and mushrooms) and shashlik (Ukrainian barbecued pork). We also had a nice honey beer, which I hadn’t found in Ukraine before. I wish I’d remembered the name of it. Afterward, we stopped by the supermarket to pick up a bottle of Ukrainian vodka and some limes. Still tired from traveling, we stayed in that night.
The next day we walked along the trails of Dnieper Park, passing the People’s Friendship Arch, and then on to the Tomb of the Unknown Solider and the Memorial in Commemoration of Famines’ Victims in Ukraine. I’d never been inside the Famines’ Victims museum, so we checked it out. It’s free to guests and housed beneath the Candle of Memory. Inside, 19 large volumes list the names of famine victims. There are just more than a million names that have been made public, representing a fraction of those affected. I glanced through one of the books – a volume with family names beginning in “V” – while my uncle looked at old photographs taken during the famine of 1932-33. One thing that struck me as interesting was the prevalent use of the word “murder” in the museum. “The murder by famine,” can been seen in displays throughout the museum and on the brochure. It’s interesting because, in my time here, after many conversations with Ukrainians about their history, only a few times have I heard them describe the famine as murder, but some sort of horrendous accident on the part of Stalin. I wonder if this is the eastern mindset. After all, I’ve come across people in my own town of Artemovsk that speak highly of Stalin and even justify his methods. What would those people think if they visited the museum, I wonder? And what about those who do deem it murder? If it was murder (full disclosure: I’m someone who believes it to have been), then on whom do they place the responsibility?
After the museum we continued toward the Kyiv-Perchesk Lavra. Unfortunately, work crews were working on renovations to the bell tower and cleaning many of the surrounding golden tops (scaffolding doesn’t really suit the architecture). But it still managed to impress. Flowers in all the courtyards were in bloom, and some of the domes of had already been polished.
That evening we decided on a restaurant suggested by the Lonely Planet Ukraine guide book. The food was mediocre at best, and the atmosphere was kitschy. But we did learn something there. If a Ukrainian menu lists a basket of herbs as a side, what you will get is exactly what it says and not a salad. Having ordered a large amount of meat and starchy things, my uncle thought it’d be good to have some greens with our meal. He thought he was ordering a salad (which is what I naively imagined it to be, too). What we got was a wicker basket and herbs. Some of it, though, did pair nicely with the lamb.
Having stayed in the previous night, we were anxious to try out the nightlife. My good friend Igor, who lives near me in Artemvosk, once worked in Kiev as a bartender. So per his suggestion we went to Art Club 44. I’d tried to find the place on a couple of other occasions, but failed. The reason being that it’s positioned in a dark alleyway off Khreshatik, and on the night we went there the sign was only partially lit. Anyway, the bar was great and drinks were reasonably priced for Kiev. There’s live music every night, too. On the night we were there it was jazz night. It’s been a while (since my music journalism days of going to two or three shows a week) since I’ve seen a drummer play like this guy. Honestly. It was great.
We turned in sometime after midnight. The next morning we needed to wake up early. At 9 a.m. we would depart for a day-long tour of the Chernobyl exclusion zone.
Jun
27
Visit to Chernobyl exclusion zone
Earlier this month, as part of my June/July holiday, I visited the Chernobyl disaster exclusion zone, which included the ghost town of Pripyat and the amusement park that never opened. My uncle snapped this photo of me in front of the park’s ferris wheel.
I’ll post more about my experience in the exclusion zone soon, including lots of photographs.
Jun
04
June and July travels
Next wednesday I’ll depart on a five-week excursion through Katowice, Prague, Kiev, Chernobyl, Odessa and Artemovsk, meeting my girlfriend, my uncle and a very close, long-time friend along the way. There will be buses, trains and planes. There will be museums, castles and cobbled streets, as well as food, beer, vodka, underground champagne factories and salt mines. Along the way I’ll be snapping photos and taking note of the places and people we encounter. And then, upon returning to Artemovsk sometime in July, I’ll report here on what all was experienced.
I’m writing this now to simply ask that you excuse my brief absence from the blogosphere. There will probably be a time or two in which I check my email, but other than those times I’m going to do my best to spend the days and nights unconnected to this wired world and instead step out into the physical one.
Until July, all the best.
Feb
02
Chernobyl – 25 years later
Wind blows through the desolate town of Pripyat. On April 26, 1986, this amusement park was being readied for the annual May Day celebrations when the Chernobyl nuclear reactor exploded less than two miles away and severely contaminated tens of thousands of square miles. Photo by Gerd Ludwig.
I’ll admit, even after ten months of living in Ukraine, I still very much experience moments in which I barely believe that I’m living in what was the former Soviet Union. It isn’t for a lack of reminders, mind you. There are scores of those scattered throughout the country. The small eastern Ukrainian city of Artemovsk, which I call home, has plenty. There’s the tank atop the eastern-most hill, a monument to those who fought in WWII. There’s also the the fighter plane from the same time period, which stands at the entrance of the city. Just two blocks from my apartment there’s a statue of Lenin. During a visit to Konstantinovka I came across the remnants of once-thriving Soviet-era factories (Ruins of communism, Jan. 16), including one that had painted on it “Наша цель – Коммунизм!” – “Our goal – Communism!”
But there might not be a more serious reminder than Chernobyl. Even a quarter century after the catastrophe its effects can still be seen and felt.
From The Huffington Post:
This year marks the 25th Anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. At 1:23am on April 26th, 1986, operators in the control room of Reactor #4 botched a routine safety test, resulting in an explosion, and a fire that burned for 10 days. The radioactive fallout spread over tens of thousands of square miles, driving more than a quarter of a million people permanently from their homes. It remains the world’s worst nuclear disaster to date.
Since 1993, renowned National Geographic photographer Gerd Ludwig has visited the site several times, creating an in-depth look at the many consequences of tragedy. The thawing of bureaucratic barriers in Ukraine enabled him to move freely within the Exclusion Zone and delve deeper into contaminated reactor than any other Western still photographer. “I know that my explorations are not without personal risk. However,” he says, “I do this on behalf of otherwise voiceless victims who allow me to expose their suffering solely in the hope that tragedies like Chernobyl may be prevented in the future.”
This spring, Gerd Ludwig plans to return to the reactor and the areas around it to investigate the state of contamination to the land; to report on the progress of its cleanup; and to examine the health consequences in the fallout regions of Ukraine and Belarus. Harnessing social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter, his project entitled The Long Shadow of Chernobyl is funded partially through the crowd-funding website Kickstarter, where individuals can pledge their support for the project.
If you haven’t seen Ludwig’s photos before, I suggest you have a look. I’ve never before seen photos that capture the seriousness and lasting consequences of this particular catastrophe so well. You can find them at his website, TheLongShadowOfChernobyl.com. And if you feel so inclined, you can also donate to his project.
Last December, Ukraine’s Emergency Situations Ministry told The Associated Press that legal tours of the disaster area would be offered in 2011. There still is no specific date of when those tours could begin. But when there is, I’d like to visit the scene on my own.