Konstantinovka, a city about 30 kilometers west of my home in Artemovsk, in the Donetska Oblast, was once home to some of the most successful factories in all of the Soviet Union. Heavy metals and glass were its specialty. One factory in particular, according to a Ukrainian acquaintance of mine, is said to have been the highest-producing glass factory in all of the former communist federation. Adorned upon it’s now dilapidated administration building are the words “Наша цель – Коммунизм!” – “Our goal – Communism!”
I spent this weekend with two Peace Corps volunteer friends of mine who live in Konstantinovka. Fueled by our interest in understanding more about this strange place we currently call home, the three of us spent Saturday afternoon exploring the city’s many condemned factories.
The dozen or so factories, two of which are still in use, line the Krivoy Torets River, which splits the city in two. Trudging through the snow in an area like this, thick gray clouds overhead, you experience thoughts of an apocalyptic nature. The factory buildings are not just abandoned, they’re in rubbles. It looks as if they were bombed, their walls blown out, ceilings absent, beams jutting from their concrete shells. You could navigate your way through this area using the smoke stacks in the same way you could a city populated with church spires. At one point, more than 4,000 workers were employed at the glass factory. Now there are less than that in total working at the remaining two operational factories.
Contemplating what this industrial mecca was like when fully operational, before the fall of the Soviet Union, because of its current state, takes some imagination. But the sheer number of factories, as well as the amount of space they cover, is impressive. Ukraine may now be a democratic republic, but the scars of its communist past are still very much visible.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Robot J. McCarthy. Robot J. McCarthy said: Stalin's harvest RT @ChristopherJM Blog post: Ruins of Communism http://borderland-chronicles.com/ruins-of-communism #Ukraine #PeaceCorps [...]
[...] 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 [...]
[...] were its specialty. I wrote about Konstantinovka after visiting for a weekend back in January (Ruins of communism, Jan. 16). Then, much of the ground remained covered in snow, the trash heaps hidden below pristine [...]