September 2018
I have wanted to see this place with my own eyes since I was a young boy seeing images and footage on TV, I visited for two days with a non member and spent the night in the Chernobyl Town hostel . Despite spending two days in the exclusion zone I can confidently say that we didn't even scratch the surface. The zone is huge with something to see in every direction, I will decently be returning to Ukraine next year to see more of this place whilst it is still possible.
Chernobyl Town
Chernobyl is a small town towards the southern boarder of the Exclusion Zone, the town (like Pripyat) was home to many of the Power Plant workers. The town is mainly abandoned with a few of the building still being used to house workers and basic services such as a Fire Station and a hostel for visitors.
[1] - The Chernobyl town sign
[2] - Probably the only remaining statue of Vladimir Lenin left in Ukraine
Kopachi Kindergarden
The small village of Kopachi was mostly demolished and buried following the explosion. It was located just 7 km from the Chernobyl Power Plant and in the wake of the disaster holes were dug infant of each house (that were mainly built from wood which would absorb the radioactive material) and the building pushed into it and covered up. This Kindergarten survived on account of it being constructed from Brick which was easier for the liquidators to clean.
[3] - The main building lost in the greenery
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[6] - The Unknown Soldier
Opened in 1977 (Reactor 1) the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant was the third nuclear power station in the Soviet Union of the RBMK-type, also being the first on Ukrainian soil. The site consists of 4 reactors that were all constructed between 1977 and 1983 with reactor 4 being the last completed reactor at Chernobyl. Approximately 1km away from here is the remains of the part built Reactor 5 and 6 which were about 70% completed when reactor 4 exploded in 1986. At the time of this visit the new sarcophagus had been in place for just short of two years, but the site is still a hive of activity. Following the disaster reactor 1-3 were shut off but with a power shortage across Ukraine and Belarus these three reactors were re activated with the final reactor (Number 3) only being decommissioned in 2000
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Pripyat is a ghost town in northern Ukraine, near the Ukraine-Belarus border. Named after the nearby Pripyat River, Pripyat was founded on 4 February, 1970, as the ninth nuclear city in the Soviet Union, to serve the nearby Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. At the time of the disaster the population of the town was 49,400, today no residents remain within Pripyat.
[10] - The Pripyat Sign located in the Red Forest
[11] - Looking towards CNPP from the roof of an apartment block
[12] - A supermarket just off the main square
[13] - The Leisure Centre, this building contains a Gymnasium, Swimming Pool, Boxing Ring and much more
[14] - The Gymnasium within the Leisure Centre
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[16] - The traditional tourist shot
[17] - Seating at the Avanhard Stadium
[18] - Azure Swimming Pool
Duga was a Soviet over-the-horizon radar system used as part of the Soviet anti-ballistic missile early-warning network. The system operated from July 1976 to December 1989. Two operational Duga radars were deployed, one near Chernobyl and Chernihiv in the Ukrainian SSR, the other in eastern Siberia.
[19] - One of the stray dogs posing for a photo at the entrance.
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Cheers for looking
Canon EOS 70D 10-18 EFS
