Location: Kiev oblast
Chernobyl founded: 1193
Pripyat founded: 4 February 1970
Chernobyl (Чернобыль) is an old Medieval Russian/ Ukrainian town in modern day north Ukraine. However it is most famous for its Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant that became a witness of the Chernobyl disaster on the afternoon of April 27, 1986. While the city itself is fairly modest, its neigbour, Pripyat, became the face of the tragedy. Founded just few years before the disaster, Pripyat was the face of progress in urban architecture and engineering of the future.
Revelation 8:11 "And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became bitter; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter."
Now it might seem like a long shot to tie events on the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant to some man who was imprisoned on a island in the Aegean Sea centuries before the event have occurred. However John of Patmos might have predicted this event long time ago. The key is in the name of Chernobyl (Чернобыль). This is a derivative of a Russian word "chernobylnik" (чернобыльник). This term describes a plant that is commonly found in the area. Its English equivalent is (surprise, surprise) "wormwood".
Chernobyl - a Soviet ghost town, which was abandoned after the worst nuclear accident that occurred early in the morning of April 26, 1986. On this tragic date one of the four nuclear reactors at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded. Plant leaked radioactive material into an atmosphere. Moscow initially was slow to acknowledge what happened, but after high radiation detected in Sweden, and later in other countries of Western Europe it became clear that something extraordinary occurred in Soviet Union. However in the city of Pripyat near Chernobyl nuclear plant no one sounded emergency in the first hours after the tragedy struck. Residents of Pripyat have been taken out only days after the accident. They were initially promised to return home in two to three days. Thus most left their things at place.
Now, after more than 20 years, Chernobyl became alive again. But few people live in the vicinity of Chernobil. Instead of people this region was overtaken by European bison (known locally as zubr), wolves, deer and other animals that were not seen in these parts for centuries. Ironically, the Chernobyl accident has this city return to nature.
Despite the rather deplorable state of the zone, there is something
to see in it, for example:
Monument to the liquidators of the
Chernobyl accident. Sculpture of palms holding the fourth power unit
above the bell with lightning. Located at the entrance to the
station, 300 meters from block 4. One of the few places where you
can take pictures of the nuclear power plant so close. The radiation
background is ~400 μR/hour.
Red forest. The forest that took on
the largest share of the release of radioactive dust during the
explosion of the reactor. A high dose of absorbed radiation led to
the death of trees (mainly pines) and their coloration in brown-red,
which occurred within 30 minutes after the explosion. During the
decontamination of the territory, the forest was demolished by
bulldozers and buried. Now it is recovering naturally.
St. Elias
Church in Chernobyl.
Chernobyl bus station.
Cooling pond of
the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Here you can feed the famous huge
catfish edit
Kindergarten in the village. Kopachi. Abandoned
kindergarten. Toys left by children, the radiation on which exceeds
500 microR/h
Amusement park in Pripyat. Half-ruined attractions,
including the famous Ferris wheel, also known as the "Ferris Wheel"
- one of the modern symbols of Pripyat.
Zalesie. Abandoned huts
The first mention of Chernobyl refers to the
events of 1193. It is listed in the annalistic "List of Russian
cities near and far" (end of the 14th century).
In 1541, when these lands were controlled by the Grand Duchy of
Lithuania, a castle was built in the vicinity of Chernobyl by Prince
Friedrich Pronsky, separated from the settlement by a deep moat that
has survived to this day. At the beginning of the XVII century, the
castle was reconstructed and turned into a well-fortified and
inaccessible fortress, and the city of Chernobyl became a district
center.
In 1793 it became part of the Russian Empire. In 1898, the
population of Chernobyl was 10,800, of which 7,200 were Jews.
Jews were resettled in Chernobyl by Philo Kmita as part of Polish
colonization. After joining the Kingdom of Poland in 1596, the
traditional Orthodox peasantry was forced to convert to Catholicism.
Orthodoxy was restored only after the conquest of the Russian
kingdom.
In the second half of the 18th century, Chernobyl became one of the
main centers of Hasidism. The Chernobyl Hasidic dynasty was formed
by Rabbi Menachem Nakhum of Tver.
Until the end of the XIX century. Chernobyl was a privately owned
city that belonged to the counts of Khodkevich. In 1896, they sold
the city to the state, but until 1910 they owned a castle and a
house in the city.
The Jewish population was severely affected by the pogroms in
October 1905 and March-April 1919, when many Jews were robbed and
killed by the Black Hundreds and Petliurists. In 1920, the Tver
dynasty left the city and Chernobyl ceased to be an important center
of Hasidism.
During World War I was occupied. During the Civil War, the city and
county were controlled by the "green" chieftain Struk, whom the Reds
repeatedly tried to expel, but he invariably returned with the
detachment. During the Soviet-Polish war, Chernobyl was first
occupied by the Polish army (in fact, the same Struk, which this
time offered its services to Pilsudski), and then was recaptured by
the cavalry of the Red Army. In 1921 it was included in the
Ukrainian SSR. The last Jewish pogrom in the vicinity of the city of
Struck was organized in 1922.
The Polish Chernobyl community was deported to Kazakhstan in 1936.
The small Jewish community remaining in the city after 1919 was
completely destroyed during the German occupation in 1941-1944.
Liberation Day - November 17, 1943.
In the 1970s, the first nuclear power plant in Ukraine was built 10
km from Chernobyl.
In 1985, the over-the-horizon Duga radar, the Chernobyl-2 object,
was put into operation.
On April 26, 1986, an accident occurred at the fourth unit of the
Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which became the largest disaster in
the history of nuclear energy. All residents of the city were then
evacuated, but some subsequently returned to their homes and now
live in the infected area.
In 2006, the Blacksmith Institute, an American non-profit research
organization, published a list of the most polluted cities in the
world, in which Chernobyl was in the top ten.
The Hero of the Soviet Union was born in the city, the head of the
guard of HPV-2 for the protection of the Chernobyl nuclear power
plant, and the lieutenant of the internal service, Vladimir
Pavlovich Pravik (1962-1986).
In the center of Chernobyl in 2010-2011 a memorial complex was built
to mark the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl accident. The author
of the project is the People's Artist of Ukraine, Honored Art Worker
Anatoly Gaydamak. The presidents of Russia and Ukraine came to the
opening of the complex in April 2011.
In November 2014, a monument to the Chernobyl partisan Pasha
Osidach, who was killed by the Nazis in 1943, was moved to the
complex and solemnly opened. The monument was planned to be
installed back in 1986, but the accident prevented it. In the
post-accident years, the sculpture was stored on the territory of
the complex of construction and repair works (courtyard of secondary
school No. 2).
The complex also includes a museum opened in the former cinema
"Ukraine" (until 2011, this building housed a grocery store and
cafe-bar). The museum has collected things of residents of evacuated
villages, street signs and house numbers, children's toys, household
items, etc.
In spring 2011, the first stone of the future monument to the
liquidators of the consequences of the Chernobyl accident was laid
next to the museum.
Chernobyl is located 110 km from Kyiv and about 16 km from the border
with Belarus.
To access Pripyat, Chernobyl, or any of the
surrounding villages, you will need to enter the 30 km "Zone". To do
this, you need to get permission in advance - write a letter to the
chairman of the State Agency of Ukraine for the management of the
exclusion zone, which should indicate all members of the group, their
passport details and dates of birth, as well as the data of the driver
and transport. The price of such a trip on your own transport is 850
hryvnia for organizing a route from a group, 212 hryvnia per person (or
102 hryvnia for citizens of Ukraine) for escort, 85 hryvnia per person
(you must also include lunch for accompanying people and the driver) for
lunch in a city canteen of the city.
Another (but more expensive)
way to get to the "Zone" is to use the services of a tour operator,
which are many in Kyiv.
Chernobyl-Tour, Bastion Street, 1/36,
Kyiv. ☎ +380 44 383 4588. Mon-Fri, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Excursions based on
the latest knowledge about Chernobyl and radiation. Tours are
comfortable and enjoyable. Tours tell about the life of the people of
the exclusion zone and the history of the accident. 1-day trip -
$116-160, 2-day trip - $265-314 per person. The price includes an
official visit to the "Zone". English-speaking guide, souvenir,
transport, map of the route and the Zone. Possibility to rent a personal
dosimeter-radiometer.
Tours2Chernobyl, Obolonsky Prospekt, 68,
Kyiv. ☎ +380 50 217 3949. Mon-Fri, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Official group and
private excursions to Chernobyl and the ghost town of Pripyat according
to a unique author's program from professional guides who have
permission to organize excursions in the Chernobyl exclusion zone.
Possibility of guided tours in English. The cost is $49 for Ukrainians
or $99 for foreigners.
"'Chernobylwel.com"'. These trips provide the
opportunity to see places that would normally go unseen, including
Cooling Towers 5 and 6, meetings with local citizens, and visits to the
Tech Graveyard. The tour also offers 2-day excursions from 270 euros for
tours from Kyiv.
'Pripyat.com',. Organized tours to the Chernobyl
"Zone" and Pripyat. The tour is conducted by former residents of Pripyat
and Chernobyl.
sputnik8.com. ✉ from $90 for a 1-day tour. all tours
from all companies - in one place. edit
Please note that only persons
over 18 years of age are allowed to visit the Chernobyl zone.
By
plane
The nearest airport is in Kyiv
By car
To travel to
Chernobyl by car, you need to move along the P-02 highway to the
intersection with the road to Pripyat.
By bus
To travel by
bus, you need to sign up for a tour. After booking, you will be taken
there by tourist bus. Regular buses don't go there.
Of course, there is no public transport in the zone: only
Kyiv-Chernobyl buses and the Slavutich-Semikhody electric train, which
are used by employees of the Exclusion Zone. Access to the train is
possible through Slavutych, but leaving the train, without a special
document from the Chernobyl employee, is impossible.
Please note
that without your own transport, in which there should be several empty
seats for the escort, you will not be let through.
Due to radiation contamination, it is better not to take food with you to the Chernobyl zone (and if you take it, then sandwiches, tea. Please note! Eating on the street or when visiting a nuclear power plant is strictly prohibited due to the large amount of radiation!), There is a canteen in the city center , which is intended for nuclear power plant workers, where you can eat well. The price of lunch is 85 hryvnia for tourists (2013).
If you come for a few days, your group will be accommodated in three- or four-bed rooms at the Pripyat Hotel, which is intended for nuclear power plant workers. The radiation background inside the hotel is normal and does not exceed the background of large cities.
Although the zone is practically dead, mobile communications of the main Ukrainian operators in Chernobyl and Pripyat and the surrounding villages are working smoothly.
Your guide will tell you all the safety rules. The main ones (the most important ones): do not touch any things and plants (due to increased radiation), and also do not enter buildings, the state of which is very deplorable. Throughout the zone, only a few rooms in the center of Chernobyl have been restored.
If you come with a guided tour, you will be taken to Pripyat and directly to the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. It is also recommended to visit the city of Slavutych, but apart from viewing the life of the people, there is nothing to do there.