Chernobyl Exclusion Zone: a place where past and future meet

The explosion of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant occurred in April 1986. The result of the destruction of the Fourth power unit was an exorbitant level of radiation, which destroyed many people's lives. Thousands of kilometers of contaminated territory turned into an exclusion zone. All the residents were hastily evacuated.

The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone consists of abandoned territories with deserted, semi-destroyed buildings and objects. In Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, there are many places that convey the spirit of that tragical event. The village of Kopachi was located four kilometers from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, therefore it received a shock level of radiation. After the accident, it was completely buried as a part of the decontamination program: the houses were buried into the ground.

Pripyat was a city of young generation

The average age of the population was 26 years. Here used to live many employees of the station and afterwards, this city was completely evacuated. Nowadays, its abandoned and dilapidated territory is slowly but inexorably giving way to nature. Because of the thickets that covered Pripyat, it's now difficult to understand on which street you are located.

Amusement park in Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

It was built for the residents of Pripyat in spring of 1986. The festive opening was planned on May 1, but people didn't have a chance to enjoy the park. Rusted carousels and remains of festive decorations now look like the scenery for the movie about post-apocalypse.

The Fourth Reactor

The one on which the explosion occurred. Now it is covered with a sarcophagus, so that it's not visible any more. However, it is possible to imagine how everything looked like before the accident. On the left side there is a Third Reactor, which was a mirror image of the Fourth. In November 2016, the Fourth power unit was covered with a new centenary sarcophagus (New Safe Confinement).

The Red Forest in Exclusion Zone

The pine forest adjacent to the station received a dose of radiation from which the trees changed their color from green to red in thirty minutes. As a result of irradiation, plants and animals died in the area of ​​about ten square kilometers. Most of the trees were buried after the tragedy. Now the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is overgrown with new shrubs and trees. Lynxes, wolves, foxes and bears live there, many other animals and birds are also found.

Time has stopped here

Once in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, we plunge into the past, at the same time realizing that the future will probably look the same after the disappearance of human beings. The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is a place where the death and life, past and future come together.