Prypiat, Ukraine

:"For other uses see Pripyat"Prypiat ( _uk. При́п'ять, "Pryp”jat’"; _ru. При́пять, "Pripjat’"; or Pripyat) is an abandoned city in the Zone of alienation in northern Ukraine, Kiev Oblast, near the border with Belarus. It was home to the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant workers. The city was abandoned in 1986 following the Chernobyl disaster. Its population had been around 50,000 prior to the accident.

Background

Unlike cities of military importance, access to Prypiat was not restricted prior to the disaster. Before the Chernobyl accident, nuclear power stations were seen by the Soviets as safer than other types of power plants. Nuclear power stations were presented as being an achievement of Soviet engineering, where nuclear power was harnessed for peaceful projects. The slogan "peaceful atom" ( _ru. мирный атом, "mirny atom") was popular during those times. Initially the plant was intended to be built only 25 km from Kiev, but the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, among other bodies, expressed concern about the station being too close to the city, and so the station, together with Prypiat [ [http://www.chornobyl.in.ua/pripyat.htm History of the Pripyat city creation] ] , were built in their current location — about 100 km from Kiev.

After Chernobyl

Until recently, Apartment buildings (four of which were recent constructions not yet occupied), swimming pools, hospitals and other buildings were all abandoned, and everything inside the buildings was left behind, including records, papers, TVs, children's toys, furniture, valuables, and clothing, etc. that any normal family would have with them. Residents were only allowed to take away a suitcase full of documents, books and clothes that were not contaminated.

In 1986, the city of Slavutych was constructed to replace Prypiat. After the city of Chernobyl, this is the second largest city for accommodating plant workers and scientists.

However, many of the apartment buildings were almost completely looted some time around the beginning of the 21st century.fact|date= June 2008 Nothing of value was left behind; even toilet seats were taken away. Some buildings have remained untouched. Many of the building interiors have been vandalized and ransacked over the years. Because the buildings are not maintained, the roofs leak, and in the spring the rooms are flooded with water. It is not unusual to find trees growing on roofs and even inside buildings. This hastens deterioration, and due to this, a 4-story school partially collapsed in July 2005. [ [http://www.nikongear.com/Chernobyl/Chernobyl_1.htm My Journey to Chernobyl: 20 Years After the Disaster – An article by Mark Resnicoff] ]

afety

A natural concern is whether it is safe to visit Prypiat and the surrounding area. The Exclusion Zone is considered relatively safe to visit, and several Ukrainian companies offer guided tours of the area. The radiation levels have decreased from the high levels of April 1986 due to the decay of the shortlived isotopes released in the accident.

The city and the Exclusion Zone are now bordered with guards and police, but obtaining the necessary documents to enter the zone is not considered particularly difficult. A guide will accompany visitors to ensure nothing is vandalized or taken from the zone. The doors of most of the buildings are open to reduce the risk to visitors, and almost all of them can be visited when accompanied by a guide. The city of Chernobyl, located a few miles from Prypiat, has some accommodations including a hotel, many apartment buildings, and a local lodge, which are maintained as a permanent residence for watch-standing crew, and visitors.

Cultural references

*The video games " and " takes place in the Zone of Alienation, and includes a detailed rendition of Prypiat.
*There are two single player missions in the video game "" set in and on the outskirts of Prypiat, following the Chernobyl disaster and primarily within the Zone of alienation. The game recreates the "Energetik" Community Centre, the "Azure", a public swimming pool, and The Prypiat Ferris Wheel. It also features the "Polissya" hotel. Also the multiplayer level "Bloc" includes parts of Prypiat, including the swimming pool and the Ferris Wheel.
*The Point of Existence 2 mod for the PC game Battlefield 2 features a map set in Prypiat, also featuring most of the major landmarks.
*The hospital section of the video game was based on photos of a hospital in Prypiat. [Half Life 2: Episode 1 commentary track]
*In The History Channel's "Life After People", Prypiat was used as an example of the effects of time and nature on cities after the extinction of humans. [ [http://www.history.com/minisites/life_after_people/ Life After People — The History Channel] ]
*The city plays a major role in the music video "Everything is Everything" by the band Beats and Styles.
*The town is also featured in the rapper Example's music video "What We Made" along with a documentary of the making of this video
*In 1989, the Irish singer, Christy Moore included a song about Prypiat called "Farewell To Pripchat (Near Chernobyl)" in his album entitled "Voyage". The song was written by Irish songwriter, John McDermott. The song begins, "It was a Friday in April 1986, The day that nightmare began..." and finishes with "...The streets speak a deafening silence, Nothing stirs but the sand."

References

See also

* Chernobyl disaster
* Zone of alienation
* Elena Filatova
*Chernobyl compared to other radioactivity releases
*Chernobyl disaster effects
*Chernobyl Heart
*Chernobyl in the popular consciousness
*Chernobyl Shelter Fund
*Liquidator (Chernobyl)
*Call of Duty 4

External links

* [http://www.pripyat.com/en/ Pripyat.com] - Site created by former residents
* [http://www.chornobyl.in.ua/pripyat_photo.htm Photo of modern Pripyat city]
* [http://www.kiddofspeed.com/ Kiddofspeed]
* [http://www.nikongear.com/Chernobyl/Chernobyl_1.htm My Journey to Chernobyl: 20 Years After the Disaster] - a photo journal by Mark Resnicoff
* [http://www.fz-juelich.de/gs/genehmigungen/projekte/tschernobyl/diashow/ Slide show of a visit to Prypiat and Chernobyl] in April 2006 by a German TV team joint by Reserch Center Juelich
* [http://archive.greenpeace.org/comms/nukes/chernob/cherfoto.html Greenpeace pictures with no text]
* [http://www.opuszczone.com/galerie/uk_prypec/index.php?lang=en Gallery from Prypiat City] - opuszczone.com
* [http://www.opuszczone.com/galerie/pripyat/index.php Prypiat - Ghost Town II] - opuszczone.com
* [http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/chernobyl_poems/chernobyl_index.html The Chernobyl Poems of Lyubov Sirota]
* [http://sunsite.berkeley.edu:8085/x-ussr/100k/M-36-013.jpgPrypiat on Soviet map (1986)]
* [http://www.virtualtravel.ru/user/3778/index.phtml?wid=400&tips=12 Prypiat in modern and old photos]
* [http://englishrussia.com/?p=293 Photos of Prypiat and Chernobyl by Alexandr Vikulov]
* [http://www.pripyat.nu/ Photos of Chernobyl and Prypiat by Oscar Mannbro]
* [http://brokenkites.com/pripyat/ Photos of Prypiat & Chernobyl, August 2007]
*
* [http://hem.bredband.net/b572399/Tjernobyl Pictures from Chernobyl and Pripiat, July 2006] by Hans Fredriksson, Sweden
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4923342.stm BBC article: Wildlife defies Chernobyl radiation] By Stephen Mulvey
* [http://www.mibs.kiev.ua/WelcomeToUkraine/chernobyl Pripyat Tour]
* [http://pa.photoshelter.com/c/quintinlake/gallery-show/G000057sHk6jkrAk/P0000mvH7ttdW2lg/ Photographs from "Pripyat: 21 Years after Chernobyl"] - Exhibition at the Architectural Association by Quintin lake
* [http://fotki.yandex.ru/users/natashaserg/album/20820/ Natal'ya Monastyrnaya « ZONE - virtual walk with comments]