War and peace. East on the West.

“If we would be healthy and happy – we will not need the money”, – this is the credo of the most part of locals I’ve heard at the Synevyr valley. They look healthy and happy, but apparently that it is not enough, and then everyone in business.
These people are living in a very difficult medium: unpredictable weather conditions, the rocky ground, they are need to protect themselves from wild animals and connection with a big land is broken roads, which floods washing away every spring. They have increased in recent years due to deforestation, and new plantings are not able to retain water in the soil. And all of that is without any support from the government.

“Black corps”. the new recruits of the Volunteer Battalion “Azov” are going to war. Nazis or patriots?

The send off ceremony was at the most historic place in Kiev. Where saw off armies to wars in the time of Kievan Rus more than thousand years ago. Also, from this place history of Rus was began. It is without exaggeration, there were princely palaces and the most important in Rus Orthodox church “Desyatinnya” and the main pagan altar before. It was the center of the immemorial city of Kiev.

The Last Day Of Maidan Camp.

Exclusion zone. prypiat pt. 6. The last. Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant

Construction of the station took over 13 years since 1970. The first and second blocks was finished in 1977, third and fourth blocks have been put into operation in 1983. And by 1986 was almost finished fifth reactor.
In 1982 was first serious accident on 1st Reactor. After testing of was the destruction of the fuel assembly and emergency rupture of the process channel. Due to rupture was deformed graphite stack of the core and was thrown out significant quantities of radioactive substances from damaged fuel assembly to the reactor space.
The consequence of the channel rupture was an emission of the radioactive gas mixture from the first reactor to the emergency condenser, gas pipeline connection of the circuit blocks and below the floating bell. In this part of the gas circuit was a transient increase of pressure, which thrown up to 800 kg of water from the water seal to the reactor space unit number 2, at nominal capacity. Due to evaporation of the thrown water there was a sharp rise of pressure in the reactor cavity of the block number 2, which in turn led to the expulsion of the remaining hydraulic locks from the reactor space. Gas mixture from the reactor cavity block number 2 was thrown away under the floating bell and then through the emptied water seal with radioactive gas-vapor mixture from the reactor cavity block number 1 – to the vent pipe and the atmosphere. As a result of emissions of radioactive substances was contaminated significant territory. For liquidation of consequences of the accident took about 3 months of repair work. Channel 62-44 and a plot of the core, directly abutting to the broken channel permanently was out of service.

Exclusion Zone. Pt. 5. School and a big pool.

Exclusion Zone. Prypiat pt.4. Central Stadium and prypiat from a rooftops.

This series of stills are from the Central stadium in Prypiat. It was built 2 years before an accident on 4th block of Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Every weekend local teams staged a championship. People gathered here from all over the city to watch a game. Now football field overgrown with trees and dense forest took a place after green grass.

Exclusion Zone. Prypiat pt. 3. Professional Technical School.

From the main square of Prypiat, in a few meters starts Sergeant Lazarev’s street. It is still possible to recognize the classical understanding of the word “street”. In contrast to the Lenin avenue it narrower and the buildings are closer to each other. There is a complex of Professional technical school. Before explosion there was qualified cadres in which the city needed. It is basically a construction and domestic professions: bricklayers, plasterers, welders, electricians and operators of instrumentation and automation. As I understand, the last one was connected with the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

Exclusion Zone. Prypiat pt. 2. Leisure Park.

One of the highly contaminated places in Pripyat.

Exclusion Zone. Prypiat pt.1

The first thing that strikes in Pripyat – when you get out of the car on a narrow forest road and the guide tells you that this is the central street of the city. Lenin avenue. It is very difficult to imagine, because you stand in the middle of the forest with tall deciduous trees. The heavy branches merged over you forming a green tunnel. Before, there was just a modest alley of poplars and concrete. Under the project it reminds Shevchenko and Lesia Ukrainka boulevards in Kiev: two roads and in the middle parkway for walks. But when you pass deeper into the forest, you begin to recognize the standard porches of 16th floor buildings. You must be very careful when you pass through the dense thicket, because there is a many open manholes (lids was plundered for a metal scrap long time ago). We must watch our step, but at the same time keep the attention on the branches of trees, at any moment trot can pounce on you. Yes, they are comes back when human leaves. There were cases of assault, if you’re lucky and trot will not break your neck of his forty-pound carcass, you have all chances to win in a fight with a predator. Generally difficult to realize that there were communications before: underfoot moss, leaves, high trees over you and very easy to miss the high-rise building in ten meters away. There a many plants begin their lives not from under asphalt and concrete slabs, as it usual, but placed on the overgrown moss, which gradually covers all concrete sites. All mixed with dust, dead grass and leaves. This is a new layer of ground in just 28 years.

Exclusion Zone. Chornobyl.

Remembered one perfect combination of flavors from my childhood that now would drive me crazy: wet hot asphalt after summer rain with freshly baked bread! I lived in the Tverskoi Tupik street at Pechersk district in Kiev until eight years. As it should have all the children in our yard: we spend a lot of time outside and stole “bricks” of bread from Bakery Plant # 1. It’s not because we were hungry, it was just interesting to get to the forbidden territory and take something from there, as a trophy. Well, and we were not really overlooked. Was one baker to seeing us, climbed over the old brick wall, he just brought hot and most delicious bread in my life.

Generally, childhood somehow remembered more with a flavor and color. But hardly by atmosphere…