Terrible disaster in Chernobyl became an unprecedented case in historical chronicle nuclear energy. In the first days after the accident, it was not possible to assess the real scale of the incident, and only after some time an exclusion zone of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was created within a radius of 30 km. What happened and is still happening in the closed area? The world is full of various rumors, some of which are the fruit of an inflamed imagination, and some of which are the true truth. And the most obvious and realistic things do not always turn out to be reality. After all, we are talking about Chernobyl - one of the most dangerous and mysterious territories of Ukraine.
History of the construction of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant
A plot of land 4 km from the village of Kopachi and 15 km from the city of Chernobyl was chosen in 1967 for the construction of a new nuclear power plant, designed to compensate for the energy shortage in the Central Energy Region. The future station was named Chernobyl.
The first 4 power units were built and put into operation by 1983; in 1981, construction began on power units 5 and 6, which lasted until the infamous 1986. Over the course of several years, a town of power engineers emerged near the station - Pripyat.
The first accident hit the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1982 - after scheduled repairs, an explosion occurred at power unit 1. The consequences of the breakdown were eliminated within three months, after which the additional measures security to prevent similar incidents in the future.
But, apparently, fate decided to finish what it started; the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was not supposed to work. That's why on the night of April 25-26, 1986 Another explosion occurred at power unit 4. This time the incident resulted in a global disaster. No one can still say for sure what exactly caused the reactor explosion, which resulted in thousands of broken destinies, twisted lives and premature deaths. The disaster, Chernobyl, the exclusion zone - the history of this incident is controversial to this day, although the time of the accident itself has been established with an accuracy of seconds.
A few minutes before the explosion of the 4th power unit
On the night of April 25-26, 1986, an experimental test of turbogenerator 8 was scheduled. The experiment started at 1:23:10 on April 26, and 30 seconds later a powerful explosion occurred as a result of a drop in pressure.
Chernobyl accident
The 4th power unit was mired in fire, firefighters managed to completely extinguish the fire by 5 o'clock in the morning. And a few hours later it became known how powerful the radiation emission was in environment. A couple of weeks later, the authorities decided to cover the destroyed power unit with a concrete sarcophagus, but it was too late. The radioactive cloud spread over a fairly large distance.
Brought great trouble Chernobyl disaster: The exclusion zone created shortly after the event prohibited free access to the vast territory belonging to Ukraine and Belarus.
Area of the Chernobyl exclusion zone
Within a radius of 30 kilometers from the epicenter of the accident there is abandonment and silence. These are the territories Soviet authorities considered dangerous for permanent residence of people. All residents of the exclusion zone were evacuated to other populated areas. Several more zones were additionally defined in the restricted area:
- a special zone occupied directly by the nuclear power plant itself and the construction site of power units 5 and 6;
- zone 10 km;
- zone 30 km.
The boundaries of the exclusion zone of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant were surrounded by a fence, warning signs were installed about elevated level radiation. Ukrainian lands that fell into the forbidden territory - Pripyat itself, the village of Severovka, Zhytomyr region, villages Kyiv region Novoshepelevichi, Polesskoye, Vilcha, Yanov, Kopachi.
The village of Kopachi is located at a distance of 3800 meters from the 4th power unit. It was so badly damaged by radioactive substances that the authorities decided to physically destroy it. The most massive rural buildings were destroyed and buried underground. The previously prosperous Kopachi were simply wiped off the face of the earth. Currently there are not even self-settlers here.
The accident also affected a large area of Belarusian lands. A significant part of the Gomel region was banned, about 90 settlements fell within the radius of the exclusion zone and were abandoned by local residents.
Mutants of Chernobyl
Territories abandoned by people were soon taken over by wild animals. And people, in turn, launched into lengthy discussions about the monsters into which radiation had turned the entire animal world exclusion zones. There were rumors about mice with five legs, three-eyed hares, glowing boars and many other fantastic transformations. Some rumors were reinforced by others, multiplied, spread and gained new fans. It got to the point that some “storytellers” started rumors about the existence of mutant animals in the closed area of the museum. Of course, no one managed to find this amazing museum. And with fantastic animals it turned out to be a complete bummer.
Animals in the exclusion zone of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant are indeed exposed to radiation. Radioactive vapors settle on plants that some species feed on. The exclusion zone is inhabited by wolves, foxes, bears, wild boars, hares, otters, lynxes, deer, badgers, the bats. Their bodies successfully cope with pollution and increased radioactive background. Therefore, the forbidden zone unwittingly became something of a reserve for many species of rare animals living on the territory of Ukraine.
And yet, there were mutants in the exclusion zone of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. This term can be applied to plants. Radiation became a kind of fertilizer for flora, and in the first years after the accident, the size of the plants amazed the imagination. Both wild and commercial crops grew huge. The forest 2 km from the nuclear power plant was particularly damaged. The trees are the only ones who could not escape from the radioactive explosion, so they completely absorbed all the fumes and turned red. The red forest could turn out even more terrible tragedy, if it caught fire. Fortunately, this did not happen.
The red forest is the most dangerous forest on the planet, and at the same time, the most resilient. Radiation seemed to preserve it, slowing everything down natural processes. So, the Red Forest immerses you in some kind of parallel reality, where eternity is the measure of everything.
Residents of the Chernobyl exclusion zone
After the accident, only station workers and rescuers were left in the exclusion zone to eliminate the consequences of the accident. The entire civilian population was evacuated. But as the years passed, a significant number of people returned to their homes in the exclusion zone, despite legal prohibitions. These desperate guys began to be called self-settlers. Back in 1986, the number of residents of the Chernobyl exclusion zone numbered 1,200 people. What is most interesting is that many of them were already in retirement age and lived longer than those who left the radioactive zone.
Now the number of self-settlers in Ukraine does not exceed 200 people. All of them are dispersed across 11 settlements located in the exclusion zone. In Belarus, the stronghold of the inhabitants of the Chernobyl exclusion zone is the village of Zaelitsa, an academic town in the Mogilev region.
Basically, self-settlers are elderly people who could not come to terms with the loss of their home and all the property acquired through back-breaking labor. They returned to their contaminated homes to live out their short lives. Since there is no economy or any infrastructure in the exclusion zone, people living in the Chernobyl exclusion zone are engaged in homestead farming, gathering, and sometimes hunting. In general, they were engaged in their usual type of activity within their own walls. So no radiation is scary. This is how life goes in the Chernobyl exclusion zone.
Chernobyl exclusion zone today
The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant finally ceased operation only in 2000. Since then, the exclusion zone has become completely quiet and gloomy. Abandoned towns and villages make your skin crawl and make you want to run away from here as far as possible. But there are also brave daredevils for whom the dead zone is the abode of exciting adventures. Despite all the physical and legal prohibitions, stalker-adventurers constantly explore the abandoned settlements of the zone and find a lot of interesting things there.
Today there is even a special direction in tourism - Pripyat and the surrounding area of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Excursions to the dead city arouse great curiosity not only among residents of Ukraine, but also among guests from abroad. Tours to Chernobyl last up to 5 days - this is how long one person is officially allowed to stay in the contaminated area. But usually trips are limited to one day. The group, led by experienced guides, walks along a specially designed route that does not cause harm to health.
When to visit
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Virtual walk around Pripyat
And for those curious who don’t dare get to know Pripyat in person, there is a virtual walk through the Chernobyl exclusion zone - exciting and certainly absolutely safe!
Chernobyl exclusion zone: satellite map
For those who are not afraid to travel, it will be very useful detailed map exclusion zone of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. It marks the boundaries of a 30-kilometer zone, indicating settlements, station buildings and other local attractions. With such a guide, you won't be afraid to get lost.
The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant occurred more than 30 years ago. The destruction of the reactor led to a colossal release of radioactive substances into the environment. According to the official version, 31 people died in the first 3 months, and in subsequent years this figure approached one hundred. There is still some debate as to what caused the disaster. The consequences of what happened will be felt for many more decades, if not hundreds of years. After the accident, a 30-kilometer zone was established, from which almost the entire population was evacuated, and free movement was prohibited. This entire territory froze in 1986. Today we will look at the 7 most interesting objects in the Chernobyl exclusion zone.
Today Pripyat is not such a “dead city” - excursions are regularly organized there, and stalkers walk around. Pripyat is considered a Soviet open-air museum city. This abandoned place has retained the energy of the mid-80s, which attracts tourists from all over the world. We will look at some of the most interesting places of this city.
Hotel "Polesie" was once business card Pripyat. It is located in the city center, next to an amusement park, which is clearly visible from its windows, and from the observation deck the main city square and the no less famous Energetik Palace of Culture are clearly visible. Climbing onto the roof becomes more and more dangerous every year, because it has not been in use for a long time. better condition, but visitors to the Zone are drawn to touch the huge letters that make up the name of the hotel.
The emergency response headquarters was set up in the hotel building. From the hotel roof the 4th power unit is clearly visible, so it was possible to correct the actions of the helicopters that were putting out the fire.
In some rooms there are dilapidated interior items. In general, looters did a good job in Pripyat at one time. They took out equipment, furniture, cut off batteries and took away everything that had any value, without even thinking about what all this could do great harm health.
Paradoxically, even today the hotel receives tourists who, of course, do not come there to rent a room. They admire the views of Pripyat, get acquainted with the features of Soviet apartments and are amazed at the trees that grow through the floor.
This artificial reservoir was created to cool the station's reactors. The cooling pond is located on the site of an abandoned quarry, several small lakes and the old bed of the Pripyat River. The depth of this reservoir reaches 20 m. A dam divides it in the middle for better circulation of cold and warm water.
Today the cooling pond is located 6 meters above the level of the Pripyat River, and maintaining it in this condition is costly. Taking into account the fact that the station is no longer operating, the water level is gradually reduced, and over time the reservoir is completely planned to drain. This causes concern among many, because at the bottom there is a lot of debris from the reactor of the fourth power unit, highly active fuel elements and radiation dust. However negative consequences can be avoided if the gradual decrease in water level is correctly calculated so that the bare areas of the bottom have time to acquire vegetation that will prevent the rise of radioactive dust.
By the way, the Chernobyl NPP cooling pond is one of the largest artificial reservoirs in Europe.
The condition of the pond is constantly monitored in order to assess how its ecosystem has suffered from radiation exposure. Although the diversity of living creatures has decreased, it has not disappeared completely. Today, it is quite possible to catch a normal-looking fish in a pond, but it is not recommended to eat it.
DK Energetik
Let's return to the center of Pripyat. The main square of the city is overlooked by the Energetik Palace of Culture, which, along with the Polesie Hotel, is a must-see.
It is logical to assume that all the cultural activities of the city. Circles gathered here, concerts and performances were held, and discos were held in the evenings. The building had its own gym, library and cinema. The recreation center was a favorite place for the youth of Pripyat.
Today you can still find the remains of the marble tiles that lined the building, stained glass windows and mosaics. Despite the destruction, the building still retains that famous spirit of the Soviet era.
City amusement park in Pripyat
Perhaps the most famous attraction of Pripyat is the city amusement park with its Ferris wheel. It is worth noting that this one of the most contaminated places in the city, but once upon a time in the park, enthusiastic children's voices were heard every now and then.
Cars, swings, carousels, boats and other attributes of the amusement park will never be used for their intended purpose, but among numerous tourists and stalkers they are popular as a kind of attraction.
Ferris wheel managed to become a symbol of the already deserted Pripyat. Interestingly, it was never put into operation. It was supposed to open on May 1, 1986, but 5 days before that there was an accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant...
Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant
Today, for a certain amount of money, you can visit the territory of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant itself. There you will see how it goes construction of the "Arch", which should cover the 4th power unit along with the old sarcophagus. In the power plant building itself, you can walk along the “golden corridor”, get acquainted with the reactor control panel, and also find out how the Chernobyl nuclear power plant worked in general. Regular excursions are limited only to tourists staying near the station.
The arch should cover the message of the 4th power unit Of course, illegal travelers cannot penetrate into the heart of the Zone - everything is reliably guarded. However, the station and the “Arch” under construction are clearly visible from the high-rise buildings of Pripyat. Every self-respecting stalker is sure to capture a photo of the view of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
By the way, about 4,000 people now work at the station. They are engaged in the construction of the Arch and work on decommissioning power units.
Red forest
This area of forest, located not far from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, during the accident took on the largest share of radioactive dust, which led to the death of trees and coloring of their foliage brown-red. It is noteworthy that the enzymes of the trees reacted with radiation, which is why a glow was observed in the forest at night. As part of the decontamination, the Red Forest was demolished and buried. Today the trees are growing again, of course, already having a normal color.
However, today there are young pines with signs of mutations. This can be expressed in excessive or, conversely, insufficient branching. Some trees, having reached the age of about 20 years, were never able to grow above 2 meters. The needles on pine trees can also look intricate: they can be elongated, shortened, or completely absent.
By the way, the remaining power units were still operating for some time. The last one was turned off in 2000.
An unpleasant feeling may arise from the burial grounds where the demolished trees were buried. Mounds and branches sticking out of the ground evoke unpleasant associations for many.
The remains of unburied trees are also of interest. This view clearly demonstrates how nature can suffer from human activity. This area is perhaps one of the saddest places in the Exclusion Zone.
Arc
The object is represented by a huge complex of antennas. This radar station performed the task of detecting launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles. Our military could see the American missile, actually looking over the horizon. Hence the name "Arc". To ensure the operation of the complex, about 1000 people were needed, which is why a small town was organized for the military and their families. And so it arose object "Chernobyl-2". Before the accident, the installation was used for only a few years, and after that it was abandoned.
The radar antennas are of Soviet engineering. According to some reports, the construction of “Duga” cost twice as much as the creation of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Western countries were not happy with this installation. They constantly complained that she was interfering with work civil aviation. Interestingly, “Duga” created a characteristic knocking sound on the air, for which it was nicknamed “Russian Woodpecker.”
The height of the antennas reaches 150 m, and the length of the entire building is about 500 m. Due to its impressive size the installation is visible from almost anywhere in the Zone.
Nature is gradually destroying the buildings of the Chernobyl-2 facility. But the “Duga” itself will still stand for more than one year, unless, of course, the Ukrainian authorities (or some others) want to waste tons of contaminated metal, as happened with the fleet of vehicles that were involved in eliminating the consequences of the accident...
Many stalker-roofers, not afraid of the guards who patrol those places, climb as high as possible onto one of the antennas and capture Chernobyl landscapes in photos.
In the well-known series of games S.T.A.L.K.E.R. there is a so-called “Brain Burner” installation, with which “Arc” is associated, which further attracts adventurers.
Conclusion
The Chernobyl exclusion zone is undoubtedly a unique place on Earth, a kind of piece Soviet Union in the 21st century. It is very sad that the city of Pripyat was thoroughly plundered by looters - they could have at least left the finishing intact, but no - they even pulled out the wiring. Nevertheless, to the modern generation it is important to treat the Zone not as a tourist attraction or a place where you can see places from the games, but as a reminder that our scientific achievements can leave scars on Earth that will take centuries to heal.
Vladimir Yavorivsky, people's deputy, head of the Temporary Deputy Commission to investigate the causes and consequences of the Chernobyl accident:
The Chernobyl nuclear power plant remains dangerous, even very dangerous. I'll explain why. Firstly, there are still about 800 unburied temporary storage facilities in the Chernobyl zone that have already existed for 28 years. This is equipment contaminated with high levels of radiation, abandoned sand or swamp pits. They radiate high level radiation.
Second. There is a problem with the so-called “red forest” that grew near the reactor itself. It is called red because all these pines changed color due to radiation after the disaster.
The new confinement will solve the problem of radiation at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, but it will remain for posterity
Well, the third problem is the confinement itself, which closes the fourth reactor. It is designed for a period that has long ended. The second casing around this hidden reactor is now being prepared. It is very heavy, it is a colossal weight, thousands of tons of concrete, and the nuclear power plant itself was built in an extremely criminal place, on the marshy soils of Polesie, very close to groundwater. And this possible subsidence is very dangerous, because surface water can penetrate into the main underground water layers.
I'm not even talking about the self-settlers who live there, about this thirty-kilometer zone itself with polluted meadows and waters.
Of course, danger remains. You know that the reactor was even accelerated. Little was said about him back then; it was back in Soviet times. That is, a chain reaction began in the fourth reactor when water got there. This sarcophagus itself is not airtight. Water, snow, and so on got there, and the chain reaction began to accelerate. It’s good that they noticed it in time and simply extinguished it.
Well, the sarcophagus itself is dangerous; it still emits radiation. And the amount of nuclear fuel that remains has not been established.
The new confinement will solve the problem of radiation at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, but it will remain for posterity.
I am not an expert in the nuclear industry, but it seems to me that building a waste storage facility would be the most the best option. We have already lost Pripyat, no one will return there in the coming centuries. Therefore, it is logical to build a storage facility there, and not pollute some other place. But let the scientists decide that.
But storage is a must. We have so much nuclear waste! All those capsules with fuel that were in the fourth reactor and those that remained were taken from there and placed in a nuclear waste storage facility. In the same way from other reactors, all this needs to be hidden somewhere.
Unique full map the entire Chernobyl exclusion zone. Card size 113x80 cm, scale 1:100 000 (“kilometrovka”), made on the basis of declassified Soviet military maps. Being made on thick paper, the map has a detailed topographical basis and displays Current state all zones that make up the Chernobyl zone.
The map is double-sided and has two languages - Ukrainian (original) and English (transliteration of names from the original KMU2010), available in both wall-mounted and folding versions.
The first limited edition, produced at the Kyiv Military Cartographic Factory. Each copy has its own serial number and a special field to indicate the owner of the copy.
Civil Service Certificate intellectual property №63103 .
How to buy?
You can buy a card while traveling, or order by mail by contacting the sales department by emailThe cost of sending a card within Ukraine is 3 USD ( , , ), shipping to other countries costs 8 USD ( , , ).
Map legend and landmarks
Map of the Chernobyl zone contains special designations of objects adopted in Soviet cartography, the decoding of which is given below:
| br. | ford (across a river, swamp) | pump. Art. | pumping station |
| vdkch. | water pump | PTF | commercial poultry farm |
| water | water tower | squeaky | Ukrainian: pіshchany kar"er; Russian: sand quarry |
| klg. dv. | Ukrainian: kolgospny dvir; Russian: collective farm yard | sar. | barn, barn |
| MTM | machine and tractor workshop | STF | pig farm |
| MTF | dairy farm | ur. | tract |
Also, on map of the Chernobyl zone are indicated by icons attractions. Their list:
1.camp of the 25th chemical protection brigade (accident response memo)
2.stele “Chernobyl region”
3.entry into the Zone (Checkpoint “Dityatki”)
4. equipment cemetery "(PUSO) Rassokha"
5.pioneer camp(?) "Fabulous"
6. highway to Cape Verde (liquidation memo)
7.bypass road around Chernobyl (liquidation memo)
8.St. Elias Orthodox Church (188_);
9.g. Chernobyl: the Wormwood Star memorial, Zone Administration (place of work of the Government Commission for Elimination of the Consequences of the Accident and the Operational Group of the USSR Ministry of Defense, before the accident - Chernobyl District Executive Committee and District Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine), House of Culture (place of the trial of those accused in the accident), post office, Jewish a cemetery with a mass grave of Holocaust victims, a former synagogue, the burial place of the Hasidic tzaddik Rabbi Menachem Nachum Tverskoy, the founder of the Chernobyl Hasidic dynasty.
10. Monument to the Heroes of the liquidation of the Chernobyl accident “Those who saved the world”; fire department of the city of Chernobyl.
11. Cemetery of river ships, bay of the river. Pripyat
12. Exhibition of equipment and robots that participated in the liquidation of the accident
13. Checkpoint "Lelev" 10-kilometer zone
14. “Chernobyl-2” – technical memo and “ Cold War”: antennas of the Duga-1 complex for detecting intercontinental ballistic missile launches, military camp
15. “Circle” - auxiliary radar complex for “Dugi” antennas
16. Ruins of the S-75 "Volkhov" anti-aircraft missile system, which defended "Duga" and the Chernobyl nuclear power plant
17. Kopachi, buried village
18. Chistogalovka, buried village
19. concrete transfer site for the construction of the Sarcophagus (object “Shelter”)
20. 5th and 6th power units of the Chernobyl NPP (unfinished)
21. Field base of the department of radioecology and radiobiology of animals
22. Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (Chernobyl nuclear power plant) – a complex of objects: “Sarcophagus” above the exploded 4th power unit, “Arch” (a new safe confinement” above the “Sarcophagus”), power units 1, 2, 3, the building of the turbine (machine) hall, a memorial to the fallen nuclear power plant workers and firefighters, administrative building, channel with catfish
23. Open switchgear (OSD) 750 kV. It was intended to supply the power of Units 3 and 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant to the power system.
24. “Red Forest” (pine forest that died from radiation; uprooted)
25. stele “Pripyat 1970”
26. collapsing Pripyat: fire department, city Hospital, first place of work of the Government Commission, Hotel "Polissya", Palace of Culture "Energetik", Ferris wheel, river station
27. cargo port, located on the river. Pripyat, port cranes
28. half-sunken steam tug "Tallinn"
29. An ancient wooden Orthodox church in the village. Krasne
30. Cape Verde - a rotational camp for workers of the Chernobyl zone for the period of liquidation of the consequences of the accident.
