The Chernobyl zone encourages reflection on life
It is not so easy to go to the Chernobyl zone on your own, which has been contaminated with radiation since April 26.1986, without special permission. It's good that various tourist campaigns offer their shoulder to tourists. So I found on the Internet a Kiev tour operator suitable for such a trip
"Anywhere". And the price is low compared to others, and a wonderful organization.
By 8:00 am, all 9 tourists of our group gathered at the southern terminal of the Kyiv Central Railway Station, where a fiat ducato minibus was waiting for us. I was the last to arrive)) I was warmly greeted by the head of the group Alexei, after which our driver Alexander took us from the bustling noisy big city to the dead silence of the forbidden Chernobyl zone.
At about 10:00 we arrived at the Dityatki checkpoint at the entrance to the 30-kilometer exclusion zone. There was fog. Here, the police checked the passports and issued a special pass to the zone ordered in advance for each of the group.
Looking around, you can see a rather serious “thorn”, which is fenced off the entire 30-km zone. Immediately in my thoughts, associations with a zone of a different kind pop up - a prison. Only there one cannot freely go out, but here one cannot freely enter.
At the Dityatki checkpoint, our guide to the Chernobyl zone, Valery Ivanovich, got on the bus with us. He was born in Pripyat, worked at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant before 1986 and works to this day, being a witness and expert on the entire Chernobyl drama. Therefore, his story was lively and interesting.
We stopped at the entrance to Chernobyl, the “capital” of the Chernobyl zone, to take pictures.
We were immediately taken to the office of the organization "Chernobylinterinform", where we listened to an introductory lecture about the Chernobyl tragedy, the exclusion zone and modern life in Chernobyl. We heard about the gloomy forecasts of specialists for the future. For example, about what will happen if radioactive americium gets into groundwater, and then into Pripyat, the Dnieper... We also carefully looked at maps of contamination of the territory with cesium-137 and plutonium.
Modern Chernobyl, located 18 km from the epicenter of a nuclear explosion, although it looks dull, but continues to live its own life. Since the radiation background in the city is generally normal, about 1.300 Chernobyl workers and about 200 self-settlers who returned home after forced resettlement live in it.
On the outskirts of Chernobyl, we visited two interesting places. First there was a monument to "Those who saved the world" - the brave firefighters who were the first to take on the deadly challenge of a nuclear monster.
The second place was a site-exhibition of equipment used in the aftermath of the explosion.
Having bypassed the puddles, which are not recommended to enter here, we returned to the bus and left in the direction of Pripyat. But we will return to Chernobyl. . .
After entering the 10-kilometer exclusion zone through the Leliv checkpoint, we made a stop in the former village of Kopachi, which was literally dismantled and buried in the ground after the resettlement of its inhabitants. Now, all over the village, only mounds between trees and endless signs “Dangerous. Radiation". But miraculously, the former kindergarten remained, in which
we went for a few minutes, as it is not safe for health to stay there for a long time. It was hard to see this. . .
Our faithful guides, Aleksey and Valery Ivanovich, were waiting for us at the bus.
Seeing from afar in the fog the outlines of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, we wished to get off the bus and take a look.
Turning to the right, one could see the 5th and 6th units of the nuclear power plant, only 20% unfinished. Nearby were abandoned cranes...
And looking under my feet, I noticed how nature defeats radiation)
Having made a circle around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, we stopped near the gates of the 4th power unit in order to examine the object “Sarcophagus” from a close distance - a concrete and steel shelter, under which radioactive fragments after the explosion are sealed. Here, on a special observation deck, there is a memorial to the heroes of Chernobyl.
The radiation background is considered safe up to 30 m / r per hour (0.3). And here near the station it is 13.5 times higher.
A new, more reliable sarcophagus is being built next to the station, costing about 1 billion euros and giving a guarantee for 100 years. Upon completion of work in 2015, it will be pushed along special rails above the old sarcophagus. This object is forbidden to photograph, so I do not post photos here.
We went to the deserted city of power engineers Pripyat, located 4 km from the station.
They entered the city along the “bridge of death”. Why was it named like that? Because in the first days after the explosion, residents of Pripyat, even mothers with small children, came to see the fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. It offered a good view of this element, but... at that time, radiation on the bridge exceeded the norm hundreds of times, and on trees 7-10 thousand times! And people got a lethal dose
radiation, and later died.
Although after what I saw there wasn’t much appetite, but still I agreed to an environmentally friendly lunch in the dining room of the Chernobyl Special Combine. Thanks, the food was really good!
After lunch, we went to the railway bridge near the walls of the station, from which we managed to feed local fish known for their number and size. Among them was a huge catfish.
After such a positive distraction, we toured the ghost town of Pripyat. We started from the center, overgrown with trees and moss, which absorbed dangerous radiation. No comments needed here. . .
In some places in Pripyat, the level of radiation still exceeds the permissible norm by 30 times!
It’s good that we didn’t look at all the possible ruins for a long time, we didn’t go into residential buildings. After all, negative emotions already overwhelmed the brain, and a lump squeezed the throat from the realization of human negligence and helplessness before the tragedy. But in Pripyat in 1986 there were 51.000 people! The median age was 26 and another 1.000 children were born each year. One explosion changed everything - the place of residence, and plans, and the very life of the hostages of the "peaceful atom". Of all the settlements contaminated with radiation, 175.000 people were evicted. About 125.000 have died, according to official figures. And the survivors were given modest benefits and belated compensation. But can you buy a father, or a mother, or children? Is it possible even for a lot of money to relieve the pain of the loss of Chernobyl orphans?
But the worst thing is the lie! The leaders hid the truth about the real danger from the people, and therefore the city of Pripyat lived a normal life for several days after the explosion. Children played in sandboxes, young people walked in the park, even the May 1.1986 parade on the central square was not canceled. But at this parade, dozens of people lost consciousness and fell... At this time
Armored personnel carriers drove on nuclear fuel and soldiers collected the remains
graphite rods with shovels, dying in a few days, weeks, months... It hurts... Terrible... Unfair...
On the way back we visited Chernobyl again. First, a monument to the Trumpeting Angel and 94 settlements - the victims of the tragedy...
Then there was the St. Ilyinsky Orthodox Church, near which I managed to talk with the self-settlers.
At the end of the tour of Chernobyl, we looked at the river port with sunken ships and at the private non-residential sector.
At the exit from the exclusion zone, we passed a dosimetric control.
The trip to the Chernobyl exclusion zone shook me to the core and caused a lot of negative emotions, such as pain and resentment. But it was also useful. Reflecting on the tragedy that occurred, I was reminded of one important truth: “Man rules over man to his detriment” (Ecclesiastes 8:9). I am moved to hope even more in the Creator, who
the only one able to completely cleanse the infected land.
This study tour was organized by the tour operator Anywhere.
