Pripyat in Summer

[Miranda_]

If you don't know what Pripyat is, here's a short description (taken from Wikipedia):

Prypiat (Ukrainian: При́п'ять, Pryp'yat’; Russian: При́пять, Pripyat’), is an abandoned city in the zone of alienation in northern Ukraine, in the Kiev Oblast (province), near the border with Belarus[2]. The city has a special status within the Kiev Oblast subordinating directly to it, although is located in the Ivankiv Raion (district). The city also is being supervised by the specially assigned ministry as part of the Zone of alienation. Prypiat was founded in 1970 to house the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant workers, officially proclaimed a city in 1979, and was abandoned in 1986 following the Chernobyl disaster. It was the ninth nuclear-city, "атомоград" (atomograd) in Russian, literally "atom city". Its population had been around 50,000 before the accident. Annual growth of population was estimated at around 1,500 including 800 new-born citizens and over 500 newcomers from all the corners of the Soviet Union. It was planned that the Prypiat's population should rise up to 78,000 in the nearest future. Prypiat had a railroad link to Kiev Yazov station as well as a navigable river nearby.

Evacuation note, April 27, 1986

"For the attention of the residents of Prypiat! The City Council informs you that due to the accident at Chernobyl Power Station in the city of Prypiat the radioactive conditions in the vicinity are deteriorating. The Communist Party, its officials and the armed forces are taking necessary steps to combat this. Nevertheless, with the view to keep people as safe and healthy as possible, the children being top priority, we need to temporarily evacuate the citizens in the nearest towns of Kiev Oblast. For these reasons, starting from April 27, 1986 2 p.m. every apartment block will be able to have a bus supervised by the police and city officials at its disposal. It is highly advisable to take your documents, some vital personal belongings and a certain amount of food, just in case, with you. The senior executives of public and industrial facilities of the city has decided on the list of employees needed to stay in Prypiat to maintain these facilities in good working order. All the houses will be guarded by the police during the evacuation period. Tovarishchs, leaving your residences temporarily please make sure that you have turned the lights, electrical equipment and water off and shut the windows. Please keep calm and orderly in the process of this temporary evacuation."

Cultural references include the computer game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and the song by Ash. You can listen to the song here.

Take a look at the photos of the city in summer here.

[Elanorea]

This is absolutely fascinating. I always love seeing pictures of abandoned buildings, ghost towns and such, even though locations like that creep me out in real life.

[Miranda_]

Same here. The summer photos of Pripyat are very thought provoking; I mean, this was one of the worst disasters ever to hit the Earth, and yet the city is still slowly being taken over by nature. It's also nice to see different photos of Pripyat than the ones that everyone takes; ie, the ferris wheel.

[spirit_queen]

This isn't what one thinks of when one thinks of an abandoned city; Pripyat is full of life, just not human. This is proof that the forces of nature really do conquer all.

[Miranda_]

Basically, it's nature saying, "Suck on that, humans! You can't live in this city, but we can! Mwahahah!" XD

[Silent_Wolf]

It also trumps those who say that once a nuclear bomb hits (or an intense amount of radiation leaks out over an area), nothing can live where it touched. Clearly, things -can- live; maybe not people, but the fact that there's plants certainly is a ray of hope. It's actually kind of pretty.

(Psst, Pripyat was also in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. The trees were in it, but it was seasonal winter. And, yes, the ferris wheel could be seen.)

[Miranda_]

I was sure it was in another computer game but I couldn't remember which one. XD I just remembered S.T.A.L.K.E.R as one game it was in. ^^

I've seen photos of the city on other sites, but most people just take photos of the nursery and the amusement park. It was nice to see someone post a collection of different photos on their LJ.

[AaronShadows]

For some reason, I found the picture of the armless (lol pun?) doll with the creepy white eyes and dead gray skin alarming. O_o; Bride of Chucky for the loss.

[Miranda_]

Plus if you read the caption, it was also radioactive. O_o