Travel

I’ve visited Chernobyl twice, with my last visit was August 14, 2021. Here I am at the Chernobyl city sign. Before the evacuation of 1986, the city had around 14,000 residents. Now, only 150 or so people who refused to leave remain. 

Officially, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone comprises several towns, not just Chernobyl, with an area of 2,600 kilometers. Anyone who is not an official government employee at the plant must seek special permission to enter; I visited through a tour group.

Here are a few photos from that day with some commentary.

🧵

Before entering, you must pass through a radiation detector to test your levels. You also pass through these machines when you leave. If your clothes have too much radiation, you have to leave them behind.

Independent journalist, with coverage in Ukraine and Eastern Europe. Focus on the intersection of race and foreign affairs.

Here is the famous Ferris wheel, in Pripyat, that is synonymous with Chernobyl. It is much bigger and imposing than it appears on TV.

Here is the Duga, the early-warning radar network designed to detect incoming nuclear-armed missiles. Nicknamed the woodpecker, it spanned 700 metres (2,300 ft) in length and 150 metres (490 ft) in height. It is MASSIVE.

Our tour guides warned our tour group not to touch anything and not to venture off into places that are not approved, otherwise we risk radiation exposure.

Russian soldiers, ignorant to the real dangers of the radiation levels, ignored warnings from scientists at the plant not to dig trenches but did so anyway–without protective gear. I am sure those lads will die of cancer eventually. (Fuck ‘em)

Russian soldiers, ignorant to the real dangers of the radiation levels, ignored warnings from scientists at the plant not to dig trenches but did so anyway–without protective gear. I am sure those lads will die of cancer eventually. (Fuck ‘em)

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/unprotected-russian-soldiers-disturbed-radioactive-dust-chernobyls-red-forest-2022-03-28/

Here is the main reactor (no. 4) that exploded. There is a protective dome over it to minimize risk of exposure.

You can actually have lunch in the dining room and eat the exact food workers ate before the explosion. Here is our plate. Looks delicious, huh?

I saw wild horses and all types of wildlife roaming freely. Scientists say the animals’ bodies have adjusted to the radiation. That said, some estimates find that the area will not become habitable for another 20,000 years.

wow, that is really really wild man, thanks for sharing!
I love the sign and the statue ... and everything basically :)
99 $degen

Chernobyl’s eerie quiet hits hard, only 150 souls linger where 14,000 once thrived.
The Exclusion Zone’s vast 2,600 km feels like a time capsule.
Tour group access made this haunting August 2021 visit unforgettable.