A trip through Geigertown, with photos and notes.
angelfire.com/extreme4/kiddo … pter1.html
Scary.
She’s bloody crazy.
Really something to think about… standing on a roof top of a building looking out over an entire community and realizing that you are the only one(s) there. The kindergartens… well, there really aren’t any words for it. Elena might be crazy to do this but does she ever get her message across! Courageous woman with an important statement. Fascinating read - thank you MPD!
[quote]houses
it is safe to be in the open air in Ghosttown, it is inside the houses that the danger lies. Especially one got to be careful in houses which windows facing Atomic Plant and open. I went for a short excursion with my friend doctor, he said taking such walk with no special radiation detecting device is the same as to walk through minefiled without mine-detector. Doc has self made device, this one is never out of scale.
all doors open, just make sure it is safe, push the door and you will see how people lived.
Most people had to leave everything, from photos of their grandparents to cars. Their clothes, cash and documents has been changed by state authorities. This is incredible, people lived, had homes, country houses, garages, motorcyles, cars, money, friends and relatives, people had their life, each in own niche and then in a matter of hours this world fall in pieces and everything goes to dogs and after few hours trip with some army vehicle one stands under some shower, washing away radiation and then step in a new life, naked with no home, no friends, no money, no past and with very doubtful future.[/quote]
That’s the most interesting thing I’ve read on the net in a long time. Fascinating.
Do you think if she took these things out and sold them over the net she could get a pretty penny for them? If they could be de-radioactivated that is. I’d love to have these. They’re fabulous:
That was amazing. Interesting lady. The Russian English really added to the flavour of the whole thing.
That would be Ukrainian not Russian.
That would be like calling
a Canadian an American
a Kiwi an Australian
a Irishman and Englisman
etc…
ski
That would be Ukrainian not Russian.
That would be like calling
a Canadian an American
a Kiwi an Australian
a Irishman and Englisman
etc…
ski[/quote]
No, I think it’s safe to assume that she’s a Russian speaker since Russian is still the dominant language in central and eastern Ukraine. I didn’t say she was Russian.
Interesting Website - Thanks MaPo,
Amazing what you find on the net when you are surfing for Russian brides. 
[quote=“almas john”]Interesting Website - Thanks MaPo,
Amazing what you find on the net when you are surfing for Russian brides. [/quote]
Busted!
I saw an incredible exhibition of photographs once (in Hong Kong, around 98-99) from Chernobyl by David McMillan. Not much of his stuff is available on the net because he’s a professional who I assume keeps an iron hold over his pictures, but there’s an article here with a couple of pics:
cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/164/11/1604
I’m don’t have much appreciation of photography, but his pictures are amazing, especially the ones of kindergarten classrooms left exactly as they were at the time of evacuation, now with plants growing up around the edges, and one of a tree growing up through the floor of what used to be a room in someone’s house. There’s just something about the way he captures the light, and the post-apocalyptic feel of them. I just wish there had been books or prints available to buy at the exhibition!
That would be Ukrainian not Russian.
That would be like calling
a Canadian an American
a Kiwi an Australian
a Irishman and Englisman
etc…
ski[/quote]
No, I think it’s safe to assume that she’s a Russian speaker since Russian is still the dominant language in central and eastern Ukraine. I didn’t say she was Russian.[/quote]
“Assumption is the mother of all screw ups.” 
If she is not Russian then she is Ukrainian. A Ukrainian would not speak Russian unless they were speaking to a Russian who did not speak Ukrainian. Other wise they would speak Ukrainian and probably be Ukrainian.
Russian is know in most Easteren European countries however, you won’t find many non Russians who would want to speak it.
Most people in the Ukraine are actually Ukrainian. In reality only about 30% of the entire population is Russian. So it can’t be the predominate language.
So in short, No, I think it’s not safe to assume that she’s a Russian speaker since Russian is not the dominant language in central and eastern Ukraine.
Ski
But we’ll never know for sure.
[quote=“MaPoDurian”]A trip through Geigertown, with photos and notes.
angelfire.com/extreme4/kiddo … pter1.html[/quote]
Of course it’s awe-inspiring and disturbing from the point of view of the Chernobyl/Chornobyl disaster, but the road trip aspect is also interesting: the fact that this woman rides at high speeds around these deserted places for kicks. Who was it who posted that site of the long-exposure night-time photos shot in ‘ghost towns’ in the Arizona desert? There is some similarity. The latter photographer also started out by just driving around these places, and the photography came later.
Actually, Ukrainian is nearly a dead language in the eastern and central parts of the country. There are quite a lot of ethnic Ukrainians who don’t speak Ukrainian, or if they do, only at a very basic level. The language is experiencing a revival, but Russian is still the dominant language in eastern and central Ukraine, whether we are talking about ethnic Russians or ethnic Ukrainians. Russian culture and language have been encroaching on Ukraine for centuries. Russian IS the dominant language in central and eastern Ukraine. Saying that it isn’t is like saying that Mandarin is not the dominant language in Taipei. It is safe to assume that this lady’s language of habitual use is Russian. But we digress.
[quote=“joesax”][quote=“MaPoDurian”]A trip through Geigertown, with photos and notes.
angelfire.com/extreme4/kiddo … pter1.html[/quote]
Of course it’s awe-inspiring and disturbing from the point of view of the Chernobyl/Chornobyl disaster, but the road trip aspect is also interesting: the fact that this woman rides at high speeds around these deserted places for kicks. Who was it who posted that site of the long-exposure night-time photos shot in ‘ghost towns’ in the Arizona desert? There is some similarity. The latter photographer also started out by just driving around these places, and the photography came later.[/quote]
That was pretty amazing. Kudos to that young woman for having the bravery and intelligence to safely pull off a trip like that.
I read in a National Geographic a few years back that the sarcophagus is really unstable due to being built hastily. The greatest fear is that it will collapse and spread radioactive particles over the countryside all over again. :s
Really good link.
What is interesting is to hear that a great deal of wildlife is not only surviving but growing in numbers. Presumably their DNA has been severely damaged due to the high radiation in the soil, grass, trees and water. It should be interesting to see what kinds of mutations may emerge over the next few hundred years after dozens and dozens and hundreds of generations. And their offspring will gradually spread into the surrounding regions.
Elena also mentioned that at one time there were guided tours by bus into the city of Chernobyl. Anybody interested in a tour?
Interesting but extremely sad in parts.
{The mod moved it here, didn’t know that this was already posted before}