Before & After the Holocaust, How Chornobyl has changed in 25 years

On April 26, it was exactly 25 years since the largest nuclear disaster in the world - the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident.

We present a selection of unique archive images of Chernobyl made in the first hours after the explosion of the reactor, as well as a series of panoramic images of Chernobyl and Pripyat, illustrating how these cities have changed in a quarter of a century.

Also in the new gallery - the latest photos of abandoned cities and a photo report about the life of people who 25 years ago refused to evacuate and still live in villages located in a 30-kilometer exclusion zone. The gallery ends with today's pictures from Slavutich, where people light candles in honor of the memory of the heroes - the liquidators of the consequences of the catastrophe.

The Chernobyl nuclear power plant was built near the city of Pripyat, 18 km from the city of Chernobyl, 16 km from the border with Belarus and 110 km from Kiev. At 1:23 on April 26, 1986, at the fourth power unit of the then largest nuclear power plant in the Soviet Union, an explosion occurred that completely destroyed the reactor.

As a result of the explosion, 190 tons of radioactive substances were thrown into the atmosphere. 8 out of 140 tons of radioactive fuel of the reactor were in the air. Experts note that the total release of radioactive materials amounted to 50 million curies, which is equivalent to the consequences of the explosions of 500 atomic bombs dropped in 1945 on Hiroshima. Radioactive nuclides contaminated more than 145 thousand square kilometers of the territory of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.

Nevertheless, the population warned of the danger of infection with a great delay. The first official announcement on television was made only on April 28. After the accident, more than 115 thousand people were evacuated from the 30-kilometer zone. In addition, more than 600 thousand people were mobilized to eliminate the consequences of the disaster.

The Chernobyl nuclear power plant was completely shut down on December 15, 2000, however, the sarcophagus built above the fourth power unit is gradually being destroyed. In this regard, it was decided to build a new Shelter facility. April 19, 2011 in Kiev was the Donor Conference, according to the results of which to build a new sarcophagus was collected about 550 million euros.

The Verkhovna Rada approved a program for decommissioning the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. According to the program, the plant will be completely eliminated by 2065. In the first stage, from 2010 to 2013, nuclear fuel will be withdrawn from the nuclear power plant and transferred to long-term storage facilities. From 2013 to 2022, the reactor facilities will be conserved. From 2022 to 2045 experts will expect a decrease in the radioactivity of reactor installations. For the period from 2045 to 2065 the installations are dismantled, and the place where the station was located will be cleaned.

According to some reports, the authorities of Ukraine spent over $ 12 billion to overcome the consequences of the Chernobyl accident for 25 years.

Photoalbum

From the thermal explosion of the reactor at 1:23:48 on April 26, the roof over reactor 4 of the power unit was completely destroyed, and in part the roof of the engine room (on the right), where the turbines directly generating electricity



Open foci of flame extinguished on the night of the disaster. But the reactor itself burned until May 9






The fourth power unit was the newest at the Chernobyl NPP. He was connected to the general network on December 30, 1983



To extinguish the fire in the reactor, helicopters were used, dropping special compounds to prevent a chain reaction, as well as sand and clay. Subsequently, this further increased the temperature of the reactor. When falling, the compositions and sand with clay were raised by radioactive dust above the power unit, which the wind carried around the neighborhood.



October 11, 1991 as a result of a fire in the engine room at the second power unit of the Chernobyl NPP, the turbogenerator No. 4 was damaged, 180 tons of turbine oil and 500 cubic meters of hydrogen were burned, a collapse of 2,448 square meters occurred. M. Of the roof of the turbine hall (of 20 502).



The weight of the collapsed structures of the second power unit exceeded 100 tons. After the accident, the power unit was decommissioned.



Presentation of the project for the construction of the Shelter above the destroyed power unit



Completion of construction of the fourth power unit with graphite-water reactor RBMK-1000. 1982






The government commission headed by the first secretary of the Communist Party of the Ukrainian SSR Vladimir Shcherbytsky is studying the plan for the construction of a temporary camp for the Green Cape for the liquidators of the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster. July, 1986



In the elimination of the accident took part 829 thousand people, of which in Ukraine lived 356 thousand people. Today, 219 thousand of them have survived.



The sarcophagus over the fourth power unit, 70 meters high, was commissioned on November 30, 1986



Many works were carried out on a technique in which operators were protected only with lead plates.



In the center, the 800-meter building of the machine halls of all four units of the Chernobyl NPP. On the right is the administration of the station.



The city of Pripyat is located three kilometers from the nuclear power plant.



Pripyat. View of the main avenue of Lenin before and after the disaster



Pripyat. The central square, before and after the disaster



Pripyat. The central square, before and after the disaster



Pripyat. The central square, before and after the disaster



Pripyat. The central square, before and after the disaster



Pripyat. House of Culture Energetic, before and after the disaster



Pripyat. Before and after the disaster.






View of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant from Pripyat.



View of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant from Pripyat.



Since 2011, excursions to Chernobyl cost from 100 dollars






This is how the Shelter object looks in the spring of 2011.



In the 2000s, the western wall of the Shelter object began to tilt, which could lead to its destruction and the re-release of radioactive substances. So in 2008 we built a retaining structure.



Control panel for the fourth power unit.



Control panel for the fourth power unit.



Control panel for the fourth power unit.






View from the apartment in Pripyat at the Chernobyl NPP


















Pripyat. View of the park of culture and recreation.



The largest in the Exclusion Zone is the cemetery of radioactive equipment near the village of Rossokha. 90's photo



In the late 90's, there are firms that, according to official authorizations of the Ukrainian authorities, remove engines from contaminated equipment, disinfect them with documents and then sell them under the guise of ordinary auto parts.



Despite the radiation, former residents of these places return to the Exclusion Zone. According to official statistics, about 200 self-residents live in Chernobyl and its environs. Informally about 400.



Abandoned village



Every week a self-service car arrives at the self-catered.









Self-people without a fear of radiation are subsistence farming.



After the man's departure, the population of many animals resumed in the Zone.