Pripyat in Pictures (image heavy)

[Twitchy]

I've been playing a bit of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. : Call of Pripyat and cultivating an interest in Chernobyl and the surrounding area as a result. I found some striking photos and thought they were worth sharing.

I won't go into a long explanation. Most people are familiar with what happened in 1986. Nuclear plant go boom...**** hits fan...people leave. These days, there is a serene beauty to the place. Nature is slowly reclaiming the town through the cracks in the concrete and brick.

Anyway, I just thought it might be a welcome change to post something that doesn't involve women, religion, facts, opinions, my dick or any of the subjects that seem to get me into trouble.

Enjoy...

A deserted secondary school...

The ferris wheel no one ever got to ride. The Pripyat Funfair was to be opened on May 1st. The disaster happened on April 26th...

Bumper cars...

Hospital corridor.

Overhead view of Pripyat, taken from a hotel...

Apartment building, still full of radiation...

from website description: “400m away from the reactor (max allowed)” “2.0 rt being off-scale of the reader-device. average radiation level of a non contaminated area: 0.010 rt/m2″

Sources -

Chernobyl Today: A Creepy Story Told in Pictures

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. : Call of Pripyat

 

[Badjedidude]

Creepy...it makes me think of Silent Hill, but in daylight.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is a fun game, btw.

----Steve

 

[PoWer2tHePeOpLE]

Stalker is a sweet game.. one of the best.

those are some damn cool photos too.. yeah, creepy.

 

[cheaptrickfan]

I've seen those before, but even seeing them again, they are still incredibly evocative and eerie.

 

[Minus]

Yes those really are something.

 

[Twitchy]

Creepy...it makes me think of Silent Hill, but in daylight.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is a fun game, btw.

First thing I thought of when I saw the hospital corridor shot was "Silent Hill"...

I'm really enjoying Call of Pripyat. Being irradiated and attacked by mutated dogs shouldn't be this much fun.

 

[evanescencefan91]

wow those are really interesting pictures i liked them

thanks for sharing

 

[cheaptrickfan]

I remember reading a short story in one of my sci-fi anthologies that was based in that irradiated ghost town. "The Dragon of Pripyat," by Karl Schroeder from the Year's Best Science Fiction, 17th annual collection. It was very good - eerie and sad.

 

[Steel]

Haunting images indeed.

 

[Twitchy]

I just watched an older 60 Minutes segment (sorry I can't remember where it was) called "Inside Chernobyl". They allowed a film crew to go into the plant's control room for a few minutes. "A few minutes" is all you're allowed and you have to wear a badge the entire time that measures your radiation dose.

They pointed out the chair where the guy responsible was sitting. Apparently he stayed at his post and attempted to correct the mistake for several hours, despite being exposed to lethal radiation. I believe he died a few days later.

It's kind of sad. Nuclear power could easily solve a number of energy problems, but it will probably never be fully realized. Chernobyl will always be the thing people can point to that silences any discussion.

I don't have any argument for or against it...it's just a strange situation. :/

 

[mintymint]

those pics convey the atmosphere quite vividly. like em a lot, thanks twitchy.

 

[Badjedidude]

I always wanted to visit...but I'm scared my balls will fall off if I stay longer than like 10 minutes. Haha...oh well.

----Steve