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Pripyat before the Chernobyl Disaster
No comments · Posted by Sergei Rzhevsky in Cities, History
Today, Pripyat is an abandoned city located in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, 3 km northwest of the closed Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, about 110 km north of Kyiv in a straight line. Immediately after the accident, radiation levels in the Chernobyl zone and Pripyat were very high.
However, 39 years ago, it was a rapidly growing city with a population of about 47,500 people. Pripyat on Google Maps. Photos: pripyat-city.ru
Pripyat received city status in 1979. The main reason for its founding was the construction and subsequent operation of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (officially the Vladimir Ilyich Lenin Nuclear Power Plant), one of the largest nuclear power plants in Europe. The estimated population of Pripyat was 75-85 thousand people.
Bas-relief on Lenin Avenue.
Swimming pool “Lazurnyi” (“Azure”).
Following the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident, the entire population of Pripyat was evacuated. The evacuation announcement was broadcast on local radio at 1:10 PM on April 27, 1986, 35 hours after the accident. By 5:00 PM that same day, 1,225 buses and 250 trucks had evacuated the city’s residents.
Store “Raduga” (“Rainbow”). Propaganda on top of the building: “Glory to Lenin” “Glory to the Party”.
View towards the river station.
Entrance to Pripyat from the bridge.
Children.
Apartment buildings in Pripyat.
The famous 16-storey building with the Soviet coat of arms.
Street propaganda in Pripyat. The poster reads: “The growth of strike struggle in capitalist countries: 44 million people went on strike in the 1960s, 75 million in the 1970s.”
Cafe “Pripyat” and the river station gallery.
The movie theater “Prometheus”.
Books store “Knigi” (“Books”).
In the central square of Pripyat.
Panorama of one of the courtyards of Pripyat.
Lenin Avenue from the central square.
Near the swimming pool “Lazurnyi”.
Kurchatov Street.
The central square of Pripyat. Hotel “Polesie”.
Rainbow over Pripyat.
Pripyat Evacuation Announcement:
“Attention, Dear Comrades! The City Council of People’s Deputies informs you that due to the accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, an unfavorable radiation situation has developed in the city of Pripyat. Party and government bodies, as well as military units, are taking the necessary measures.
However, to ensure the complete safety of people, and especially children, it is necessary to temporarily evacuate the city’s residents to nearby settlements in the Kyiv region. For this purpose, buses accompanied by police officers and city executive committee representatives will be dispatched to each residential building starting at 14:00 AM today, April 27th.
You are advised to bring documents, essential items, and some food. The heads of enterprises and institutions have designated a group of employees who will remain on site to ensure the normal functioning of the city’s enterprises.
All residential buildings will be guarded by police officers during the evacuation. When temporarily leaving your home, please remember to close windows, turn off electrical and gas appliances, and turn off water taps.
We ask that you maintain calm, order, and organization during the temporary evacuation.”
Tags: Kiev oblast · Pripyat city
