Kopachi
Day Two - Chernobyl / Chornobyl & Kyiv - 2016
A couple of hours spent in the haunting abandoned town of Kopachi, in the shadow of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
Editor’s Comment: When I first posted this travelogue, I used Russian-to-English transliterations for place names. However, subsequent events -namely the 2019 adoption of Ukrainian-derived places names by the U.S. Board of Geographic Names and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine- have subsequently compelled me to update this travelogue. Broadly speaking, place names associated with the 1986 nuclear accident will have both versions listed; prominent structures (such as the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant or Pripyat Hospital) will continue to use their now-popularized 1986 names, as will instances where these locations are referenced metonymically (“traveled to Chernobyl,” for example); locations not directly associated with the 1986 disaster (primarily, Kyiv) will use modern Ukrainian-derived nomenclature; and, maps and URLs will continue use names from the original post until such a time as I can update them.
Map Credit: OpenStreetMap
1. Monument to Those Who Saved the World #1
The Monument to Those Who Saved the World is dedicated to those firefighters who unknowingly risked acute radiation sickness trying to fight what they assumed to be a combustion fire at Reactor Number Four.
We returned to the Desiatka Hotel right at sunset, appropriate as movement around the Exclusion Zone is prohibited during nighttime. In fact, this is the only hotel I have ever been to which locks you inside the building for the evening - it even has bars on the windows to prevent you from sneaking out! Mercifully, the hotel has a bar … despite an alleged prohibition on the consumption of alcohol in the Exclusion Zone. The hotel itself is very cozy and the bathrooms have very pleasant sided-jetted shower cabinets, a nice relaxing touch. The only thing I will caution: the room heaters, apparently, have no thermostats on them, and I woke up at about 3AM gasping for air in what must have been 50+ celsius (120+ Fahrenheit) heat.
The following morning, we had breakfast and began our exploration shortly after sunrise. We quickly visited two sites in Chernobyl we had skipped the day earlier, the first of which was the Monument to Those Who Saved the World. One additional photograph of this monument follows.
2. Monument to Those Who Saved the World #2
Six firefighters died within weeks of the explosion due to their exposure to radiation.
3. Worker Robots
Robots were used to clear radioactive debris on Reactor Number Four’s roof ; however, by September 1986, radiation levels were too high and use of the robots on the roof was discontinued.
The explosion on 26 April 1986 sent radioactive debris airborne, much of it landing on top of the three roof sections of the Reactor Number Four building. These roof sections -nicknamed Nina, Katya, and Masha- had to be cleared in preparation for the installation of the sarcophagus. Many robot designs were tested, and many of them are now on display in a lot on the north end of Chernobyl / Chornobyl. One of the robots we saw was one of the two lunar rover-modified robots named STR-1 (the three-wheeled robot at center-right of the photograph). The two STR-1s ultimately did much of the heavy lifting (heavy pushing?) on Nina and Katya; however, when one of the robots was tested on Masha, it failed. A German-built robot called “Joker” was also tested on Masha, but -due to obfuscation of the true radiation at the site to the German designers- it, too failed. So it was in September 1986 that 3,828 soldiers were sent in small waves up onto the roof to push, shovel, and throw radioactive debris into the exposed reactor core. The use of soldiers was not known in the West until 1990.
The Joker and the other STR-1 were recovered from Masha; presumably due to their exceptionally high radiation, they are stored at a separate site in the Exclusion Zone.
4. Kopachi #1
Kopachi was home to 1,114 souls at the time of the explosion.
After visiting the robots, we headed north, stopping at the haunting abandoned village of Kopachi. During the cleanup, the entire town was razed and all but two buildings were hastily buried in-place; as such, when you visit Kopachi you pass by multiple mounds with radiation markers on top of them. One of the two buildings left standing was the village’s kindergarten, which has a fair number of toys and furniture left inside of it.
The following 17 photographs are from Kopachi, primarily from inside the kindergarten building.
5. Kopachi #2
6. Kopachi #3
7. Kopachi #4
8. Kopachi #5
9. Kopachi #6
10. Kopachi #7
11. Kopachi #8
12. Kopachi #9
13. Kopachi #10
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14. Kopachi #11
15. Kopachi #12
16. Kopachi #13
17. Kopachi #14
18. Kopachi #15
19. Kopachi #16
20. Kopachi #17
21. Kopachi #18
22. Welcome to Pripyat / Prypiat
Construction in Pripyat / Prypiat first began in 1970; it was declared a city in 1979.
After the sobering visit to Kopachi, we passed the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant once again and stopped outside the one-time limits of the city of Pripyat / Prypiat. At this point, when most people consider the abandonment of villages and cities within the Exclusion Zone, they likely think of Pripyat’s / Prypiat’s tall, Soviet-style apartment buildings and its now-iconic amusement park. What makes Pripyat / Prypiat so unique, of course, was the nature of its abandonment - residents were told they were being evacuated for a short period of time to Kiev / Kyiv; however, they were never to return, and -aside from some personal belongings- every possession they had was left in place.
23. The Red Forest
The so-called Red Forest was greatly poisoned by the 1986 reactor accident; the trees here were bulldozed, buried, and saplings were place on top of the resulting mounds. Today, the Red Forest has become an inadvertent wildlife refuge, but still remains one of the most irradiated places on earth.
Before going through the checkpoint into Pripyat / Prypiat, we gazed upon the Red Forest across the railroad tracks from the entrance to the city. Only a few specialty tours enter this area, primarily because radiation varies significantly from place to place, and guides need a high level of familiarity to safely navigate tourists.
After crossing the checkpoint, we were in Pripyat / Prypiat, the world’s ultimate urban exploration zone. Our first stop: the hospital.
