April 2009 Archives
A new book titled "The Pripyat Syndrome" officially went on sale April 26, the 23rd anniversary of the accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. "The Pripyat Syndrome" has been 15 years in the making and is written by my friend Lyubov Sirota, a poet and former Pripyat resident. The book examines developments in Pripyat on April 26-27, 1986, the evacuation and the lives and fates of Pripyat's residents and Lyubov's friends and relatives.This should be a fascinating read, however it is only available in Ukraine and Russia in the Russian language. Once I get my copy and am able to translate it, I'll pass along some details.
The following is a short video narrated by Alexey Yaroshevsky from Russia Today in remembrance of the the 23rd anniversary of the accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant:
This is a press release about a new photo exhibit in Kyiv, Ukraine. The photography is by a colleague, Michael Forster Rothbart, who has spent much of the past 8 months photographing inside the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, the city of Slavutych and villages near the Exclusion Zone. If you happen to be in Kyiv during the next two weeks, definitely check this out.
If you worked at Chernobyl, would you stay there?
A new photography exhibition reveals the inside of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant today, focusing on the everyday lives of nine people who still work there. Created by an American photographer and Fulbright Scholar, this exhibition honors all those who work inside the Chernobyl plant, and the city of Slavutych where they live.
Highlights of this unusual exhibit are:
The exhibit will open April 24, 2009 at 3 p.m., in Shevchenko Park, near Lva Tolstogo metro station.
Invited speakers include:
The exhibit was created by American photojournalist Michael Forster Rothbart, in cooperation with residents of Slavutych. Forster Rothbart is a U.S. Fulbright Scholar in Ukraine. He has been photographing the lives of villagers near Chernobyl since 2007.
This exhibition was made possible through generous support from:
Natasha Gryvnyak,
Exhibit public relations manager
80503813750
nataliegryvnyak@yahoo.com
Photographs are available for media use at: http://mfrphoto.blogspot.com/2009/04/downloads.html
Michael Forster Rothbart can be reached at info@mfrphoto.com
If you worked at Chernobyl, would you stay there?
A new photography exhibition reveals the inside of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant today, focusing on the everyday lives of nine people who still work there. Created by an American photographer and Fulbright Scholar, this exhibition honors all those who work inside the Chernobyl plant, and the city of Slavutych where they live.
Highlights of this unusual exhibit are:
- Two 7-meter-long circular panoramas, showing Control Room 1 and the entire plant, giving visitors the impression of standing inside the site.
- Never-before seen photographs from inside the 4th Block "Object Shelter."
- Life stories told by the people who work at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
The exhibit will open April 24, 2009 at 3 p.m., in Shevchenko Park, near Lva Tolstogo metro station.
Invited speakers include:
- U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William B. Taylor
- Director of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Igor Gramotkin
- Director of the Chernobyl Shelter Implementation Plan Laurin Dodd
- Slavutych mayor Volodymyr Udovychenko
- National Chernobyl Museum Scientific Director Anna Korolevska
- Photographer Michael Forster Rothbart
The exhibit was created by American photojournalist Michael Forster Rothbart, in cooperation with residents of Slavutych. Forster Rothbart is a U.S. Fulbright Scholar in Ukraine. He has been photographing the lives of villagers near Chernobyl since 2007.
This exhibition was made possible through generous support from:
- Chernobyl Shelter Implementation Plan Project Management Unit
- Fulbright Program in Ukraine
- United States Embassy in Ukraine
Natasha Gryvnyak,
Exhibit public relations manager
80503813750
nataliegryvnyak@yahoo.com
Photographs are available for media use at: http://mfrphoto.blogspot.com/2009/04/downloads.html
Michael Forster Rothbart can be reached at info@mfrphoto.com
A recent public opinion poll conducted by the Kyiv International Sociology Institute indicates Party of Regions leader Viktor Yanukovych has increased his lead heading toward the next Ukrainian presidential election.
The poll results are:
This latest poll was conducted by interviewing 1,984 Ukrainian citizens between March 26 and April 17, 2009. The margin of error is 2.5%.
The poll results are:
- Viktor Yanukovych (Party of Regions) - 25.6%
- Yulia Tymoshenko (Prime Minister/BYuT) - 14.4%
- Arseniy Yatsenyuk (former Parliament Speaker) - 13.6%
- Petro Symonenko (Communist Party) - 3.3%
- Volodymyr Lytvyn (current Parliament Speaker/Lytvyn Bloc) - 2.9%
- Viktor Yushchenko (current President) - 2.4%
This latest poll was conducted by interviewing 1,984 Ukrainian citizens between March 26 and April 17, 2009. The margin of error is 2.5%.
The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) has arrested three men, including a regional lawmaker, for allegedly trying to sell a radioactive substance for use in a terrorist attack.
The unnamed lawmaker from the western Ternopil region and two businessmen were arrested on April 9 for trying to sell the substance, purportedly 3.7 kilograms of Plutonium-239, for $10 million, to an undercover agent.
Tests revealed the substance to be Americium, not Plutonium. While not as dangerous as Plutonium, Americium could still be used to build a dirty bomb.
And no, despite what you may be thinking, the substance did not come from the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Authorities believe the material was produced in Russia during the Soviet era and smuggled into Ukraine.
The unnamed lawmaker from the western Ternopil region and two businessmen were arrested on April 9 for trying to sell the substance, purportedly 3.7 kilograms of Plutonium-239, for $10 million, to an undercover agent.
Tests revealed the substance to be Americium, not Plutonium. While not as dangerous as Plutonium, Americium could still be used to build a dirty bomb.
And no, despite what you may be thinking, the substance did not come from the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Authorities believe the material was produced in Russia during the Soviet era and smuggled into Ukraine.
The following is a short video showing the design of the New Safe Confinement structure that is designed to cover the original Sarcophagus and remains of Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Materials for the video were suppllied by the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant administration.
Work on the New Safe Confinement is still considered to be on schedule.
My friend Sergiy has a detailed description (in English) of the New Safe Confinement on his Chernobyl Exclusion Zone website.
Work on the New Safe Confinement is still considered to be on schedule.
My friend Sergiy has a detailed description (in English) of the New Safe Confinement on his Chernobyl Exclusion Zone website.
This is a video shot by my friend Sasha during the Pripyat.com editor's trip to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in February 2006. The video includes scenes from the checkpoints, Pripyat and samosels living in the village of Novo Sheplichi.
The samosels, Sava and Olena Obrazjey, returned to their home approximately two weeks after being evacuated in 1986. They are the only people living in the village - the very essence of an isolated existence. I had the distinct pleasure of meeting this couple in June 2006, several months after this video was shot. Sava and Olena continue living in Novo Sheplichi to this very day.
The samosels, Sava and Olena Obrazjey, returned to their home approximately two weeks after being evacuated in 1986. They are the only people living in the village - the very essence of an isolated existence. I had the distinct pleasure of meeting this couple in June 2006, several months after this video was shot. Sava and Olena continue living in Novo Sheplichi to this very day.
The following video shows clips which appear to have been shot within the first years after the Chernobyl accident and initial clean up. No dates are available, but the quality, coloring and scenery indicates it was soon after the accident:
