The Lab Files

Sometimes, the small things may tell a very big story. We found this report several years ago in a small staff room in one of the shops in Pripyat. And it gave a sharp feeling.

Editor's notice: Today is 10 years since events in Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. This text was written by our teammate, Oleksandr Syrota, in 2012.

When the hard snowing ended and — finally — the roads got less-more cleaned, we got a spontaneous idea to repeat a journey to far surroundings that we made a few years ago.

Cryptic definitions were typical for the Soviet Union, either by security reasons or by ingrained bureaucratic practices.

Našli sme obchod, a našli sme aj školu, o ktorej sme vedeli... A tu to prišlo.
Logická otázka. Načo sú v škole postele? Keď na chvíľku zabudneme špecifiká socialistického školstva, keď sa aj v sobotu chodilo na vyučovanie...

While checking our archives, we found a Christmas postcard from 1914, and then some more from different years.

Many of those who have been on our tours, know Alex's passion to restore various old tech. Today we'd like to share a small story about our new exhibit.

This is the first type of Soviet electronic weighing scales ever produced — 1261VN-3CT (1261ВН-3ЦТ) "Dina". Back in  pre-disaster times, you would find them operating in many grocery stores in Pripyat.

For all his busyness, Mikhail Nazarenko found an opportunity to record life in his beloved city for himself just so.

A cliche picture from a Chernobyl tour: a dosimeter over an apple or a mushroom having some readings on its display.

Many of those who have been with us at Chernobyl power plant, asked — what are these grey boxes? You may find them installed in the Golden corridor that connects all the reactor units.

It was 1996, when for the first time I saw few of Peter Yemets’s artworks. There were low-quality reproductions in an article about upcoming anniversary of disaster. That moment it was like opening a window to some underworld.

Located north of the Palace of Culture «Energetik», the amusement park is one of the most iconic places in Chernobyl Exclusion Zone that year over year draws the attention of numerous visitors.

Back to 70s and beginning of 80s, most of devices were analog-based, and displayed power of the dose using microampermeter with custom dial.

What is the Chernobyl Zone from the ecologist’s point of view? Before all, it is a forest. And, also rivers and swaps, some open landscapes on the places that used to be agricultural fields.

These places, located on the left bank of Pripyat river, are quite special. Being clamped between rivers, endless swamps and dense forests, for centuries they were a site for ancient neighbourhoods. As physical access here was obstructed, a traditional, pretty archaic way of life continued here, making these lands an epitome of Chernobyl Polissya culture, still in the focus of interest of ethnographists and adventure seekers.

In the previous article we looked on overall radiological conditions in Chernobyl Zone. Today we will talk about measurements of radioactivity levels.

This train in few minutes departs to Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.  And there is a whole story behind it, making it, probably, the strangest and the most surreal railway route in the world.

Did you know, that many of those who work in the Zone, quite often call the lands outside it "the Great Land"?

Probably, you will agree that nearly the first thing one remembers in relation to Chernobyl Zone is radioactivity and radioactive contamination.