Chernobyl and Eastern Europe Blog

Ukraine Presidential Election Set for January 17, 2010

2009-07-03T14:51:30Z

Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada has scheduled the country's next presidential election for January 17, 2010. Parliament had previously scheduled the election for October 25, 2009, but President Viktor Yushchenko appealed to the Constitutional Court, which found the decision to be unconstitutional.

A recent presidential election poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology revealed the following results:

Viktor Yanukovych (Party of Regions) - 34.7%
Yulia Tymoshenko (Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc) - 21.5%
Arseniy Yatseniuk (Change Front Citizens Initiative) - 17.6%

If a run-off election is required, it will most likely be held on February 7, 2010. The main question is, if a run-off is necessary, who would face off against Viktor Yanukovych? For a long time, the likely choice was Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. However, her inability to deal with Ukraine's economic crisis has significantly damaged her popularity. Meanwhile, former Rada Speaker Yatseniuk's popularity has accordingly increased.

It is unlikely that Yushchenko will gain re-election, with current popularity ratings in the low single digits and his Our Ukraine party recently withdrawing from Ukraine's ruling political coalition.

Video: New Pripyat Footage from 2009

2009-07-01T17:08:16Z

My friend Sergey has posted a new video filmed earlier this year in Pripyat. The 4 minute clip covers some well-known scenes such as the public swimming pool "Azure", and the amusement park, but also reveals some artwork or places not typically seen in photos or videos:

Sergey's Chernobyl Zone website has more detailed information about Pripyat, both then and now (this information is in English).

Video: Abandoned Church in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

2009-06-30T16:25:30Z

My friend Sergey just posted a new video of St. Michael's Church in the abandoned village of Krasnoe in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. This church was built around 1800 and was one of the most interesting stops during my two-day trip to Chernobyl in June 2006. The interior murals are just incredible and have stood the test of time extremely well.

Krasnoe is located 5.74 kilometers northeast of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, on the other side of the Pripyat River.

Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Current Background Radiation Levels

2009-06-09T14:54:11Z

The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Information Department has released a new report about ongoing work at the facility. In addition to general information, the report provides background radiation measurements at several plant locations. The measurements are (in milli-Sieverts per hour):

Administration building - 0.41 mSv/hr
Visitor Center near the Sarcophagus (object "Shelter") - 6.93 mSv/hr
Local areas at the Sarcophagus (object "Shelter") - 40.0 mSv/hr

Photo by: Mond

Video: Moose in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

2009-06-08T19:59:58Z

Recent video of a bull moose in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone:

Video courtesy of http://www.chornobyl.in.ua/

Inside Chernobyl Photo Exhibit in Slavutych, Ukraine

2009-06-04T21:53:24Z

In case you missed the initial showing of Michael Forster Rothbart's "Inside Chernobyl: life goes on" photography exhibit in Kyiv, you have another chance. From June 5 to July 5, 2009 the exhibit will be on display at the Slavutych Information Center in Slavutych, Ukraine.

This photo exhibit had a brief initial showing from late April to early May in Kyiv's Shevchenko Park. The exhibit will now be appropriately displayed in Slavutych, a city that was built after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster as the new home for Chernobyl Nuclear Plant workers.

The Slavutych Information Center is located at 7 Druzhby Narodiv Street in Slavutych.

Details about the "Inside Chernobyl" photo exhibit can be found in my previous post about the Kyiv opening.

Note: Slavutych is located 40 km from Chernihiv, 45 km from Pripyat and 200 km from Kyiv. Rooms can be found at the hotel "Yevropeyskiy" at reasonable rates.

Video - Lost Villages in Chernobyl Zone: Starye Sheplichi

2009-05-26T13:17:59Z

The following is a short video shot in the now abandoned village of Starye Sheplichi (Old Sheplichi) in Ukraine's Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. The village is located several kilometers northeast of Pripyat:

Video by: www.chornobyl.in.ua/en/

Incident at Ukraine's Rivne Nuclear Power Plant

2009-05-17T20:23:12Z

On May 14, 2009, a fire broke out in Unit 1 of Ukraine's Rivne Nuclear Power Plant. Personnel from the Rivne Plant were able to extinguish the blaze themselves. The reactor unit was shutdown for routine maintenance and repairs at the time of the incident.

Some sources reported the incident as only a build-up of smoke, not an actual fire. The incident occurred as the result of a short circuited wire in a storage room at the facility's Reactor Unit 1.

The affected unit is a VVER 440/213 reactor with net output of 361 MWe and started commercial operations in September 1981.

Reactor 1 at Rivne NPP was shutdown in June 2008 because of leakage within the containment vessel. The leak reportedly did not exceed operational limits.

The Ministry of Emergency Measures reported the radiation and ecology at the Rivne Plant and surrounding areas were not affected. Reactor units 2, 3 and 4 are still operational.

Of similar interest, Rivne NPP's Reactor 3 was temporarily shutdown on May 4, 2009 to repair reported malfunctions.

Video: Owlet Found in Chernobyl Forest

2009-05-17T17:57:06Z

A May 2009 scientific expedition captured video of an owlet inhabiting a forest in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone:

Video courtesy of http://www.chornobyl.in.ua/

New Security Study for Chernobyl's New Safe Confinement

2009-05-15T14:11:47Z

The International Advisory Group ICG has reviewed materials prepared by contractors for Chernobyl's New Safe Confinement and identified risk factors for the possibility of those contractors falling behind schedule and associated cost increases as the most serious risks to the project.

ICG is happy with a new paper on security within the framework of the project (DBCP) as an effective substitute for the preliminary safety analysis report (POAB). This document could be extremely useful for Ukrainian regulatory bodies, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant administration, contractors and the bank.

The DBCP is based on information developed by Novarka at its early stages as the project contractor and provides a functional specification of the New Safe Confinement including:

A list of the SC-1 NSC structures, buildings, major components, systems, communications, etc.
A description of the specific functions of each NSC component from the above item
Systematic design criteria and requirements including additional criteria and benchmarks obtained through research and the design process
Analysis of regulatory and legal frameworks applicable to the NSC design
Methodology and approach of the contractor to implement the design criteria and requirements
Design procedures and rationale for project licensing where parts of the project are reviewed by regulatory agencies, including the main building (foundations, arch, cranes, edging) and the NSC complex as a whole (life-support systems and control of the NSC)

A working draft document also considers:

Cleaning the site to build the arch and its mounting systems
Dismantling the ventilation tube BT-2
Construction of infrastructure facilities
Construction of temporary bases
Information on main technical and constructive solutions for the NSC, based on Novarka proposals

According to comments by regulators, Novarka is expected to finalize a detailed timeline for the entire NSC design as a way to provide for timely project decisions. A detailed schedule for the design and a listing of required licensing documents and the estimated time of need should also be available.

Video: Chernobyl Zone Wild Dogs Chase Wild Boar

2009-05-11T15:22:54Z

The following video was recently shot in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. It shows a pack of wild dogs chasing wild boar. The incident took place approximately one kilometer from the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

The Story Behind the Inside Chernobyl Photo Exhibit

2009-05-01T20:01:39Z

Last week I wrote about Michael Forster Rothbart's new photo exhibit in Kyiv titled "Inside Chernobyl: life goes on."

Yesterday, Global Comment editor Natalia Antonova posted an interesting interview with Forster Rothbart. The discussion looks into how the project developed, how it is different than other Chernobyl photographic works, the distinctions between urban and rural Ukraine and misconceptions about Chernobyl.

Take a few minutes and read this enlightening interview.

"Inside Chernobyl: life goes on" should be making its way to Slavutych, Moscow and Washington, D.C. later this year.

Chernobyl Book - The Pripyat Syndrome

2009-04-30T16:29:49Z

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.

Chernobyl's 23rd Anniversary

2009-04-26T17:39:41Z

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:

Inside Chernobyl: life goes on Photography Exhibition

2009-04-23T14:07:50Z

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:

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 "Inside Chernobyl: life goes on" photography exhibit will be displayed for two weeks, April 24 to May 8, 2009, in Shevchenko Park, Kyiv, to coincide with the April 26th anniversary of the Chernobyl accident.

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 five families profiled were chosen to represent a diverse cross-section of their community. Through large-scale photographs and texts based on personal interviews, viewers will learn about the workers' jobs and lives.

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

For more information and media accreditation, please contact:

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