Original subtitles

Pripyat was the town...

in which the workers at the Chernobyl power plant lived.

The population before the accident was 48,000.

Pripyat lies in the center of the restricted 30-km zone...

surrounding the power plant.

Pripyat is also the name of the river that flows past the power plant...

and through the contaminated zone.

The zone is guarded closely and still not completely evacuated.

Well, we don't call it '"the Zone", we don't ever say '"Zone" ourselves.

What is the Zone...

The Zone is where measurements were taken...

to find the most dangerous place...

of radiation.

A30-km zone...

which has been fenced in with barbed wire.

You see, we live in this zone,

in a contaminated place.

And look, past the 30 km, what's there?

Does the barbed wire stop the radiation?

So. Where does it stop?

My name is Alexander Grigoryevich Trofimov,

Militiaman of the 1st Company...

guarding the Chernobyl Restricted Zone.

I have been working in the Zone since February, '91...

for the Ministry of Disaster Relief.

Our tasks include...

guarding the outsettlement zone.

This entails careful checks of automobile traffic,

stopping vehicles and persons...

attempting to remove prohibited radioactive material.

Our duties also include...

providing support during dosimetric checks.

It is strictly forbidden...

to transport vehicles contaminated with radioactivity...

or clothing out of the Zone.

We also patrol...

along the border of the Zone.

This includes foot patrols...

and patrols in cars.

Now, there were beautiful spots in the Zone...

full of mushrooms, berries,

forests, rivers and all that.

Then there was the accident,

and the people were evacuated quickly.

Everything was contaminated here.

Everything was contaminated here.

The radioactivity in the 30-km Zone...

is far above the permissible level.

A little lower in places, and a little higher in others.

But in all, the Zone is contaminated.

People work in rotation,

because working straight through is prohibited,

for health reasons.

Two weeks of work, two weeks off.

That's how people work here.

What does the Zone mean to you?

The Zone means the same thing to me as to all people here:

The "Zone of Alienation".

This is a dead zone.

I don't think that people...

will ever settle here again.

Nobody will be here, even in 100 years,

I'm convinced of that.

The Zone is contaminated.

Andrej Antonovich,

how far is the power plant from here?

What?

How far is the power plant from here?

The power plant?

About 12 km.

It's close to the lake,

not to the river.

But the current is coming from the power plant?

Yes, from the power plant.

I do the gamma-spectrometric primary analysis...

and then the Americium analysis.

We do two analyses with the Americium device.

That's the primary analysis.

And then we determine the strontium and plutonium levels,

the primary levels...

in food, precipitation, dirt, the air,

everything brought to us for analysis.

How long have you been working here?

Along time, I've been working here since 1980.

And I've been working in this room for all these years.

Where did you live?

Here in Pripyat.

On Lenin Street, not far from here.

I always walked to work.

And now, we are brought here by bus every day...

and then taken home.

I used to walk to work through the school yard nearby.

It took ten minutes,

and I thought that it would be that way until I retire.

And then everything turned out quite differently.

Like it is now.

What is it like for you now, passing by your old apartment?

You know, it's been such a long time...

In the first few years, I always went there with friends.

But then we stopped meeting there,

because they said that I take it so hard...

and need days before I'm all right again.

And that's why I haven't been there in a while.

I try not to visit the building.

It hurts a lot.

I've suffered more psychologically than financially.

I don't think that my health is any worse.

But it was very hard psychologically,

and it still is.

You know, to this day I can't get used to the word "Zone".

For me, it's the same Pripyat,

but everything in the Zone...

is dead now,

even sometimes when former residents...

come here.

The word "Zone" -

I don't know, everything is just dead.

That's the Zone.

And when the wind blows in the summer, and we are outside walking,

we try to cover our faces.

When a car drives by and raises the dust,

we try to hide.

Although we work here in the Zone fourteen hours,

we're afraid of the Zone.

You can believe me.

We're afraid of picking up something on our shoes.

For example, I don't take any clothing...

that I wear here or in Chernobyl...

home to Kiev. I try to separate completely,

all my clothing, down to my underwear,

that's all '"Zone clothing".

It's not really a uniform, just clothes for the Zone.

We try not to take anything away from here.

AlI that's part of the Zone.

Actually, I don't think of it as a Zone,

I worked here before the accident,

and I've continued to work here since the accident. I don't know...

I can't explain what it is, the Zone.

It's something terrible.

I was homesick...

and we returned and now live here again.

We decided to live here...

as long God lets us live.

It's probably for science, also.

The American, Professor Gale, figured at some point...

that people living inside the 30-km Zone will die,

after how many years?

After seven years.

We've lived here for ten years already.

Why ten?

Twelve, isn't it?

Of course. -Twelve years, you see.

They've probably written us off already. But we're still alive.

I can tell you, there's no life here.

There's no one else, no neighbours.

The authorities don't treat us badly,

the police, the district at tourney.

They even help us.

They ask if anyone is bothering us.

We should call them if anyone bothers us.

But no one bothers us.

Our daughter got married a while ago,

and then she got pregnant.

That was in 1986, on February 13th.

The doctors told the authorities...

that the baby would have to be aborted.

Because no one needs a radioactive child,

neither the government nor the parents.

You see, no one knows anything.

She had an abortion,

everything was over.

She couldn't get pregnant for a long time,

we waited a long time for grandchildren.

And then they said that it wasn't necessary in the first place.

We had to bear all that.

You understand.

We prayed to God and Saint Nikolai,

"Give us a grandchild",

"Give us a grandchild",

and Alyosha arrived after seven months, premature.

Such a smart boy, you know...

He's in the second grade now.

Two and one half years later,

she bore us a granddaughter, Alinka.

Everything's all right, thank God.

God helps us, I know that for a fact.

God listens to our prayers.

I was fired three days before the accident.

You tell me whether that's a miracle or not.

My co-workers went to work and were killed.

That's the way it is.

We work, chop wood, fish...

and work on the farm.

And we gather mushrooms and dry them.

We will serve you some mushrooms.

They make a great appetiser!

But mushrooms, you know, absorb a great deal of radiation.

On the other hand, they say that if you only eat a little...

Eating a ton of them is harmful.

It will have its affects.

But even the doctors eat them, they eat everything.

We also give them milk and fish.

Why shouldn't we eat them?

They could have saved the houses...

and collected the radiation somehow.

Everybody could have cleaned their gardens by hand...

and their houses,

and everything would have been clean and all right.

But now...

The nicest houses were burned down, you know.

And you can't heat them.

The head forester,just imagine,

he had such a nice house, and they burned it down.

Only shacks were left.

The windows are broken so that no one moves in,

so that this stays attesting ground.

So, let's stop and go inside.

Here are Units 3 and 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power station.

Unit 3 is on the right,

it's in operation again,

since May 14th...

at the rated output...

after a ten-month general renovation.

And there, under the black roof,

Unit 4 of tragic fame.

The black roof next to the chimney,

that's the sarcophagus.

Unit 4 blew up at the time,

the black area...

left of the chimney.

I can't tell you the exact force of the explosion right now,

but I can tell you that the roof...

and the entire concrete-and-steel lid were destroyed, so to speak.

It was like it had been bombed.

It was a terrible sight.

I might show you a photograph...

so you can see what's left of the Unit.

Several hundred roentgen were measured...

on the radiation field where we're standing now.

We're standing on radiation fields with high degrees of contamination...

all around the reactor, as you can imagine.

We're now in Unit 3 of the Chernobyl nuclear power station.

At present, this Unit is operating at full power.

Everything is controlled from this room,

this is the main switching room.

The reactor is monitored...

from this panel.

These switches and instruments...

are used to control the power output,

the unloading process,

even safety measures in the event of an accident,

all that it controlled from this panel.

These instruments are used to control the energy output,

at this panel,

which is right in front of the operator.

He uses these switches to...

alter the energy output and the heat load...

and the electrical load in the Unit.

Let's proceed to Panel 2.

This is the main control panel...

from which the supply of cooling water...

to the reactor is regulated.

The water is heated to the saturation temperature,

steam forms and is sent to the turbines...

and then drives the turbines, which produce electricity.

This control panel is therefore the link...

between the reactor unit...

and the turbine unit, which I will show you later .

Our nuclear power station therefore comprises...

a core reactor and two steam turbines.

A "double block."

This panel therefore unites two areas:

The reactor and turbines.

Come with me.

From this panel...

the turbo generators are regulated.

There are two turbo generators...

divided by yellow lines,

divided by yellow lines,

one on the left and one on the right.

Turbo generator No. 5 is on the right,

and Turbo generator No. 6 is on the left.

As I mentioned before, both are running at full power.

Each produces...

500 megawatts of electricity.

Aren't you afraid of another accident?

First of all, I'm not only not scared,

to prevent one.

I keep this power plant running,

I am one of the guarantees...

that nothing will happen.

I will not permit it.

I am responsible for the safety of this unit...

and therefore the reactor unit.

How could I be afraid? I couldn't work here if I was.

Such a responsibility is surely a burden?

Yes, a great burden.

Psychologically,

morally, a great responsibility...

to society, to my family,

to my country, to the entire world.

Yes, that's a burden, a very great responsibility.

We think so, too.

Especially when people watch us so closely,

such as with this camera.

Workers of the Restricted Zone!

Protect Ukrainia of radioactive contamination!

Clean cars and trucks

help prevent the spread of radio nuclides outside the Zone!

Observing radiation protection

measures in the dormitories is the sign of a healthy lifestyle!

We are sitting in the stands.

This was the new stadium.

The stadium was built about two years before the accident.

There used to be a tiny stadium overt here,

at the beginning of the bridge.

There was no place to play soccer.

And everybody was crazy about soccer.

They even played on the power plant grounds.

The reactor crew against the turbine crew.

And when the stadium was finished, everyone was overjoyed.

And that was about one or two years before the accident.

There was a soccer field over there,

the spotlights all disappeared,

everything used to be well-lit.

And it was always full on the weekends.

Somebody was always playing soccer here.

There were games all the time.

They played volleyball, there was a basketball court,

a pool, everything was always full.

You asked what people used to do here in Pripyat,

You asked what people used to do here in Pripyat,

well, everybody played sports in Pripyat.

Everybody at the power plant tried to stay fit anyway.

Afterwork, everybody went to the stadium.

And now, everything's quiet. No one running around.

It was always full of joggers.

The tracks were always full.

But there was nobody left by May 1st.

Pripyatwas evacuated quickly on April 27th.

No one was left by May 1st.

Not even the laboratory staff,

we were the last to leave.

No one lived here any more.

They went from house to house,

and checked if anyone was still there,

because there were a few sick old women here...

who couldn't be evacuated immediately.

And no one else was left. It was like a ghost town.

No one was left.

People came from around the Soviet Union to help,

lots of people came from all over.

I don't think that was right.

So many people were sent here,

so many who weren't even able to help...

and they were contaminated for no reason.

That was in the first two months.

There were lots of people here...

who just weren't able to help.

They needed experts here, just experts,

because they know how to deal with radiation.

They know what to do and what not to do.

I'm telling you honestly,

they sent so many people here,

who just didn't know what they were doing.

And who were contaminated in the first few days,

because they didn't know...

what's permissible and what isn't.

Of course, they all came.

You're familiar with Russian enthusiasm,

when there was the call to help,

they all came, of course.

What happened to them?

I don't think anyone knows how they're doing now.

I'm sure that quite a few have died from it...

although something else was diagnosed,

especially young boys, the soldiers,

who were sent here.

I don't doubt that a lot of them have died.

Because those were young boys who had no idea...

about what should be done and what shouldn't.

They all sat on the ground, drank water,

ran around half naked,

back then, with this beta radiation.

They had no idea.

I think that many of these boys are no longer alive.

Because that was 12 years ago.

Because they were exposed to high doses,

they were exposed to much more than we experts.

Because we know what's permissible and what isn't.

They understood nothing about it.

They carried away the graphite with their bare hands.

And even if I'm sent to prison for saying this.

And even if I'm sent to prison for saying this.

They can lock me up.

They walked around on the graphite,

they sat on it, carried it away with their bare hands,

those poor kids.

Those are our sons, those poor boys.

Later, they were smart enough to stop sending them,

but half of them had already died.

Who did that, who sent them here,

I don't know.

In my opinion, that's the real disgrace...

in the tragedy of Chernobyl,

that's the true disgrace.

Even if everything else was caused by not knowing,

they were sent here intentionally.

It was obvious what would happen to them.

The Zone?

To me?

The Zone, I don't know...

They call it the "Restricted Zone".

I think that, if there were no radiation,

there wouldn't be a 30-km zone.

As I said, there are some places -

the contamination is not spread evenly.

There's radiation wherever the wind blows.

For example...

it can rain here...

and be clear just three or four km away.

It's the same thing with radiation.

Nayda, no!

Nayda, come here!

Nayda, stop that, come here.

Are any special measures being taken?

Of course.

Because of the radiation, you mean?

I already said there is a place...

where you can have yourself examined.

If necessary, the contaminated clothing is washed...

and checked again.

That's all.

When I started working here,

there was an engineer for safety.

He told us how to wash afterwork.

We have showers, as it should be.

First, you have to use cold water, and then hot.

Of course there are safety measures.

They explained everything to us,

the head engineer explained everything.

Good afternoon.

I'm the head of the vehicle depot...

"Rassokha" is what it's called here.

I'm the foreman here.

Follow me, if you like.

I'll give you a tour.

So, the depot...

was set up in 1987,

after the decontamination...

of Chernobyl and Pripyat was completed.

All vehicles were then brought here,

for storage.

A decision was made to keep all vehicles here...

until construction of the final depot, "Vektor", is finished...

and they've been decontaminated.

Well, there are severely contaminated vehicles here...

and others without much contamination.

The latter are used...

for our own needs inside the Zone.

We take the parts or can use them as they are.

Actually, we're waiting for the completion of "Vektor"...

and to do the decontamination.

Let's continue.

We also have helicopters here.

At the beginning,

they were loaded with bags of sand and clay,

which were then dropped over the reactor.

They are all kept at our depot.

We also have military vehicles here,

they are equipped with chemical protection equipment,

and radiation protection equipment.

Some of them are contaminated,

others are clean.

These vehicles are not used any more,

just for the army back then.

And now they're all here.

And now they're all here.

We have a total of...

1600 vehicles here.

How do you instruct your workers?

How do we instruct them?

Well, we begin the workday with radiation measurements.

Of course, we change clothes,

we have separate work clothes.

We put on our work clothes,

and a technician checks us,

and then we start to work.

That's it.

The only protection is this special clothing.

That's all.

And that's sufficient? - Yes, absolutely.

We use face masks against dust and sand.

And otherwise...

Of course we try...

to stay away from the contaminated vehicles.

This has been going on for 12 years.

Does watching these vehicles make sense?

Of course it makes sense,

because we're on the edge of the Zone,

there are collective farms just 2 km from here,

they always need spare parts.

And come here illegally.

It has already happened.

Arrests and convictions, too.

That's human.

The radiation can't be seen or smelled.

You can't feel it.

They don't know about it.

They aren't informed.

So they climb over the fence, over the barb wire,

and take what they need.

Standing around the helicopters and these vehicles...

is not recommended.

It should be avoided...

because they, as people say, "radiate strongly".

They're highly contaminated.

So we should continue.

The cattle was overt here.

Milk cows,

bulls at the feed troughs.

Aren't you afraid of the radiation?

No.

I don't notice any radiation.

Is the food contaminated?

It's clean.

How do you know that? - It's checked.

Who checks it?

People come from the laboratory and take samples of what we grow.

And everything's apparently fine.

We grow good potatoes, clean ones.

We butcher pigs, we have good bacon, it's clean.

Everything.

We also hunt.

We have everything we need.

Grain, potatoes, everything's clean.

Somebody lives here...

and a women lives over in that house.

Malikov moved away to Ptich.

My sister lived in that house.

She moved to Ptich, where she's just waiting to die.

I was there for a wedding, my other sister lives there, too.

I said to her: '"You're in the clean zone,

'"why are you groaning?

'"We used to live together."

We laughed a lot then.

She often cries and says to her husband:

"Come on, let's go back."

But that's not possible, you can't drive here.

You can't get a car.

A man lives there.

His wife's not quite right in the head.

She does whatever occurs to her.

Her mother is a little crazy, too.

Well, we've made a complete tour now.

Do you have the impression that someone is taking care of you?

No.

If anybody cared, they would have moved us away by now.

Who really cares?

They have left us to our fate.

They probably don't think of us as human,

maybe they think that only alcoholics live here,

but we're completely normal, and can't leave.

For example, I can't leave...

although I have a house somewhere else.

They say: "Wait. You'll move later."

We're already waiting. It really is high time.

Or they should at least create conditions...

so that people can settle here again. So that I'm not here all alone.

They should install gas and telephone lines...

so that I can live like I did.

Why was everything taken away, plundered?

There's nothing here any more.

How are we supposed to live? It's impossible to live here now.

Is the radiation still measured here?

I've never seen anyone taking measurements.

A plane flew over us once.

People say that the radiation level is higher now.

And the plane flew over about five times a day.

They say that there's more radiation, but nobody does anything about it.

No measurements are taken.

No one tells us anything.

How long have you been waiting to be moved out?

Well, since they started.

The application was sent to Petrivsksix years ago.

And to Parishev three or two and a half years ago.

I submitted the application right away...

because my youngest daughter...

was only 12 at the time of the explosion.

She was growing,

and that was bad for her.

After the explosion, it was hard to breathe,

and we eventually got used to it.

It was the same thing everywhere.

We might not understand anything about it, we don't know anything.

Who really understands it?

People used to come from the laboratory and measure the radiation.

They examined us and made checks,

nothing is done now.

No one is hereto do it.

There are maybe 100 families left in Poleskoye.

Maybe fewer.

I don't know exactly.

Maybe there are only 80 families. Something like that.

There is no phone service, you can't call anywhere.

It takes a week to reach someone, if you get through at all.

Either the area code doesn't work,

or the telephone doesn't work at all,

if you can find one.

And if someone got sick,

I don't know how you would call for an ambulance.

It's five km to the hospital.

You would die here trying to make a phone call,

and there are no ambulances.

The only way to get to the hospital is by bicycle or by foot.

That's how things are. We only live for each day.

Every day, some strange characters creep around here.

Crooks. Every day.

Nobody knows them. Nobody knows what they're doing.

You can't leave the house alone,

you're hardly gone and there's someone sneaking around the house.

There are burglaries all over Poleskoye, even murders.

People are afraid to live here. It's terrible.

And nobody wastes a thought on us.

Nobody wants us. They have left us to our fate.

I don't think that anyone should live here.

But because of the situation here in Ukraine...

no one insists on resettlement of these people.

They live here and will probably continue to live here.

Nobody talks about resettling them any more.

The Zone is dangerous, that's the way it was and the way it'll stay .

I think that the Zone isn't very safe.

They don't give us any information.

Not even we doctors are familiar with the situation.

I think that it's dangerous.

Why don't you receive information?

They just don't provide it.

They don't tell us much.

At the most, that we shouldn't eat mushrooms,

shouldn't go into the forest,

they tell us that, but we don't have any other information.

We still don't know what's in the air.

We don't know what's in the water, we don't know anything.

Although there are research centers in the Zone...

Yes, although they exist.

For example, I drink the water from the well,

but I don't know what's in it.

I don't know how good the potatoes that everybody eats are.

Nobody knows. Of course it's dangerous.

Even breathing is dangerous in my opinion.

But what can you do?

Do I have high blood pressure? - Let me listen to your heart.

Should I undress?

Unbutton your blouse and pull it up.

Unbutton your blouse and pull it up.

Please stand up.

What a weak heart you have...

I know that it's weak.

I didn't sleep at all last night.

Sit down. Which leg hurts?

This one hurts.

I have already applied the medicine...

to the knee.

Show me.

Show me your leg.

Did you apply a compress?

What kind?

A vodka compress, of course, what else?

Please sit down.

Oh, this leg. As if somebody had pounded nails into it.

What's that?

Those are bruises, they're almost gone.

And there?

It hurts here.

And this knee? - It doesn't hurt.

So that one doesn't hurt.

This leg hurts a lot.

That one doesn't hurt, and this one does.

I see.

You have to live and you have to work.

But how are we supposed to live?

This is a silver carp,

which lives in the cooling pond of the Chernobyl power plant.

This fish is 12 years old and weighs 25 kg.

It survived the accident...

and now lives under these conditions,

here in the cooling pond.

We are examining the radioactive processes in the cooling pond,

the migration of the radio nuclides...

and their influence on living organisms.

Our research center is examining...

the effect of the radiation...

the effect of the radiation...

on the reproduction offish...

and other forms of aquatic life.

Is this fish contaminated?

Yes, it is.

The level of radiation is...

1500 becquerel per kg of live weight.

But it has the lowest amount of radioactivity of all the fish here.

As it's not predatory,

it has a short food chain.

Its level of radiation is relatively low.

Other fish in the cooling pond, predators,

have higher degrees of contamination,

up to 20,000 becquerel per kg.

Contamination is high with the catfish, pike,

zander and perch.

What does that mean for people?

Well, for people that means...

the presence of radioactive elements in the food chain.

Fish are eaten.

Eating contaminated fish...

means consuming radioactive elements...

and poisoning your organism.

So it shouldn't be eaten.

This fish? It shouldn't be eaten at all.

Behind this wall are the rooms...

of Unit 4.

This building is constructed in such a way,

that these rooms can be used by both Unit 4 and Unit 3.

Therefore, there are no real dividing walls,

as I showed you in the machine room.

Although Unit 4 actually begins...

behind this wall.

That's a memorial.

A man died...

in the accident,

a technician who worked...

on the central water pumps.

This plaque was put up...

in his memory.

This is the only thing left of that man.

He is buried somewhere in Unit 4.

No one knows exactly where. They couldn't find him.

So this is a symbol of the tragedy...

which shows that things here...

aren't as safe as they seem.

Now we continue into the reactor room.

The reactor room.

Good day.

Good day. This is a television team. Don't be startled.

The press?

No, television, not the press, just a film.

This is the lounge for the operating personnel...

who work in the heart of our core reactor.

who work in the heart of our core reactor.

Let us continue.

This is probably the most interesting spot...

in the entire power plant.

Because here, in the reactor room,

is where the most important things happen,

the replacement and...

relocation of the fuel rods...

and shutdowns for repairs.

Although the reactor is apparently dangerous...

and not easily accessible,

we still perform repairs here.

We replace the fuel canals,

the outer rings,

and the problems that can arise...

are normally fixed in this room.

This is the upper part of the reactor.

The reloads are performed with this wonder machine, the "RSM".

That stands for "Reactor loading and unloading machine."

In the event of an accident,

for example, it can help check the problem...

by shutting the canals.

Fresh fuel elements are hanging on the balcony over there.

These fresh fuel elements are being prepared for loading,

the used elements are unloaded and the fresh ones are loaded.

Is everything OK here?

Are the radiation levels normal? - Yes.

This canal is hot.

We have to relocate here. We'll relocate it.

Our food is free here.

The Chernobyl power plant gives us these coupons...

to pay for food.

That means that we don't need money, we don't need grivna.

Because we work under especially unhealthy conditions,

we are entitled to special food.

Our lunch break,

you could say,

is actually therapeutic.

It's a kind of health food, so to speak.

OK. For me, what is there...

No, I don't want an appetiser.

I'd like something that's easy to chew.

OK, then I'll take a steak.

Is there anything with that?

I'll take a vinaigrette salad, please.

Is there any cabbage salad?

Then I'll take carrots.

And something to drink...

I'll take a juice,

a tomato juice.

Did you get paid yet?

No, I haven't been paid yet.

But, as you see, the plant still feeds us.

We won't starve.

Because we don't pay for food,

as I explained.

Maybe we should have filmed...

a close-up of the meal coupon?

How would that be?

OK, I'll finish eating and then we'll do it.

In the central switching room,

but only in the central switching room,

we can drink tea and coffee.

Do you love your job?

Yes, for the most part.

Although I understand "love" in a different way.

You can love a job only when it is completely satisfying.

Firstly, doing the job...

should be enjoyable.

That applies in my case.

Secondly, it should be a calling...

that you dreamed about as a child.

Unfortunately, working in this industry is not a calling for me.

And thirdly, which is not unimportant,

the job should feed the family...

and the worker.

And that, the most important factor, does not apply.

Unfortunately, my job does not provide enough money to live on.

It's not sufficient. In the final analysis.

It's not sufficient in a financial sense.

That's true for many people.

In everyday life, etc.

But that is the main factor...

for guaranteeing safety in a nuclear power plant,

the pay. I already said that.

Unfortunately, it doesn't pay enough.

In this regard, I can tell you honestly, I'm not satisfied.

I'm dissatisfied with my pay.

Chernobyl! Clean yards, clean streets, a clean city!

Thriftier handling of monetarian resources

and energy sources is the road

to prosperity of the people !

Scientists! Guarantee the realisation

of abstract ideas for the

renewal of the earth of Chernobyl !

Are you afraid of the contaminated vehicles?

Are you afraid of the contaminated vehicles?

But why? I've already adapted...

in the six years I've been in the Zone.

I've already got used to it, as people say.

We can't see it, the radiation.

But it does have an affect, of course.

For six years.

The radiation is of course there.

It will claim its victims. Later.

Then we'll see.

What is that, radiation?

There's...

beta, alpha and gamma radiation.

Radiation penetrates the body.

The worst kind is alpha radiation,

it's radioactive.

A lot of it has collected...

over the years.

What should I do.

I have to work, I have to feed my family.

We're here in Pripyat.

You can't see the chimney,

but the power plant is over there.

And this town is located...

right next to the Chernobyl power plant.

This is the town which was affected most.

Everybody was evacuated.

The power plant workers lived here.

And now, of course, you can't come here any more.

Although people get in somehow.

To get here,

you have to pass through the checkpoint,

where only the people who work here are allowed through.

Here in Pripyat, there are only two or three organisations,

only for that reason people can still come here.

Actually, except for "Radek"...

and two or three other organisations, there is nothing left here.

There are no more dormitories,

no life, nothing,

no one lives here.

We are brought to Pripyat by bus,

work here,

but no one spends time here.

There is no life in the town.

It's a ghost town.

No one lives here. You can see for yourself,

there are no people here, not even birds.

There were still birds in the first few years.

There are hardly any left now.

In the first few years, there were mice, lots of mice.

Now even the mice are gone.

This is really...

a completely dead town.

Totally destroyed.

This is all that's left of this pretty little town...

at the Chernobyl power plant.

There's nothing else here.

How dangerous is it to be here?

Of course, it's not dangerous to pass through,

to spend, let's say, an hour,

to go for a short walk when the humidity is high.

But in summer, when it's sunny and windy ,

it's not a good idea,

because dust is stirred up,

and the dirt is completely contaminated here.

There are radiation levels- the experts know them -

but knowing them doesn't help.

It's dangerous to be here.

I'm sitting on this bench...

and don't know if it's contaminated or not.

Actually, I should either wash the clothes I'm wearing...

or decontaminate them with a special solution.

We touch this railing...

Although the stadium, this part of Pripyat,

has the lowest level of contamination.

But the 1st district and the 2nd district,

you shouldn't go there at all.

The interior of the building where we work,

was decontaminated at the time,

and they still clean it constantly.

and they still clean it constantly.

But I can't say for sure whether it's completely safe or not.

After all, we constantly test active samples,

all of which contain a certain amount of radioactivity.

Of course, you can't live here.

And living here won't be possible...

in over 100 years, either.

100 years will pass, and 150,

and this place still won't be suitable to live in.

We can't go where I wanted to walk with you.

Everything has been dug up.

There used to be a path here.

God, how terrible.

It looks awful here.

There were fences here. They've all been stolen.

All the contaminated stuff was hauled away.

This is the school,

this is the school yard.

You know, it was much easier for me...

to tell you about it...

than seeing it all now.

This was the school, can you imagine that?

My children went to school here.

By the way, when I was late for work,

it took me only four minutes to cross this school yard.

First past the school...

and then on to work.

God, I always thought, I'm so lucky.

I worked in town...

and at the power plant at the same time.

Just think how lucky I was.

But who would have thought such a thing would happen?

Am I showing you too much?

Still with me?

Look, there's some rose hip.

And these wild apples started growing here after the accident.

There weren't any apples here before.

They grow by themselves.

Up there on the 3rd floor, the broken window.

That apparently happened just recently.

I was here last year, and that window wasn't broken.

Up there on the 3rd floor.

I don't think we can go in.

Can't we? - Probably not.

I don't think so, or should we? Yes?

Let's try.

Terrible.

Door no. 32.

The Krasnozhon family. Door no. 32.

How awful.

Oh God, and the stairway always used to be so clean.

We even washed the floor ourselves.

It was always so clean here.

It was always so clean here.

Why did they have to smash everything here?

Was that really necessary?

Oh my God, my God.

Who did this?

Just look at that, how horrible.

You know, I would like to say something, but I just can't.

This is from Zhenya. He's my youngest son.

Everything has just disappeared.

There was furniture here, a nice desk was overt here.

Everything's contaminated here.

All the windows are open.

The window is open here, too.

My God, everything's faded.

How terrible!

lvette,

they call us "autonomous returnees."

We really aren't allowed to be here, but we came back on our own.

And now, the authorities have agreed.

They permit us to live here.

What is it like in winter here?

Normal.

We know how it is here,

winter, spring, summer, fall.

We know all that.

We come from here.

We were born here and have always lived here.

And we want to live a little bit longer.

Here comes a tractor.

Our measurements...

We attempt...

as they say,

to reduce the environmental effects...

of the Chernobyl accident...

to a minimum.

Other than at this river ,

the same measurements are made at other bodies of water...

in the restricted zone around Chernobyl.

And the measurements produce results.

Water protection measures are planned.

For example, in layman's terms,

dams will be built in areas with the highest levels of contamination,

and filters will be used...

to absorb the radio nuclides.

The intention is...

to reduce...

the number of radio nuclides...

which enter the Dnieper River from this contaminated area.

And is that effective?

Well, it might not be as effective as we'd like.

But in principle, yes.

Fewer contaminated materials are entering the river.

The telephone's ringing, Andrej.

Ignore it.

It's ringing, but we're busy.

It might be Larissa.

Do you have everything?

You, little one, stay here.

Stay here and guard the place.

Oletshka, not so fast.

What beautiful weather today.

No frost, it's warm.

Thank God.

This is our river.

Our river.

We spent our childhood here,

our whole life.

The river is called...

Pripyat,

because five rivers flow into it,

that's where the name Pripyat comes from. "Pyat" means five.

So, five rivers.

And it flows into the Dnieper 30 km downstream.

Awhile ago...

Things change,

and the river changes, too, everything changes.

The river used to be completely different.

It was shallow, but the water was clean.

People used it for the samovar, to make tea.

There were no salts in the water.

And people lived to a ripe old age,

100 years, 90 years.

Take some water, Oletshka.

Our Pripyat was a real beauty.

It still is. - It was always good to us,

we won't forget it.

We haven't forgotten it. - We haven't forgotten it,

and will never forget it.

We were born here, on this river,

and we want to die here.

Woods, forest, everything has become overgrown.

You can see how thick the brush is here.

When there were collective farms, things were kept clean.

There was a lot of hay. Now everything's growing wild.

Trees, bushes.

Everything's becoming overgrown, like in the taiga.

When you look at the river,

it's only a strip of water.

You can see from a plane...

that everything's overgrown, completely overgrown.

There used to be fields here,

and now everything's gone wild.

There are a lot of animals... - Lots of animals, wild boars,

a lot of wolves.

Elks.

It's like a nature preserve.

Wild boars...

And we keep our own pigs.

"Wild birds of a feather flock together, the tame birds stay here."

And ducks, wild ducks, there were millions.

They bred like rabbits,

there really were a lot of these wild ducks...

that now spend the winter at the reactor.

Yes, at the reactor, near the cooling water.

It's cold... - But the cooling water doesn't freeze.

They can survive there in the winter.

The water is warm there.

So, let's take the bucket with the water,

and the little father, like always,

has to get up early and carry the water.

For the cattle, for his cows,

you see, this is how we live our lives.

And there's lots of wood on the banks of the Pripyat,

good firewood.

Come on! Let's go!