All language subtitles for Pripyat

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!