24 Items Tagged

Chernobyl

A mural celebrating Russian space exploration remains on the wall at Prypiat's abandoned post office, which once served nearly 50,000 residents.

Tragedy Lingers Inside Chornobyl's Abandoned City

It’s been nearly 40 years since a reactor exploded at this Soviet nuclear power plant, but disaster has a long half-life.

Matthew Christopher December 11, 2024

When polar bears like this mom and cub wander into Churchill, a small town in a remote northern corner of Canada, they might just end up in "polar bear jail."

7 Unbelievable Environmental Stories from Every Continent

An around-the-world tour for Earth Day.

April White April 19, 2024

The Chernobyl Disaster Created an Unexpected Predator Paradise

In a corner of Belarus, wolves and lynx thrive as a new and surprising ecosystem evolves in the wake of disaster.

Wojciech Mikołuszko August 30, 2023

The "sarcophagus" covering the fourth block of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, 2018.

Chernobyl's Strange Black Fungi Have a Superpower

The organisms, growing at the Ukrainian site amid invasion and occupation, may one day help keep space travelers safe.

Eden Arielle Gordon April 1, 2022

Ubiquitous throughout the USSR, Palaces of Culture, such as this one in Pogonnoe, were used to host theater, concerts, and films. The events usually contained explicit Soviet political messages.

Exploring Chernobyl's Imprint on Neighboring Belarus

The Polesie State Radioecological Reserve is close to Ukraine's Exclusion Zone, but a world away.

Darmon Richter September 22, 2020

Chornobyl, Ukraine

'Monument of the Third Angel'

The biblical sculpture honors those who lost their lives, homes and communities to the Chernobyl disaster.

Prypiat, Ukraine

Canteen 19

The dining hall that nourishes workers in Chornobyl's Exclusion Zone is also open to visitors.

The Ferris wheel in Pripyat’s Luna Park was intended for a grand opening on May 1, 1986. That ceremony never came, and now fresh trees have broken through the surrounding tarmac.

The City the Chernobyl Disaster Left Behind, Then and Now

Archival images of Pripyat before the accident offer a stunning contrast to what visitors will find today.

Darmon Richter May 3, 2019

Chernobyl's Reactor 4.

A Fire Has Broken Out at Chernobyl

Authorities are thus far unconcerned about radiation levels.

Cara Giaimo June 5, 2018

Slavutych, Ukraine

Slavutych

The last planned Soviet city was built for the former residents of Prypiat after the Chornobyl disaster.

A power plant guide welcomes visitors into the reactor hall.

A Visit to Chernobyl as It Transforms Into a Solar Farm

Energy production is about to resume at the site of the worst nuclear accident in history.

Darmon Richter February 28, 2018

Prypiat, Ukraine

Abandoned Avanhard Stadium of Prypiat

One of the most poignant ruins of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster, the local football team's stadium has been quickly reclaimed by nature.

Tu-134 front.

Čačersk, Belarus

Chachersk Airplane

A decommissioned Soviet airplane has been used as a movie theater and a cultural center.

The New Safe Confinement dome, almost ready in October 2016.

Chernobyl’s Rogue Reactor Finally Gets a Better Dome

The massive structure has been slowly moving across the landscape for weeks.

Cara Giaimo November 28, 2016

Ukraine Is Planning to Build a Massive Solar Farm at Chernobyl

Lots of gigawatts.

Erik Shilling July 28, 2016

Radar antennas at Chernobyl.

The Top Secret Military Base Hidden in Chernobyl's Irradiated Forest

The mysterious Cold War base is now an eerie, crumbling ruin.

Luke Spencer April 25, 2016

The Illicit Spelunker Capturing Underground Scenes at Chernobyl

Photos from the most hazardous part of the infamous Reactor No. 4.

Kate Brown April 11, 2016

A sighted bank vole, free from radiation.

Fleeting Wonders: Irradiated Voles In Chernobyl

Cara Giaimo February 11, 2016