"I only went back once. I couldn't stop crying."
-- Galina Dondukova, former Pripyat kindergarten director
Pripyat, Ukraine, was a closed Soviet city, population 49,360, built to house workers at the Chernobyl plant one mile away. In the days following the accident, families were evacuated and told they could return in 3 days. Some have never returned, yet still mourn their paradise lost. Valuables were stolen long ago, but abandoned dolls remain on a windowsill...
more »"I only went back once. I couldn't stop crying."
-- Galina Dondukova, former Pripyat kindergarten director
Pripyat, Ukraine, was a closed Soviet city, population 49,360, built to house workers at the Chernobyl plant one mile away. In the days following the accident, families were evacuated and told they could return in 3 days. Some have never returned, yet still mourn their paradise lost. Valuables were stolen long ago, but abandoned dolls remain on a windowsill in the Solntsye kindergarten.
-------------------
This photograph is part of Michael Forster Rothbart's After Chernobyl documentary photography project.
© Michael Forster Rothbart 2007-2010.
www.afterchernobyl.com
www.mfrphoto.com
607-267-4893 o 607-432-5984
5 Draper St, Oneonta, NY 13820
86 Three Mile Pond Rd, Vassalboro, ME 04989
info@mfrphoto.com
Photo by: Michael Forster Rothbart
Date: 4/2007 File#: Canon 20D digital camera frame 4996
-------------------
Original caption: .Photo title:.Kindergarten in Pripyat..Caption:.Pripyat, a closed Soviet city with population 49,360, was built to house workers at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant one mile away. Today Pripyat is an eerie ghost town. Any valuables have long-since been stolen, but abandoned dolls remain on a windowsill here in the Solntsye kindergarten...These dolls and other abandoned toys and clothing have remained scattered here for 24 years, since the town was evacuated shortly after the April 26, 1986 Chernobyl accident. In the days following the accident, families were evacuated and told they could return in 3 days. Some have never returned, yet still mourn their paradise lost. ..Quote: . "I only went back once. I couldn't stop crying.".-- Galina Dondukova, former Pripyat kindergarten director.-------------------
« less
