Kerch. Kazantyp unfinished nuclear power plant. Travel to Donetsk.
Kazantyp is a remote place in Crimea, on the Azov sea. Soviets started building a nuclear power plant (NPP) there in 1976, but they changed their minds in 1989, after they realised that the area was subject to seismic hazard, and after the Chernobyl disaster. The building cost $1 billion, and was never completed.
Many years ago, in 1998, I found an ad about a rave party in this unfinished NPP, and preciously kept it. The party still takes place every summer, but it has moved to Yevpatoria and is now a big commercial Ibiza-like thing. (http://www.kazatyp.com/).
There are few microbuses from Kerch to Shchelkino, the city created for the NPP workers. I have to wait for 4 hours. I enjoy this opportunity to visit the last underground museum in Kerch, the Melek-Chesmensky Tomb. It’s a 4th-century mausoleum, very similar to Tsarsky Kurgan: a long corridor, a small, empty burial chamber and a man-made hill above. It’s smaller though.
The drive to Shchelkino is about 1h30 long. The NPP is easy to see from the road, a few kilometers before Shchelkino. The plant is by a small lagoon. The place is so dry that I wonder where they were supposed to find enough cooling water.
The first thing I do upon arrival in Shchelkino is to make sure I don’t get stuck here. I get a ticket on the 17:00 bus to Simferopol, which is early enough to have a chance to catch a night train from Simferopol to Donestk.
There is no left luggage service at the Shchelkino bus station, and walking with my big backpack to the NPP and back in the heat of the day within 3 hours is not a reasonable idea. I bargain a taxi – in writing, because I can only count up to 5 in Russian. Vadim, the taxi driver, is a bit surprised about the purpose of the ride, but understands “reaktor”. He is Polish and knows a few German words.
It is not possible to enter the NPP, because it is under dismantling. Now and then, huge pieces of waste fall off windows. The Shchelkino city is in deep social and economic trouble, because all the NPP-related jobs never happened. Local authorities hoped to sell off pieces of the NPP and make some money, but they realised that the most valuable parts had already been stolen. So now the site is guarded by soldiers.
The NPP never worked, but now they are pumping oil around, and I have read that there is a solar power plant somewhere.
The drive to Simferopol is long (3:30) and I enjoy the break in Feodosia. A lorry is parked in the bus station. It says “BREAD”, but it’s not really carrying bread :-)
In Simferopol, I get a first-class ticket on a late train to Donetsk. The compartment is similar to second class, but there are only 2 beds and the carpet is thicker. Bedsheets are more expensive, but there are more blankets and towels. Morning tea is more expensive, but there is more sugar.
A girl joins my compartment at some intermediate stop. She doesn’t want me to take this picture of her morning make-up:
Many years ago, in 1998, I found an ad about a rave party in this unfinished NPP, and preciously kept it. The party still takes place every summer, but it has moved to Yevpatoria and is now a big commercial Ibiza-like thing. (http://www.kazatyp.com/).
There are few microbuses from Kerch to Shchelkino, the city created for the NPP workers. I have to wait for 4 hours. I enjoy this opportunity to visit the last underground museum in Kerch, the Melek-Chesmensky Tomb. It’s a 4th-century mausoleum, very similar to Tsarsky Kurgan: a long corridor, a small, empty burial chamber and a man-made hill above. It’s smaller though.
The drive to Shchelkino is about 1h30 long. The NPP is easy to see from the road, a few kilometers before Shchelkino. The plant is by a small lagoon. The place is so dry that I wonder where they were supposed to find enough cooling water.
The first thing I do upon arrival in Shchelkino is to make sure I don’t get stuck here. I get a ticket on the 17:00 bus to Simferopol, which is early enough to have a chance to catch a night train from Simferopol to Donestk.
There is no left luggage service at the Shchelkino bus station, and walking with my big backpack to the NPP and back in the heat of the day within 3 hours is not a reasonable idea. I bargain a taxi – in writing, because I can only count up to 5 in Russian. Vadim, the taxi driver, is a bit surprised about the purpose of the ride, but understands “reaktor”. He is Polish and knows a few German words.
It is not possible to enter the NPP, because it is under dismantling. Now and then, huge pieces of waste fall off windows. The Shchelkino city is in deep social and economic trouble, because all the NPP-related jobs never happened. Local authorities hoped to sell off pieces of the NPP and make some money, but they realised that the most valuable parts had already been stolen. So now the site is guarded by soldiers.
The NPP never worked, but now they are pumping oil around, and I have read that there is a solar power plant somewhere.
The drive to Simferopol is long (3:30) and I enjoy the break in Feodosia. A lorry is parked in the bus station. It says “BREAD”, but it’s not really carrying bread :-)
In Simferopol, I get a first-class ticket on a late train to Donetsk. The compartment is similar to second class, but there are only 2 beds and the carpet is thicker. Bedsheets are more expensive, but there are more blankets and towels. Morning tea is more expensive, but there is more sugar.
A girl joins my compartment at some intermediate stop. She doesn’t want me to take this picture of her morning make-up:
posted by Juliette at 00:00
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