We’ve got used to the fact that all photos from Chernobyl, the ghost city of Ukraine, look abandoned.
A photojournalist Diana Markosian visited the place where in 1986 happened the terrible catastrophe. Many years after, the village called Redkovka, that is also a part of the exclusion zone, is still inhabited by people.
The village used to be big, today it is almost empty, only few families live there.
This story is about pensioners Lidia and Mikhail.
Lidia, 74, and Mikhail, 73, live in Redkovka village where the radiation level is still exceeded.
Lidia works in the field. Redkovka village was evacuated after the catastrophe at the Chernobyl nuclear plant. Five families refused to leave.
Lidia is a former nurse. She was born in Redkovka and has always lived there. Today she is a pensioner. She gets about 120 USD monthly, and no extra allowance for living in such a place.
Homemade food. Though after the explosion the villagers were prohibited to eat food from their gardens.
Such a document was given to all residents of polluted zones.
Mikhail was born in Redkovka too, married Lidia almost 50 years ago. He used to be the head of the local post-office.
Sunset in Redkovka.
Early morning in Redkovka.
Rest after work in the field.
Abandoned house of the village. About 1000 villagers left their houses after the catastrophe.
Lida cries when remembers about the tragedy. “We understood our life would never be the same.”
Grave in Redkovka.
Bedclothes
Nobody knows if they lived a better life in another place, what’s done is done… But they still have what they seemingly need most – each other.
via prophotos-ru
Ukraine govt should do something to help these old couple.
GREAT STORY
Great…just great story
the perfect love story
Been together for 50 years,thats just awsome
Lovely and haunting. There are may horror stories and movies about this area, but the landscape looks breathtaking nevertheless. I hope someday things get better and these places return to normal. Nothing like schools and kids to say that life is back.
Great people, soviet don’t leave when problems come to them, very tough couple. Life is not over here
I guess they pretty much could salvage whatever they wanted from the other abandoned houses…
Who is lowered in life shall be raised in heaven says the Lord. These people stuck together when others get divorced over bull$h!4. They say that you can actually survive eating plants from the zone, but of course that is not a good example of a healthy diet. Otherwise, we eat genetic modified food, saccharine and other chemicals every day. So I wouldn´t suprised if our diet is not that much more healthy than theirs. The body can at least get rid of the radioactive heavy metals.