The Empty Pripyat Carnival

There is no doubt that the amusement park in Pripyat serves as one of the most recognizable landmarks in the city. It had just been built up and was getting ready to host the May Day events that were going to take place in the city on May 1st. Pripyat, on the other hand, was devoid of inhabitants and abandoned by the time April came to a close due to the nuclear tragedy that occurred on the evening of April 26th, 1986. There were amusement parks in many Russian cities that were known as "Park of Culture and Rest," and some of these amusement parks are still operating in Russia as well as in the new nations that were founded following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Pripyat Amusement Park had a Ferris wheel that was 26 meters in diameter, swing boats, a ride that was similar to a parachute, bumper cars, and a shooting game.

On the morning of April 27th, shortly before the order to evacuate was delivered, the fairground was opened for a limited period of time after it was determined that a diversion was necessary. A decision that is unfathomable in light of the information that we now possess on the gravity of the catastrophe and the quantities of radiation that were already present in the region that morning. People were thrilled and went to the new park, despite the fact that it was not actually finished. The Ferris wheel was still hidden under the cladding, and the canopies for the parachute ride were not yet in place.

The park is deserted and idly sitting there. Leaves are swirling over the fences, and the bumper cars are still in the parking lot where they were left. During the journey on the parachute, the seats are gradually deteriorating due to corrosion, and the Ferris wheel is fastened and deteriorating. Despite the fact that the supports are orange with rust and the paint is flaking and peeling, the yellow capsules retain some of their former brightness in some areas.

There is a wide range of radiation levels throughout the park; the liquidators were responsible for washing radiation into the earth after the helicopters carrying radioactive materials utilized the grounds as a landing strip. It is quite safe to be in concreted places, but the risk is much higher in locations where moss has grown. Although several regions have the potential to release 25 µSv/h, it was discovered that a specific hot spot located on the bottom of a Ferris wheel capsule emits slightly less than 230 µSv/h. In the whole of Pripyat, these are some of the highest amounts of radiation that have ever been recorded.

The park is featured in the video games S.T.A.L.K.E.R. : Shadow of Chernobyl and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, as well as in the film Chernobyl Diaries. Additionally, it serves as the basis for Atlantic Island Park in the film The Secret World.

It is a location of normalcy and calamity that is a battleground for the senses, and it is a place that is both lonely and dismal.