#darmonrichter

35 years ago today, on April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the Soviet city of Pripyat, broke down. The reactor explosion and radioactive contamination combined to create one of the worst nuclear disasters in history, both in terms of cost and casualties.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ We're commemorating the disaster with this video from @fuelpublishing and details from their 248-page photobook, 'Chernobyl: A Stalkers’ Guide' by Darmon Richter.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ In this volume, Richter, a researcher and tour guide, journeys into the contemporary Exclusion Zone, venturing deeper than any previously published account. While thousands of foreign visitors congregate around a handful of curated sites, beyond the tourist hotspots lies a wild and mysterious land the size of a small country. In the forests of Chernobyl, historic village settlements and Soviet-era utopianism have lain abandoned since the time of the disaster—overshadowed by vast, unearthly megastructures designed to win the Cold War.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Richter combines photographs of discoveries made during his numerous visits to the Zone with the voices of those who witnessed history—engineers, scientists, police and evacuees. He explores evacuated regions in both Ukraine and Belarus, finding forgotten ghost towns and Soviet monuments lost deep in irradiated forests, gains exclusive access inside the most secure areas of the power plant itself, and joins the “stalkers” of Chernobyl as he sets out on a high-stakes illegal hike to the heart of the Exclusion Zone.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Read more via linkinbio.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ #darmonrichter #chernobyl #exclusionzone #chernobylstalkersguide #chernobylexclusionzone https://www.instagram.com/p/COIuir5pt3s/?igshid=17dgyriyeuoqo

For the armchair explorer, @atlasobscura recommends 'Chernobyl: A Stalker’s Guide,' published by @fuelpublishing⁠ ⁠ "Atlas Obscura tour guide ​​Darmon Richter got unprecedented access to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and documented the people and places of the rarely seen landscape in his book 'Chernobyl: A Stalker’s Guide.' Sadly, the Russian war in Ukraine may have permanently changed the terrain and status of the Zone, making this book a snapshot of a unique moment in Chernobyl’s history."⁠ ⁠ Read more about the book via linkinbio.⁠ ⁠ #chernobyl #chernobylexclusionzone #darmonrichter #ukraine https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl1fH1eOHJB/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

A fascinating account of how the video game S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl created a surge of tourism in the area surrounding the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant near Pripyat, Ukraine is up now @verge ... by none other than Darmon Richter, author of 'Chernobyl: A Stalkers’ Guide,' published by @fuelpublishing⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Richter writes, "Ukrainian studio GSC Game World released S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl the same year Call of Duty 4 came out, but while both featured first-person shooter gameplay set in Chernobyl, in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.’s case it was more than just stage dressing. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. introduced players to a world in which the landscape — the mysterious 'Zone' — became a character in its own right. This was partly the result of an innovative global AI system that created the sense of a living, breathing world: non-player characters would interact, fight, strum guitars, or fend off packs of rabid dogs, with or without the player being present. Immersion was heightened by the lack of a fast travel option, forcing players to spend an awful lot of time looking at the ever-changing scenery. But the personification of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.’s terrain ran deeper still, as it was rooted in the game’s mythos, which tapped into older ideas from Soviet-era science fiction…" ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Read the full feature via linkinbio.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ #stalkergame #stalker #chernobyl #darmonrichter https://www.instagram.com/p/COVuKizpq4w/?igshid=1cdlmdpjzs8qx