A brand new photograph ebook affords an perception into the forgotten historical past of Chernobyl
The Ukrainian city of Chernobyl, formerly part of the USSR, will forever be known as the site of one of the world's worst man-made disasters after an explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986 resulted in mass evacuations and long-term health consequences for thousands of people.
Today, thousands of visitors flock to a handful of curated tourist hotspots in the abandoned city each year, thanks in part to the huge popularity of the recent HBO drama series that recreated the disaster.
A tame fox poses in front of the sign pointing from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant to Pripyat. All pictures: © Darmon Richter / Fuel Publishing
Pripyat cafe
Beyond that, however, lies an untouched land mass of forests, historic village settlements and architectural megastructures from the Soviet era, which are the size of a small country.
British writer and photographer Darmon Richter, who traveled to North Korea from Eastern Europe, has always been fascinated by the visual contradictions inherent in communist buildings – utopian designs that were later ruined and forgotten.
The back of the hammer-sickle emblem from the high-rise roof in the center of Pripyat
Post Office, Pripyat
He has spent much of his career documenting places not mentioned in your average travel guide, from China's "ghost towns" to an unfinished Soviet nuclear power plant in Cuba.
In his latest book, Richter draws attention to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, where, as a local tour guide, he has received unprecedented access to document the forgotten cities and monuments.
Polissya Hotel, Pripyat
Control room 3, Chernobyl nuclear power plant
The book combines photographs of discoveries made during Richter's numerous visits to the exclusion zone, accompanied by the voices of engineers, scientists and the public who were there to witness the disaster for themselves.
Images included range from snapshots of the safest areas of the power plant itself to photos of the stray dogs that call Chernobyl home, the offspring of pets left by evacuees fed by their constant stream of disaster tourists.
Chernobyl: A stalker's guide is published by Fuel. darmonrichter.com