35 Years Later: My 25 Photographs Capture The Loneliness Of The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

by Patrick Penrose Published Nov 15, 2025

This week marks 35 years since the worst nuclear disaster in history; the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster.

Every year, on the anniversary, past and present residents of the Zone come together. They gather near a great metal angel statue. The statue is called “Monument of the Third Angel”; it is a tribute to all those who died as a result of the incident. Each person who attends holds a candle, they share stories and gather together to mark the day.

To commemorate the event in my own small way, I would like to share with you some photos that I took when I visited the Exclusion Zone a few years ago. I hope you find them thought-provoking and interesting.

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#1 Memorial In Front Of The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant

35 Years Later: My 25 Photographs Capture The Loneliness Of The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

#2 Beautiful Graffiti Inside One Of The Cooling Towers

35 Years Later: My 25 Photographs Capture The Loneliness Of The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

#3 View Of Reactor Number Four. Taken In 2016 Before The New Safe Confinement Dome Covered It

35 Years Later: My 25 Photographs Capture The Loneliness Of The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

#4 Sports Hall At The Palace Of Culture Energetik

35 Years Later: My 25 Photographs Capture The Loneliness Of The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

#5 Shopping Trolley In An Abandoned Supermarket

35 Years Later: My 25 Photographs Capture The Loneliness Of The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

#6 Beautiful Stained Glass Inside A Riverside Cafe

35 Years Later: My 25 Photographs Capture The Loneliness Of The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

#7 Empty Baby Cribs In The Maternity Wing Of Pripyat Hospital No. 126

35 Years Later: My 25 Photographs Capture The Loneliness Of The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

#8 Soviet Space-Themed Mural Inside The Pripyat Post Office

35 Years Later: My 25 Photographs Capture The Loneliness Of The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

#9 The Duga-3 Cold War-Era Missile Warning System

35 Years Later: My 25 Photographs Capture The Loneliness Of The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

#10 Chernobyl-2 Sports Hall

35 Years Later: My 25 Photographs Capture The Loneliness Of The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

#11 Room Filled With Posters Inside A Military Base

35 Years Later: My 25 Photographs Capture The Loneliness Of The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

#12 One Of Many Abandoned Villages, Now Swallowed By The Forest

35 Years Later: My 25 Photographs Capture The Loneliness Of The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

#13 Collection Of Memorial Signs, Listing The Former Towns Of The Chernobyl Exclusion Zones

35 Years Later: My 25 Photographs Capture The Loneliness Of The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

#14 Pripyat Azure Swimming Pool (Lazúrnyj)

35 Years Later: My 25 Photographs Capture The Loneliness Of The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

#15 Memorial To The Firefighters, Who Lost Their Lives Fighting The Blaze At The Power Plant

35 Years Later: My 25 Photographs Capture The Loneliness Of The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

#16 The Ferris Wheel At The Abandoned Amusement Park

35 Years Later: My 25 Photographs Capture The Loneliness Of The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

#17 Sign Outside Pripyat, The Largest Town In The Exclusion Zone

35 Years Later: My 25 Photographs Capture The Loneliness Of The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

#18 Statue Of Lenin

35 Years Later: My 25 Photographs Capture The Loneliness Of The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

#19 Bumper Cars At The Abandoned Amusement Park

35 Years Later: My 25 Photographs Capture The Loneliness Of The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

#20 View Of The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant

35 Years Later: My 25 Photographs Capture The Loneliness Of The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

#21 Vegetation Overgrows The Streets Of The Town Of Pripyat, With Hotel Polissya In The Distance

35 Years Later: My 25 Photographs Capture The Loneliness Of The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

#22 One Of Several Signs On The Road To Chernobyl

35 Years Later: My 25 Photographs Capture The Loneliness Of The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

#23 Staircase With Peeling Paint In A Pripyat Middle School

35 Years Later: My 25 Photographs Capture The Loneliness Of The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

#24 The Iron Angel, A Memorial For The Chernobyl Disaster And Those Lives Lost

35 Years Later: My 25 Photographs Capture The Loneliness Of The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

#25 Dusty And Empty Bunkbeds Inside A Kindergarten

35 Years Later: My 25 Photographs Capture The Loneliness Of The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

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