­The day started with a nasty surprise from above – we woke up in the morning to realize the Zone was covered in snow. It was green and sunny the day before, now it was all white.

Pripyat snow

­The sunlight, which was creeping out along the horizon, suggested this was a temporary sight. And this made our first shooting location – a rather unpleasant one as it was – even harder to work at. We were heading to Pripyat’s central kindergarten – one of the most renowned and, I’d say, suspicious locations of the ghost town.

Kindergarten

­Melting snow made the air extremely damp inside the building – the cold was piercing through our clothes; a rare case of when it is much warmer outside, than inside. And the kindergarten’s interior sights were adding gloom to our filming process.

Gloomy interior sights

The air was extremely damp inside

Supposedly the toys were left behind

­What’s so suspicious about this place, you ask?  I would answer that it is unclear here what’s natural and what’s not. I have no doubt that most of the dolls and toys have been here since April 26, 1986. But I still have a feeling that many have been brought here – either by photographers craving for an emotional shot, or by former residents of Pripyat.

­It is also unclear why there are so many military gas masks and filters here. Every room of this kindergarten has a lot of those. I heard a rumor – never an official confirmation – that this place became a temporary headquarters of the military in the first hours after the blast.

Military gas mask

­But the one thing I’ve been failing neither to understand nor justify is why photographers – or tourists taking photos – have been putting these gas masks on children’s dolls? To my mind, this is a grossly straightforward and rude way to excel in taking a good shot…

Gas mask put on a doll

Graffiti on window

Old children's books also stay here

­While we were working on this location, the Zone yet again proved that it is completely abnormal – even in its weather. Just a couple of hours after the land had been covered in snow, the sun made all this white beauty melt. Pripyat was singing its usual tune once again – water drops hitting broken glass, banging doors and snow falling from rooftops with a loud thud.

The weather in the Zone is completely abnormal

Unexpectedly sunny

­For our next scene, we went to Pripyat’s central square – to the town’s Culture and Arts Center (Palace of Culture).

Pripyat’s central square

­It was a shame I had no chance to film inside the devastated theatre – it was way too dark. All the shots here came in the library.

Outside the library

Remnants of books

All kinds of books there

­Another bitter irony – we noticed a shelf on the floor, which was meant for books on nuclear energy. The shelf was empty.

Empty shelf for books on nuclear energy

­Pripyat’s “Palace of Culture” is another place with the same symbolic meaning – it is another place with a painful reminder of the town’s contrasted history. It is easy to imagine how much fun was had here 25 years ago – concerts, literary gatherings and discos. And it is so sad here nowadays…

TO BE CONTINUED

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.