Ukraine

Police

The police in Odessa, Ukraine

Sasha the Vintner

Sasha is the grandfather of a family-owned winery dating to the pre-Soviet era.

Birthday Shots

Ukrainian grandmothers celebrate a birthday with shots of vodka.

The Pickler

This woman sells pickled items in the Odessa market. Even her expression is pickley.

Dominos

Men gather in the squares of Odessa to play dominos

Odessa Waterfront

The working port of Odessa, Ukraine

Stone Soldiers

This memorial depicts the 1943 Battle of the Dnieper in quintessential Soviet fashion at the Museum of the Great Patriotic War, in Kiev, Ukraine.

Murals of St Sophia's Cathedral

Murals inside of St Sophia's Cathedral in Kiev, Ukraine

Gas Masks and Cash Register

Gas masks and a cash register left in the school in Pripyat, Ukraine

Left Behind

Exploring the abandoned and still radioactive city of Pripyat - the small city that once housed for workers at Chernobyl - I was in awe at the number of gas masks in the remains of this school.

Big Heads

Old Soviet posters abandoned in the city of Pripyat, Ukraine

The Ferris Wheel

The somewhat famous ferris wheel of Pripyat, Ukraine

Pripyat Library

I still don't understand why someone took all of the books from the shelves and left them strewn about the floor...

Poster On Glass

Shards of glass litter the floor - a byproduct of widespread looting after the abandonment of Pripyat due to extremely high levels of radiation after the Chernobyl disaster of 1986.

Pripyat Courtyard

The eerie courtyard in the city center of Pripyat, Ukraine

Chernobyl Feast

A veritable feast in the Chernobyl cafeteria. Ultimately hunger overcame any fears of radiation.

Chernobyl Landscape

A roadside view of the landscape near Chernobyl, Ukraine. The reactor is the structure on the far left.

A Pack A Day

Cigarette butts and books left in a laboratory near Chernobyl, Ukraine

Old Dolls

Creepy dolls near an abandoned schoolhouse near Chernobyl

Chernobyl School House

An abandoned schoolhouse near Chernobyl

Warning

These small signs are located all over the countryside surrounding Chernobyl to indicate areas of high radiation. They are best avoided.

Hard Rock Cafe Chernobyl

Our guide through the area surrounding Chernobyl shows us a geiger counter and speaks about the hazards of radiation exposure.