Craig George takes a trip to Pripyat to explore the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and discover what was left in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster
As a bus driver, I have spent many hours in bus stations, surveying the unremarkable scenery. Yet today, I can barely believe my eyes. A bus stands alone on the concourse and I am almost hypnotised by its presence. This would not normally be anything out of the ordinary… until I tell you I am in the Ukrainian city of Pripyat, evacuated on 27 April 1986 following the disastrous sequence of events at the neighbouring Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, just 3.5km away.
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This scene is the culmination of three days spent exploring the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone with a group of 17 friends, the majority of whom work in our industry and take an enthusiastic interest in transportation. We now stand in awe of the soviet-era LAZ-699R coach stood before us, having cleared excess vegetation and branches to enable access to this now rarely trodden area.
How did this motley collection of transport workers and enthusiasts come to be here? Well, social media is a force to be reckoned with, and I certainly didn’t expect such a resounding response when I wistfully wrote on Facebook of my unusual yearning to visit Chernobyl and Pripyat. Soon, like-minded friends (and friends of friends) numbered 18, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Access to the 2,500km2 Chernobyl Exclusion Zone can only be arranged through approved tour companies, and after painstaking research into the big players in this niche market, I found a smaller firm with a personal touch specialising in two and three-day photo tours of Chernobyl. This was important because I had one special request: we MUST have an interesting vehicle for our private tour!
As the date of our visit drew near, the tour company played the game very well, tactfully avoiding my questions about what bus we should expect. On the morning of the first day of our tour, imagine my joy when we walk out of our Kiev hotel to find a 1989 LAZ-699R parked outside! This 10.5m coach, built in Lviv, would have had a ZIL V8 petrol engine in the rear when new, but is now equipped with a DAF inline 6-cylinder diesel, 6-speed manual transmission (with reversed shift pattern) and ZF rear axle in place of the original RABA unit. Superficial corrosion is evident inside and out, yet somehow it’s still an impressive and almost elegant machine. The seats are covered in a material your grandmother may have used for curtains, but a peek underneath reveals the original vinyl and soft trim seats are in exceptionally good condition. Blue curtains line every window and a matching pelmet complete with tassels caps the top of the screen.
We take our seats and our guide, Nikolai, directs our driver, Vadim, out of Kiev and on to the open road toward the 30km checkpoint northeast of Ivankiv. It soon becomes apparent that the LAZ is remarkably comfortable. The seats are supportive despite their years and the suspension does a sterling job of dealing with the shocking state of Ukrainian roads. “In UK, you drive on the left. In Ukraine, we drive on what’s left!” jokes Nikolai. He’s not exaggerating either; the potholes are so numerous that they merge in to endless troughs with little relief, but the LAZ soaks them up well as Vadim does his best to avoid those more than a foot deep.
Once through the formalities of entering the zone, we pull up at the first abandoned village: Zalissiya. Nikolai tells us about his challenge finding a bus suitable for us: “I haven’t toured Chernobyl in a bus like this for seven years. It took us so long to find one. You don’t see them in the city now – this one has come from 100 miles south of Kiev.” With the group already suitably grateful and impressed, he goes on to tell us about Vadim. Vadim, his brother and father run three buses in their local town, driving one each. Vadim’s father, Volodymyr, normally drives the LAZ but fell ill the day prior to the start of our tour. Vadim normally pilots a smaller bus around his local town – he had never driven a bus to Kiev, nor had he ever met a foreigner, and like most Ukrainians he had little knowledge about the happenings at Chernobyl since that fateful day in 1986. So, here he was, driving his father’s bus to Kiev and then Chernobyl with a bus full of excited Brits – one can only imagine how he felt that day!
The three days that followed saw our group experience the most incredible places in varying states of decay. Pripyat city lurks behind avenues of tall trees that disguise its size and hide some beautiful modern architecture that was once in clear view. The LAZ was touching hedges and branches on both sides of what were once wide open boulevards. The vandalised remains of commercial vehicles lurk in the police compound and at the back of the mysterious Jupiter factory.
The nearby early warning missile detection radar known as ‘Duga’ is breathtakingly large, and the attached military buildings include a commercial vehicle driving school complete with a wonderfully intact classroom. It’s just a shame that the six mile long access road built from misaligned concrete slabs took its toll on our lightly-used LAZ, with one rear tyre blowing out on our return journey to the hostel in Chernobyl town.
Changing a wheel in Chernobyl is not easy, especially when your spare is designed to fit the RABA hub, which had long gone in favour of the ZF axle. After dinner, Vadim made his way back out to the 30km exclusion zone checkpoint to meet his father who brought two spares. We had plenty of bus engineers on board keen to assist, but alas we were not permitted to separate from our guide. Vadim eventually returned at 0200hrs, having fitted a spare at the checkpoint gate, and set about re-torquing the wheel over breakfast the next day.
On the second day, to my delight and after waving my International Driving Permit around, I was offered a drive of the LAZ. Of course I was not going to turn down such an opportunity! So, I settled myself in behind the wheel and felt the jingle of nerves – a bus full of other bus drivers, the owner-driver stood beside me, sat on the left for the first time in a long time and being in an overgrown abandoned town wasn’t the most comfortable place to learn the LAZ, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me. Having watched Vadim battle with the gearbox for the previous day and a half, I tentatively found second and off we went. The turbocharged DAF engine, derived from the Leyland 510, powered it along very nicely and I was pleasantly surprised to find the synchromesh gearbox very smooth and easy to use, despite its sloppiness. The power steering was nicely weighted, and the large but slender horizontal steering wheel felt just right in the hand. It certainly felt very maneuverable indeed. The basic dash was easy to navigate, even though I didn’t understand much of the Cyrillic labeling! As a thunderstorm set in, I was grateful for the demisters, which were thankfully very effective, partly thanks to the large ancillary heater in the engine bay I’m sure.
After threading the LAZ out of Pripyat, I was already contemplating asking how much Vadim would sell it for, before remembering the repercussions at home would be sizeable and quickly deciding that the treasured memories would be sufficient for now. The visit was punctuated by sightings of other buses busy carrying workers and tourists around the decommissioned power plant; we ate in the canteen there, so this was a daily opportunity to see what else was in use. A handful of utilitarian PAZ 3205 types, numerous LAZ 5252 3-door service specification buses and a whole flotilla of Sprinters on day tours from Kiev are present every day. However, a highlight was meeting another LAZ-699R; this example retaining its V8 petrol engine and owned by the power plant. The sound of it alone was enough to excite any person with even a hint of interest in vehicles, but the smell of petrol fumes hung in the air to really tease the senses. The brand-new Neoplan parked alongside it with a large tour group from Kiev wasn’t the star of the show this time!
After three days of exploring the exclusion zone, the end is in sight as we enter Pripyat for the final time. Nikolai is keen to take us to somewhere a little off the tourist trail – one of the less iconic buildings in the city. Better than the abandoned rail stations he insists – and much more appropriate, as we draw up outside the overgrown Pripyat Bus Station.
After exploring the bus station, conversation turns to our memories made on the visit as we look back at the LAZ, which has played such a central role. Not only has it stretched its legs for the first time in many years, but it has proved to be a comfortable, solid and reliable machine that not only transported us around but also played host to social evenings as our hostel had no lounge or bar. It was at the centre of memories made and the stories we will tell to our loved ones when we return home. Guards and other guides were all taken aback by the LAZ, very surprised to see it engaged in tourist duties, but all understanding when they learned of our profession. Nikolai assured us that it was very memorable and enjoyable for him too, and we all agreed that Vadim would probably be dining out on the stories he had to tell for some time to come!
As our visit to the exclusion zone draws to a close, it feels just right to watch the bus pull up alongside the bus station building to our waiting queue of visitors, all ready for the departure to Kiev. I cannot deny the lump in my throat as I realise this is our act of remembrance to the ambitious city that never met its potential: an intercity departure from the desolate yet modern bus station that we awakened for an hour and will now leave to its slumber once more.
Anyone who wishes to hear more about my experiences in Chernobyl and Pripyat, or would like details of our highly recommended tour company can contact me on: [email protected]
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