Pripyat: The ghost town | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Pripyat: The ghost town

Pripyat: The ghost town

In Focus

Gaston Fournier
18 September, 2021, 04:30 pm
Last modified: 18 September, 2021, 05:07 pm

Related News

  • Healthy hens, healthy eggs
  • All Souls' Day: Quiet reflection and heartfelt remembrance at Tejgaon Church
  • Durga puja ends with idol immersion across country
  • In photos: Cox's Bazar Railway Station
  • In photos: Ctg's Matarbari Deep Sea Port

Pripyat: The ghost town

Gaston Fournier
18 September, 2021, 04:30 pm
Last modified: 18 September, 2021, 05:07 pm

I am from South America and I was always interested in USSR's history - the vast and distant country that brought so much controversy over so many things.

I studied Chernobyl nuclear tragedy that occurred in 1986 and its tragic consequences on the population in general, but even more on that small town of the families that worked at the nuclear plant. Called "ghost town" over time - Pripyat's inhabitants had to leave everything behind to survive.

Photo: Gaston Fournier
Photo: Gaston Fournier

In 2019, I organised my trip to Ukraine and visited the Chernobyl nuclear plant and the abandoned town of Pripyat. Everything is as they left in those days.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

Photo: Gaston Fournier
Photo: Gaston Fournier

You can feel not only the radiation but also the desolation, sadness, and horror of those people who were exposed to radioactive contamination for two whole days, before leaving their homes forever. Schools, hospitals, and entire buildings are at the mercy of time. Children's toys, books, and radioactive tools on the floor, abandoned, forgotten.

Photo: Gaston Fournier
Photo: Gaston Fournier

Impressed by what I saw, I tried to capture it through the lens of my camera, and thus, be able to express that environment, and remember its people, inhabitants, their stories and lives. 

Photo: Gaston Fournier
Photo: Gaston Fournier

I always end up thinking how dangerous man is, trying to tame nature, believing himself to be superior, while being able to do so much wrong.

Photo: Gaston Fournier
Photo: Gaston Fournier

Gaston Fournier is an Argentinian travel photographer and psychologist. More of his works can be seen here: www.gastonfournier.com

Top News

In focus / Living in a Ghost Town

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • In terms of stream of education, girls maintained their excellence as well. Photo: TBS
    Lowest SSC pass rate in 17 years as over 6 lakh students fail
  • BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir while speaking at a discussion at National Press Club on 10 July 2025. Photo: TBS
    'Backbone of economy will break': Fakhrul says govt should've worked seriously with more qualified people on US tariffs
  • S Alam Group Chairman Mohammed Saiful Alam. Photo: Collected
    Court freezes foreign investments of S Alam Group chairman, family in Singapore

MOST VIEWED

  • Graphics: TBS
    BB raises startup fund limit, drops upper age barrier
  • Workers pack undergarments at the packing section of a garment factory in Ashulia, on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, April 19, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Fatima Tuj Johora
    After US tariffs, jobs hang by a thread in Bangladesh's garments sector
  • Global Islami Bank rectifies 2023 figures, reports Tk2,259cr loss instead of Tk128cr profit
    Global Islami Bank rectifies 2023 figures, reports Tk2,259cr loss instead of Tk128cr profit
  • Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur. TBS Sketch
    Audit reports of most banks contain cooked up data: BB governor
  • File photo of containers at Chattogram port/TBS
    US buyers push Bangladeshi exporters to share extra tariff costs
  • CA orders law enforcers to complete all election preparations by December
    CA orders law enforcers to complete all election preparations by December

Related News

  • Healthy hens, healthy eggs
  • All Souls' Day: Quiet reflection and heartfelt remembrance at Tejgaon Church
  • Durga puja ends with idol immersion across country
  • In photos: Cox's Bazar Railway Station
  • In photos: Ctg's Matarbari Deep Sea Port

Features

Illustration: TBS

Behind closed doors: Why women in Bangladesh stay in abusive marriages

2h | Panorama
Purbachl’s 144-acre Sal forest is an essential part of the area’s biodiversity. Within it, 128 species of plants and 74 species of animals — many of them endangered- have been identified. Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain/TBS

A forest saved: Inside the restoration of Purbachal's last Sal grove

2h | Panorama
Women are forced to fish in saline waters every day, risking their health to provide for their families. Photo: TBS

How Mongla’s women are bearing the brunt of rising salinity

23h | Panorama
Dr Mostafa Abid Khan. Sketch: TBS

Actual impact will depend on how US retailers respond: Mostafa Abid Khan

2d | Economy

More Videos from TBS

SSC and equivalent results released: Pass rate 68.45%, GPA drops by 5

SSC and equivalent results released: Pass rate 68.45%, GPA drops by 5

33m | TBS Today
Islami bank aims to increase deposits to Tk 2 lakh crore by 2025

Islami bank aims to increase deposits to Tk 2 lakh crore by 2025

2h | TBS Programs
The two countries still face major challenges and mutual suspicions

The two countries still face major challenges and mutual suspicions

1h | Others
RMG sector braces for impact as US tariffs hit: Fakhrul

RMG sector braces for impact as US tariffs hit: Fakhrul

3h | TBS Today
The Business Standard
Top
  • Home
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • About Us
  • Bangladesh
  • International
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Economy
  • Sitemap
  • RSS

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net

Copyright © 2025 THE BUSINESS STANDARD All rights reserved. Technical Partner: RSI Lab