Previous Section-Part 2B submitted by Eki75 to DupontDeLigonnes [link] [comments] [3/5] Chapter 9 Highways and dead endsThe hunt for Xavier Ligonnès is enough to drive you crazy. It’s like looking for a lost object, a bank card for example, of which we can determine the exact moment of disappearance: we used it to pay, it was there, and the next moment it is not there anymore. Logic dictates that we look for it where we usually store it (a wallet, a handbag), then where it could be (a back pocket of pants, a hall cabinet), and the less we find it , the more we seem to see it everywhere. Faced with absence, the brain constructs images (the credit card in an office drawer, as a bookmark in a book, forgotten on the counter of the last store) but these are fictions or mirages; they encourage further research but they do not provide a solution. Xavier Ligonnès’s apparent volatilization follows the same logic and produces the same effects on the investigation. The more weeks and months go by, the more places to look get smaller. Emmanuel Teneur ends up leading the investigators to the Société Générale agency on Place Royale in Nantes, but the safe he holds there is simply empty. A request for information on Joven Soliman is sent to the security attaché for the French Embassy in the Philippines. He is a sedevacantist priest, a fringe of traditionalist Catholicism who considers the Pope to be an imposter. The attaché transmits the hours of mass where he officiates. A trip to the Philippines is being considered, but that would mean going to the other side of the world to look for a needle in the thousands of islands of the archipelago. If this track has never been closed, nothing has supported it to date.Since we must push logic to the end, the investigators even contact the American authorities to corroborate or contradict the story of protected witnesses told by Ligonnès in his famous letter. The DEA has never heard of the individual, and the liaison officer based at the Miami consulate assures us that his last trip to the United States was in 2003: Ligonnès arrived in Florida on July 18 and left on August 22. The study of his entourage also did not highlight anyone capable of providing false papers to the fugitive, and if he had gone through a criminal network, the police believed that an informant would undoubtedly have warned them to protect himself. Then there are the news reports: the portrait of Ligonnès goes around France, and even if he has undoubtedly changed his physical appearance, his hairstyle, perhaps had even resorted to cosmetic surgery, someone, somewhere, might recognize him one day. After all, that’s how John List, a New Jersey insurance salesman who killed his wife and mother in 1971, was arrested. He waited for two of his children to return from school to coldly shoot them, then attended his youngest son’s football game before shooting bullets through him at home. He evaded justice for 18 years until a co-worker recognized him from a report on America’s Most Wanted. Rarely has a criminal case given rise to as many appeals as that of Ligonnès, because his stalking not only bewitches the police, it torments an entire country. More than 1000 reports, thousands of pages of depositions, letters, verifications. You have to imagine the miles of printed paper that this represents when they are stacked on a desk. The most recent: in July, after the broadcast of a Netflix documentary on the subject in the United States, the producers of the film claimed to have received an interesting lead in Chicago; but it’s just one more drop in the bucket. Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès has been seen in Annecy, Nancy, Cholet, Corsica (several times); on the side of a road, thumbs up, by a French tourist in Las Vegas; disguised as a chimney sweep in Nîmes; in a hotel in Cantal and in a pizzeria where he paid cash in a hurry; seen again in Germany, in Italy, and heard on the telephone by the reception of the psychiatric hospital of Troyes. Since he disappeared looking like the ordinary neighbor, since he was a representative and his profession has taken him to all corners of France, there is no less reason to see him in Mulhouse than in Roche-sur-Yon, and you can simply see him everywhere. Aire de Lançon-Provence in July 2020 Extracts: “It was the same look, except that he looked very sad, in the west, but he had the same glasses as in the photo you are showing me”; “He looked like a man like everyone else, but there was something odd in his eyes;” “Yesterday, around 1:00 pm, I was watching the news on television on the TFI channel. I saw a report where an individual killed his children and his wife before disappearing into the wild. (...) Seeing the gentleman in the photo, I made the connection with the person whom I had crossed Sunday afternoon because he had the same smile.” At the Vauvert tourist office: “I hardly look at the news, but Thursday evening I saw the photo of Mr. Ligonnès, I had the impression of having already seen him, my heart was racing.” Between Carpentras and Avignon, when he comes back from the bakery, the manager of one of Nicolas Sarkozy’s brothers crosses paths with a man with a beige bob, which he is certain is the fugitive. “I flashed,” he says. “For me, there is no doubt. This is him.” Still more letters are sent to the police to offer them help. An amateur astrologer requests a copy of the suspect’s birth certificate to establish a birth chart, a woman in child-like writing recommended a great medium who had helped her find her daughter who had become a junkie in Marseille. A prisoner asked in writing to be sent to Guinea to go hunt him down in the jungle, attaching to his letter a list of the necessary equipment, including infrared glasses and a “samurai sword.” With each letter, with each phone call to report a suspicious individual, investigators attempt to cross-reference the information. They patiently collect the testimonies of the depositors to know where Xavier Ligonnès was seen, if he was accompanied or not, what was his size and his outfit. Inconsistent testimonies or those referring to individuals who are too young (Ligonnès would be 59 years old today) and too small (he measures a little over 1.80 meters) are discarded. For the others, investigators check the CCTV recordings, when they have not been erased and when the cameras have actually recorded on tape. If the person has been spotted pumping gasoline, in a Géant Casino, or in a Courtepaille, they trace the means of payment used and seize the duplicates of bank cards. They give priority to the restaurants, especially the Buffalo Grill, Ligonnès’ favorite establishment. And when the trail is still hot and the dishes haven’t been done yet, they collect DNA from the plates and cutlery. A few months after the start of the investigation, the investigating judge in charge of the case will even be forced to ask them to slow down, the seals starting to take on the appearance of a china cabinet in a large restaurant. The Total service station in Lançon-Provence, July 2020 The PJ of Nantes believed on several occasions to finally have in hand the winning ticket and to be on the point of intercepting Ligonnès. This was the case in Borgo, where a photo taken from the video surveillance of a supermarket in this small Corsican town was very similar. Upon verification, it was only a local. They believed in it even more in January 2018 when they were told that an individual with a strong resemblance to Xavier Ligonnès was at the Saint-Désert Notre-Dame de Pitié monastery near Roquebrune-sur-Argens. About twenty police officers raided and searched the premises until they came across Brother Jean-Marie Joseph, who certainly looked disturbingly like Ligonnès, but who was not him. In still other cases, the police were never able to “close the track,” and it is perhaps Ligonnès who was seen. For example, in Lançon-Provence, April 26, 2011. That day, at 2:44 am, Mahjoub B., a handler by profession, parks his vehicle at the Total service station after the Lançon-Provence toll. He fills up, then goes to the store to pay. On his way, he passes a 45- to 50-year-old man, about six feet tall, who hangs out there between the gas pumps and the store. When he returns to his vehicle, his colleague asks him if he has seen the man, whom he is convinced is the one everyone is looking for, the one who killed his family in Nantes. Mahjoub then takes a new look at the individual, notices that he is wearing glasses, light jeans, that he has brown hair a little graying and a beard of a day. At his feet, four rigid shopping bags, one red, one white, one brown and one whose color he cannot distinguish. Inside the store, employees also noticed the individual. He’s been out for almost three hours. At one point, he walks in to ask for free coffee, as part of a promotion. Behind her cash register, Jocelyne H. notes a detail: he is missing a tooth. “The second on the left, I believe,” she says when heard by investigators. This is information that has never filtered out and yet, it’s true – a little detail, Xavier Ligonnès was missing a tooth. Little by little, the space has filled in, but you can always see it when he smiles. The images from the station’s surveillance cameras are confusing: if this man is not the one we are looking for, it must be his twin brother. At 3 a.m., the cameras show him hitchhiking by a Volkswagen Combi, which investigators quickly find. The driver’s name is Christophe B. He has not heard of the case, and he must be one of the only ones in the country; but Christophe is no longer listening to the news because, he says, “the news is bad all the time.” From the hitchhiker on the night of the 25th to the 26th, he remembers that he “did not smell very good” and that he had a growing beard. They didn’t discuss much. The man simply told him that he was coming from Paris where he had gone to see “his sick old father,” and that he wanted to take the train to Aix-en-Provence. Christophe dropped him off at a motorway exit, the 30 or the 31, between 4 a.m. and 4.15 a.m. The surveillance cameras at Aix train station allow you to get back on track. He is filmed on the forecourt at 6 am, he wears light pants, a dark jacket. He buys a ticket at 1.20 euro, free destination. Then we lose track. Despite all the checks, despite all the cameras, it will be impossible to track this man perfectly resembling Dupont de Ligonnès, who could nevertheless have confirmed that he was, at least on this date, still alive. How can one suddenly evaporate in plain sight, and how could a man who has collected chess all his life accomplish this feat? The XDDL mystery makes it possible to scaffold all the theories. These flourish in books, in docudramas and, of course, on the Internet. We imagine Ligonnès protected by the secrecy of a monastery, flown to the United States, where he can go unnoticed thanks to his English without an accent, or even on the escape alongside a woman he would have manipulated. The police officers in charge of the case do not work on theories or psychological profiles, but according to a scientific approach: they always start from a fact, which opens a track, which they then explore until the end, close, and move on to another. This method is also a way to protect yourself from endless guesswork, or insanity, but it doesn’t always work. Several times, the track looks like a highway towards the fugitive, and the police are convinced that they will finally close this investigation. But they end up stumbling upon the worst thing ever, as was the case with the allusion to Emmanuel Teneur’s sailboat: coincidences. Coincidence number 1. When the Ligonnès C5 was discovered in the Formula 1 car park in Roquebrune, the night watchman informed them that two reservations had been made in the name of Dupont Xavier, one on April 5 and the another on April 14. The hotel manager then specifies that the first reservation was actually made for April 6. That day, however, XDDL was in Nantes, probably digging the grave of Thomas, murdered the day before. Had he thought of accomplishing his crimes earlier or had he reserved a room for an accomplice, who might have been hiding something for him? The videos of April 5 and 6 are no longer available, but payment for the room was made with a Crédit Agricole credit card. The number gives a name, Faiçal E., and an address. Could it be an accomplice? The checks are launched immediately lead to a man who simply used “Dupont Xavier” as an assumed name - like Ligonnès - to book a night in the same hotel, the same year, the same month, within ten days. Coincidence number 2. The liaison officer in Miami launches research around the various aliases used by XDDL, for operations of “mystery shopper” or to stay in hotels. In the FBI file, he finds a certain Xavier Laurent, one of Ligonnès’s favorite nicknames, installed in Jacksonville, north of Florida. Jacksonville is not just any city. This is where Hugues, the cousin of XDDL lived, and it is also this locality that Ligonnès and his friend Michel Rétif declared to customs in 1990 during their trip to the United States. At the very end of the personalized letter sent to Michel on April 8, Xavier Ligonnès seemed to allude to it: “I will think about you there. (Not the right to tell you where, but you went there with me...in November 90…a clue to dig. LOL).” But this Xavier Laurent is another twist of fate: the police come across a certain Evan Shaffer, a petty criminal who has chosen this alias to commit crimes. Coincidence number 3. Ten days before the crimes, XDDL reconnects with a childhood sweetheart, Catherine K., whom he met in Versailles in the 1980s. Between March 22 and 24, they exchange text messages and try to find a date to meet the week of April 12, in Chamonix. These messages intrigue the investigators, some answers seem surprising, almost illogical, and they suspect Ligonnès of having wanted to ensure a logistical relay in his escape. A little later, a certain Patrick O. reports having seen XDDL in the queue of a Sixt car rental agency at Nice airport on April 17, 2011. By peeling the names of dozens of people having rented a car that day, the police officers miss the infarction: in capital letters, white on black, appears the surname of Catherine, who would have rented a vehicle at 1:30 am. A few hours later, their heart rate drops again: it was only a perfect disambiguation. Each coincidence causes the same chain of reactions. First a eureka!, the certainty of having finally found the tiny detail from which to trace everything. The police then cast their nets like fishermen on the high seas, telephone or banking requisitions, requests for listings, identity checks. Then they wait. It can last from a few hours to several weeks, and inevitably it is a burning, nagging wait, tense by the fear that the track will fly away. Finally, there is the immense disappointment and the obligation to face reality again: Xavier Ligonnès is still nowhere to be found, a track has flown again, and we have to hoist the rock up the mountain again. Those who have worked or are still working on the affair strive to maintain a cold, rational, police facade. But little by little, by dint of chasing a shadow - not even a shadow, a ghost - obsession lurks. One of them, a police officer with a professional Protestant pastor, now out of the investigation, still returned until recently to consult the investigation file every week, saying he simply wanted to put the 12,000 pages of documents in order. For a year, a criminal analyst has also been mobilized. He enters all the elements of the file in a software which digests them and spits out, perhaps, new threads to draw. In the meantime, the two police officers who are still following the investigation - one at the PJ in Nantes, one at the OCRVP, in Paris - “live” the case, as their colleagues say. Among these thousands of pages there is no doubt a clue that has gone unnoticed or, better, a lead that has not yet been explored. Track number 1. Who typed “fraternité saint-thomas becket” on Google on April 3 at 11:34 pm, before clicking on a link in the Cité-Catholique forum? Is it the same person who, the same night at 2:01 am, from an iPhone, did the search for “communion state mortal sin,” bringing it to the same forum? On April 8, the user of this phone will in any case send the search engine the request “hello Chacou”, which will lead him (her) again to the Cité-Catholique forum. Chacou was one of the pseudonyms of Xavier Ligonnès. Investigators saw crazier coincidences, but still: can it really be someone other than Xavier Ligonnès, who himself connected to Cité-Catholique almost every day of his escape? The last article published on the site about Saint-Thomas Becket, an ultra-traditionalist fraternity which practices mass in Latin, dates from January 2009. It indicates the name of its founder, Father Jean-Pierre Gac, and specifies this: “Born in the diocese of Blois where there are two communities (…), the fraternity has also extended in the diocese of Toulon - a parish is also entrusted to them in Ollioules.” Ollioules is located six kilometers from La Seyne-on-Mer, where XDDL spent its penultimate known night, and 94 kilometers from Roquebrune. Jean-Pierre Gac was questioned by the police but claimed to have never been in contact with the fugitive. Investigators have always believed in the possibility that Ligonnès took refuge in a monastery in the Var. They considered to search them one by one, before understanding that there are dozens and dozens of brotherhoods and fraternities, that they are not always castles of the Purple Rivers but sometimes simple farms, lost in the hinterland. To mount a search, it would be necessary to ensure that they do not communicate with each other, and therefore to visit them all at the same time. The examining magistrate quickly tempered the fervor of the police and declared the operation impossible. Track number 2. Xavier Ligonnès had two secret Facebook accounts. The first is named after his favorite country singer, Waylon Jennings. One of his nieces had also found him a month before the crimes, sending him a message, “but who is behind this nickname?,” to which XDDL had immediately replied “How did you manage to arrive on the Waylon Jennings Facebook profile? Too clever! Microsoft Advantage??? Kiss.” The second account concerns a certain “George Town” residing in Nantes and is linked to one of Ligonnès’ many email addresses, [email protected]. The police send a requisition to the management of Facebook in Palo Alto to obtain the creation and connection logs of the two profiles. The answer comes in days: the first was created in February 2010, the second in December 2007, when France had barely discovered the social network. Above all, the response indicates that Ligonnès connected to the two accounts on the night of April 4 to 5, between the first assassinations and that of Thomas. The profiles have since been deleted but suggest he could have used them to communicate with a third party. Catherine K., the youthful lover that XDDL contacted a few days before the tragedy, also reported to the police that she had been approached by a certain Philippe Steiner, whom she did not know, around May 20. He sent her a strange message, suggesting that they might have had a relationship in the past. When she went to respond, the profile had already been deleted. Today there are almost 100 Facebook accounts on behalf of Waylon Jennings, some are created and deleted every day. Track number 3. When the Ligonnès family is having their last meal on April 3, 2011, around 9 pm, a young woman walks through the glass doors of the police station on Place Waldeck-Rousseau in Nantes. Originally from a small village near Vannes, Julie is a BTS student and comes to file a complaint: the Twingo that her father lets her drive has been broken into, probably during the night. There was not much inside, but Julie reported the theft of her car radio as well as the vehicle’s logbook, which she normally stored in a small Renault gray faux leather pouch. This same pouch was found on April 22 in the dresser of the Ligonnès living room where Xavier used to store his papers, during the investigation the day after the discovery of the bodies. The police did not follow this track: they put the break-in of Julie’s car on the account of one of the Ligonnès sons, Arthur, who had already been arrested for theft of a bicycle and driving under the influence of cannabis. But why would Arthur have taken the vehicle papers with the car stereo, and why would he put them in the middle of his father’s papers? And if the theft was committed by Xavier Ligonnès a few hours before killing his family, how can this be explained? Was he able to steal other identity papers to facilitate his escape? In this case, it is always about cars. Those imported by XDDL from the United States, the Citroën C5 from the escape, the vehicles he claimed had been stolen over the years: the first at the Brest police station in 1998, while living in Pornic, a second at the same time at the Saint-Nazaire police station, and then again, in Nantes, on May 17, 2006, a Golf convertible finally found then sold a few months later to a mechanic, a friend of Cédric M. Cédric M. is never far away when it comes to cars. He is also a mechanic, that’s how Ligonnès met him in Vannes a few years earlier. He is one of the recipients of the departure letter, therefore a close friend. He was even the first employee of the RDC. Ligonnès regularly went to visit him in Locmalo in the heart of Morbihan, a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Nantes. With Cédric and his partner, Renaud, they went to the local creperie. They had lunch there together on March 31, 2011, four days before the crimes. In the village, it is said that Ligonnès took care of the dark accounts of the “guys,” who have quite a reputation. Could he have built up a slush fund there that no one would have found until now? Cédric and Renaud’s garage is not indicated by any sign. It is at the end of a road. In the yard, wrecks of American cars and a goat on a leash. Inside, Renaud is working on a shiny yellow Cadillac. His attitude is confusing. He is angry with the police who have never come to question him when he is, according to him, “the last to have seen [Xavier] alive. But I will not tell you when, because that the date is important,” he adds before returning to his Cadillac, wrench in hand. To date, Renaud has still not been heard by investigators. At the same time, reports continue to flow. Ligonnès seen in Mulhouse, on the four lanes between Saint-Brieuc and Rennes in a Peugeot 308 and overtaking on the right, Ligonnès seen again in Tunis and Toulouse. Ligonnès seen, but never caught. Next Section-Part 2D |
Questions | Answers |
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Because you have personal experience dealing with it, what is your take on Nuclear Power? Also: Love the picture of you and your dad...eery and beautiful. | Actually, I am not against NP. If used smart, it is the cheapest and cleanest energy source... |
What is the government's plan for the Chernobyl area? Keep it as a wildlife preserve? | Well, they have to preserve it just because it is polluted for another thousands of years... so it is not for the sake of the wildlife, but for the sake of the living people. |
I've been looking around on a map. Is this the correct building? Do you think you could draw a rough map of the floor you lived on? I've been trying to find interior layouts for a recreation of Pripyat in minecraft. | Yes, this is my house. I wouldn't be able to recreate the floor, since i didn't go to other flats... What is that with guys and Minecraft? I don't dig that game=))) |
Have you suffered from any illnesses related to the radiation, given the very young age at which you were exposed? | Me not, but my dad died from the ilness related to the radiation. nevertheless, I dont know how did it influence me on a longer run... |
Was your fathers cancer somehow related to Chernobyl? | I wouldnt speculate on that. he was a scientist and worked in Chernobyl all his life, going inside the sarcophagus and exposing himself to radiation. So it might not only be 1986 but the rest of his life too. |
Do you ascribe your father's death to having worked at the plant? | Not only to that. He dedicated his whole life as a scientist to work in Chernobyl.. |
Would you recommend anyone interested in Pripyat to visit as tourist? Any tips/suggestions on visiting Pripyat? | Well, the whole Prypyat is interesting. now they actually prohibit to enter the buildings, but I guess people's private apartments is actually the most interesting part. |
Did you enter the city/area alone, is that even (legally) possible? or as part of a tourist group? Link to www.kiddofspeed.com. | I went to Pripyat as a journalist with my own car, but was assigned a guide. Usually journalists can go for free, tourists have to pay and people, who were evacuated can go on certain days (like anniversary) |
Can it really be considered your home town if you moved away at age 1? | It can be, since it formed who I am and where I am right now. Without what happened to us back then, I wont be the person I am now. |
Do you have any superpowers? | X-ray vision=) |
Does there remain a significant amount of radiation in Pripyat? Were you given information about Chernobyl/Pripyat in your upbringing? If so what were you told and did you believe this information to be accurate for what had happened? Was your father called in to aid with repair, for lack of a better work, the catastrophe? | My dad worked at another bloc of the reactor the night of the accident. he was an engineer and later on he found a Chernobyl Center for radioecology and environment protection, which did research in Chernobyl. They also worked with a lot of scientists from Japan, now after Fukushima we know why... there are some really radioactive spots in chernobyl area, while other are relatively not dangerous. basically, if you want to get a significat dose of radiation, which will somehow influence your health, you have to stand in a single spot without moving for like 2 weeks... |
Will pripyat ever be inhabitable in our lifetime? would you move back to rebuild the community? | Pripyat will never be inhibited. For most, the territory is polluted for another thousands of years and buildings are already in a very bad state. |
How realistic is the Pripyat mission in Modern Warfare? That ferris wheel is burned into the minds of millions... | The Ferris wheel is there. It never operated, cuz they were going to open it on the 1st of May... |
If Wikipedia is right, it actually did operate, for a few hours on the 27 of April so that they could turn some of the attention away from the explosion. | Not that i know of. According to mom mom, noone knew what happened, telephones were not working etc. People were not in panic or anything... And the info about the wheel working is only on the English version of wiki, the Russian and Ukrainian one mention, that it never operated, so did the guides tell me. |
I have a few questions about traveling in the area: - are the guides trustworthy? - is it moderately safe? - would it be safe for an American? | The guides are assigned to you by the authorities. All toures are well-orginized and as far as I know, it is safe to go there and there is no difference whether you are American or else=) |
If there are guides assigned to you, how did you manage to pull off a nude self-portrait? | I was in my apartment and I asked for 10 minutes to be alone... |
The evacuation was done in a hurry and many personal belongings were left behind. Did you have time on your return visit to collect any possessions. I suppose your old clothes don't fit now, but maybe some books or family photos, heirlooms, etc? | Actually, people were able to collect some of their belongings afterwards. I have all the films from my Prypyat apartment, as well as books. inside of the houses was pretty safe. |
Is it true there are wolves running wild through there? | I havent seen any, but it is true that flora and fauna is very vivid. There are wolves and bears and wild bores... |
That's really cool man, I'm happy you weren't there for the catastrophe. Do you think there are people still living there? With this, do you believe some are mutated to some degree? | Mutation was very rare. Many people's health was influenced, but noone can say for sure for what extent. |
I was there for the catastrophe, my whole family was. My dad was even working on the plant on the night of the accident. We were evacuated the next day after. There are some people who returned, they are all now over 70 and pretty much okay. Noone mutated, def not to the horror movie degree, this would be just scientific bullshit. | |
Has there been evidence of mutation? | If you go to the Chernobyl museum in Kiev, they have couple of example of mutant animals there... |
Did your parents give you most of the detail? What did they tell you? | Well, my dad worked there afterwards as well, so I knew pretty much everything. You can watch this movie by National Geographic ( Seconds from Disaster), which my father was a consultant to. I was there while they were filming too. |
I'm glad I visited this sub today. I normally don't but I'm glad I got to see this. The pictures are beautiful by the way. How does it feel to know that you lived through the largest nuclear disaster in recorded history? | I never thought of it until recently... I grew up with it and never thought it was something special... |
Were you granted special permission to go into only your apartment? If anyone else comes as a tourist, they can only walk around outside and look in the windows? | Well, some touristic guides allows people to walk around as they wish, but it is considered dangerous and prohibited. In 2011 I didnt have a problem entering any buildings, but in 2012 they were rather strict. Also, I went as a journalist, so not with a group. |
After the accident did you suffer any type of radiation poisoning? | I didn't. But many friends of my father, who worked that night did.. they also died. |
1) Have you been encouraged to regularly seek out medical observation? 2) Are you compensated by any governmental body in order to receive this observation/treatment no matter where you relocate in the world? 3) Seeing as you were a baby when the catastrophe occurred, how would you describe your connection(s) to Pripyat, returning after so many years? | 1) I was encourage to do the observations, yes. I do those know once in a year in Germany too, but just for myself 2)I am compensated, but it is really nothing. I receive approx. 25$ a month. my mom though get's a discount on her apartment bills back in Ukraine 3) I didnt think about my connection to Pripyat for a long time. I didnt think it was something special, because I grew up with it and it was just a part of my history. But after my father died and after I moved abroad, I actually realize that my life changed drastically and everything I do know is a result of what happened back then. You can read this article I wrote 2 years ago, where I dexcribe my feelings . Link to www.kyivpost.com |
Id love to read it.. except i have to apparently pay for it... no thanks.. | Really? it was free before... Here is the uneditet text from my computer On April 27th, 1986 I, aged 1 year and 3 months, was evacuated together with my mother from the town of Prypyat, USSR, population 49,400, average age of the inhabitants – 26 years old. Now, 25 years later and being 26 years old myself, I revisited the town of my early childhood. I would lie if I say that being a baby at the time of the Chernobyl Nuclear Accident, I remember anything of Prypyat. I don’t remember anything, but coming back after all those years to a place, which literally changed my life was not easy. I came back not for the pictures of broken dolls or abandoned schools. I didn’t take photos of Soviet relics, which are so popular with amateur photographers and tourists from all over the world. Nevertheless, when we drove into the jungle, which once was the main street – named after Lenin of course, I was hit by a way of nostalgia – nostalgia for the things, which never happened to me here. Lenin street 17, apartment 24 – number 24 would chase me throughout life. All apartments in Prypyat was burglarised and it is hard to imagine life in these empty walls. Not only valuables, but also waterpipes, powersockets and floorcloth were stolen by crooks, who would then sell radioactive goods on fleamarkets to people, who wouldnt even know what are they buying. My flat was not an exception – only peaces of broken furniture, old wallpaper (horrible flower design, by the way), 2 kopiykas (which my father left for me to pick up one day) and an old picture on the floor. The photo is of me and my mom in this very room 25 years ago. It was a favourite of my father, who was an amateur photographer – he even mentioned it on a roll of the negative, which I found afterwards in Kiev. This was a reason for him to leave it 10 years ago, hanging on the wall of what was once our living room– as a memory of happy times, which these abandoned walls once saw. It might sound cheesy, but for me, this symbolic gesture is very meaningful, since my father, Constantin Rudya, died 5 years ago. He dedicated his life to Chernobyl, working as a scientific director at an International Chernobyl Center. He spent a lot of time in Chernobyl, collaborating with scientists from Germany, France, USA and Japan. He was exposed to the radiation frequently, revisiting the sarcophagus of the 4th block on a regular basis. He died of cancer in Fabruary 2006 at the age of 47 and before that I never thought about Chernobyl as the most influential thing, which happened to my family. I don’t want to say that my life after his death was full of grief and sorrow – on the contrary, loosing him pushed me to do things, which I would never be brave enough to do if he stayed alive. Studying abroad, becoming a photographer, taking any chance to travel – all of that I did with one thought – would he be proud of me and did I do enough to become as great as he was? Sometimes I even regret of not being talented in physics, since I could never follow his steps. My father had a lot of Japanese friends, and I can only imagine, how supportive he would be of them due to the current events in Fukushima. In 1986 he was barely 28 and worked as an operator on the 2d block of the Chernobyl power Plant. He worked there also on the night of the accident and 1,5 years after the catastrophe. I found old films from Prypyat dated 1983-1986 in my fathers archive – he and his co-workers and friends – playing tennis, having fun on the beach of the Prypyat river, celebrating someone’s birthday in the dormitory. Some of these people, including my dad, are no more alive and all is left of them are memories and these old photographs. We also visited Chornobyl once together – my father was consulting the National Geographic channel team from London while they were filming one of the programs on the Chornobyl catastrophe. We visited our flat that time too – when we were leaving, he left a fresh newspaper in the mailbox of the apartment number 24, our apartment. He said, that once we would come here together with my mom. But we never did. I still hope that once my mother will come here with me though. If she does come, she will find an old photograph of me and her, 2 kopecks and a photo of my dad, smiling, pinned to the wall. I left is there as a memory. Exclusion zone is revisited by many tourists and journalists every year. It became a place of attraction, some kind of extreme adventure. I try to imagine how it would be if the accident never happened (even though, according to the construction imperfection of the station itself, the accident was destined to happen sooner or later. This is why many stations of a similar design were stopped for awhile to remove the problem before it caused more trouble, all over the Soviet Union at that times, according to Alexey Breus, who was an operator on the 4th block of the plant and my fathers good friend). So I try to visualize supermarkets and casinos on the streets of Prypyat. Light banners and nightclubs. Agitation posters of political candidates. The city existed no more than 16 years before the accident (it was built specifically for the workers of what supposed to be the biggest Nuclear Power Plant in Europe). Now, being stuck in the 1980s it remains its Soviet self, trapped in the nature, which, unlike people, was not afraid of radiation. We are used to see pictures of Chernobyl and Prypyat, which recall some sort of a horror dream, with the post-apocalyptic hollows of the broken windows and frightening remains of the human presence in a form of left toys, old books and broken beds. But it is not the impression of the exclusion zone, which I have got. Silent and mysterious beauty of the surrounding landscape is overwhelming. Wild forest, full of animals, beautiful sky and a calm river, which flows silently through the territory, which wont change much in the next hundreds of years. And it is not the broken windows and abandoned buildings, which scared me, but the feeling of a great change, which happened in the lives of so many people. At least 49 400 Prypyat inhabitants I am aware of. My life is no soap opera and everything, which happened to me in the past, might not be as spectacular and heartbreaking as a Hollywood film production scenario. It is also hard to speculate about things, which happened in the past and which I can no more influence. But coming to Prypyat after all these years made me review my life again and analyze things from a different perspective. I lived in Kiev since I was 2, went to Germany for the first time at the age of 9 with the Kids of Chornobyl exchange programme and learned the language probably because of that. I graduated from two universities and finally ended up back in Germany, this time following my dream. I wonder what would happen if in 1986 nothing had gone wrong? Would I have gone to a kindergarten and then local school? Would I have kayaked with my dad on the river Uzh and Prypyat? Would I have my graduation ball in the Energetic restaurant and meet the dawn with a view of the Chornobyl Nuclear power plant? Would I have grown up a small town girl, met my first love here, got married and had 2 kids by the age of 26 with their grandfather still alive? I guess, I would never know. |
Dedicated to the memory of my father and best friend, Constantine Rudya (25.03.1958-08.02.2006) | |
Does having 3 eyes give you an advantage compared to other photographers? | No, but it gives an advantage compared to dumb commentators=) |
I hope you answer the questions posted. Do you go with a concept in mind and then try to take a photo with concept you thought or is it find a location or thing, then add in a concept? | I had a concept in mind, but I had to adjust, since there was not so much time and there were always people around, who tried to control my every movement. Nevertheless, I had some time on my own in my apartment. |
Do you consider Prypyat to be your home? What's it like seeing the place you came from as a ghost town? What sort of emotions were going through your mind as you walked around? (Sorry, basically a variation of the same question). | Read my older article about my feelings, if yo are interested Link to www.kyivpost.com |
Wish I could read it without paying 9 bucks. :( However i'm more sad that your bandwidth has been exceeded. hopefully I won't screw up and close it accidentally and will be able to wait a day until I can reload it and look at your pics. | Oh, I wasnt expecting reddit people to break my website=) Never had so much traffic before=) |
How much exposure did you receive? | I wouldln't know, as we were not measured. |
What is your superpower? | Funny that so many people ask me that=) I wish I could teleport though. |
I'm actually visiting Pripyat this Saturday. You mentioned earlier that the apartments are off limits. Is there a particular part of the accessible areas that you found to be most interesting or that spoke to you the most that I should check out? | Pripyat is quite small. I think the guide will show you all the important places. I found villages around more interesting... |
How long were you in the evacuation zone? If you were there overnight does anything glow in the dark? | I've been there 3 times for 6-8 hours=) nothing glows. |
How did you get in to photography? Is it your soul means of income? | My father was an amateur photographer and I've decided to study it after I was not satisfied with my diplomas in Political Science and Journalism. Right now I work as a freelance photographer, had my solo exhibition and work as a graphic design intern... So not a rich famous artist yet=) |
Thanks, I only ask because I've just started studying photography as well. What skills/software did you find most useful in your internship? Love you work btw | I mostly work in photoshop and indesign, sometimes Illustrator. As for photography, I prefer not to photoshop my pictures, sometimes a bit of photoshop for color balance and sharpness, but nothing drastic. |
Maybe it's just illegal for people from outside to come in and fish? The host of the show was fishing right next to the reactor so he could catch a catfish that lives on the bottom of the cooling pond for scientists to study since a lot of the radioactive particles get washed down in the bottom of the pond and settle. It was a fascinating show to watch. Your photographs are amazing and haunting at the same time by the way! :D Will you be able to go back and do more? | I went there 3 times. As for people coming in and fishing illegaly - it is really hard to get inside the zone. There are check points and you need a special permission to get in. maybe someone gets in through the woods, but if they get caught, they have to pay a fine. |
Do you have any memories of the event itself? What was it like? | I was only 1, so I dont remember anything, just the stories from my parents and the after-experience at school and my dad's death. |
What was different then public perspective about Chernobyl? | There are no monsters on the street and it is by far not as dangerous as people think. |
Is it anything like the movie??? | I havent seen the movie, but as far as I saw the trailer, they make it look like the real town. no monsters though. |
No mutant fish?? | I've noticed none running around=) |
Do you know Wladimir Kaminer? If so, what do you think of him and his Russendisko? | Haha, I just watched the movie yesterday=) I read the book and i liked it. The movie is ok too. |
I was always fascinated by the Chernobyl incident, then I visited an area in the south of Belarus and saw the effect it has had on the country, and most notably the children, and now it just makes me sad. What emotions do you feel going back to Pripyat these days? | Link to www.kyivpost.com |
I described my emotions in this article. | |
How close is STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl? | The creators of the game did a pretty close depiction of real Pripyat. |
Whats it like visiting Prypyat? I mean is it sad, do you feel nostalgia? | Yes, it was nostalgic. I tried to imagine how would it be now to live there.. |
Do you know Eugene Hutz of Gogol Bordello? | As far as I know, he lives in New York=) I've never been there. |
I hope Im not too late but, have you ever played STALKER: Call of Pripyat? I hope to visit Chernobyl one day. I would love to see it. | I didnt play it, but I liked the graphycs. It is very close to real Prypyat. |
Where are the pictures... | Check out the Project section by the link, the project is called Prypyat mon Amour. |
Same that why i was like where are the pictures cause i only see one of a nude women.. who is posed SO HORRIBLY WRONG in my opinion anyways ahaha :P | And what is so horribly wrong of me posing nude in my own apartment? the picture is not erotic in any sense... |
What are the direct consequences of the disasters. | The direct? Polluted areas in Ukraine and Belarus, abandoned territories, people getting cancer... |
For you. | Well, My health was not influenced noticeable. I have an enlarged thyroid gland and recently someone asked me if I can have kids... well, maybe there is smth in the future to worry about, but I hope not. |
I don't know why, but I find pictures of Pripyat fascinating. It's unfortunate there are not more of them on your website. | I didnt put all the pictures on the website, I have to do it. |
Thank you for this, I am completely fascinated by Pripyat and the surrounding areas. | There are surrounding villages where tourists never go. Those villages are much further than Pripyat and also more contaminated. but there is one with a 18 century church in it and some with old people living there still... |
I don't know if this guy understands what an AMA is, considering he hasn't answered a single question. | Sorry, guys. I posted when I was at work and then I didnt know if it first has to be approved or smth... |
Considering how many people go there, it seems relatively safe... As far as nuclear disaster sites go. | Going there for a day is safe. A day in Prypyat equals a London-New York flight in term of radiation exposure... |
We killed your website. :-( | How and why? |
Your photography is gorgeous. | I am happy you manage to see the pictures...It looks like I had a traffic overload on my website. |
PLEASE ANSWER THINGS. THANK YOU. we'd like to know. | I'm sorry, I wasn't near internet=) |
Another story that is far more interesting than it's accompanying poor photographic edit of badly split-toned digital images and unnecessary nude self-portraits. | Everyone has a right for an opinion. |
By he way, where did you see a split-toned digital image? | |
Oh wow you're naked. Was not expecting some sensuality to your nuclear melt down series haha. | Not every naked body is sensual. |
Not really your hometown if you left when you were 1, can't remember being there and didn't grow up there. | Link to www.kyivpost.com |
It formed my current self, so I consider it my hometown to some extent. | |
What you are doing is cool, but dangerous. You should not be in the woods, and certainly not nude indoors. Did the guides not tell you this? | Actually, inside of the houses is pretty safe. They even want to demolish all the buildings to use the building materials for further use. |
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