Karabash is the dirtiest city in Russia

The post was written due to the terrible mood. A country in a deep crisis, followed by an inevitable aftershock, is a mess in life. Well, okay, I’ll go directly to the extremely gloomy post about the industrial city of Karabash, where I visited in September 2014.

Selected abuse of a bus driver, a gallows tied from a swing in a playground, air that is hard to breathe, and an almost complete absence of people on their faces - that’s how the dirtiest city in Russia and the whole world met us (according to UNESCO). Here I had the opportunity to spend 2 interesting days in order to get the most out of the local flavor.

Sometimes it will be difficult for you to believe that the photos were taken on Earth, and not on Mars. In general, I propose to plunge with me into the world of decadence.

Photo: Anton Voronin

Having decided to change the situation, I, along with brock_msc and Anton, an interest colleague, decided to go to the womb of the Russian industrial - Chelyabinsk, instead of the usual alpine meadows and picturesque nature. This decision was very surprising for my friends, because I practically did not travel to Russia before that. I’ll omit the details of how they tried to rob me on a trip, how I gradually got into the diametrically opposite behavior of Chelyabinsk citizens, and I got right to the point - our goal was Karabash, a city notorious for its difficult ecological situation, withering before our eyes. While still “on the shore”, we asked friends who live nearby to show us the city and its most interesting places. Such a person turned out to be Sasha - an extremely calm and reasonable guy who decided to take us around the city and its surroundings with pleasure. Karabash met us with disgusting weather, which was able to immerse us even more in the atmosphere of decadence. The first stop was the so-called "Bald Mountain", the top of which is crowned by a huge 15-meter cross.

When we approached the cross, several ravens fluttered from it, which with their croaks cut through the dead silence of a withering city. And here is the culprit of the pollution itself - the Karabashmed plant, which has polluted the area since 1910.

From emissions and waste on adjacent land, nothing grows. If powerful emissions from the plant are carried by the wind in our direction, then it will become significantly harder to breathe. The population is rapidly declining every year, and the residents have a very high risk of contracting lung cancer.

Next, we staged a promenade around the city to the factory itself. We met no one along the way. If Hollywood wants to make a post-apocalyptic film, then he can do it here.

The Karabash pond is the first to absorb the dirty waste. A sad sight.

On the roof of an abandoned apartment building, we decided to have a picnic on the side of the road with a view of the industrial giant. All the time I did not leave the feeling that I was in the world of “Stalker”.

The level of iron in local water bodies is 500 times higher than normal, giving the water an acidic appearance.

Not far from the plant there is a small yard with a view of the plant.

Here, work is in full swing, and for dangerous working conditions workers receive allowances.

After a while, we teleport to Mars. Why spend a lot of money, have horse health to plow the space, when it can be done much cheaper and faster? The scorched and long-dead land has already lost all hope that the situation will change.

A landscape that I have never seen before. However, I was morally crushed by the surprisingly gloomy atmosphere of this place.

The Sak-Elga River is famous for the presence of the entire periodic table in its waters and its red-yellow color. Water is saturated with iron, fish have long been gone.

An analogue of the Pripyat Red Forest - instead of trees, only hemp remained. Nothing can grow here.

Then trouble happened: Gosh, ironically, lost a flash card, and we returned here the next day. To our surprise, we found sunny weather. Karabash noticeably changed and became a little more welcoming.

Once again we decided to go to places of military glory - we started from the cross.

The sunset rays of the sun playfully illuminated the wrinkles of the plant, and now look at the emissions and imagine what it is like to be in this cloud.

And on the other hand - beauty! Boundless, amazing Russian nature. It is as if the mutant pollutant is not sleeping somewhere nearby.

Miraculously preserved vegetation of the last forces is trying to survive.

The residents laid out the phrase “Save and save” with white stones. Very symbolic for such a city.

The plant is reflected in the pond, while in the meantime we are moving towards the heap.

The sunset was on our heels, and we settled on top to watch the day die.

Hell came to earth, but these three are not in a hurry there.

Next, we decided to arrange a symbolic photo shoot - I am sitting in a gas mask and a chemical protection suit against the backdrop of the plant, as if hinting that smoking is harmful to your health. All the pain of the Russian people is reflected in my eyes.

And this I launched a flare, only the guys could not shoot it. The photo is called "Ecotourism".

In general, I liked the trip and made me think that the place where I live may still seem like a paradise compared to what I saw. A great opportunity to think about how our planet is moving towards its end. After this, the future of humanity seems to me a hopeless dystopia, where there is no place for living creatures and vegetation.