Slavutych, Administrative enclave in Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine
Slavutych is a planned settlement located around 50 kilometers east of Chernobyl, connected to Kyiv Oblast by a narrow corridor that crosses into Chernihiv Oblast. The town is divided into eight residential quarters, each designed by architects from a different region and showing its own style of panel housing.
The settlement was built starting in 1986 to house workers evacuated from Pripyat after the reactor accident at Chernobyl. Construction was completed in just over two years, and the town officially opened in 1988 to provide a new home for plant personnel.
The name comes from an ancient Slavic word for the Dnipro River, chosen to give the new town a connection to Ukrainian heritage. Each of the eight residential quarters bears the name of a city from a former Soviet republic and reflects its regional building style.
Access is typically by direct rail from Kyiv or by road through Chernihiv Oblast territory. Public transport within the town relies on buses, and many areas in the outer quarters are easy to reach on foot.
Before construction began, the entire site was covered with two meters (6.5 feet) of fresh uncontaminated soil to protect future residents from radiation. Workers came from all across the former Soviet Union, and each team brought its own regional building methods to the project.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
