Unrealized dream - Concrete jungle of the city of Rivne, Ukraine

Unrealized dream

During the Soviet Union, in all the Union republics and cities, pompous structures were erected, which were supposed to show the common people the greatness of the ruling party.

Clubs, cinemas, sports complexes and other places for cultural recreation were built, even where, according to the logic of things, they would not be in very high demand.

But, it was considered necessary at that time for mass agitation.

Many construction projects were started, but, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, they never saw their visitors, in part.

One of these, abandoned complexes is located in the city of Rivne, Ukraine.

This complex is located between three educational institutions, a music school. School of Arts and University.

It was assumed that there would be a mass of people.

But, today, I would not let my children into this park, which has become a hangout for incomprehensible companies with vague interests.

But, you understand this when you visit this place and carefully examine it.

Scattered syringes and bottles speak for themselves, they are mountains.

Several times I came here for a few pictures. Here you can feel like a real stalker.

As the yellow inscription on the roof of the building says: "Everything is ahead!"

This complex is an amphitheater with concrete benches and a stage in the middle.

Behind us, there is a huge tower, but more on that later.

Here is this tower, its upper part.

There are no entrance doors into it, without climbing equipment you cannot get there, but this is for me.

One time, I saw several drunken teenagers shouting songs while standing at the top of the tower. I don't drink, I can't get there.

Against the backdrop of clouds, this tower looks like a one-eyed cyclops.

Street art lovers have long chosen this place.

The view from the foot of the tower opens a view of a beautiful park, or, of a park that was supposed to be beautiful.

There are several bridges and fountains in this complex. Such bridges could be built across deep rivers, but someone decided that the villagers could bypass the river, and the enlightened students could not go around the fountain.

Time decided in its own way, and showed all the utopianism of this plan.

But, we must pay tribute to the builders. The concrete from which these structures are built is very durable.

This part of the panoramic photos was taken this summer, but I liked my winter walk better, the green leaves did not obscure the view. Next, we will plunge into winter.

The most affected concrete paths, which are overgrown with grass.

In the eastern part of the park, an attempt was made to restore, but, so far, several paths have appeared, paved with sidewalk tiles.

This is a rather rare shot for these places. Usually there are no children here. On this day, there were many of them.

As I said, children here can easily get hurt or fall into the water.

View of the tower from south to north.

These pools are filled with rainwater and are very deep for children.

Algae have bloomed in the water and bacteria have developed that give off a stench.

When I came here for the first time, I was looking for a positive, but I did not find it, except for a few interesting photographs of the moon against the background of a concrete tower.

Indeed, there is little positive in the walled-up dungeons covered with a layer of stench debris.

What is hidden from us in summer becomes visible in winter.

I started from the first shot, the building labeled "Everything is ahead" and go down the steps towards the stage.

I went outside the amphitheater and found a strange room. Perhaps a cafeteria should have been located here, in order to provide spectators with cakes and soft drinks.

The walls of the building have become hosts for artists who love to paint on concrete.

In winter, in severe frost, I hoped that I would not meet anyone.

And so it was.

Going inside the premises, I took several photographs with a view of the park.

These frames can be used as locations for action movies and games.

Someone left their footprints on the wall, I hope it's red paint.

You can see that it was early morning, the sun began to rise over the horizon.

I cannot give a correct assessment of these works of art, but definitely these artists have talent.

This is not a Tretyakov gallery, but there is something to see.

This is one of the finest works of local artists.

It is difficult to move around here, there is a lot of debris and broken glass.

When the sun was hiding behind the clouds, it became dark and eerie.

It's time to leave this room and try to climb the spiral staircase, which, in summer, turns into an impenetrable jungle.

This is a narrow spiral staircase, you need to walk on it carefully, you can hurt your head.

There are also many paintings on the walls of the staircase.

One step is missing, through which you can see the surface of the earth at zero level.

When I climbed to the top, I breathed a sigh of relief.

The stairs led me to the top of the hill, at its level there is a tower.

Standing on the hill, I was able to take this photograph. You see my shadow on the roof of the house, behind which the city is visible.

So I returned to the original part of the journey.

My photos will be enough for a few posts, and I'm sure you will be able to see more, everything is ahead!

Two rooks were the only living things that winter day that I met in the park.

I got there early in the morning and returned home when the sun had not yet risen.

I hope you enjoy being my companion on this extreme journey.

Author @barski
Ukraine

For my publications, I do not use stock photographs, it is fundamentally important for me to use photographs that I have made with my own hands for publication and I can name them - authorial work.

You can go to our blog on the Hive platform by clicking on the bee.