You're reading: Shcholkine, Azov Sea city with nuclear past, now attracts tourists

The town of Shcholkine on the Crimean peninsula’s east coast was not even on the map 30 years ago.

Then construction of a nuclear plant, aimed at providing electricity for the whole peninsula, brought a secret settlement of engineers and construction workers.
The plant was never completed, but today Shcholkine – known by locals as “the summer town” because of its sunshine and water – is a popular tourist destination.

Overlooking the Azov Sea, Shcholkine offers the opportunity for a relaxing break, a windsurfing holiday, or a trip back into history for those who want to explore the incomplete shell of the nuclear plant.

The Guinness Book of Records notes that it is the most expensive nuclear project that was never finished.

Today, you can stroll inside its creepy concrete guts, take as many photos as you wish and stare into what were once set to be the silos for radioactive fuel.
The grim skeleton of concrete and steel marks the entrance to the city. With the fall of the Soviet Union, the station’s walls and cranes quickly fell into disrepair.
Construction charts, which any foreign spy would be proud to get a hold of back in the Soviet days, are no longer in the vaults.

Once-secret books now gather dust on the shelves of the Shcholkine Institute. It seems almost everything has been dismantled, stolen and sold. The town’s population shrank with incredible speed: Out of 21,000 former residents, less than one-third stayed to see Shcholkine’s slow death.

But tourists and filmmakers took a liking of the howling nuclear ghost on the sea shores and helped to keep the town alive.

And the nature has offered its own solution to make sure the town does not vanish with the plant’s demise – the sea.

The coast offers sports enthusiasts the perfect wind for windsurfing competitions. Electronic music festival Kazantip – now famous in Europe as well as in- Ukraine – was first held there in 1995. Since fuel was never delivered to the nuclear power plant, dancing parties were held in its turbines. Russian filmmaker Fedor Bondarchuk shot the fantasy “Desert Island” there in 2008.

Apart from the power plant, there’s not much else to see. But there is a sandy beach leading to shallow water – perfect for family breaks with children. It also has therapeutic muds, salt lakes and mineral springs to pamper body and soul.

Located in the east of Crimea some 75 kilometers from Kerch, it is an upcoming resort, where everything is much cheaper than at hot spots in the south. You can reach the beach in 10 minutes from the farthest location in town.

For sightseeing, head to Kazantyp Nature Preserve, a small but scenic green patch close to the city. Translated from Turkish, its name means “the bottom of a cauldron.” Many centuries ago, Kazantyp was an island, but winds and erosion gradually turned it into a shape reminiscent of a cooking pot with a handle stretching all the way to the mainland.

Tourists still find bits and pieces from the pre-historic Bosporan Kingdom settlements there. Nature has also played tricks with cliffs and stones, creating shapes like peculiar animals. The hike will take you to the Tartarsky Bay, known as one of the cleanest and most beautiful beaches in Ukraine.

Strong and persistent winds don’t cause storms here, like they do in the Black Sea, so divers will appreciate calm waters in the coves dotting the Arabatska Bay. In late summer, kite and windsurfers steer in Shcholkine’s direction to catch some waves. Most of the tourists rent flats from the former nuclear plant’s personnel, the main way many of them now make a living.


Kyiv Post staff writer Natalia Solovonyuk can be reached at [email protected]