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Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Part of FCDO Outreach

16th December 2010

Holidays in Chernobyl

The UK and international press have reacted with intrigue to the suggestion that Chernobyl, site of the 1986 nuclear disaster, could be a new tourist hotspot.  In fact as some reports have noted, it has been possible to visit the site, along with the nearby abandoned Soviet-era city of Pripyat, for several years.

I visited Chernobyl and Pripyat in June 2009, including the unusual treat of lunch in the Chernobyl canteen.  It’s not an experience for everyone, but as I wrote then, “if you’re comfortable with the possible risks, it’s an education in the dangers of unaccountable decision-makers; and the importance of swift action when things go wrong”.   With the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl accident coming up in April 2011, the lessons of that education remain as relevant as ever.

Some June 2009 photos of Chernobyl and Pripyat are below.

About Leigh Turner

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of…

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of the UN and other organisations; stories here will reflect that.

About me: I arrived in Vienna in August 2016 for my second posting in this wonderful city, having first served here in the mid-1980s. My previous job was as HM Consul-General and Director-General for Trade and Investment for Turkey, Central Asia and South Caucasus based in Istanbul.

Further back: I grew up in Nigeria, Exeter, Lesotho, Swaziland and Manchester before attending Cambridge University 1976-79. I worked in several government departments before joining the Foreign Office in 1983.

Keen to go to Africa and South America, I’ve had postings in Vienna (twice), Moscow, Bonn, Berlin, Kyiv and Istanbul, plus jobs in London ranging from the EU Budget to the British Overseas Territories.

2002-6 I was lucky enough to spend four years in Berlin running the house, looking after the children (born 1992 and 1994) and doing some writing and journalism.

To return to Vienna as ambassador is a privilege and a pleasure. I hope this blog reflects that.

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chernobyl general holidays pripyat

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