05/21/2004: 
Fraud & Conspiracy
Bulldozed
love struck athenators have wool pulled over eyes?
from Urban Exploration Resource
Some time ago, the athenaeum ran a story about Elena, the Russian woman who travels to Chernobyl in some sort of final journey/death wish. Especially attractive to athenators was that she was a single hot chick on a motorcycle. Now, the Urban Exploration Resource is casting doubt on her story.
I am sorry to report that much of Elena's story is not true. She did not travel around the zone by herself on a motorcycle. Motorcycles are banned in the zone, as is wandering around alone, without an escort from the zone administration. She made one trip there with her husband and a friend. They traveled in a Chornobyl car that picked them up in Kyiv.
She did, however, bring a motorcycle helmet. They organized their trip through a Kyiv travel agency and the administration of the Chornobyl zone (and not her father). They were given the same standard excursion that most Chernobyl tourists receive. When the Web site appeared, Zone Administration personnel were in an uproar over who approved a motorcycle trip in the zone. When it turned out that the motorcycle story was an invention, they were even less pleased about this fantasy Web site.
Because of those problems, Elena and her husband have changed the Web site and the story considerably in the last few days. Earlier versions of the narrative lied more blatantly about Elena taking lone motorcycle trips in the zone. That has been changed to merely suggest that she does so, which is still misleading.
3 Annotations Submitted
Friday the 21st of May, santo26 noted:
ah well, it was too good to be true...hot chick riding a motorcycle through nuclear armageddon and all...but these urban exploration resource guys sound like a good pickup though.
Friday the 21st of May, awiggins noted:
I would like to present prof_booty with the prestigious Wet Blanket Award for Curmudgeonliness. Congratulations!
The reason the story so intrigued me was the "radioactive wasteland" angle, the photographic preservation of the desolation caused by the worst nuclear accident in history. The hot chick on a motorcycle "story" was just gravy. I mean really, what sounds better:
- Wife, mother of three, takes bus tour with husband and friend to site of nuclear accident.
- Hot chick on motorcycle, risks her life to capture photos of nuclear wasteland.
One last nitpicky thing. Shouldn't someone writing a book about a subject know how to spell its name (Chernobyl as apposed to her Chornobyl). Of course this could just be one of those cases of the English language bastardizing the way something is spelled. If that is the case, then just disregard this paragraph.
Friday the 21st of May, Rev. Josiah A. Perkins noted:
Mofos messin' with my fantasy life...
