In Pripyat we visited three different schools. Many books, papers and students' works were intact and untouched other than in that sense that they have been spread out all over the areas by previous visitors who for some reason must have fancied a certain redecoration...
Pretty soon, I had started to notice what seemed to be a regular recurrance of a certain kind of books. These look like large photoalbums or scrapbooks, and you could say that's exactly what they are - scrapbooks. I learnt that every class had book projects like this, on different themes like travels, history, food, Lenin (of course) and more. Some of the books are damp and moldy, but others are in good shape and should in my opinion be put in a museum as documentations of history. Some would perhaps say that Pripyat itself is to be regarded as a museum, but it's a museum where you cannot close the doors and windows to protect the object from the forces of nature, and where people don't keep their hands to themselves and in this case I'm no execption.
Finding this book and going through it the first time, made me object against the thought of leaving it there. In an undetermined matter of time, it would be destroyed by wind and rain and thus lost. I didn't quite know what I thought I would do with this book, but after I'm done translating it, I may give it to the Chernobyl museum in Kiev to put it on display. In matters of theft, I can still say that my conscience is clear, as I was permitted to bring it from the Zone.
Pretty soon, I had started to notice what seemed to be a regular recurrance of a certain kind of books. These look like large photoalbums or scrapbooks, and you could say that's exactly what they are - scrapbooks. I learnt that every class had book projects like this, on different themes like travels, history, food, Lenin (of course) and more. Some of the books are damp and moldy, but others are in good shape and should in my opinion be put in a museum as documentations of history. Some would perhaps say that Pripyat itself is to be regarded as a museum, but it's a museum where you cannot close the doors and windows to protect the object from the forces of nature, and where people don't keep their hands to themselves and in this case I'm no execption.
Finding this book and going through it the first time, made me object against the thought of leaving it there. In an undetermined matter of time, it would be destroyed by wind and rain and thus lost. I didn't quite know what I thought I would do with this book, but after I'm done translating it, I may give it to the Chernobyl museum in Kiev to put it on display. In matters of theft, I can still say that my conscience is clear, as I was permitted to bring it from the Zone.
Yes that would be a great item for a museum! It is a shame to just let it rot when you can keep it preserved in a museum. Maybe you should wear gloves when translating I've heard they do that with precious old documents
SvaraRaderaYes, that's a good idea. Even though this item has been out in the open for a long time, putting my hands all over it will not make its condition better, and I wouldn't like to ruin it in any way.
SvaraRadera