Poetry from Pripyat - Symbols of an Epoch.

Friends and readers, I have started trying to translate the book. I still feel guilty about having taken it, but there's  also a conflict within, because at the same time I dearly want to preserve this piece of history, and not let it rot or be destroyed. 

The first piece translated, or rather interpretated, is a poem from the last page of the book. Russian poetry is for me very difficult to translate, so this is by all means not exact - just a hint to let you know what it's mainly about. 

Great thanks to Vladimir Umnyakov and Vladyslav Kaminsky for helping me by explaining the abbrevations and telling the history. 

The title of the poetry is "Symbols of an epoch" and it was written in 1977.

Be proud!
Architects of ours, the Soviet Rastrelli!
Not for nothing, the construction ascended,
a soldier's greatcoat, for peaceful purposes
Used in the reactor, the atom
And he will lead the train
and work will be his brother.

With our sun, we will illuminate
the Polesskiy neighborhood!
To you, our Pripyat
Worldwide fame awaits!
Work hard NPP, for all ages, mighty giant
like a Bolshevik monument in Soviet Ukraine
Grow, men of the the working class,
in our new construction of muscle mass and strength,
- Napolean days of heroism!
Grew once, Kuzbass
Turksib, Magnitogorsk, and the Donbass,
Kolkhoz system - people's jazz
Gone is the former plow.
And now BAM, NPP, Kamaz
The Symbols of an epoch.

Kuzbass and Donbass: The Kuznetsk and Donets Basins are coal mining areas. The first is situated in Russia, second in Ukraine.

Turkib: Turkestan- Siberian Railway - the railway was constructed in the years between 1926 and1931, connecting Central Asia with Siberia.
 

Magnitka: The unofficial name of the city of Magnitogorsk, and the Magnitogorsk Metallurgical combined.
 

BAM: The Baikal-Amur Mainline, also a railway.

АЭС (NPP): Atomnaya ElektroStantsija; Nuclear Power Plant.

KamAZ:  A truck automobile plant and also the name of the powerful trucks constructed.