A Town Planned in 1986 for Nuclear Plant Workers: Slavutych

Slavutych (Славутич) is a town roughly 50 kilometers from the Chornobyl nuclear power plant. Serhii Tarakanov, head of the state enterprise Chornobyl NPP, explained to UNIAN in April 2026 that the town was built after the 1986 accident to replace Prypiat, which had been the plant staff’s town. The town falls administratively under Kyiv oblast, though the city’s official website describes it as “geographically part of the Chernihiv region, administratively part of the Kyiv region.”

As of September 2026, many of those who work at the plant still live in this town. When and by whom was the town built, and how has the commute to the plant changed under the war?

From the October 1986 Decision to the First Move-In

According to the “History of the city” page on the city’s official website, the decision to build a new town where the Chornobyl plant’s staff and their families could live long-term was made by the then Soviet leadership on October 2, 1986. Design took place in September–November of the same year, and construction began in December.

The town’s name was decided by a decree of the Presidium of the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on February 19, 1987. The decree refers to the town as “a town under construction in Chernihiv oblast, for the long-term residence of staff of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant.” The first occupancy permits for housing were issued on March 26, 1988.

The plan called for the town to grow to 22,800 people in its first phase, and to 30,000 thereafter. According to a June 2026 article by the city, the town’s design was handled by the Kyiv institute “KyivZNIIEP,” with Fedir Borovyk as chief architect. Construction is said to have begun at the “Nerapha” railway halt in a pine forest.

Eight Republics, 14 Districts

According to the city’s official website, construction was carried out by eight of the then Soviet republics: Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Russia. The city explains that because each republic built “its own district” in its own architectural tradition, the town came to resemble “an open-air museum of architecture.”

The number of districts is not the same as the number of republics, however. The city’s official website lists 14 districts.

• Districts named after republic capitals: Bakinskyi (Бакинський, Baku), Vilniuskyi (Вільнюський, Vilnius), Yerevanskyi (Єреванський, Yerevan), Rizkyi (Ризький, Riga), Tallinnskyi (Талліннський, Tallinn), Tbiliskyi (Тбіліський, Tbilisi)
• Other districts: Dniprovskyi (Дніпровський), Dobryninskyi (Добринінський), Kyivskyi (Київський), Desnianskyi (Деснянський), Poliskyi (Поліський), Chernihivskyi (Чернігівський), Pecherskyi (Печерський), Siverianskyi (Сіверянський)

The city’s official website does not give a one-to-one match of which republic built which district. Summarizing it as “the eight republics each built one district” is not accurate given the number of districts. The city’s article also states that people of 49 nationalities gathered in the new town.

The Commute to the Plant Passed Through Belarusian Territory

Belarusian territory lies between Slavutych and the Chornobyl plant. In his interview with UNIAN, director Tarakanov said that when the town was built, no one factored in that Belarusian territory would run between the town and the plant.

Before Russia’s full-scale invasion, per the same interview, staff traveled to their shifts twice a week by train, crossing the border without stopping and without inspection. That route is now unusable, and staff commute by bus, going around via the Desna River and Vyshhorod. What once took 40 minutes now takes 5 to 6 hours. The plant has extended shift periods to 10–13 days and set up accommodation for staff on-site, the director explains.

The director also said that about 2,200 people work at the plant, with a further roughly 1,000 in the town from Atomremontservice, a branch of the state nuclear power company Energoatom.

The Town’s Population

According to the State Statistics Service’s “Present Population of Ukraine” (as of January 1, 2022), the present population of the city of Slavutych was 24,464. The city’s official website states “25,000 residents.”

No official statistics on the town’s population since the full-scale invasion have been published as of September 2026. Director Tarakanov stated in April 2026 that the town’s population was “about 20,000,” explaining that while some people had left because of the war, the town was also taking in people displaced within the country. This is the director’s own account, not a statistical figure.

The Town After the Reactors Stopped

Law No. 721-XIV of June 3, 1999 made the city of Slavutych a “special economic zone.” Article 1 of the law states its purpose as creating jobs for staff who would leave their positions as the Chornobyl plant’s reactors were shut down ahead of schedule, and attracting investment.

The special economic zone’s term, as written in the law, runs until January 1, 2020. According to the Verkhovna Rada’s database, the law has not been amended since Article 2 was removed by a March 2005 law, and as of September 2026 its status is displayed as “in force.”

The town’s ties to the plant continue even today. Slavutych’s inclusion among the towns whose businesses qualify for a state grant top-up is covered in the article on ye-Robota, and the nearby exclusion-zone reserve is covered in the article on the Chornobyl reserve.

The Occupation of March 2022

According to a UNIAN article of March 28, 2022, Russian forces entered Slavutych on the morning of March 26, set up checkpoints, seized the city hospital, and took away Mayor Yurii Fomichov. The mayor was later released and, speaking with residents at a rally in the central square, said Russian forces had killed three residents. The mayor announced on March 27 that Russian forces had left the town.