| Revision as of 18:55, 16 March 2013 editThe Master (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users2,806 edits not Russian and no refs provided for "hoax" beyond the claim of one person← Previous edit | Revision as of 17:57, 26 March 2013 edit undoIpigott (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, New page reviewers, Pending changes reviewers271,902 edits →External links: catNext edit → | ||
| Line 76: | Line 76: | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | |||
Revision as of 17:57, 26 March 2013
| Elena Filatova | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1974 Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Pen name | Kid of Speed Gamma Girl |
| Occupation | Writer, Photographer |
| Genre | Nonfiction, History |
Elena Vladimirovna Filatova (Template:Lang-ru, Ukrainian: Олена Володимирівна Філатова; born 1974 in Ukraine, Soviet Union) is a Ukrainian motorcyclist and photographer who uses the online nickname "KiddOfSpeed". Her website, containing a photo-essay presented as solo motorcycle rides through Chernobyl's zone of alienation, gained her internet fame. Her website gained popularity due to its mention on Slashdot and other online news sources. A guide who brings disaster tourists to the region later said that Filatova's account is fictional —and that she simply wore biker clothing and posed for pictures while in a group tour. Filatova has also made photo-documentary websites of Kiev-area history about the Orange Revolution and about the city's historic "Serpent's Wall" defensive earthworks and their role in the fighting there during World War II.
Chernobyl photos and motorcycle trip
Filatova's website contains a series of photographs documenting the area around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, starting just under 18 years after the nuclear disaster there. She visited the virtually abandoned city of Prypiat, Ukraine and a circular area surrounding the 1986 Chernobyl disaster known as the Exclusion Zone.
Her website features a large number of photographs of Chernobyl-area buildings, cottages, rusting carnival equipment, and the interiors of disused Prypiat schools, shops, and apartments. The photos are mostly snapshots of the scenery, but a few show Filatova —usually with Shoei-brand motorcycle gear. Some show a motorcycle. The photos are presented as an account of a trip by a biker who trekked alone in the radiation zone. However, Chernobyl tour guide Yuri Tatarchuk later said that Filatova "booked a tour, wore a leather biker jacket and posed for pictures."
Other projects
Among her more recent projects is a photo-journal about the Serpent's Wall near the city of Kiev, her home. The journal contains photos of Filatova's exploration of an ancient wall and more modern World War II fortifications built amongst its remains. She also includes history of the region during both the 1917 October Revolution and the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union.
Other links in her website lead to her photo journal of the day of Ukraine's Orange Revolution. In April 2007, she posted more photos of the surrounding Chernobyl area that had been taken in March of that year.
One of the latest projects on the site is photos of abandoned Soviet prison camps established under Joseph Stalin as part of the Soviet Gulag system.
See also
References
- Staff (2006-04-15). "Nuclear ghosts shadow victims". The Advertiser (Adelaide). Retrieved 2008-09-05.
- Mycio, Mary (2004-07-06). "The World; Account of Chernobyl Trip Takes Web Surfers for a Ride". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-09-05.
- ^ Chivers, C.J. (2005-06-15). "Prypiat Journal; New Sight in Chernobyl's Dead Zone: Tourists". The New York Times.
- Staff (2005-08-27). "A day in the half-life of Chernobyl". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2008-09-05.
- http://www.kiddofspeed.com/chapter2.html
Bibliography
- Filatova, Elena. Tjernobyl. Dagbok från spökstaden. ISBN 91-7126-050-1.
External links
- Filatova's newer website
- Filatova's older "KiddOfSpeed" Chernobyl website
- Filatova's "Serpent's Wall" WWII Kiev documentary site
- Filatova's "Stolen Election" Orange Revolution documentary site