Slavutych. Architectural Guide

Slavutych, a city in the far north of Ukraine, occupies a strategic position where the borders of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia meet. Built in the aftermath of the 1986 Chornobyl nuclear disaster to replace the contaminated homes of the power plant's workers, it is the last purpose-built ideal city of the Soviet Union - and a unique architectural and political experiment.
Planned and constructed by architects from across the Soviet republics, Slavutych reflects both the diversity and contradictions of its time: Postmodernist forms infused with socialist paradigms; regional motifs from the Caucasus, the Baltics, and Russia; and an early awareness of ecological and human-centred design. In the decades since its founding the city has faced economic upheavals, demographic change, and, most recently, the challenges of war. However, its strong civic spirit has made it a model of urban resilience - demonstrating how an engaged community can sustain and adapt an entire city.
Marking the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl catastrophe, this second, fully revised edition presents a sharpened perspective on Slavutych's architecture and urban form. It documents all districts - including those renamed in 2022 as part of Ukraine's derussi-fication - and offers a critical analysis of this late Soviet planned city in the shifting geopolitical landscape of Eastern Europe.
This architectural guide is part of the Histories of Ukrainian Architecture programme initiated by DOM publishers in response to Russia's attack on Ukraine's sovereignty on 24 February 2022.

Ievgeniia (Jenia) Gubkina is a Ukrainian architect, architectural and urban historian, and curator. Her work focuses on twentieth-century architecture and urban planning in Ukraine, with a multidisciplinary approach to heritage studies. She received her MA in architecture with a specialisation in urban planning in 2008. During her doctoral studies in the theory of architecture and restoration of architectural heritage she researched socialist cities. In 2014 Ievgeniia co-founded the Urban Forms Centre, an NGO devoted to the study and promotion of Modernist heritage in Ukraine, gender issues in architecture, and experimental approaches in architectural education. In 2020---2021 Ievgeniia curated the Encyclopedia of Ukrainian Architecture, an online multimedia project that encompassed architecture, history, documentary, and visual arts. Jenia conducted over five years of research into nuclear-power cities (atomograds) and approaches to housing nuclear power plant workers in Ukraine and abroad. Her work includes organising the 'Atomograds: Planned Cities in Contemporary Society' colloquium in Enerhodar and The Idea of the City: Reality Check, an interdisciplinary summer school, in Slavutych. She has also led tours of Slavutych for local residents, tourists, and official delegations from around the world. Since 2020 Jenia has served as the official ambassador of Slavutych, appointed by the city's mayor. Her first book, "Slavutych Architectural Guide", published by DOM publishers in 2016, was dedicated to this very topic. It explores the architecture of Slavutych - the last Soviet city, built after the Chornobyl disaster for workers of the Chornobyl Power Station. After years of research, her second book, "Soviet Modernism. Brutalism. Postmodernism. Buildings and Structures in Ukraine, 1955---1991", was published in 2019. 2023 brought the publication of Jenia's book "Being a Ukrainian Architect During Wartime", which offers insights into her experiences against the backdrop of the war. Her "Kharkiv Architectural Guide", devoted to her hometown, came out in 2025. In 2022 Russia's pursuit of full-scale war against Ukraine forced Jenia to move from Kharkiv. She settled in the UK, where she received a Randolph Quirk Fellowship at University College London under the CARA (Council for At-Risk Academics) programme. Since 2023 Jenia has been a tutor and lecturer at the Bartlett School of Architecture at UCL.