Pinsk Marshes

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The Pinsk Marshes (Пинские болота) or Pripyat Marshes (Pripet Marshes, Припятские болота) are a vast territory of wetlands along the Pripyat River and its tributaries from Brest, Belarus (west) to Mogilev (northeast) and Kiev (southeast).

The Pinsk Marshes mostly lie within the Polesian Lowland and occupy most of the southern part of Belarus and the north-west of Ukraine. They cover roughly 38,000 sq. miles surrounding the Pripyat River on both sides. Dense woods are interspersed with numerous swamps, moors, ponds and streams extending 300 miles (480 km) west to east and 140 miles (225 km) north to south. The marshes undergo substantial changes in size during the year, with melting snows in springtime and autumn rainfall causing extensive flooding as the river overflows. Drainage of the eastern portion began in 1870, and significant areas have been cleared for pasture and farmland.

During most of the year, the marshes are virtually impassable to major military forces, thus influencing strategic planning of all military operations in the region. The few roads that traverse the region are narrow and largely unimproved. During World War II, the marshes divided the central and southern theatres of operation, and also served as a hideout for Soviet partisans.

At one stage during the war, the German administration planned to drain the marshes, cleanse them of their 'degenerate' inhabitants, and repopulate the area with German colonists. Konrad Meyer was the leader in charge of the Pripet plan. However, Hitler scuttled the project late in 1941, as he believed that it may entail dustbowl (Versteppung) conditions.

The relatively sparsity of human population in the area, combined with the ready availability of water, was a key factor in the decision to build the ill-fated Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the marshes in 1970. The city of Pripyat was constructed nearby to house the plant's workers. The Chernobyl disaster spread radioactive contamination across a wide swathe of the marshlands; large areas are still out of bounds due to the danger of radiation.