At first there is no hint of the catastrophe. There's a blue paddling pool. There are red cherries. There are tomatoes, potatoes and dill. It is an idyllic place, somewhere in the Urals.
There is no hint of the catastrophe if you stay in the garden. The garden belongs to Irina and Andrej Chorow, who are both around 40. They have been living here for 13 years. But for how much longer? They don't know.
The catastrophe becomes visible once you leave the garden and go into the house belonging to the couple. Then you see the cracks. They are everywhere in the facade, as thick as a finger. They are under the torn wallpaper in all the rooms. They are on the walls and next to the windowsill. "It's cracking everywhere," complains Andrej. "The house is crooked. You can't open the doors properly anymore. The building is being pulled apart. We can't do anything." [...]
Instead I am allowed to go to the other danger zone that made headlines nine years ago. It is the old main mine shaft that has been closed down. This is where the earth first caved-in in 2007. It made a crater with walls that plunged 350 metres down. The city authorities evacuated 2000 people. Three years later the Beresniki central station became a danger to people. It was closed down. In 2011 methane gas that had been leaking out of a crater, exploded. This has turned into a lake.
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