La Ciudad Nuclear

Yuri Segalerba

 2018 – Cuba

About this series

In 1976, an agreement between the USSR and Cuba initiated an ambitious project, a twin-reactor nuclear power station on Cuba’s southern coast. The aim was to bolster the country’s economy and power grid, with the first reactor alone projected to satisfy over 15% of Cuba’s energy needs.
Construction began in 1983, accompanied by the establishment of “La Ciudad Nuclear,” a new city situated just five kilometers away from the power plant. The city was designed to house the workers and their families who converged from all corners of the island and included a select team from the Soviet Union for a total of about 30,000 inhabitants. These individuals left behind their former lives, cities, and homes, temporarily relocating to the Soviet Union to learn the Russian language and nuclear physics, driven by the dream to contribute to what was heralded as “la Obra del Siglo” – the project of the century.
However, in 1992, Cuba’s nuclear aspirations were abruptly shattered. The collapse of the Soviet Union led to the suspension of the project, as financial support to its Caribbean allies dissipated. Most Soviet personnel returned to their home countries, and Cubans with high education were redirected to more developed cities such as La Havana, Varadero, and Moa, where their expertise found new opportunities.
Since then, the project’s marks endure as an unusual concrete dome on the Cuban coast, the first reactor chamber rises as a massive cylinder nearly completed at 95%, and Reactor 2 remains unfinished on the second floor. La Ciudad Nuclear stands as a specter of what could have been. Isolated and lacking essential infrastructure, the towering apartment buildings remain empty, frozen in a state of perpetual anticipation. They cast shadows over the last few members of a resilient community that, despite shattered dreams and the echoes of an unfulfilled vision, made the decision to remain.
Currently showing in Vilnius at the Energy and Technology Museum from 24/11/2023 to 31/01/2024.

Photographer: Yuri Segalerba
Nationality: Italian
Based in: Berlin, DE
Website: yurisegalerba.com
Instagram: @yuri_segalerba

Yuri Segalerba is an Italian documentary photographer based in Berlin.
With a strong emphasis on sociological and anthropological subjects, he has dedicated his career to pursuing a blend of personal projects and client assignments.
His photographic journeys have taken him across the globe, capturing stories in countries such as Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Cuba, Myanmar, the United States, Serbia, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, and more.
His stories have been featured in renowned publications including The Independent, Vice, Art Magazine, Rolling Stones Italia, Il Corriere della Sera, among others.