Red Sun wheel: dilapidated DK, burned house, wasteland
The amusement park with the renovated 'Red Sun' Ferris wheel opens today in Volgograd's Krasnoarmeysky district. A photographer shows the contrasting views around it.
Jul 28, 2026 0
The new Ferris wheel in Volgograd will welcome its first visitors today.
Source:
Photographer Sergey Kozhev showed what views open up around the renovated Ferris wheel «Red Sun» in the Krasnoarmeysky district of Volgograd. The new amusement park will welcome its first visitors today. And while the family recreation area itself is landscaped, around it one can see a dilapidated palace of culture, a burned house, and a wasteland with thistles.
The dilapidated private house contrasts with the freshly painted wheel.
Source:
Recall: the 50-meter Ferris wheel moved to the Krasnoarmeysky district from TsPKiO (Central Park of Culture and Leisure). There it was repaired, painted red, and installed on Engels Boulevard. The other day it lit up with thousands of lights thanks to illumination. And today the ride will welcome its first visitors. Park employees invite residents to look at the southernmost district of Volgograd from an unusual angle. Photographer Sergey Kozhev looked at it through the camera lens.
The overgrown wasteland with piles of earth is visible from the ride.
Source:
«These are the surroundings around the wheel. The landscapes are mesmerizing: on one side there is a view of the Soviet architectural masterpiece »Khimik« with its dried-up park, on the other a wasteland with piles of earth and a burned-down house. On the other side, at 2 Engels Boulevard, there was a private sector. Two houses remain. In one people definitely live, in the other it seems no one lives — the entrance is closed. Now it is a wasteland. And further on a view of the abandoned Shipbuilding Plant. Some views with the wheel are reminiscent of the landscapes of Pripyat from the game Stalker,» local residents say.
A view of the abandoned Shipbuilding Plant seen from the Ferris wheel.
Source:
Moreover, back in 2020 the Palace of Culture «Khimik» looked quite well-kept. Now, judging by the footage, its condition resembles dilapidation.
Local residents say some views resemble the wasteland of the Stalker game.
Source:
«The facade is well-maintained, the landscaping is done. But the back part is in decay. Before (the collapse of the USSR) there were alleys, rose bushes, trees. Later, when the Palace of Culture was transferred from »Kaustik« to municipal ownership, everything fell into decay,» readers write. «They were going to build a temple there, they put up a cross. But in the end, they put a cross on everything. No landscaping is done there; every autumn everything burns out. Now it is still civilized, but usually it is scorched earth. I hope the wheel will give impetus to the improvement of the surrounding area. Maybe someone will decide to invest in other projects. For example, on Zaton behind »Khimik« there are boat stations. They opened a rental of boats and boards. And there seems to be a café. But of course, that is not enough.»
The rear of the Khimik Palace of Culture shows severe deterioration.
Source:
At the same time, only today Governor Andrei Bocharov announced that the Palace of Culture «Khimik» will be reconstructed and the surrounding area will be improved.
Governor Bocharov announced plans to renovate the territory around the wheel.
Source:
«Also to put in order the territory near the Volga-Don Shipping Canal,» the press service of the governor«s office assured.
Earlier in the village of Veselaya Balka (Kirovsky district, Volgograd), two huge buildings in the style of Stalinist Empire were demolished — special equipment destroyed the Palace of Friendship and the sports and concert hall with majestic colonnades. Now a pile of broken brick remains in their place.
Read more
