Documentary backdrop image for Karabash (2019)

Documentary backdrop image for Karabash (2019)

201929 minGdocumentary

Karabash

201929 minGdocumentary

Two centuries of copper mining have transformed the Ural mountains town of Karabash into what mass media calls ‘the most polluted town on Earth’.

Genres

Director

Synopsis

Two centuries of copper mining have transformed the Ural mountains town of Karabash into what mass media calls ‘the most polluted town on Earth’.

People

Ilya Komarovdirector

Ilya Komarovwriter

Synopsis

Karabash, a monotown in the Ural mountains of Russia, suffers from severe pollution. The town is known for its copper smelting plant, which has been the primary employer for generations. Over two centuries of copper mining have devastated the local ecology, affecting the surrounding woods and hills. Mass media often label Karabash as "the most polluted town on Earth." Ilya Komarov directed this 29-minute documentary in 2019.

Comments

What are people saying?

Play More Like This

Malartic (2024)

Malartic

2024•1h28m•★8.0TMDB

In Malartic, Quebec, the operations of an open-pit gold mine have led to economic disparity and environmental concerns, highlighting issues of land management and local governance.

Happy People: A Year in the Taiga (2010)

Happy People: A Year in the Taiga

2010•1h34m•★7.3TMDB

Four seasons unfold in the isolated village of Bakhta, where Russian trappers hunt fur animals and fish in the harsh Siberian taiga.

Happy People: A Year in the Taiga

Deadliest Journeys - Kazakhstan: Danger in the Steppe (2020)

Deadliest Journeys - Kazakhstan: Danger in the Steppe

A snowstorm traps thousands of travelers in Kazakhstan, creating a traffic jam that stretches for miles across the steppe.

Deadliest Journeys - Kazakhstan: Danger in the Steppe

World's Most Isolated & Toxic City: Norilsk (2023)

World's Most Isolated & Toxic City: Norilsk

Norilsk is the world's most isolated and toxic city, showcasing extreme pollution and harsh living conditions.

World's Most Isolated & Toxic City: Norilsk

The Terrible Toll of Russia's Secret Nuclear Accident (2019)

The Terrible Toll of Russia's Secret Nuclear Accident

In the village of Muslyumova, the severe health impacts of radioactive pollution from the Mayak nuclear accident reveal a hidden legacy of government negligence.

The Terrible Toll of Russia's Secret Nuclear Accident

Russia's Lost Paradises: Secret Forests, Bison Comebacks & Arctic Mysteries (2022)

Russia's Lost Paradises: Secret Forests, Bison Comebacks & Arctic Mysteries

Curonian Spit, Kamchatka, and Yamal showcase Russia's diverse ecosystems, where climate change and gas production threaten their unique wildlife and habitats.

Russia's Lost Paradises: Secret Forests, Bison Comebacks & Arctic Mysteries

Russians called traitors for protesting when radioactively poisoned (2011)

Russians called traitors for protesting when radioactively poisoned

In the Ural Mountains, residents near the Mayak nuclear weapons plant confront the deadly consequences of radioactive waste exposure and government negligence.

Russians called traitors for protesting when radioactively poisoned

World's Most Dangerous Places: Oymyakon, Russia (2023)

World's Most Dangerous Places: Oymyakon, Russia

Oymyakon, Russia, is the coldest inhabited town, with winter temperatures averaging -58° F.

World's Most Dangerous Places: Oymyakon, Russia

The Permafrost City: Surviving the Coldest Place on Earth (2024)

The Permafrost City: Surviving the Coldest Place on Earth

Winter temperatures in Yakutsk can drop to -64°C, making it the coldest city on Earth, where 300,000 residents adapt to extreme conditions.

The Permafrost City: Surviving the Coldest Place on Earth

World's Coldest City: Yakutsk (2023)

World's Coldest City: Yakutsk

Temperatures in Yakutsk can drop as low as -70 degrees Celsius, raising concerns about the stability of buildings built on permafrost.

World's Coldest City: Yakutsk

Explore Karabash

Where else to watch

Malartic (2024)

Malartic

2024•1h28m•★8.0TMDB

In Malartic, Quebec, the operations of an open-pit gold mine have led to economic disparity and environmental concerns, highlighting issues of land management and local governance.

No digital watch option in your country

Happy People: A Year in the Taiga (2010)

Happy People: A Year in the Taiga

2010•1h34m•★7.3TMDB

Four seasons unfold in the isolated village of Bakhta, where Russian trappers hunt fur animals and fish in the harsh Siberian taiga.

Happy People: A Year in the Taiga

No digital watch option in your country

Metamorphoses (2013)

Metamorphoses

2013•1h24m•★6.5TMDB

One of the most contaminated regions in the world is located in the southern Ural Mountains, where industrial pollution has caused severe health crises.

City of the Sun (2017)

City of the Sun

2017•1h44m•★7.0TMDB

Two young female athletes train for the Olympic Games in Chiatura, Georgia, a town struggling with the aftermath of manganese mining.

City of the Sun

Melting Souls (2018)

Melting Souls

2018•1h27m•★7.0TMDB

Temperatures in Norilsk can drop to -60°C, shaping the lives of over 180,000 residents in one of the world's most extreme environments.

Landshaft (2023)

Landshaft

2023•1h36m•★7.2TMDB

Lake Sevan provides a setting for residents sharing their experiences from the 2020 Karabakh conflict and ongoing tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Baikonur, Earth (2019)

Baikonur, Earth

2019•1h14m•★5.8TMDB

Baikonur Cosmodrome, established in 1955, became the world's first and largest operational space launch facility in a region once part of the Silk Road.

Baikonur, Earth

The Polygon (2014)

The Polygon

2014•54m•★6.5TMDB

Over 600 nuclear detonations occurred at the Semipalatinsk Test Site, leaving lasting health effects on the nearby village of Sarzhal in East Kazakhstan.

Browse more like this

World's Most Isolated & Toxic City: Norilsk (2023)

World's Most Isolated & Toxic City: Norilsk

Norilsk is the world's most isolated and toxic city, showcasing extreme pollution and harsh living conditions.

World's Most Isolated & Toxic City: Norilsk

No digital watch option in your country

Russia's Lost Paradises: Secret Forests, Bison Comebacks & Arctic Mysteries (2022)

Russia's Lost Paradises: Secret Forests, Bison Comebacks & Arctic Mysteries

Curonian Spit, Kamchatka, and Yamal showcase Russia's diverse ecosystems, where climate change and gas production threaten their unique wildlife and habitats.

Russia's Lost Paradises: Secret Forests, Bison Comebacks & Arctic Mysteries

No digital watch option in your country

World's Most Dangerous Places: Oymyakon, Russia (2023)

World's Most Dangerous Places: Oymyakon, Russia

Oymyakon, Russia, is the coldest inhabited town, with winter temperatures averaging -58° F.

World's Most Dangerous Places: Oymyakon, Russia

No digital watch option in your country

The Permafrost City: Surviving the Coldest Place on Earth (2024)

The Permafrost City: Surviving the Coldest Place on Earth

Winter temperatures in Yakutsk can drop to -64°C, making it the coldest city on Earth, where 300,000 residents adapt to extreme conditions.

The Permafrost City: Surviving the Coldest Place on Earth

No digital watch option in your country

City 40 (2016)

City 40

2016•1h12m•★6.3TMDB

Mayak, located in Ozyorsk, stores an estimated 50 tons of weapons-grade plutonium and 38 tons of enriched uranium, contributing to severe local pollution.

Copper Man (2008)

Copper Man

Karabash has been one of the most polluted cities in the world for over 100 years due to the operations of its copper smelter.

We Live Here (2025)

We Live Here

2025•1h20m•★7.0TMDB

Two ecologists research radioactive areas in the Kazakh steppe, a former nuclear testing site, while a local man recounts his memories of the tests.

Northern Lights (2008)

Northern Lights

2008•52m•★6.5TMDB

One thousand kilometers north of Saint Petersburg, the village of Sumskoy Posad faces the long Arctic night as autumn sunlight fades.

Northern Lights

Browse more by Ilya Komarov

View all films →

One on One (2023)

One on One

2023

Is this your film?

If you made this film or hold the rights to it, we'd like to talk. We can license it and pay you a share of what it earns.

License it with us →