On April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant exploded. The fallout left large parts of modern-day Ukraine and Belarus uninhabitable. Six years after the explosion, the Soviet Union collapsed. Many historians, including Mikhail Gorbachev himself, believe Chernobyl was the real cause of the collapse. The disaster undoubtedly proved a catalyst for the collapse in two key ways: first, it helped to dismantle Soviet censorship, and second, it proved a rallying point for the nationwide independence movement.
The Chernobyl Disaster as the Catalyst for Glasnost
The typical way Soviet authorities dealt with domestic incidents was to downplay their effects and control the spread of information about the real consequences. Their reaction to Chernobyl was no different. The authorities in Moscow responsible for nuclear power did not report the accident for almost four days until a vague two-sentence announcement was made in the Central Committee Council of Ministers. The consequence of this delay was that until the following afternoon, the inhabitants of Pripyat were freely walking the streets, during which time they were unnecessarily exposed to harmful radiation.
Outside the directly affected area, the Soviet public remained unaware of the scale of the Chernobyl disaster. It wasn’t until three weeks later that Gorbachev made a public statement about the situation. After the cover-up campaign was lifted and the authorities acknowledged that a nuclear incident had occurred, a 30-kilometer zone surrounding Chernobyl was designated an “exclusion zone,” and the inhabitants were evacuated. The nature of the evacuation from this zone was highly chaotic, leading to cases of people being left behind after the area had been cleared out and those who were evacuated being separated from their families or unable to find housing.
Facing growing internal and external criticism about the government’s reaction to the crisis, Gorbachev decided to allow his newly formed policy of Glasnost (transparency and openness) to be given free rein to transform Soviet national discourse. Reporters were allowed to interview Soviet nuclear scientists and medical professionals caring for radiation-exposed individuals. These interviews revealed the shocking nature of the disaster that had been kept from the public and showed the real shortcomings of the communist regime to the Soviet population for the first time.
Glasnost and the Fall of the Soviet Union
In the wake of this newfound freedom of the press, Soviet journalists began to investigate various long-standing issues that permeated society. They interviewed survivors of Stalin’s purges, exposed economic hardships, and highlighted government corruption. By exposing the government’s flaws, the Soviet press provoked widespread contempt among the Soviet people and triggered a further decline in the public’s confidence in state authorities.
A defining factor in the role of Glasnost and the end of the Soviet Union lay in the hands of Gorbachev himself. A different leader may have responded to the criticisms about his regime’s handling of the Chernobyl disaster with further oppression, but Gorbachev opted to uphold his role as a progressive leader and to persevere with Glasnost.
While Chernobyl may have initially shown the necessity of Glasnost, it eventually manifested in the collapse of the Soviet Union itself. As Gennady Gerasimov, Soviet Foreign Ministry spokesperson under Gorbachev, described, “It was glasnost that destroyed the Soviet Union, people opened their eyes and saw what kind of a country they were living in, and they looked at the nation’s horrible history.”
Radiophobia in the Soviet Union
In the wake of the Chernobyl disaster, a new term spread across the Soviet Union, “radiophobia.” For many in the Soviet Union, the concept of radioactivity posed a new threat, and the way in which the authorities informed the public only heightened their concerns. Because radioactivity is completely invisible and undetectable to the human eye, the Soviet people had to rely on those in power for accurate information regarding the safety of public spaces, food, and agricultural products. However, the Soviet people found themselves without reliable information about radiation levels, and in many cases, they didn’t believe the official reports. This resulted in fear and distrust spreading among the people.
Even the clean-up workers (liquidators) at Chernobyl were not spared the official inconsistencies concerning the true dangers of radiation. Liquidators were ordered to remove graphite fuel rods from the roof of the reactor, to allow the containment of the damaged building. The liquidators involved were referred to as “bio-robots,” and they were exposed to a lifetime’s worth of radiation in as little as thirty seconds. Their commanding officers assured them that if they worked on the reactor roof, they would be discharged soon after and heavily compensated. The reality was they were never compensated, and some died soon after their time on the rooftop. This episode is just one example of how the liquidators were treated during the decontamination campaign.
As stories of radiation sickness spread, anxious citizens reinforced each other’s apprehensions and distress. Radiophobia spiraled out of control and the authorities lost control over the public discourse. In a matter of months after the Chernobyl disaster, radiophobia had sent Gorbachev’s concept of Glasnost into chaos, driven by the intensifying fear surrounding the perceived dangers of radiation.
How Chernobyl Eroded Trust in Soviet Authorities
The Chernobyl disaster was a significant turning point in the relationship between ordinary Soviet citizens and their government. Before Chernobyl, people broadly supported the regime, they accepted its flaws, and looked forward to a future within the Soviet system. However, after Chernobyl exposed to the public how broken the system was, many became aware that such a system posed a direct threat to their well-being and that a future under such a system was not possible. While Glasnost may have brought the worst of Stalin’s crimes to light, for many these events felt distant from everyday life. In contrast, Chernobyl made the safety of every individual a personal concern.
Significantly, Chernobyl had spread radioactive materials over Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, contaminating crops, poisoning pastures, and sickening livestock. Safety of food began to worry people and they started suspecting their milk and other products to be radioactive. Contamination was dealt with by Soviet authorities in the worst manner possible, by mixing irradiated beef with uncontaminated meat to lower the overall radiation levels and make it look like the food was within the acceptable levels of radiation; this meat was later distributed throughout the country. Once these practices came to light, the already fragile level of trust Soviet authorities had among the general population was permanently damaged, at a time when it mattered most.
Green World and the Ukrainian Movement for Independence
One of the most significant turning points in the green protest movement occurred when Yuriy Scherbak founded “Green World” in 1987 with the goal of encouraging responsibility in the nuclear sector. Green World grew more politically engaged under Sergei Plachynda, pushing for openness and public monitoring of nuclear regulations. Roughly 10,000 people attended the 1988 Green World rally, which was a reflection of nationalist feelings and calls for Soviet authorities to be held accountable. Through this demonstration and the ones that followed, various Ukrainian groups were brought together and a national identity focused on political and ecological reform was fostered.
Green World changed its focus from environmental action to a more political posture in 1989 when it joined the Ukrainian Popular Movement for Perestroika (RUKH). RUKH’s push for increased democracy, sovereignty, and openness had a profound effect on the political climate and helped prepare the way for the ultimate independence of Ukraine.
In addition to igniting environmental activism, the Chernobyl accident gave rise to a political force that opposed Soviet authority and ultimately supported Ukraine’s sovereignty. By 1990, the RUKH movement had become politically influential, running on a platform of bettering ecological management and managing the fallout from the Chernobyl tragedy. With a sizable election mandate, RUKH used the opportunity to push for legal responsibility for the Chernobyl catastrophe as well as Ukrainian sovereignty. The campaign reached its conclusion when in November 1991, Vladimir Yavorivsky filed criminal charges against Soviet leaders who he deemed responsible for the Chernobyl disaster, including Mikhail Gorbachev himself. However, due to the disintegration of the Soviet Union on December 25, 1991, the lawsuits were never brought to bear.
The Economic Burden of Chernobyl
The economic effect of the Chernobyl disaster and its significance to the fall of the Soviet Union should not be underestimated. The first liquidation operations involved more than half a million Soviet people and cost an estimated 68 billion rubles. One of the most substantial economic consequences was a loss of 784,320 hectares of agricultural land and another 694,200 hectares reconverted into forestry land. Some of this land has been reclaimed, although the costs of farming have increased due to the need for specialized cultivation techniques and fertilizers.
Before Chernobyl, the communist system had endured decades of economic stagnation, and coupled with the cost of the war in Afghanistan and falling oil prices, the cost of the Chernobyl disaster and its liquidation campaign proved to be a significant factor in the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Chernobyl’s Dark Legacy
In the years following the Chernobyl disaster, the Soviet Union persevered in a permanently damaged state, before its eventual dissolution on December 25 1991. With the Soviet Union gone, the toxic legacy of Chernobyl was left largely to the newly independent nation that was ill-equipped both financially and politically to deal with such a permanent crisis.
However, with the help of the international community, a new permanent containment dome was erected over the damaged reactor. Today, Chernobyl endures as an inadvertent nature reserve for various species like elk, wolves, and wild boar. It also serves as a tourist destination for dark tourism. If Gorbachev’s theory is correct, Chernobyl represents the final resting place of the Soviet state, a government undone by the power of free expression. It took only one nuclear explosion to unleash that power.
