2, TsDAHO, f. 1, op. Facing increasing river flood risk in Europe: adaptation measures can save lives and billions of euro. 25, spr. PDF Chernobyl and Its Political Fallout: A Reassessment - Demokratizatsiya Burns, John F., Russians, Too, Joke Sadly on Atom-War Survival, New York Times, June 11,1982, A2.Google Scholar, 18. Gorbachev, M. S., Sobranie sochinenii, vol. Attempts to control the situation encountered various obstacles: (1) insufficient preparedness; (2) rapidly evolving social conflicts and public demands; (3) complex, interwoven structures of competence, and (4) geographically fluctuating problem loads. Baranovs'ka, Nataliia, Chornobyl's'ka trahediia: Narisi z istorii (Kiev, 2011).Google Scholar For an overview of Ukrainian historiography on Chernobyl until 2006, see The Chernobyl power plant in Ukraine (then part of the Soviet Union) comprised four "RBMK" reactors, a design unique to the Soviet Union. 10 (October 2007): 16.Google Scholar, 16. The Chernobyl accident led to many political consequences along with the health and environmental issues. There are several stages in the process of developing a sound emergency preparedness plan. Here are 10 of the most interesting facts about Chernobyl. Boris Ivanov, Chernobyl', Voennye znaniia 40, no. Medvedev, , The Truth about Chernobyl, 8083.Google Scholar, 34. Chernobyl: 7 People Who Played a Crucial Role in the World's Worst Nuclear Disaster. Vypiska iz Norm radiatsionnoi bezopasnosti NRB-76,' TsDAHO, f. 1, op. 79. 4, no. Ivanov, B., Chernobyl',' Voennyeznaniia 3,39.Google Scholar, 70. For an overview of Soviet media accounts of the disaster in 1986-87, see Workers were conducting a test at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukraine when their operations spun out of control. On the history of Soviet civil defense, see 2 (March/April 2011): 1929.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed. Research Guides: HIS 100 - Perspectives in History: Chernobyl The popular focus is on renewable energy sources, primarily wind and solar. Pipes, Richard, Why the Soviet Union Thinks It Could Fight and Win a Nuclear War, Commentary Copyright 2015 Association for Slavic East European and Eurasian Studies 2 (Summer 1996): 297324. See TsDAHO, f. 1, op. 31. The RBMKs designers were well aware of this potential safety issue and prepared detailed instructions for reactor operators on how to avoid such an accident. Medvedev, , The Truth about Chernobyl, 2528.Google Scholar, 25. It maintains that the radiological conditions in Pripiat' did not objectively require evacuation on April 26, and it ignores the fact that GO officers protested the delay. The resulting fallout spurred a crisis for the people of the nearby city of Pripyat, Ukraine and for those living miles and miles away. Vozniak, V. Smirnova, , Trevozhnye dni, 6;Google Scholar Even with installation of substantial overcapacity, energy storage systems and extensive grid connections, a level of baseload supply will be needed, and for countries lacking large scale hydro resources, nuclear is the only practical low carbon source of baseload power currently available. See Obstanovka i meropriiatia po likvidatsii posledstvii avarii na Chernobyl skoi AES po sostoianiiu na 12 iiunia 1986 goda, TsDAHO, f. 1, op. Blog november 2025 calendar Uncategorized political fallout the failure of emergency management at chernobyl. 55, no. An employee of Chernobylinterinform told me this during a June 2010 visit to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. 1 (unmarked document, apparently from April 26,1986, outlining radiation protection norms). Political Fallout: The Failure of Emergency Management at Chernobyl 62. Three Mile Island was a, The third major accident was at Fukushima, Japan, in 2011. com.ua/articles/2011/04/25/36971/ (last accessed November 10, 2014). } Cambridge Journals publishes over 250 peer-reviewed academic journals across a wide range of subject areas, in print and online. For one such scholarly account, see Baranovs'ka, Nataliia, Chornobyl's'ka trahediia: Narisi z istorii (Kiev, 2011).Google Scholar For an overview of Ukrainian historiography on Chernobyl until 2006, see Most accounts of the disaster possess an anecdotal or journalistic character, which often effectively captures individual experiences but proves less successful at delineating the accident's institutional aspects or its precise chronology. First, the reactors would be brought down to low power, between 700 and 800 megawatts. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. The RBMK's large size and relatively high complexity increased its construction costs, but it enjoyed the advantage of decreased fuel costs because it could run on low-enriched uranium, thanks to its superior neutron economy. Valentina Shevchenko has made contradictory statements to this effect. ), Why the Soviet Union Thinks It Could Fight and Win a Nuclear War, The Soviet Military's Performance at Chernobyl, Eco-Nationalism: Anti-Nuclear Activism and National Identityin Russia, Lithuania, and Ukraine, Chornobyl's'ka trahediia: Narisi z istorii, Stan rozrobky chornobyl's'koi problemy istorichnoiu naukoiu Ukrainy, MPVO k grazhdanskoi zashchite: Istoricheskii ocherk, MPVO k grazhdanskoi zashchite: Stranitsy iz istorii MPVOGO-PSChS sub'ektov Rossiiskoi Federatsii, Opyt likvidatsii posledstviiChernobylskoi katastrofy, Chernobylskaiakatastrofa: Dvadtsat letspustia, Chernobyl: Dni ispytanii.Kniga svidetelstv. Google ScholarPubMed. D'iachenko, A. 10 (October 2007): 16.Google Scholar, 16. 28 kvitnia 1986r., DA SBU, f. 16, op. Chernobyl was not a natural disaster; it was a man-made one. The exact sequence of events that unfolded in the days following the disaster and the forces that shaped it have, however, remained obscure. 10 (October 2005): 1819.Google Scholar, 15. 2 (excerpts from NRB-76). See The circumstances of Chernobyl reinforced that the Soviet culture of secrecy was at best regressive and at worst disastrous. Shoigu, S. K., Of MPVO k grazhdanskoi zashchite: Istoricheskii ocherk (Moscow, 1998);Google Scholar and 2 (Spring 2012): 328.CrossRefGoogle Scholar, 14. Its a big challenge to manage the ambition for nuclear-powered subs and still juggle other crucial defence decisions. Chernobyl's political fallout - New Statesman 3844 (report on shutdowns in Ukrainian nuclear energy sector, March 1983). A., Chernobylskaiakatastrofa: Dvadtsat letspustia (Moscow, 2006).Google Scholar For accounts touching on the role of civil defense during the disaster penned by the plant's assistant safety officer, see Political Fallout: The Failure of Emergency Management at Chernobyl In 1987, the USSR tried and convicted several individuals for the accident using this argument. See Obstanovka i meropriiatia po likvidatsii posledstvii avarii na Chernobyl skoi AES po sostoianiiu na 12 iiunia 1986 goda, TsDAHO, f. 1, op. 7 (July 1977): 134;Google Scholar and Leon Gour, War Survival in Soviet Strategy: Soviet CivilDefense (Coral Gables, 1976). We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Nuclear Reactors: Chernobyl - Chemistry LibreTexts 'Chernobyl' recap: Final episode shows radioactive political fallout Krutskikh, , Memuary, 410.Google Scholar, 75. An ironic example of this appeared in a May 8,1986, circular for party propagandists stating explicitly that the population is being promptly and fully informed about the ongoing work at the power plant and other measures. The circular itself, however, instructs recipients to destroy after reading. Ob avarii na Chernobyl skoi AES i likvidatsii ee posledstvii, TsDAHO, f. 1, op. Geist, Edward, Was There a Real Mineshaft Gap'? Tsentral'nyi Komitet Kompartii Ukrainy-Informatsiia, TsDAHO, f. 1, op. While the USSR's civil defense organization urged prompt and decisive measures to inform the population of the accident and move people out of harm's way, other Soviet institutions, such as the Communist Party and the KGB, feared the accident's threat to their legitimacy more than its implications for public health. Dovidka 3-ho Upravlinnia KDB URSR, 1-5. Burns, John F., Russians, Too, Joke Sadly on Atom-War Survival, New York Times, June 11,1982, A2.Google Scholar, 18. restored republic feb 28 2021. how to become a sommelier as a hobby. 34-38 (circular on Chernobyl accident for party propagandists, May 8,1986). Karpan, N. V., Chernobyl: Mest mirnogo atoma (Kiev, 2005);Google Scholar and The Interpreter features in-depth analysis & expert commentary on the latest international events, published daily by the Lowy Institute, Copyright 2023 The Chernobyl Reactor #4 catastrophic failure was caused by: Neglect for prescribed operating limits and procedures, The removal of automatic protection schemes, and inherent design flaws in a nuclear device. The severity and long persistence of radioactive contamination challenges the affected communities in many ways. Feature Flags: { Ukrainian authorities have said the power supply has been cut to the defunct Chernobyl power plant, but the UN's atomic watchdog said the spent . 2558, ark. Stikhi, ocherki, rasskazy, otryvki iz romanov ipovestei, interv'iu (Kiev, 1988);Google Scholar Gnatiuk, Neobkhodimosf MPVO-GO, 19. 3,39.Google Scholar, 70. 39, no. Krutskikh, , Memuary, 410.Google Scholar, 75. 21. D'iachenko, , Chernobylskaia katastrofa, 28.Google Scholar, 11. That could set up a political fraught situation for President Joe Biden. Chernobyl's role in fall of the USSR | History Blog On the organizational history of the Soviet nuclear power sector prior to Chernobyl', see D'iachenko, A. 44. Razmyshleniia (Moscow, 1988);Google Scholar and Many accounts of the Chernobyl disaster erroneously state that Shcherbina made the final decision to evacuate on the evening of April 26, which is reflective of the extraordinary confusion that reigned at the time. 23, no. Again, the circumstances were situation-specific and the Fukushima reactors are not representative of modern reactors. Dovidka 3-ho Upravlinnia KDB URSR pro nedoliki u roboti shtabiv tsivil noi oborony obiektiv atomnoi energetiki respubliki, Derzhavnyi arkhiv sluzhby bezpeky Ukrainy (DA SBU), f. 65, spr. Alexievich, Svetlana, Voices from Chernobyl:The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster, trans. Gaidamak, V. A., Likvidatsiia posledstvii radioaktivnogo zarazheniia (Moscow, 1980), 4.Google Scholar, 26. Informatsiine povidomlennia KDB URSR do TsK KPU pro vybukh 4-ho enerhobloka Chornobyl's'koyi AES. Political Fallout: The Failure of Emergency Management at Chernobyl Valentina Shevchenko, head of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR in 1986, insisted in a 2011 interview that the Kiev May Day parade went ahead at Moscow's insistence. Unthinkably, the core of the plant's reactor No. Drawing on declassified archival documents from Ukrainian archives and memoir literature, I explore the political and institutional logic that prevented the USSR from acting appropriately to protect citizens from the consequences of the nuclear accident. Recovering from a Nuclear Incident - Lessons Learned from Chernobyl Josephson, Paul R., Atomic-Powered Communism: Nuclear Culture in the Postwar USSR, Slavic Review Slavic Review is an international interdisciplinary journal devoted to the study of eastern Europe, Russia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia, past and present. Medvedev, , The Truth about Chernobyl, 31,48, 86.Google Scholar. The accident at Chernobyl was the product of a lack of safety culture. Rossii, MChS TsSI GZ, Grazhdanskaia oborona: Slozhnyi etap razvitiia, Grazhdanskaiazashchita 25, spr. Ivanov, Chernobyl', Voennyeznaniia, no. Valentina Shevchenko, head of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR in 1986, insisted in a 2011 interview that the Kiev May Day parade went ahead at Moscow's insistence. A., Opyt likvidatsii posledstviiChernobylskoi katastrofy (Moscow, 2004);Google Scholar and Illesh, A. V. and Pral'nikov, A. E., Reportazh iz Chernobylia: Zapiski ochevidtsev.Kommentarii. 64. Tsentral'nyi Komitet Kompartii Ukrainy-Informatsiia, TsDAHO, f. 1, op. Lowy Institute. Engineering Failures: Chernobyl Disaster - Engineering Institute of Since the early 1950s, some Americans had argued that the USSR possessed a vast, well-resourced civil defense organization that was far more capable than its American counterpart. political fallout the failure of emergency management at chernobyl cbeebies actors that died . Cambridge University Press (www.cambridge.org) is the publishing division of the University of Cambridge, one of the worlds leading research institutions and winner of 81 Nobel Prizes. 2957,11. From the Water Wheel to the Atomic Engine explored the political, economic, and cultural significance of an incipient atomic century and touted the nearly limitless applications of the power of the atom in agriculture, medicine and industry. In its report in 1986 it supported the theory of operator error, "the catastrophic accident was caused by gross violations of operating rules and regulations" (INSAG safety report). On April 26, 1986, a sudden surge of power during a reactor systems test destroyed Unit 4 of the nuclear power station at Chernobyl, Ukraine, in the former Soviet Union. 22. See Nuclear Disaster: A Spreading Cloud and an Aid Appeal; U.P.I. At 1:23 a.m. on April 26, 1986, Reactor 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded, following a disastrously ill-judged systems test by. See Kushnir, Valentina Shevchenko.. Karpan, N. V., Chernobyl: Mest mirnogo atoma (Kiev, 2005);Google Scholar and In December 1986, Pikalov received the USSR's highest military award, the Hero of the Soviet Union, for his service at Chernobyl'. The first lesson of Three Mile Island was the most basic - that emergency planning was needed. Under the auspices of the UN Chernobyl Forum, WHO carried out its own independent health assessment of the accident. Nuclear Disaster: A Spreading Cloud and an Aid Appeal; U.P.I. CrossRefGoogle Scholar, 8. 68. political fallout the failure of emergency management at chernobyl See 10 (October 2005): 1819.Google Scholar, 15. The accident and the fire that followed released massive amounts of radioactive material into the environment. The Shelter was supplemented in 2017 by the Chernobyl New Safe Confinement which was constructed around the old structure. 45. 2-3 (report to CP Ukraine Central Committee on events at ChNPP, April 1986). JRC news - EU Science Hub Alexievich, Svetlana, Voices from Chernobyl:The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster, trans. Many of these journals are the leading academic publications in their fields and together they form one of the most valuable and comprehensive bodies of research available today. In various ways the accident contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union. 2. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Brown, Kate, Plutopia:Nuclear Families, Atomic Cities, and the Great Soviet and American Plutonium Disasters (Oxford, 2013).Google Scholar For an account based on rumors about the disasters that circulated prior to Chernobyl', see 44. com.ua/articles/2011/04/25/36971/ (last accessed November 10, 2014). The Fukushima reactors were early model. 2957,11. Baranovs'ka, Nataliia, Stan rozrobky chornobyl's'koi problemy istorichnoiu naukoiu Ukrainy, Istorichnyi zhurnal Shcherbak, , Chernobyl', 400.Google Scholar, 52. 66. Chernobyl contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union, and continues to impact on confidence in nuclear energy around the world. Chernobyl: Disaster, Response & Fallout - HISTORY Reflecting growing popular disillusionment with the Soviet project, glasnost-era Soviet writers often faulted the Soviet system for endangering its citizens with an intrinsically dangerous technology. Krutskikh, D. A., Memuary (Moscow, 2001), 4046.Google Scholar, 73. On the organizational history of the Soviet nuclear power sector prior to Chernobyl', see The local mayor originally had announced that a Q&A town hall meeting . See On 2526 April 1986 Chernobyls Unit 4 reactor was scheduled for a routine shut down. hasContentIssue true, Copyright Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies. 45. For a western analysis of the interplay between antinuclear and anti-Soviet popular sentiments following Chernobyl', see Shcherbak, , Chernobyl, 399.Google ScholarPubMed, 47. We must be prepared to consider objectively the potential role of nuclear in the national energy mix. For a western analysis of the interplay between antinuclear and anti-Soviet popular sentiments following Chernobyl', see Medvedev, , The Truth about Chernobyl, 31,48, 86.Google Scholar. News announcement. 24. 23. Beginning in 1945, the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union detonated hundreds of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, scattering a massive amount of radioactivity across the globe. Total loading time: 0 The negative sentiment towards nuclear energy, and a political unwillingness to even discuss the subject, is particularly problematic today when there is increasing pressure to move to low carbon forms of energy. Medvedev, Zhores A., Nuclear Disaster in the Urals, trans. The Chernobyl disaster had other fallout: The economic and political toll hastened the end of the USSR and fueled a global anti-nuclear movement. D'iachenko, , Opyt likvidatsii Chernobylskoi katastrofy, 39.Google Scholar. The negative sentiment towards nuclear energy was reinforced by the Fukushima accident, resulting in further decisions against nuclear programs. 23, no. 26 kvitnia 1986r., DA SBU, f. 64 op. But . 5, 35-36 (reports to Ukraine CP on rumors about Chernobyl', May 1986). 2995,11.12-13 (report to Ukrainian CP Central Committee on Chernobyl liquidation effort, June 12,1986). Russian forces seize Chernobyl nuclear power plant - BBC News 67. The fallout from Chernobyl is both vast and ongoing. In fact, the Three Mile Island accident demonstrated that a properly designed containment building can protect public health and safety from even the most serious accident. [15] Background It publishes over 2,500 books a year for distribution in more than 200 countries. This is an imperative step in making sure that everyone involved is . ), Why the Soviet Union Thinks It Could Fight and Win a Nuclear War, The Soviet Military's Performance at Chernobyl, Eco-Nationalism: Anti-Nuclear Activism and National Identityin Russia, Lithuania, and Ukraine, Chornobyl's'ka trahediia: Narisi z istorii, Stan rozrobky chornobyl's'koi problemy istorichnoiu naukoiu Ukrainy, MPVO k grazhdanskoi zashchite: Istoricheskii ocherk, MPVO k grazhdanskoi zashchite: Stranitsy iz istorii MPVOGO-PSChS sub'ektov Rossiiskoi Federatsii, Opyt likvidatsii posledstviiChernobylskoi katastrofy, Chernobylskaiakatastrofa: Dvadtsat letspustia, Chernobyl: Dni ispytanii.Kniga svidetelstv. Political Fallout: The Failure of Emergency Management at Chernobyl 33, ark. A., Chernobylskaiakatastrofa: Dvadtsat letspustia (Moscow, 2006).Google Scholar For accounts touching on the role of civil defense during the disaster penned by the plant's assistant safety officer, see On the May 6 news conference, see Chernobyl: Chapter IX. Lessons learnt - Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) In contrast, the RBMK uses graphite (a form of carbon) as the moderator and water as the coolant. 3,39. 3844 (report on shutdowns in Ukrainian nuclear energy sector, March 1983). Political Fallout is the story of one of the first human-driven, truly global environmental crisesradioactive fallout from nuclear weapons testing during the Cold Warand the international response. 40, no. 35 years after Chernobyl's meltdown, the fallout of - Inverse Some Russian-language scholarship about Soviet civil defense at Chernobyl argues that the organization's failures during the disaster resulted from a disproportionate emphasis on planning for wartime hazards and that it made major reforms in light of its experiences. The immediate devastation from the 1986 nuclear accident has been contained, the radioactive dead buried in concrete-cased lead coffins. See, for example, Medvedev, The Truth about Chernobyl, 18587. 26 kvitnia 1986r., DA SBU, f. 64 op. As part of the test (and in violation of safety rules) a number of the reactors safety systems were disabled. The accident added to the publics distrust of government authorities. With an outbreak of wildfires recently threatening the closed Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Ukraine, the Copernicus Emergency Mapping Service has been activated and the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite mission has imaged the fires and smoke, and mapped the resulting area of burned ground. hasContentIssue true, Copyright Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies. Update (1935ET): As per The Independent: Authorities in the Ohio town where a train derailed carrying toxic chemicals have scrapped plans for a question-and-answer session (town hall) for residents.. Health concerns are mounting among the citizens of East Palestine amid reports of dead animals and local people falling sick.. Feature Flags: { 2997, ark. Chernobyl Accident and Its Consequences - Nuclear Energy Institute Says Toll May Pass 2,000, New York Times, April 30,1986, A10. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings. Political Fallout: The Failure of Emergency Management at Chernobyl' Authors: Edward Geist Abstract Ever since the accident that destroyed unit 4 of the Chernobyl' Nuclear Power Plant on April. It also led to a distrust and unease between Soviet citizens, specifically those in the evacuated and nearby areas, and President Gorbachov's regime. On the night of 25-26 April, there was an explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power station, in what was then the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, one of the 15 constituent republics of the. Marples, David R., Chernobyl and Nuclear Power in the USSR (Toronto, 1986), 111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar, 9. D'iachenko, A. Abstract. 48. Povidomlennia UKDB URSR po m. Kyievu ta Kyivs'kii oblasti do KDB SRSR ta KDB SRSR pro vybukh 4-ho enerhobloka Chornobyl's'koyi AES. After the explosion of unit 4, the Soviet government rushed to lay blame for the catastrophe on a handful of mistakes made by expendable, easily scapegoated individuals and to defuse charges that the Soviet state could be held responsible. This comparison of government disaster management and public communications after the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear accidents seeks to create a framework for disaster management that enhances food resilience; and in the specific case of nuclear disasters, the avoidance of contaminated food and provision of alternative foods. Ironically, the disaster struck during a scheduled safety test. 52-56 (Ukrainian KGB report to CPSU Central Committee, April 28,1986). On the May 6 news conference, see See, for instance, Shcherbak, Chernobyl'. The Chernobyl safety test has been described as akin to testing an airliners engines during a routine flight, something that should have been absolutely unthinkable. most significant fallout occurred across western Soviet Russia, Belarus and Ukraine; and the nearby settlements of Chornobyl and Pripyat (Clark and Smith, 1988). 2-3 (report to CP Ukraine Central Committee on events at ChNPP, April 1986). For the last five weeks, HBO's smash-hit drama Chernobyl has been reliving the disaster at the . If the destruction of the state brought the physical destruction of Jews, what determined the rescue of certain ones during the Holocaust? Women yet to smash glass ceiling in Australian diplomacy and security, Osaka G20: finding the right beat for hard conversation, Future Frigates and the wisdom of large surface ships, The first was at Three Mile Island, in the US, in 1979. Published online by Cambridge University Press: Has data issue: true Radiological conditions in Kiev began deteriorating sharply on April 30. In December 1986, Pikalov received the USSR's highest military award, the Hero of the Soviet Union, for his service at Chernobyl'. 32, spr. As we seek to transition away from fossil fuels our national security, as well as public and industry expectations, depend on energy security. 2. 81. 77. 58. Schmid, Sonja, When Safe Enough Is Not Good Enough: Organizing Safety at Chernobyl, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists On the construction of the sarcophagus, see Baranovs'ka, Chornobyl's'ka trahediia, 207-39, and on state measures to provide housing and employment to evacuees, see ibid., 182-85. Margulis, U. D'iachenko, , Opyt likvidatsii Chernobyl skoi katastrofy, 3940.Google Scholar, 35. 25, sp. Shcherbak, Iurii Nikolaevich, Chernobyl (Moscow, 1991), 395401. 34, ark. 1, spr. 34, ark. Atamaniuk, V. G., Shirshev, L. G., and Akimov, N. I., Grazhdanksia oborona (Moscow, 1986), 1012.Google Scholar, 74. "useRatesEcommerce": false As the functional ratemeters at the plant were sensitive only up to 1000 microroentgens an hour (0.001 R/hr), the KGB reports state that at the immediate point of the accident, the radiation is up to 1000 microroentgen an hour. In reality, this was a mere l/10,000th of the actual ambient radiation at the plant. la., Atomnaia energiia i radiatsionnaia bezopasnost (Moscow, 1983), 14243.Google Scholar, 13. Ever since the accident that destroyed unit 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant on April 26,1986, became public knowledge, the Soviet government's response to this catastrophe has been the subject of bewilderment and withering criticism. Every, U.S.-Soviet Relations in the Era Of Dtente, In a recent interview, Paul Warnke, the newly appointed head of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, responded as follows to the question of how the United States ought to react to indications. Chernobyl Has Become a Comforting Fable - Foreign Policy First published on Wed 9 Mar 2022 07.34 EST. Smirnova, A. S., ed., Trevozhnye dni i nochi Chernobylia: Sbornik rasskazov ivospominanii (Kiev, 2003), 34.Google Scholar. Gessen, Keith (Champaign, 2005).Google Scholar, 7. On Soviet citizens reactions to the address, see Informatsiia ob otklikakh trudiashikhsia Ukrainskoi SSR po vystupleniiu General nogo sekretaria TsK KPSS tovarishcha M. S. Gorbacheva po Tsentral'nomu televideniiu 14 maia 1986 goda, TsDAHO, f. 1, op. 3 (March 1988): 38. Political Fallout: The Failure of Emergency Management at Chernobyl Edward Geist Although the building above reactor 4 had exploded at 1:23 a.m. on Satur-day, April 26, 1986, and was clearly burning, the managers of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP) assured themselves that both the reactor core and its radiation shielding remained .