Chernobyl

The Chernobyl disaster united Ukrainians living abroad in their desire to support their homeland in the wake of this tragedy. They also strongly supported the anti-nuclear protests in West Germany.

All of Rebecca Harms‘ commitment for Ukraine began with a visit to Tschornobyl in 1988. On the occasion of the 40th anniversary she reflects on the contempt for humanity of the changing regimes in Moscow and the rift between the reactions to the disaster 1986 and the invasion of 2022.

Chernobyl/Chornobyl is once again becoming a risk – this time as a matter of policy. Russia is deliberately using nuclear power plants and electricity grids as leverage in its war against Ukraine. International rules fall short while the risk for Europe as a whole grows.

Forty years after Chernobyl, which sparked a powerful anti-nuclear movement in Poland, the country is on the verge of a historic turnaround: nuclear power plants are to be built again – and memories of the radioactive cloud above Warsaw are fading.

As the only country in the socialist bloc, Bulgaria took no protective measures after the Chernobyl disaster and paid a heavy price. At the same time, the fallout exposed the regime’s cynicism and shaped the country’s ecological and democratic awakening.

The attempt to cover up the truth about the Chernobyl disaster helped foster environmental awareness and demands for transparency in Czechoslovakia and became a catalyst for the 1989 revolution. Today, however, this plays almost no role in either successor state.

Chornobyl set a civic movement in motion — and laid the foundation for environmental engagement in Ukraine that continues to this day. The memory makes clear: the consequences of potential damage to nuclear facilities in wartime are real, not abstract.

The severe trauma of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster continues to shape Belarus to this day. Almost a quarter of the country was contaminated. Nevertheless, long-time President Alexander Lukashenko is leading the country into strong nuclear dependence on Russia.