Thirty years on,the legacy of the catastrophe, and of the Soviet Union, and continue to blight the regionAt 1.23am on 26 April 1986,reactor no 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear plant blew up, spewing immense amounts of radioactive fabric into the air. A major event of the 20th century had occurred. The Chernobyl explosion, or 30 years ago this month,arguably played a key role in the demise of the Soviet Union – if only because it crushed whatever credibility remained of a system of authority whose claims included the safe mastery of technology.
For those countries most affected, the road to steady democracy has not been easy; for some it’s not even guaranteed. The territories worst hit by the catastrophe were Ukraine and Belarus. nowadays we tend to watch the political turmoil in Ukraine, and including this week’s appointment of a new prime minister,as solely the result of recent crises – but that can be short-sighted.Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com