Pripyat — A town built in the 1970s to house power

plant workers and their families. The city was ex-

posed to high amounts of radiation following the

Chernobyl disaster. All of its residents were evacu-

ated and it remains uninhabited. Tourists can visit

the town on state-approved tours, but they must be

careful not to stir up radioactive particles in the soil.

Radiation exposure — Thousands of people in

Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia were exposed to high

levels of radiation, leading to an increase in birth

defects and thyroid cancer in children.

Liquidators — The name given to emergency work-

ers who were sent to Chernobyl to contain the dis-

aster. Hundreds of thousands were cycled through

to help cleanup efforts. Many were firefighters or

miners with no prior experience with nuclear clean-

up. Large numbers have health issues today.

The Chernobyl Disaster

More than three decades later, the Chernobyl disaster re-

mains the most catastrophic nuclear accident in history. The

effects of the meltdown at the nuclear power plant can still be

seen throughout the region today. The area surrounding the

facility, known as the “exclusion zone,” still suffers from radio-

active fallout and is largely uninhabited. Cancers and birth de-

fects caused by exposure to radioactive materials are com-

mon in both Ukraine and Belarus.

Remains of Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant

During the early hours of April 26, 1986, workers at the Chernobyl Nucle-

ar Power Plant near Ukraine’s border with Belarus attempted an experi-

ment to test how one of the reactors could perform in the event that the

station lost power. The test, which suffered from poor planning and coor-

dination, sent a sudden surge of power and heat into the reactor, result-

ing in its failure. A steam explosion ruptured the roof of the station, send-

ing a cloud of radioactive material spewing into the air and setting off a

fire that burned for 10 days.

The explosion led to the deaths of two workers in the immediate after-

math of the disaster. Another 28 workers died in the ensuing months.

The nearby town of Pripyat, built specifically for Chernobyl workers and

their families, was exposed to huge amounts of radiation immediately fol-

lowing the explosion. However, the Soviet government failed to inform

citizens of the disaster and waited until April 27 to begin evacuating the

town’s 30,000 inhabitants. Many residents were exposed to radiation for

36 hours before being evacuated.

Despite efforts by the Soviet government to cover up news of the disas-

ter, Swedish monitoring stations detected unusually high levels of radio-

activity in the air as winds from Ukraine made their way northwest. The

Soviet Union was forced to admit that there had been an accident, setting

off concern across the world about radioactive fallout.

The Soviet government launched a massive cleanup effort, enlisting

workers from across the country to rush to contain the disaster and to

prevent another, more catastrophic explosion. In the weeks that followed,

workers were exposed to huge amounts of radiation.

Workers encased the damaged reactor in concrete, a structure that came

to be known as the “sarcophagus.” In 2016 Ukraine and eight govern-

ments completed construction of a new, more permanent sarcophagus.

Updated: June 2017

C L A S S R O O M C O U N T R Y P R O F I L E S

USEFUL

LINKS

CIA World Factbook: Ukraine

BBC Country Page: Ukraine

National Geographic:

Ukraine

The Ferris wheel in the abandoned town of Pripyat is a recognizable symbol of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

The disaster raised the issue of nuclear safety throughout the world and em-

boldened opponents of atomic energy. Following the disaster, plans for new

nuclear power plants in some countries were suspended. Germany, for exam-

ple, began to phase out its nuclear industry in the 1990s in the face of domes-

tic opposition. The disaster has also been credited with giving momentum to

environmental movements in Europe and the United States.

At the time of the disaster, Mikhail Gorbachev, who had recently become the

leader of the Soviet Union, was planning a reform program called glasnost,

meaning “openness,” which he promised would reduce restrictions on the flow

of information. Revelations that the government had attempted to cover up the

disaster increased calls for more transparency and put pressure on Gorbachev

to follow through with his promises. Some historians have argued that Cherno-

byl marked one of the first of a series of events that would end in the collapse

of the Soviet Union in 1991.

In Ukraine the Chernobyl disaster became a symbol for independence move-

ments that were critical of the Soviet state and the way its policies affected So-

viet citizens. However, following the dissolution of the USSR, victims of the

disaster have struggled to secure adequate support from the independent

states of Ukraine and Belarus.

Despite the high levels of radiation, plants and animals in the contaminated

zone surrounding Chernobyl have flourished. The lack of human activity has

allowed animals such as wolves and wild horses to return to the area.

The accident also informed the Japanese government’s response to the Fuku-

shima disaster in 2011. Residents were evacuated more swiftly, and the effects

of radiation were better understood due to the events surrounding Chernobyl.

Traditional Ukrainian Easter Eggs

CL ASSROOM COUNTRY PROFILES

More resources for educators are available

on the Henry M. Jackson School of International

Studies website.

Why did the Soviet government wait to in-

form its citizens of the Chernobyl disaster?

What were the effects of that decision?

Split students into two groups: One in favor

of building new nuclear power plants and one

opposed. Ask students to organize a debate

over the use of nuclear energy. What are the

pros and cons?

Drawing on other readings covering the Gor-

bachev era, discuss how the Chernobyl dis-

aster influenced the events that led to the

dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.

“The Battle of Chernobyl” — 2006 documen-

tary film. The film reviews the series of

events surrounding the disaster and explores

the effects of radiation on the liquidators who

were sent to clean up.

Alexievich, Svetlana. Voices from Chernobyl:

The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster. Pica-

dor, 2006.

Kostin, Igor. Chernobyl: Confessions of a

Reporter. Umbridge Editions, 2006.

A new sarcophagus installed in 2016 is meant to contain radioactive material for 100 years.