Red Atoms

The US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki heralded a new world age, and a new Cold War. To Joseph Stalin, developing his own atomic weapons would be central to securing the Soviet Union's great power status. But Soviet scientists were behind. The German invasion had ravaged the nation and resources were lacking. Stalin now ordered a breakneck project to build a bomb and match the destructive power of the United States. But as the Soviet atomic program rapidly grew, fractures were developing that would have long term consequences.

The goal of “Atomic Powered Communism” is pursued even after the death of Stalin in 1953. While incidents such as the Mayak Disaster already show what can happen if safety procedures are ignored, the new mass produced RMBK-1000 reactor design is chosen — despite its flaws but because it is cheaper to produce. The new reactors are built all over the Soviet Union and a new, young “nuclear elite” is expected to ensure nothing goes wrong with the new reactors. To motivate them, they get to live in so called “Atomgrads” (atom cities) with a higher standard of living than the rest of the country.

The Soviet Union claimed their RBMK reactor — developed by the secretive Ministry of Medium Machine Building — was unmatched in both productivity and safety. By 1986, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant operated four, with two more on the way. But behind this veneer of success and prosperity lurked a dangerous secret. The Ministry knew the RBMK had already caused one near catastrophe, and the drive for more power would soon lead to nuclear catastrophe.

By late April, the true extent of the Chernobyl disaster was becoming apparent — and not just in the Soviet Union. Radiation had crossed its borders, triggering an international crisis. Soviet authorities deflected criticism, but in Chernobyl, massive resources were being mobilized to contain the calamity. And although Soviet science had helped create the disaster, it would fall to people armed with shovels and lead armor to clean it up.

The Chernobyl disaster of 1986 came at a critical time for the ailing Soviet Union. The economy was nearing freefall, an unpopular war in Afghanistan claimed ever more lives and new political forces were mobilizing. In Ukraine, the USSR’s second largest republic, the trauma of Chernobyl was difficult to overcome. Soon, Ukrainian citizens were asking how the disaster could have happened—and if a truly independent Ukraine would have made the same mistakes.