Chernobyl and Eastern Europe Blog

Ukrainian Election Result Suspended Due to Tymoshenko Appeal

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 10:15:57 -0500

Ukraine's Administrative Court has suspended the results of the country's February 7 runoff presidential election while it considers an appeal filed by Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Party of Regions leader Viktor Yanukovych defeated Tymoshenko in the election by 3.48% of the vote. Yanukovych's inauguration is currently scheduled for February 25.

Despite the declaration by international election monitors that the vote was free and fair, Tymoshenko claims the vote was fraudulent. Yesterday, Tymoshenko submitted to the court what she said is evidence of election fraud. Tymoshenko claims to have uncovered evidence of fraud in favor of Yanukovych at every polling station in Crimea, possibly accounting for over 1 million votes. She also claims to have the support of several individual OSCE observers and videos of their assessments. The OSCE has denied the existence of any videos that support Tymoshenko's claims.

At this point, I'm not sure what to believe. However, it is interesting that Tymoshenko is limiting her fight to the courts. She says she will not be arranging any public protests, similar to the 2004 Orange Revolution.

Is it possible that Tymoshenko is not calling for public protests because she does not have credibility with the Ukrainian people to successfully arrange for such a gathering? By not calling for public protests, Tymoshenko appears to be making this a personal issue instead of fighting for the rights of the Ukrainian people to have a fair election.

Chernobyl New Safe Confinement - New Completion Date Announced

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 16:31:05 -0500

According to Igor Gramotkin, Director-General of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, facility administration hopes completion of the facility's New Safe Confinement structure will occur in 2013. Design delays have pushed back the structure's expected completion date.

Both the state of Ukraine and the Chernobyl Plant administration are looking for the most reliable equipment to avoid future operational risks for the NSC, which is being designed to be functional for at least 100 years. Thus, the Chernobyl Plant administration is not prepared to necessarily accept the cheapest system available.

The cost of the NSC object is currently estimated at 1.6 billion euros, over twice the original estimate of 758 million euros. Gramotkin did not rule out the possibility that the final construction cost will be higher.

The stabilization of the existing Sarcophagus was completed in 2009. This stabilization effort has increased the safe operation of the aging structure for at least 15 years.

The NSC will have the following characteristics:

Height: 108 meters
Width: 257 meters
Length: 150 meters

While the New Safe Confinement project has been delayed, at least it's nice to know they're not "cheaping out" on systems and materials. If building the best and safest possible confinement structure requires a longer period of time, that's fine with me. At least the existing Sarcophagus has been stabilized, minimizing the threat of collapse.

Exit Polls Indicate Yanukovych Wins Ukraine's 2010 Presidential Runoff Election

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 14:59:59 -0500

Several exit polls indicate opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych has narrowly won Sunday's presidential runoff election in Ukraine. Challenger and current Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is expected to challenge the election results.

Ukraine's National Exit Poll 2010, which is conducted by a group of leading pollsters, indicated Yanukovych, the leader of the Party of Regions, received 48.7% of the vote, as compared to 45.5% for Tymoshenko. The poll's margin of error is 2.5%.

International market research firm GfK Group indicated a larger margin of victory for Yanukovych, 49.8% to 45.2%, with a margin of error of 1.6%.

It appears that many Ukrainians were not voting for a particular candidate, as much as they were voting against the other.

Outgoing President Viktor Yushchenko urged his supporters to vote against both Yanukovych and Tymoshenko, saying that Ukrainians will be ashamed of the choice they have to make.

Oleksandr Turchynov, Tymoshenko's campaign manager, said they would contest votes cast at over 1,000 polling stations in Ukraine's Donetsk region, an area that strongly supports Yanukovych. Turchynov indicated that Tymoshenko delegates were barred from polling places in the region. Turchynov also complained of multiple voting and bribery.

Ukraine's Interior Ministry said they had not received reports of serious violations during Sunday's vote.

Yanukovych has indicated if he became president, he will attempt to remove Tymoshenko as prime minister by encouraging defections from her coalition and forming his own parliamentary majority. If that fails, he plans to call for a new parliamentary election a year ahead of schedule.

These election results reflect the feelings of many Ukrainians that the Orange Revolutioin failed to deliver prosperity and stability. Instead, it led to regular bouts of political infighting and the country's current economic crisis. What a shame!

Photo: Rowland Goodman - Creative Commons

Ukraine Presidential Election Results: Yanukovych, Tymoshenko to Face Off in Second Round

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 10:44:19 -0500

On January 17, 2010 Ukraine held its presidential election. With over 80% of the vote counted, it is clear that Party of Regions leader Viktor Yanukovych and current Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko will face off in a second round runoff election on February 7.

Other candidates include former Central Bank Chairman Sergey Tigipko, former Foreign Minister and Verkhovna Rada Chairman Arseniy Yatseniuk and incumbent President Viktor Yushchenko.

The following are the latest results of Sunday's first round of voting, as reported by Ukraine's Central Election Commission (with percentage of votes):

Viktor Yanukovych - 35.76%
Yulia Tymoshenko - 24.72%
Sergey Tigipko - 13.05%
Arseniy Yatseniuk - 6.96%
Viktor Yushchenko - 5.33%

Video: Chernobyl - On the Verge of Impossible

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 09:46:16 -0500

The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant administration has uploaded a new video to their website. The Russian-language, 31-minute video has some interesting clips of the clean up efforts and the construction of the original Sarcophagus. It's definitely worth a look.

My Chernobyl Liquidator Interview Has Been Published in a New Book

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 07:27:42 -0500

I am excited to announce that my interview with former Chernobyl liquidator Sergei B. has been published by Greenhaven Press in David Nelson's new book, Perspectives on Modern World History: Chernobyl.

The Perspectives on Modern World History series provides basic historical information on significant events in modern world history. Each book presents controversies surrounding a specific event along with first-hand narratives.

Currently available from Amazon.com, Perspectives on Modern World History: Chernobyl is a compilation of essays and narratives/interviews about the Chernobyl disaster, the subsequent clean up efforts and aftermath of the world's worst nuclear accident.

In addition to my interview, the book contains contributions from the International Atomic Energy Agency, a number of familiar Chernobyl book authors and people connected with Chernobyl charities, including:

Svetlana Alexeivich - author of Voices from Chernobyl
Glenn Alan Cheney - author of Journey to Chernobyl and Chernobyl: The Ongoing Story of the World's Deadliest Nuclear Disaster
David R. Marples - author of The Social Impact of the Chernobyl Disaster
Grigori Medvedev - author of The Truth About Chernobyl
Mary Mycio - author of Wormwood Forest
Adi Roche - founder of Chernobyl Children's Project International
Lyubov Sirota - my dear friend, poet and former Pripyat resident

The book's content includes:

Annotated table of contents
Introduction to the topic
A world map
Three chapters containing essays focusing on general background information, multinational perspectives and first-person narratives
Full-color photographs, charts, maps and other illustrations
Sidebars highlighting related topics
Glossary of key terms, as appropriate
Chronology
Bibliography of books, periodicals and Web sites
Index

I'm still waiting to get my contributor's complementary copy, but have seen the complete table of contents and it appears to be a very interesting book. I'll post a review after I get the chance to read it.

ISBN 13: 9780737745559
ISBN 10: 073774555X

Chernobyl Exhibit in Moscow - "Wanting Remembrance"

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 07:24:00 -0500

A new exhibit about Chernobyl has opened in Moscow. ХОТИМ, ЧТОБЫ ПОМНИЛИ (Wanting Rememberance) includes a selection of documentary photographs and video installations showing life in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone before and after the 1986 accident at the V.I. Lenin Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

The exhibit includes work from five Ukrainian photographers and filmmakers, three Russian artists and my friend, Michael Forster Rothbart. The show has been organized by my friends at the public project Pripyat.com and coincides with the annual memorial day for Chernobyl liquidators (Veterans Day) on December 14.

"Wanting Remembrance" officially opens on December 2, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. The exhibit runs through December 13 in Gallery Creativity, on Taganskaya Street in Moscow. See the official "Wanting Remembrance" exhibit website for more details( in Russian).

Other events include:

Daily - Screenings of films by Rollan Sergienko, the director of many films about Chernobyl
December 6, 2:00 p.m. - Roundtable discussion featuring former Pripyat residents
December 12, 3:00 p.m. - Presentation about the current status and future of Chernobyl's New Safe Confinement structure
December 13, 12:00 p.m. - Presentation: Understanding Radiation A to Z

A list of highlights from the exhibit schedule is available on the Pripyat.com website.

Three Mile Island Radiation Leak

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 07:53:35 -0500

A radiation leak has been reported at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Yes, despite the meltdown at this plant 30 years ago, portions are still functional today.

Apparently, an Exelon maintenance crew was performing maintenance work in the Unit 1 reactor building when a radiation alarm sounded. Workers were cutting a large number of pipes at the time. Unit 1 has been shut down for several weeks to overhaul new steam generators and other equipment.

Twenty employees were treated for radiation exposure. Original reports indicated over 100 workers needed to be decontaminated.

Exelon does not know the cause, but believes the incident does not pose an occupational threat, nor a threat to public health and safety. The cause of the leak is under investigation by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the entire plant is now shut down.

Even if this event really is not a threat to public health, it reveals that radiation dangers from nuclear power still exist, despite efforts to improve safety systems following the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident.

Forbes Names Chernobyl World's Most Exotic Place for Tourism

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:49:51 -0500

According to Korrespondent.net and the Unian News Agency, Forbes magazine has named the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant as the world's most exotic place for tourism.

Forbes mentions that 23 years after the Chernobyl accident, some companies now offer tours of the area, including Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl Plant, Pripyat and the Red Forest. I wonder if the Forbes writers know that Chernobyl tours have been occurring for at least 8-10 years?

The Korrespondent article also mentioned Pripyat.com has seen a recent decrease in the number of people visiting Chernobyl due to the H1N1 swine flu crisis in Ukraine.

Video: Exploring the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:23:20 -0500

My friend Sergey has posted a new video showing exploration of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, showing some abandoned villages. In this short video, you can definitely get a feel for the eerie silence that permeates the Zone.

Medical Certificates and Masks Required for Chernobyl Trips During Ukrainian Flu Epidemic

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:54:36 -0500

Due to the widespread flu epidemic that is currently sweeping across Ukraine, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone Administration has started requiring all visitors to bring with them a protective mask and doctor's medical certificate.

The medical certificate must state that the person is completely healthy and be completed and signed by a physician. The Zone Administration will accept certificates from foreign doctors.

People who fail to bring both a protective mask (cloth masks are fine) and medical certificate will not be allowed to enter the Exclusion Zone. I assume tour drivers will verify travelers have both items before leaving Kyiv.

This policy is expected to remain in effect for the duration of Ukraine's flu epidemic.

Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Institutes H1N1 Flu Precautions

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:06:22 -0500

Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant General Director Igor Gramotkin has requested all staff at the facility to take a serious and responsible attitude toward the H1N1 influenza epidemic that is spreading throughout Ukraine.

All employees are expected to make every effort to avoid the spread of infection within their families and team members at the plant. The Chernobyl Plant administration has also ordered appropriate sanitary measures be taken at the facility to protect the health of all employees.

Despite a shortage of funds, management has purchased specialized, high-strength disinfectants that are used for the treatment of surfaces in public places. Disinfectants have also been used to clean all the electric trains that transport workers to and from their homes in Slavutych, as well as on buses that employees use between the train and the plant buildings.

H1N1 Flu Panic in Ukraine

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:20:41 -0500

In case you have not been paying attention to current events in Ukraine over the past week, or have simply been hiding under a rock, the eastern European country is firmly in the grip of an H1N1 flu panic.

According to the Kyiv Post, 71 people in Ukraine have died from flu or acute respiratory infections since the epidemic began. It is not known if any of those deaths are directly related to the H1N1 swine flu.

Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko indicated that through November 2 - 19,198 Ukrainians have contracted the flu and over 236,000 had acute respiratory infections. Citizens are so concerned about H1N1 that many people are now wearing medical masks whenever they go outdoors. Tymoshenko has even commissioned two million face masks to be made in the nation's prisons.

The panic has resulted in extreme reactions including:

People staying home from work
Schools closed until further notice
Food markets closed (by government order)
Public meetings banned
Roads closed between oblasts (I'm not sure how this can be enforced)

Greetings from Kyiv provides an interesting hypothesis regarding the public's panicked reaction:

Rumors are abounding everywhere about just what is going on in Ukraine. What some people outside of Ukraine don't understand is that there is a history in this country of the government not giving out vital health information (check your history on Chernobyl) and a socialized medical system in which many times doctors do not even communicate to people what kind of disease they have. So it makes sense that Ukrainians are nervous about what is really happening around them.

My friend ModovAnn, who lives in Kyiv, has also posted some interesting insights about the flu panic on her blog.

Photos: trinixy.ru (via English Russia)

After Chernobyl Web Exhibit

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:43:58 -0500

Regular readers of Chernobyl and Eastern Europe may remember a series of posts I wrote last April about a new photo exhibit entitled Inside Chernobyl: life goes on by my friend Michael Forster Rothbart.

Inside Chernobyl: life goes on
Inside Chernobyl Photo Exhibit

This exhibit was displayed for two weeks in Kyiv's Shevchenko Park and later in Slavutych, the city that replaced Pripyat as home for the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant workers.

Rothbart has since returned to the United States after completing a 10-month Fulbright fellowship, in which he spent time documenting life in Slavutych and villages near the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. He has created a second exhibit titled After Chernobyl, which details the daily lives of Chernobylites including samosels, former Zone residents and liquidators. This exhibit has recently been showing at the University of Wisconsin and is scheduled for other showings in the future.

If you are not able to see the exhibit in Wisconsin and are interested in seeing part of this show, Rothbart has just released a preliminary beta version of his new After Chernobyl web exhibit. This unique site is more than just a web gallery. It has been designed as a place where visitors can participate in meaningful discussions about the photographs by leaving either text or audio comments on each page.

This website utilizes VoiceThread to create a collaborative, multimedia slide show. It is different than any other Chernobyl site you have seen on the web and definitely worth your time. Check it out when you get a chance.

Rothbart is planning a second, much larger web exhibit for 2010. Upcoming shows of his Chernobyl photo exhibits are currently scheduled for:

Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Art, Kharkiv, Ukraine - Autumn 2009
National Chernobyl Museum, Kyiv, Ukraine - Autumn 2009
Washington, D.C. - Spring 2010 (Details to come)

Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Cooling Pond to be Decommissioned

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:06:38 -0500

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is currently conducting a three-day seminar in Kyiv, Ukraine to discuss problems related to the decommissioning of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant's cooling pond.

The seminar, which was organized at the request of Chernobyl Plant management, includes experts from the United States, France and IAEA with expertise in the treatment of radioactively contaminated ecosystems. A date for decommissioning the cooling pond has yet to be announced.

The Chernobyl cooling pond is an artificial body of water that was created to cool the heat exchangers of four nuclear reactor units at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. As a result of the Chernobyl accident, the cooling pond was exposed to extremely high levels of contamination. The reservoir area has an approximate volume of 8.5 square miles, or 5,297,199,985 cubic feet.

The cooling pond is also home to a large number of huge catfish. It is not known what will eventually be done with the catfish when the reservoir is fully decommissioned.