The Post-Soviet Nuclear Power Program

A noted Western specialist on the 1986 accident at the Chernobyl' nuclear power plant examines the recent history and current status of nuclear power development in the successor states of the former Soviet Union. The paper analyzes strategies nuclear proponents have employed since Chernobyl' to deflect criticism of nuclear power generation and build support for an enhanced role for the industry. It then reviews plans for new construction, restarts, and/or capacity additions in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus', Lithuania, and Armenia in light of those countries' energy alternatives, relations with neighboring states, and domestic political situations. 1 table, 17 references.