On April 26, 1986, Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the former Soviet Union exploded. The incident was not only a tragedy for thousands of people, but also a global warning of what can happen when technological ambitions are handled by a political system that is immune to criticism and not monitored by a free and critical press.
Chernobyl remains one of the worst man-made disasters in history. It was the result of a series of technical errors, managerial failures, and a system that suppressed open criticism and accountability.
Hidden flaws and shortcomings
The Chernobyl power plant, officially known as the V.I. Lenin Nuclear Power Plant, is located less than five kilometers south of the city of Pripyat in the former Soviet Union (now Ukraine) and next to the river of the same name. The city was established to house everyone who worked at the plant and had around 50,000 inhabitants.Construction of the plant began in 1970, and the first reactor went into operation in December 1977. The reactor type, RBMK-1000, was a Soviet design that used graphite as a moderator and water as a coolant. The design, which was highly efficient, had several inherent safety problems, including a tendency to become unstable at low power. In addition, the Soviet Union had chosen to dispense with complete shielding, which was otherwise common in Western plants.
At the time of the disaster, four reactors were in operation and two more were under construction. Chernobyl was part of the Soviet Union’s major commitment to nuclear energy, which was intended to ensure industrialization and energy independence. At the recently concluded party congress, the green light had even been given for the construction of a sister plant on the other side of the river, also with six reactors.In April 1986, it was decided to carry out a safety test on Reactor 4. The test was designed to simulate a power outage to ensure that the turbines’ inertia could supply enough electricity to the cooling pumps until the emergency generators could start. The V.I. Lenin nuclear power plant was known for having relatively few faults and for producing above budget. This ensured attractive bonuses and recognition for the plant’s management.
The night when everything went wrong
On the afternoon of April 25, 1986, preparations for the test began. The reactor power was reduced, but due to unexpected problems and a shift change, the test was delayed. This led to the reactor running at very low power in an unstable state for several hours. To keep the reactor going, several automatic safety systems were turned off or bypassed—a practice that violated safety protocols.
At around 1:23 a.m. local time on April 26, the test began. The operators shut off steam to the turbines, which reduced the cooling water flow. At the same time, due to the special characteristics of the reactor at low power and the low cooling water flow, large amounts of steam began to form in the reactor core. This led to a dramatic increase in the reactor’s energy output.A desperate attempt to insert all the control rods—designed to shut down the reactor—ironically resulted in a further increase in reactor power due to a design flaw in the tips of the rod tips. Seconds later, a huge steam explosion blew off the reactor’s 1,000-tonne lid. A subsequent graphite fire sent radioactive particles high into the atmosphere.
No one at the plant had the foresight to imagine that the explosion had occurred in the reactor itself and called the fire department, which, without protection or knowledge of the nature of the accident, began its work. Reports to the authorities in Kiev and Moscow did not mention a meltdown of the reactor core. It therefore took a long time before anyone reluctantly acknowledged that the disaster was far more extensive than initially assumed.
The human cost
The evacuation of Pripyat began almost two days after the explosion. Residents were told to leave their homes for “a few days” – a message that quickly proved to be tragically misleading. None returned. In the weeks that followed, tens of thousands more were evacuated from the wider area.The first victims were firefighters and plant workers who, without adequate protection, attempted to fight the fires and rescue their colleagues. Many of them received lethal doses of radiation in a matter of minutes and died in terrible agony. The so-called “liquidators” who were sent in to contain the disaster were hailed as heroes, but often without full knowledge of the risks they were running.
The health effects of Chernobyl are still noticeable. In Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia in particular, there has been an increase in thyroid cancer among children and young people. Long-term consequences, such as genetic damage and psychological trauma, may be more difficult to quantify, but they undeniably exist.
Political aftermath
Chernobyl became a symbol of the systemic weaknesses of the Soviet Union. The disaster highlighted how secrecy, bureaucracy, and technological hubris could lead to national and global tragedies. Many see Chernobyl as a catalyst for “glasnost” – Mikhail Gorbachev’s policy of greater openness – and as a hidden contributing factor to the Soviet Union’s final dissolution in 1991.
In addition, Chernobyl changed the global debate on nuclear power. While some countries maintained their commitment to nuclear energy, others, especially in Western Europe, chose to slow down or halt the expansion of nuclear power plants. The disaster was a turning point for international cooperation on nuclear safety and for regulations that today require far greater transparency, redundancy, and accountability.
What can we learn
Chernobyl is more than a technological disaster; it is a moral lesson. The potential of technology must always be accompanied by humility and respect for the realities of risk. When complex systems such as nuclear power plants are managed without a culture of transparency, criticism, and accountability, they become potential instruments of destruction.
The disaster also reminds us that real safety standards are not just a matter of technology, but depend just as much on political and organizational culture. When information sharing is suppressed, when mistakes are hidden, and when decision-makers ignore warnings from technical experts, the groundwork is laid for accidents of Chernobyl’s magnitude.
Today, almost 40 years later, we should still regard Chernobyl as a warning. Not only in relation to nuclear energy, but in relation to all technological systems where the consequences of mistakes can be fatal and global. The specter of Chernobyl reminds us that responsibility, openness, and the courage to tell the truth must be the foundation of all technological development.
Because when humanity fails in these areas, it is not just machines that break down. It is civilization itself that fails and is threatened.
For Dollars Only
In my upcoming novel, For Dollars Only, set between July 1985 and May 1986, you will learn more about Chernobyl and other conditions in the Soviet Union.
