Bulgaria's Chernobyl Experience - to Be Continued

On April 26 1986, the world's worst nuclear event took place at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Ukrainian SSR.

Bulgaria is among the countries which remember the tragic accident most bitterly. As highly dangerous radiation quickly reached the country, its government officials refused to inform its own people for days, because the Soviet Union told them not to.

On April 26 2011, a WikiLeaks cable revealed that the manager of Bulgaria's sole nuclear power plant Kozloduy has been threatened with being "knocked off" unless he kept quiet about a minor incident on the first day of March in 2006.

"The authorities never acknowledged a problem with the control rods or provided specific details or explanations of what had happened," the leaked US diplomatic cable said.

On the exact same day the cable was released and the Chernobyl anniversary was marked, the entire staff of Unit 5 of the Kozloduy NPP was evacuated over a detected increase of radiation rare gases.

One is inclined to consider some things history, until it turns out they are still happening right here, right now. Twenty-five years after Chernobyl one would believe the world has learned its lesson and that nuclear safety is much greater. Then the Fukushima Daiichi accident happened.

Twenty-five years after Chernobyl, one would believe Bulgaria's authorities would not keep a secret about an atomic accident, however minor it may be.

Twenty-five years after Chernobyl, one would think that Bulgaria may be heading in the direction of western democracies. Then it turns out that Russian interests are still what determines the country's key policies. Belene, Bulgaria's potential second NPP, will most likely be constructed – due to Russsian pressure.

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