Ukrainian Population and Chornobyl Disaster:

Face-To-Face Confrontation

By Yuri Sayenko, Dr. Sc. (Econ.)

For ten years after Chornobyl disaster, all its after-effects have not been liquidated.

Some of after-effects start only to become apparent, for example, an increase in sickness rate. Scale and depth of social and psychological after-effects are only being studied. Genetic and demographic after-effects still wait to be shown themselves.

But all the Chornobyl after-effects are social consequences finally. Because all that has been created by man will bring harm first of all to the nature and people.

There are social after-effects of Chornobyl of two types: direct and mediate. First six years after the Chornobyl disaster, the after-effects have been settled by command and administrative methods under the conditions of full secrecy of Soviet communist authoritarian regime. Decisions have been made by politicians, but not by professionals. Therefore, last four years Ukraine lives under conditions of direct after-effects of disaster as well as under conditions of consequences of wrong political decisions made in first six years after the Chornobyl disaster.

These years Ukraine has endured three hardest catastrophes:

·        The first is the Chornobyl disaster; its consequences burned heavily environment and people of Ukraine and covered the Earth with radioactive rain;

·        The second is the breakdown of the USSR, destruction of habitual social and political picture of world, situation of stable protected prison is changed for unclear and scaring freedom;

·        The third is the deepest post-totalitarian political and economic crisis, sharp impoverishment of the Ukrainian state and population.

These three catastrophes have been superimposed each on the other and they strengthened each other.

We should recapture the confidence of population to the state, science, information and own future.

The Chornobyl disaster is the global catastrophe of XX century. The deep bases of mankind – spiritual, social, material – have shuddered. Chornobyl has appeared as the result of non-doubtful priority of engineering and technology and economics thought over ecological and humanistic expediency. Chornobyl is the planetary multifactor unique hyper-complex event that should be studied and treated, using not elementary linear or mosaic measures, but involving non-ordinary, non-traditional, and complex methods.

This Chornobyl “explosion” has taken place long before 1986, just in the period of planning, designing and adopting the decisions on the nuclear reactor type and region allotted for the construction of it. This is the spiritual, moral-ethical tragedy, first of all.

Moscow has taken in arbitrary manner the decision on the construction of the Chornobyl Atomic Power Station. Moscow has managed overall work at the Chornobyl construction site. Moscow commanded to start that sadly known experiment resulted in the explosion. Moreover, even today we do not know, for sure, of what nature – technical or military – was that experiment at the 4th block?!

Moscow has said no word, it has taken no step to remedy post-Chornobyl situation in Ukraine. Quite the contrary. When Russia fastens the noose of prices on energy carriers, suddenly shot up to the world level, around Ukraine’s neck and strangles, by doing so, it compels Ukraine to run even the blocks of the Chornobyl Atomic Power Station.

Chornobyl is the energetic tragedy, no doubt. The myth of “peaceful atom” is undermined. The safety of atomic power engineering raised doubts. Likely, searching for alternative kinds of energy is the only way to salvation.

Chornobyl is also the methodological and organizational tragedy: neither science nor technology do know and do manage to cope with it. We do not cure, but do make it worse by unskillful treatment. This is the tragedy of crisis and begging. From one side, it ought to curtail nuclear power engineering, but from the other – may we allow this to ourselves under the power famine situation that is the result, incidentally, of outdated power consuming technologies.

However, the most striking unexpected thing of Chornobyl has been its social and psychological strike at the population. Ecological, economical and medical post-effects could be foreseen, to some extent. More than convincing experience of Hiroshima, Tchelyabinsk, nuclear test range of Kazakhstan gave some grounds for it. However, it has been Chornobyl that has demonstrated tremendous destroying impact on social and psychological sphere of vast masses of population – up to 6,000,000 of people (including Kiev habitants, suffered, in fact, but not recognized, officially, as such ones).

Social and psychological post-effects of Chornobyl disaster have turned out one of the most non-predicted unexpected things by scale and extent in the post-catastrophe period.

This phenomenon had to be studied in the monitoring mode from the very first days. The shortage of funds has led to the situation when beginning only from 1992 through 1995 there have been carried out in Ukraine three systematic studies of social and psychological post-effects of the disaster for all the categories of suffered population by questionnaire. Survey method is the interview.

The first social and psychological studies have fixed symptoms of different aspects. Break-down, asthenia, headache, memory weakening, sharp health worsening. Alarm and fear for children’s and own adult’s health and fate. Fear of uncertain future. Feeling the total menace and absence of common sense. Feeling keenly the dissonance of the authorities statements: ‘Everything is okay, there is nothing terrible in the Chornobyl disaster” and great mass resettlement actually and the other large-scale acts of the Chornobyl disaster liquidation. There is no confidence to the authorities. Acute problems of resettled population. The syndrome of doomed.

The first sociologic study of social and psychological post-effects of the Chornobyl disaster has been carried out by the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in 1992. Beginning from that time, these studies have assumed the more systematic character.

There have been interviewed more than 10,000 of suffered people, re-settlers, in particular. 60% of the suffered have testified the dread of foodstuffs, feeling of fear and helplessness, sleeplessness and shortness of temper; 20% noted that they have no appetite. Almost 30%, in general, lost their interest to life. 45%, answering the question “What do you intend to do for finding a way out from this hard situation?!”, said  “Nothing”!  The suffered people fall in the state of to be infatile socially. There is formed “the community of doomed”, who rely, mainly, upon God, sometimes on themselves, the near relations, the state aid for life. 90% of these people are concentrated only on their own health, and health of their children and near people. The re-settlers possess of the crippled socio-cultural and landscape space, they are hardly adapted to new conditions. A half of them wants to come back to native places, even radioactively contaminated.

Moreover, “the Soviet model of life” – irresponsibility, helplessness, absence of initiative – has been implemented firmly in quite a great number of people. So, for example, only 7% want to have their own property, and it does not matter for 40% who will possess of the property; 30% are for the state or collective (kolkhoz) property, and more than 20% have not formed their own opinion of it.

Self-appraisals of social and psychological state and orientations

(in % to the interviewed people) of

residents of the II and III radioactively contaminated zones, re-settlers and residents of comparatively clean zone.

June 1992. The Institute of Sociology of

the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine

Paradoxes of social and psychological state of suffered people.

The suffered people is unsatisfied with authorities but show complete personal passivity, they are oriented to life pensions and government securities both for yourselves and for their children (that is even more dangerous by its consequences).

The post-communist Ukraine does not have yet at its disposal the mechanisms which would allow the majority of people to support themselves and their families without government assistance. And when all the hopes are in vain, the only thing is left to rely upon themselves or God.

The people are inclined to hyperbolize the Chornobyl disaster post-effects: whatever happens with them they put down to “the Chornobyl factor”.

Carrying out the resettlement too chaotically has shown what the irreversible influence on the state of mind, social and socio-cultural status of the resettled population, especially, of elder age is made by such unreasoned actions.

Due to prolonged hushing up by the USSR government the Chornobyl disaster scales and post-effects, the suffered population as well as population of Ukraine, in general, has experienced hardly the double stress, “two Chornobyls”. The first is objective, the second is of informational nature when mass media has received, at last, an opportunity to open the truth about the Chornobyl Atomic Power Station Disaster.

The suffered population has endured, in general, three social and psychological strikes:

The 1^st strike (in the first three years after disaster 1986-1988) --

GROWING TORPID, FREEZING WITH THE FEAR IN INFORMATION VACUUM — on the background of absolute silence and authorities’ positive statements the huge colossal scale events happened: never-ending flow of people, equipment, machines, specialists and materials to Chornobyl and total eviction of people from Chornobyl and surrounding settlements.

The 2^nd strike (1989-1992) -- THE SHOCK DUE TO THE TRUTH—an informative tornado of truthful information on magnitude and depth of Chornobyl disaster and its influence on nature, economy and man.

The 3^rd strike (1992- up to now) -- THE INFLATION BLOW—absolute impoverishment of all sections of population in the result of dramatic post-totalitarian crisis, devaluation of incomes, savings and various privileges for suffered from the Chornobyl disaster

The Chernobyl has marked the beginning of searching for the new post-Chernobyl models of survival for the whole mankind, not only for Ukraine itself. It has dictated the requirement to change cardinally value-normative space of life and complex analysis and synthesis of all factors of the survival.

The interviewing in December 1994 has covered 1 200 respondents, who belonged to such categories of Zhytomyr region population: II zone, obligatory settling out - 300 persons; III zone, free-will settling out - 300 persons; IV zone, high radiation - 300 persons; “clean zone”, control zone - 300 persons. The sample is representative by age, sex, education, place of residence (city, village) and family structure.

Due to the lack of funds, researchers selected, as a “clean” zone, the Zhytomyr region areas, not listed in the register of radioactively contaminated zones, where the people from the II and III zones have been resettled to. Unexpectedly, we registered such a fact. The residents of “clean” areas do not differ in the least, in their socio-psychological self-appraisals, from the residents of radioactively contaminated territories. This fact indicates that the radius of socio-psychologic impact is vastly larger than the radius of radioactively suffered territory.

For example, the life plans of residents of territories under comparison are practically the same:

The population, irrespective of residence area and degree of its radioactive contamination, is fully concentrated on the problems of elementary survival. The most pressing needs are money aid, medicines, food products, clothes. In the interim, such active orientations of activity as a retraining, setting up a business or acquiring a plot for farming remain in the background. In settling the problems of survival, the people rely, mainly, upon themselves, their families and near persons. They rely a little in this matter on public oraganizations and do not trust the authorities’ structures. It is the Ministry of Affairs on Protection of the Population from Chernobyl Disaster Post-effects with which the suffered people connect bigger hopes, comparatively to  the other organizations, to improve the situation that has arisen after the disaster. 30% of the suffered people and 46% of “clean” area residents did know practically nothing of the Law On Status and Social Protection of Citizens Suffered from the Chernobyl Disaster, or could say nothing of it. And only 1% of both the suffered people and “control” respondents consider this Law as the just, complete and effective law.

This is too alarming symptom. It testifies the apathy, distrust, utmostly lowest level of legal consciousness of the population, and spiritual emptiness, information deafness, law-making and organizational insolvency from the side of the state and civil society. It may search for explanations in paternalistic stereotypes of the population that has been weaned from independent thinking and initiative actions by centuries, in the youth and poverty of the state and immaturity of civil society, in absence of experience from the side of world community for large-scale actions of support that Chernobyl needs, though they themselves only will not mend matters.

It is seen from the above that the population of disaster zones, in absence of the proper support and advice, has accustomed to all of this for long ten years after the disaster, and directed thoughts and efforts to getting the living and daily bread, safeguarding children, and then -- higgledy-piggledy.

The studies of December 1995. There have been interviewed 700 persons, including the II zone residents -- obligatory settling out, the III zone residents -- free-will settling out,  as well as the resettlers and the “clean” zone residents from the Poltava region territories. It is the results of studying “samosels” -- the residents of the dead 30 km alienation and astrangement zone, the persons who took their old residence again (or new ones) independently, without authorities permission, the number of which exceeds 1 000 persons that deserve a special attention. This is the particular phenomen of post-Chernobyl situation. The results of the study given below are so significant that they require no comments, taking into account the limited size of this paper.

Self-appraisals of socio-psychological state and orientations (in % to the interviewed people) of residents of the I, II and III radioactively contaminated zones, resettlers and residents of comparatively clean zone. December 1995. The Institute of Sociology of

the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. The number of interviewed persons is 700.

Self-appraisals of socio-psychological state and orientations of “samosels” -- the residents of the dead 30 km alienation and astrangement zone (in % to the interviewed people), December 1995. The Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.  The number of interviewed persons is 100.

General Results and Conclusions:

The disaster has made a tremendous destructive impact upon social and psychological state and social and cultural orientations of the population: apathy, passivity, paternalism, lack of initiative, loss of future, fear of suffered environment, loss of belief in support from the side of authorities, syndrome of doomed, fear for health and future of children. Re-settlers are adapted very hardly to nature and climate as well as to social and cultural conditions of new places of residence, and have nostalgic feelings of quite a high level, almost all the adults want to return to old places of residence. There has been fixed a number of paradoxes in orientations of the suffered people. There has been established that the radius of socio-psychological impact of Chornobyl disaster is much larger than the radius of radioactive impact. In Zhytomyr Oblast (Region) there have been found radioactively clean areas, the habitants of which are not told practically, by the level of socio-psychological impact of the disaster, from the habitants of radioactively contaminated territories. In some cases the level of their fear is even higher than the suffered people level of fear. There have been fixed in the 1994-1995 studies that general and political crisis in Ukraine has “covered” the Chornobyl factor, the people have reconciled themselves to their destiny, and their low living standard and absence of clear perspective to pass through the crisis frighten them out of existence more than the Chornobyl. There has been fixed the  “psychological tiredness” due to permanent stress situation. In my view, methods of mass and socio-psychological rehabilitation are of limited effectiveness, without improving political and economical situation in the country.

Socio-psychological studies should be carried out in complex with the other studies in the monitoring mode. Involved Western funds for conducting  socio-psychological studies of Chornobyl disaster post-effects should be co-ordinated with the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. These studies must be continued, because the “memory of trauma” remains at the suffered population, and while improving an economic situation, the “Chornobyl factor” again will be valid. Especially as, it is not known, how the small radiation dozes will  influence upon socio-psychological state and physical health of 130000 suffered people who remained to reside in radioactively contaminated zones.

About the closure of the Chornobyl Atomic Power Station

On November 25-28, 1996 there has been take place in City of Slavutych, Ukraine the 2^nd International Conference devoted to the 10th anniversary of building the Cover (Sarcophagus) object above the 4^th destroyed block of the Chornobyl Atomic Power Station. Here are some opinions of Conference participants on the state of the 4^th block:

Victor Bariachtar, Academician, Ukraine:

“Nuclear explosion will not occur... However, I cannot guarantee that it will not take place.”

Valentyn Krupny, the Head of the Cover object, Ukraine:

“Sarcophagus remains to be dangerous object... Nuclear explosion is dangerous, first of all, for the Chornobyl Atomic Power Station personnel... There will not be brought harm to the population.”

Nikolay Gurin, physicist from Obninsk, Russia:

“Nuclear explosion in Sarcophagus is excluded.”

Edward Pazuchin, physicist from Sankt-Petersbourg, Russia:

“Nuclear danger does exist, no doubt... but it is not more dreadful than what has happened in 1986.”

But in May 1986 the 4^th block had been destroyed not by atomic explosion... Now there are about 2000 tons of water, 2000 combustibles and plenty of radioactive dust in the Sarcophagus. Nobody in the world does know how the ingredients of this huge hellish pile will behave themselves. The processes that take place there are very hard of access to observe, because sensing elements have no access to them. Soviet system did not liquidate the consequences of its crimes, and, like the villains, concealed them and covered tracks. So that, erection of the Sarcophagus has been accomplished hastily and secretly. Nobody did not think that sensing elements should have an access to the 4^th block hell. They made haste to bury it and report of the victory of Soviet system over the atom.

On October 30, 1996 at 22.00 PM Kyiv Time the 1st block of the Chornobyl Atomic Power Station has been stopped. The energetic system of Ukraine has lost 3% of its power. These losses can be compensated by tens hundreds of trains with the other fuel. But there is no such fuel. In hard Winter the consumption of electrical energy increases by 10%. And the frequency in energetic system can fall lower than 49.2 hertz.  All the atomic power stations of Ukraine will be cut off and dead. Consequences can be of monstrous size.

The stoppage of the 1^st block will increase the number of jobless persons in the City of Slavutych by 1.5-2 thousand specialists of higher qualification.

Therefore, the stoppage of the 1^st block of the Chornobyl Atomic Power Station as well as the stoppage of all its working blocks is merely the simple political decision.

The thing is that mankind believes fanatically in the myth that the closure of working blocks of the Chornobyl Atomic Power Station will secure the world against the possible catastrophe.

It is a child’s naivety.

First, the similar blocks continue to be operated at Leningrad, Ignalina, Kursk and Smolensk Atomic Power Stations. They are better in nothing than The Chornobyl working blocks.

Second, nobody in the world has settled yet the problem of security of stopped blocks of atomic stations.

Third, the stopped blocks do not settle the problem of the danger of the Sarcophagus. There is a main risk from the side the Sarcophagus. It is left for hundreds years. Until we hide all its content into the reliable burial ground. There are already 2500 projects how to do it. And there is no real among them.

Because it is impossible to secure the Sarcophagus in the nearest years, the psyche looks for something that could substitute it. And finds what is in the light – to close the working Chornobyl blocks. But the closure of Chornobyl Atomic Power Station is social and psychological problem of thousands of its workers, this is the fortune of 25 thousand of population of City of Slavutych. But emotions do not want to see these consequences, unfortunately. Such are the paradoxes of human psyche. They are often stronger than common sense.

This is also one of the social and psychological phenomena of Chornobyl. Chornobyl bred these socio-psychological phenomena not only in the milieu of suffered people, but in the whole human community.

Yuri Sayenko, Dr. Sc. (Econ.)

Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine

12, Shovkovychna Street, Kiev 252021, Ukraine,

Tel.: 0038 044 291 55 51, Fax: 0038 044 291 56 96, 0038 044 291 54 83