Old Habits Die Hard: The Legacy of Chernobyl

Almost thirty years later, the impact of the Chernobyl disaster is still felt. Children are still being born with cancer and other birth defects. Survivors are still succumbing to radiation-induced cancers. Cities and towns are still abandoned. The site itself and the surrounding areas are still “hot” with radiation. Some estimates are that the area will continue to be unsafe for human habitation for millennia. Some of the radioactive isotopes have a half-life of 24,000 years (Ludwig, 2011). It is difficult to fathom how 14 seconds can have an impact for eons. Human achievement can turn to human destruction in a moment. The people of Ukraine and Belarus relive that moment daily. Their ailments remind them. Their children’s and grandchildren’s ailments remind them. The Soviet system was one of the most destructive regimes in human history. Stalin’s reign of terror alone killed between 20 and 60 million people, depending on the source consulted. One of his infamous quotes was “that he would willingly sacrifice 49 per cent if he could ‘save the 51 per cent, that is, save the revolution” (Overy, 2004). This attitude prevailed even after his death and the formal repudiation of him and his policies by his successor Nikita Khrushchev. The Soviets blindly pursued production at all costs, to the detriment of the Soviet people. Quantity was valued far above quality. Production targets had to be met regardless of the impact on the land, environment or the people themselves. All of this was in pursuit of a flawed ideology. This attitude even permeated the Soviet nuclear sector. The Cold War fostered competition between the USSR and the USA. This competition and the ruthless nature of internal Soviet politics fostered a climate of corruption and obfuscation. This very climate directly contributed to the Chernobyl disaster. The RBMK reactor design was known to have 27 different flaws, but was produced anyway. Despite the known defects, this type of reactor was installed at Chernobyl and other sites (Ludwig, 2011). Sadly, despite the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia still has not improved much beyond its past. Its infrastructure is old and decrepit. Most of it is Soviet era vintage. Russia’s government is still corrupt and standards and regulations are not on par with the rest of Europe. There is still mistrust of the government by the people and according to some sources, the Putin government shares similarities with the Soviet regimes of yore – particularly when it comes to personal freedom, freedom of the press, and glasnost (government transparency). Parts of Russia are still some of the most contaminated places on Earth. Although the Russian government is trying to clean up after its past, there is still more to be done. They are still reluctant to seek international help unless they are desperate for assistance. For example, when the submarine Kursk sank they initially refused to let British and American rescue vessels attempt to rescue the trapped sailors. After much delay divers from Britain and Norway were able to assist in the rescue efforts. However, rescue turned to recovery because by this point it was too late for the Kursk sailors (Barany, 2004) (Dodds, 2003). They need to swallow their national pride and put their people ahead of their egos. References Barany, Z. (2004, Summer). The tragedy of the Kursk: Crisis management in Putin's Russia. Government & Opposition, 39(3), 476-503. Dodds, K. (2003). Cold War geopolitics. In J. Agnew, K. Mitchell, & G. Toal (Eds.), A companion to political geography (pp. 204-218). Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Ludwig, G. (2011). The long shadow of Chernobyl. Retrieved May 20, 2013, from TheLongShadowOfChernobyl.com: http://www.longshadowofchernobyl.com/ Overy, R. (2004). The Dictators. New York: W. W. Norton.

Hitler vs. Stalin: Same Wolf, Different Sheep

Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin; these names are practically synonymous with evil. Most historians agree that both of these men carried out atrocities at the expense of their own people, but some historians argue that that is where their similarities end. The majority of historians believe that the regimes of Hitler and Stalin were essentially the same; the differences between the two were minor and inconsequential. One historian in particular, Richard Overy, believes that these similarities are superficial and that Hitler and Stalin were more different than alike. I beg to differ. Although Hitler and Stalin were on opposite sides of the political spectrum, no matter how far right or far left one’s ideology may be, it ends up in the same place.
Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin were not simply megalomaniacs. Both of these men thoroughly believed that they had a mandate from history. World War I and the resulting Treaty of Versailles devastated both Germany and Russia. This devastation angered and inspired both men to become leaders. After the war, both the German and Russian economies were in shambles. For the Russians, it was not just due to war, but also due to the Bolshevik Revolution, which forcibly removed Czar Nicholas I and his regime from power. The Bolsheviks had to start from scratch. Hitler, and the majority of Germans, felt that the Treaty of Versailles marginalized and emasculated Germany. Hitler believed that Germany had to rise up and reassert herself on the world stage. All of these events together created a need in the minds of Hitler and Stalin: the need to become the savior of their fallen nations.
Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin both believed that the cause (state) was supreme. For Hitler, the cause was National Socialism and the purification of the German “race.” For Stalin, the cause was the Bolshevik (Communist) Revolution of Vladimir Lenin. Both regimes demanded absolute loyalty to the state. Those who differed were deemed “dangerous” to the state and were either executed or imprisoned. One was either with the state or against the state. There was no middle ground.
For Hitler and Stalin, the ends justified the means. These men felt that because they had a mandate from history, it was their historical duty to fulfill that mandate by any means necessary. Their means included persecution, execution, and imprisonment. Hitler’s persecution was based not just on politics, but also on race and religion. Gypsies, Poles, and Jews were Hitler’s “favorite” scapegoats. Stalin, on the other hand, was more equal opportunity. He persecuted based almost solely on perceived loyalty to the Revolution. All groups were fair game, though some groups, particularly Ukrainians, seemed to be “preferred” targets.
In the end, Hitler and Stalin ended up justifiably vilified by historians. Despite a belief in a mandate by history, neither regime survived the death of its leader. Despite the survival of Bolshevism until the 1990s, Stalinism was officially denounced in 1956, by Stalin’s successor, Nikita Khrushchev. National Socialism, conversely, was pushed to the very fringes of society. These two regimes illustrate that extremism on either the left or the right is essentially the same thing.

Cold War II -- The Redux

I am repeating my comments from previous posts because it needs to be said again. I truly believe that the Cold War never truly ended and that Putin is a very real threat. I could read his ambitions the moment I found out he was ex-KGB. Folks, this is, dare I say, the continuation of the Cold War. We need to start building up our military, both in personnel and materiel. It is time to put the military-industrial complex back into full-swing. The Russians have been doing it since they climbed out of their debt-hole and we need to catch up (their technology may not be up-to-date, but they are increasing their numbers -- that's bad enough). We need all of our Russian-speaking spooks to come back to our intelligence agencies and our military. The Pentagon needs to keep the Air Force Cyber Command. And Congress needs to okay anything the DoD needs to make our military capable of keeping the Russkies in-check. We need to start producing and resupplying our stockpile of Minuteman nuclear missiles “just in case”. The worst mistake our country has made is underestimating Russia. The Soviet Union didn’t die. Our military has been criticised for training based on Cold War tactics, but apparently they knew something that we didn’t -- that the Bear would come back as our enemy some day. The Russkies still play a major role in supplying our enemies with weapons and training. Those AKs that you see “insurgents” firing at our guys are made by Russia. Who gave Iran nuclear know-how??? You guessed it, Russia. Where does Hugo Chavez get his military aircraft now that we have cut him off??? Russia. Unless we beat the Russians at their own game and become a true superpower again, Putin will simply laugh in our face while re-creating the CCCP. Whoever still calls the US the lone superpower apparently has not read any news headlines for the past week. I have been following Russia for over 20 years, and I have never trusted them. I trusted Gorbechev much more than I ever trusted Putin, and Gorbi was not a closet Soviet. Is it now politically correct again to call the Russkies Soviets??? I find Russia’s indignance and anger at our missile defense shield hypocritical and inverted. They’re just mad that our shield will prevent them from hitting us and our allies with their missiles and the missiles of their allies (our enemies). They just don’t think that we are playing fair. Well, you know what they say, “All’s fair in love and war, especially war.” We need to pray for Georgia, Poland, and Israel. Russia would love to see all three either destroyed or annexed as new territory.