ABSTRACT
Policy makers grappling with nuclear power and weapons security must sort through complex technical and political problems. Western governments, still hoping to avert a second Chernobyl, have concluded that they cannot compel transition economies to close down their unsafe reactors, so they must instead introduce a "safety culture" to reduce the risk of a new catastrophe. Chernobyl-style reactors continue to operate near St. Petersburg and Vilnius. These plants operate with the same risk as Chernobyl but get far less attention. Independence and statehood somehow transformed Chernobyl from a bitter symbol of Soviet imperialism and environmental mismanagement into an emblem of Ukrainian national sovereignty and survival. Nuclear power dependence varies across the region, but with important exceptions, remains generally low. Civilian nuclear issues are complicated by increasing linkage with military nuclear operations, especially reductions in nuclear warheads. The gravest post-Cold War threat to global security is the risk of theft and diversion of nuclear weapons-grade material.
