Public Opinion and Prospects of Nuclear Power in The USSR

After Chernobyl the media were consistently creating increasingly negative image with reasonable opinions practically silenced. About 500 articles were published in the central and republican press on the subject in 1989, three quarters of them sharply, often nihilistic ally, critical. Only some 20% of the publications were in favor, almost all written by the industry experts and usually accompanied by sarcastic editorial comments. It is hard to name a single prominent author who did not publish an article, a story, a novel, a play or a book of poems about the tragedy. No harsh, accusing, insulting words were spared. The resulting situation is unparalleled in the history of any industry anywhere in modern times. At the same time no detailed comprehensive medical statistics on the subject was ever published and we are still to learn about the real effect of the accident on the health of the population during past five years as compared with 'clean' regions