The Chornobyl Factor: Eco-Nationalism as a Marker of the Ukrainian Nomenklatura's Disaffection with Soviet Central Power

Through analysis of documentation from the KGB archives and Ukrainian political movements, this essay will show how the accident at the Chornobyl atomic power plant marked a caesura in the political history of Soviet Ukraine. Highlighting the Soviet government’s inability to deal with the aftermath of the explosion, the tragedy led to mass dissent in the form of ecological movements, which strengthened the ranks of those who aspired to independence. Thus, the Ukrainian environmental movement influenced government decisions on the construction of new power plants, and its leader, following the Granite Revolution, was included in the last Ukrainian Soviet government.