My latest audio book adventure took me deep into the history of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster, written by Adam Higginbotham. Though there are many books and shows on this subject this one was found to be highly rated and due to its relatively recent publishing it is able to include more recent studies and effects of the now almost 40-year-old tragedy. And yes, the impact is still felt in many ways known and unknown. Not just due to the massive amounts of radioactive fallout that still pollute the 30 square kilometer exclusion zone in northern Ukraine, but also the geo-political environment of the 20th century and regulatory attitude toward nuclear power plants that extend even into the 21st.

I have spent some time since finishing the 14 hour listen thinking of, “what might have been?” If the disaster were averted, was it inevitable and destined to occur at a later date anyway due to the cumbersome and perilous nature of trying to wrestle the RBMK type reactor into submission? Might the Soviet Union have survived the 20th century and continue to exist today without the immense financial burden required by the clean up operation? And what might have happened if those in party leadership had not sought to perform such an extensive cover-up? How many lives could have been saved? If there was not such a disaster would we have seen the entire world embrace nuclear energy to the point that most of our power would be provided by fission reactors today?

Among the most troubling circumstances that contributed to the disaster was the priority that was placed on preserving the perception of the Soviet Union, valued much greater than the thousands of lives that were in immediate danger. Individuals feared to report bad news or even acknowledge that anything could possibly be wrong in their perfect Communist society. Despite this prevalent sentiment, there were still many who sacrificed much in an attempt to preserve life, whether through great courage or because they were simply unaware of the invisible danger that would slowly destroy them at the cellular level; the firemen, the helicopter brigades, soldiers, the reactor technicians, and the spouses of those who were kept hidden away in the hospital.

There were many investigations by Soviet agencies with varying conclusions. The Soviet party members who still assert to this day that the disaster was caused by operator negligence, and the deceased technicians who were unaware that they were given a loaded gun with no training to understand the many ways of pulling the trigger. Ultimately I feel that the root cause of the disaster was larger than either and the seeds for it were planted within the Bolshevik revolution itself. It was an attitude of arrogance, fear, paranoia, and hypocrisy. An attitude that lead to millions of deaths through state orchestrated starvation, imprisonment, and Gulag labor camps. An attitude that preyed on innocence and honesty. An attitude that demanded technological progress at the cost of due diligence, and positive perceptions over individual security.

The many good citizens of Russia today are living an experience becoming increasingly similar. Free thought and expression are suppressed, fear is becoming more rampant, and state sponsored terrorism again impacts the world. Citizens brave enough to stand up and declare, “this is not right” now again face the Gulag or worse. Many of those in power in Russia appear to desire a return to the attitudes of the Soviet Union. But, we cannot so quickly forget the lessons of the past. When we begin to value the perception of others over individual wellbeing, when we demand progress by sacrificing security, we are only building up a debt that will be payed in the future. A dept to nature, society, or even a debt to our own morality.

We often create the means of our own destruction.