A Black Candle for Chernobyl — An Article in Ställ om! Magazine
Ställ om!, a Swedish digital magazine focused on peace and climate justice, published an article by Olga Karach written for the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. The text marks the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster and argues that nuclear power remains inseparable from political secrecy, military risks, and long-term environmental danger. It presents Our House’s position against nuclear power and nuclear weapons, warning that Belarus’s Astravets nuclear plant raises serious concerns about safety, transparency, and public accountability.
On April 26, it was 40 years since the largest nuclear disaster in history — the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The plant is located in Ukraine. Belarus was hit the hardest because of weather conditions.
Our House has long and consistently opposed:
— the construction of nuclear power plants, especially under authoritarian regimes;
— the transfer of nuclear weapons to such regimes, including tactical weapons.
The Chernobyl disaster led to radioactive contamination of almost 150,000 km², while around 5,000 km² became an exclusion zone with very strict restrictions.
Chernobyl is just over ten kilometers from the border with Belarus. It is about 330 km from Minsk and less than 490 km from Vilnius.
In 1986, an RBMK reactor exploded at the plant. This type of reactor used graphite rods to control the reaction, as well as water. Under certain conditions, the water could prevent the graphite rods from being lowered.
These rods function as the reactor’s “brakes.” When the brakes stop working, disaster is inevitable — and that is exactly what happened.
Similar reactors were also used at other plants, including the Ignalina nuclear power plant in Lithuania.
According to the IAEA report INSAG-7, a so-called positive scram effect had already been identified in 1983; it later became one of the decisive factors behind the Chernobyl disaster.
The RBMK reactor was considered inherently risky. Incidents occurred at the Leningrad nuclear power plant in 1975, at Chernobyl in 1982 and 1984, and at Ignalina.
Nuclear power is often presented as environmentally friendly, but this is an oversimplified picture. In the Soviet Union, the nuclear industry was part of a closed system and was controlled by a special ministry. Nuclear power plants did not exist in isolation: they were part of a broader industry, one of whose end products was weapons-grade plutonium and uranium.
Information about radiation accidents was often kept secret. Those affected were given incorrect diagnoses and forced to sign confidentiality agreements. People died, and sometimes even doctors did not know the cause — because of the secrecy.
Today, safety standards are higher, but the risks have not disappeared.
Moreover, the economic efficiency of nuclear power is increasingly being questioned. In many cases, the costs of decommissioning a power plant exceed the profits generated during its operation.
Belarus continues to develop nuclear energy projects, while serious questions remain about safety and transparency.
Since the Belarusian nuclear power plant in Astravets was put into operation, recurring shutdowns, interruptions, and outages have been reported. The Lithuanian regulatory authority VATESI has repeatedly pointed to recurring problems and a lack of transparency.
Because of the clear imbalance between high risks and questionable benefits, Our House is working for the phase-out of nuclear power.
We will continue to take part in public actions and speak openly about these issues.
Sincerely,
Olga Karach
who brings together refugees from Belarus
in the organization Our House in Lithuania
The issue of the magazine, dated June 9, 2026, which includes this article
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