Russia's Sinking Radioactive NightmareOnce Powerful, Now Rusted, Russia's Nuclear Subs Are Disintegrating in the Barents Sea. Alexander Nikitin Blew the Whistle- And Was Charged with Treason photo by Michael Rothbart
Members of the Bellona Foundation, the Norwegian environmental group that employed Nikitin, claim that all the material found in the report came from open sources. They believe that the FSB does not have the evidence to convict Nikitin as charged, but is conducting a harassment campaign to foster a climate of fear among environmentalists or other potential government whistle blowers.
ST: What prompted your husband to get involved with the Bellona Foundation? TC: For the last five years he was working for the Department of Nuclear Safety in the Ministry of Defense in Moscow. What prompted him to work with Bellona was that at the beginning of 1990, the Russian government stopped financing the safety programs that oversee nuclear reactors and stations, and the staff saw that without money, it was impossible to do anything. He simply saw the futility of his work. When he retired he felt it was necessary to continue working in the area of nuclear safety, and he searched for work that would allow him to use his expertise. That's how he came across Bellona. He read their first report, "Sources of Radioactive Contamination in Murmansk and Archangelsk Oblasts," and heard that Bellona was going to work on a new project involving Lepse. Lepse is a storage facility for radioactive waste in Murmansk harbor. It's already full and needs to be taken care of. The commanders of the Northern Fleet wanted simply to sink it off the coast. That's how they deal with problems. As a result of the first Bellona report, which brought this problem to the attention of the rest of the world, the government of Norway pledged 75 million Norwegian crowns (about $10 million) to help deal with this storage facility problem. Alexander saw that it was possible to undertake some real, practical project to resolve the problem, not just cry and shout about it. ST: What was your first reaction when he told you that he wanted to take up this work? TC: Well, understand that I knew these problems worried him very much. We lived in the North for many years, so it wasn't news to me that he wanted to be involved. When he began to work with Bellona it was normal, it didn't shock me. I thought it would be valuable work. I tried to help him because he didn't have a firm contract with Bellona, only a temporary contract, and he was working another job, so he asked me to type things and look for books. I enjoyed helping him. ST: So when it all happened, it was a big shock. TC: Yes, it really was. Terrible. ST: Looking back, would you have supported him in his decision to work with Bellona if you had known the ordeal it would put your family through? TC: Absolutely. It's difficult to look back now and think what we should have done, but during the time Alexander was in prison, my brother, also an officer in the Northern Fleet, died of radiation exposure. I believe that we did the only thing we could have done, which is to help make sure that people don't continue to be exposed to this danger. In the North, not only the officers serve, but their families live there too. Their children are growing up in a hazardous environment. ST: What would your brother have felt about all this? TC: When my brother was still alive, he supported Alexander's work. I haven't met one person yet who said this work was unimportant. Some people are afraid, some indifferent, but no one has ever said to me "What kind of foolishness are you working on?" Everyone understands that it is very important. ST: Has winning the Goldman prize changed things? TC: Not yet. The prize money is wonderful, but more importantly, winning the prize brought us a great deal of international attention and support that I think will help us. The prize money will make it easier for him to continue his work. He has grand plans for helping create a coalition of groups and individuals that are concerned with human rights and the environment. photo courtesy of Bellona
Bellona Foundation, Fossveien 19, PO Box 2141, Grunerlokka, N-0505 Oslo, Norway; phone: (47) 22-38-24-10; e-mail: aiha@aiha.com |
For NGOs that work to support environmental
activism in the former Soviet Union, the story of Russian ecologist Alexander
Nikitin serves as a chilling reminder that drawing attention to grave environmental
problems is often not looked kindly upon by authorities. The consequences
for meddling can be swift and harsh: after co-authoring a report on the
dangers of radiation spills from nuclear submarines in Russia's Northern
Fleet, Nikitin, a former Navy captain, was arrested and imprisoned for 10
months, charged with espionage and treason. During his imprisonment, his
phones were tapped, apartment bugged and the internal passports of his wife
and daughter seized. Nikitin was released in February, but his case is still
under investigation. Russia's top prosecutor recently ruled that the Federal
Security Service (FSB) has until June 23 to continue the investigation,
after which they must bring the case to court or drop the charges.
Nikitin's case received increased attention worldwide
when he was awarded the $75,000 Goldman environmental prize in April. Denied
permission to leave St. Petersburg, Nikitin was represented in the US by
his wife, Tatiana Chernova, and daughter Yulia, who accepted the prize on
his behalf. Making numerous visits to environmental organizations in San
Francisco, New York and Washington, Chernova is spearheading the effort
to pressure the Russian government into dropping the charges against her
husband, even producing a documentary film, "Secret Ecology,"
to show the world the ordeal her family has undergone during the past year.
Chernova told her story to Surviving Together's Susannah Wood during a visit
to ISAR's Washington office.
www.isar.org
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