The Atomic Age brought new possibilities.
Nuclear energy was now able to be harnessed to create weapons of mass destruction,
and as alternative energy.
The Soviet Union constructed nuclear power plants across their territories in an effort for clean energy and power...
and also perhaps for some bombs as well.
However, that effort exploded in 1986 in Ukraine.
A catastrophic meltdown of a nuclear reactor released lethal radiation into the surrounding area.
The incident led to entire towns being evacuated - never to return.
Today, the Chernobyl disaster has become symbolic with the bleak effects of radiation;
what man can do to the environment;
and the closest glimpse to a nuclear apocalypse.
Now, this spurs the question: what would the world be like if the Chernobyl disaster never happened?
Would atomic energy be perceived differently in this alternate timeline?
Could there be other political and historical effects, as well?
But first, some context for those unfamiliar with the Chernobyl disaster.
What is commonly as Chernobyl
was actually called the VI Lenin Nuclear Power Station,
located near the city of Chernobyl.
Today the station is simply known as the "Chernobyl plant"
In Soviet times it was constructed and directly under the jurisdiction of the Moscow government itself
The plant was located in the city of Pripyat
which was constructed in 1970 by the Soviet government to house plant workers
On April 26th 1986 the lifes of the cititzens of Chernobyl, Pripyat and countless others would be changed forever
In nuclear reactor 4, a routine safety test
- ironic, I know -
was performed horribly wrong as the normal safety protocols were bypassed
leading to the core itself exploding, destroying the roof and sending graphite from the reactor across the area
the cause of the disaster can be for numerous reasons
the flawed design of the reactor and human error all played a part
Firefighter were sent in, to deal with the fires, caused by the explosion and they stepped into radioactive hotspot
The effects were immediate. They could feel the pain on their skin
their bodies feeling the full force of nuclear radiation
In all, 31 would die from radiation sickness just months after
Then the day, the people of Pripryat feeling that something wasn't right as well
Vomiting, dizziness were all symptoms beginning to be felt as radiation fell down upon them
The next day, evacuation orders were given to the surrounding area
- including Pripryat.
Buses were driven to move people to areas outside the immediate radiation zone
Communist Party messages blare from speakers in the town, telling the civilians to leave their belongings
Nobody ever returned to get them
For to the actual accident and evacuation of an entire city, were not made public until 2 days after the disaster
and even then, they were downplayed
The radiation was carried from the plumes of the smoke to regions further than just Pripryat and Chernobyl
Winds carried the fallout, were it eventually landed in areas in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus
Radiation travelled from across the entire globe
For his died nearby its radiation drifted from the sky and killed off the plants
As the situation deteriorated, emergency workers stopped the risk of a steam explosion
and liquidators picked up the highly radioactive debris now littering the entire site
To prevent more radiation from contaminating the environment, Soviet engineers went to work
After 5 months of massive concrete and steal sarcophagus, covered the exploded reactor and closing radioactive debris and material inside.
This structure has helped prevent any radiation from further doing harm
Yet in many areas the environment was a shadow of its former self
So, what would this alternate timeline be like, if the Chernobyl disaster had never happened?
Well, one obvious effect is, that the areas of Pripryat, Chernobyl and other surrounding villages would continue to be inhabited by people
The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone would not exist
The Soviet Union still falls
It was suffering from far too many problems to stay afloat
However, it actually takes longer in this alternate timeline
The Chernobyl disaster affected the non-russian people's relationship with the Soviet government
It opened to many eyes, that the Moscow government would rather protect their own interest than the immediate health and safety of the people
The Chernobyl facility was directly run by the Soviet government
The government was responsible for the operations of the plants
the emergency response
and notification of such an emergency
All of which were failed by the Soviets
The scale the catastrophy was downplayed at first
the classic Soviet way
but consequences between the government's words and the effects led to more disillusionment
and distrust among the people of Ukraine and other non-russian countries
Chernobyl was not simply an environmental disaster
but perhaps one of the many cracks that lead to the Soviets collapsing just a few years later
It was a symbol of a bloated dying communist government on its last legs
What about the future of nuclear energy?
If the Chernobyl disaster never occured in this alternate timeline, would we see nuclear power plants overtaking coal and natural gas?
No
The "Three Mile Island Accident" in the 70's sparked the 1st massive protest against nuclear energy
in the fear of accidents
Nuclear power began to lose its appeal by the 80's
I'm not here to debate positives and negatives of nuclear power or not
What matters in this alternate timeline is the public's perception of it
Chernobyl was a public relation's disaster for nuclear energy
The nuclear power growth was already slowing down by the mid-80's
but the disaster killed the building of many new plants
Italy voted against nuclear power in the year following Chernobyl
Chernobyl made plants from around the world analyze and improve their own safety protocols
It take better measures to prevent any such occurance from happening
In this alternate timeline even if Chernobyl never happened there'd be slightly more plants in this alternate timeline
as a fear from Chernobyl never leads to a dip in the growth of nuclear power
In this alternate timeline, the world never sees a catastrophic event like Chernobyl
as a disaster was a unique one
A combination of human error, design error and Soviet corruption
Even Fukushima after the Japanese earthquake never reached the same radiation levels as Chernobyl
but that was simply because of the nature of the design
What do you think, the world would be like, if Chernobyl never happened?
Say in the comments!
This video-idea was suggested by Patreon contributor Arthur D. Gonzalez-Martin
Thanks, Arthur, for your suggestion
This is Cody, of the Alternate History Hub
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