Chornobyl, Fukushima, and the Kyshtym disaster. An experience that was not learned The neglect of the nuclear power plant’s pre-accident state and Russia’s control Chornobyl, Fukushima, and the Kyshtym disaster. An experience that was not learned The recent series of nuclear threats from Russia to the world, as well as the topic of a possible sabotage by Russian terrorists at the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, have become key news stories in the global media. According to spokesperson Matthew Miller of the US State Department, “The Russian leadership should carefully consider whether it wants to risk creating a nuclear catastrophe [at the NPP – ed.] because if it happens, the international community will definitely hold Russia accountable.” On the other hand, the American Nuclear Society (ANS) recently stated that “Even the worst-case scenario at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, including bombings and intentional sabotage of reactors and spent fuel storage containers, would not pose a radiological threat to the population.” The author of the article as the First Deputy Chairman of the Special Parliamentary Commission investigating the causes and consequences of the world’s largest nuclear accident at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (1990-1991), and as the Minister of Environment and Nuclear Safety (1992-1998) is astonished by such definitive statements by ANS experts. Let him explain why. As determined by the commission, the main cause of the Chornobyl catastrophe was not operator errors at the nuclear power plant, as claimed by Soviet propaganda, but rather design flaws in the RBMK-1000 reactors (high-power channel-type reactors). It is worth noting that the author of this new type of powerful reactor installations was the director of the Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy, Academician Aleksandrov, who asserted that “these reactors are so safe that they can be installed right on Red Square, near the walls of the Kremlin.” As a result, the RBMK-1000 reactors lacked a protective containment structure, and emergency instructions for the personnel were not developed because it was believed that reactor failure and especially a design-based accident were so unlikely that they remained only a hypothetical threat. As it is known, the “hypothetical threat” on April 26, 1986, suddenly became the world’s worst nuclear catastrophe following the explosion of the fourth reactor at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The conclusions of the Special Commission were...