News
Publish date: July 17, 1997
Written by: Igor Kudrik
News
On June 30, 300 angry and desperate workers of Zvezda yard blocked the Trans-Siberian railway for several hours. As a result, the state allocated 1.8 million USD to cover some 10% of the total salary debts. Another 1.8 million USD is expected in the near future. Other than this, yard manager Valeriy Maslakov could say nothing about schedules for money delivering.
Zvezda yard is involved with repair and decommissioning of nuclear powered submarines. Located in the town of Bolshoy Kamen, a town put up around and because of the yard, the yard was at the focus of a referendum held in the town on the question of whether a US manufactured liquid radioactive waste processing facility should be put into operation. The referendum resulted in refusal of the facility by a huge majority. Observers claim that the workers voted against in order to express their protest against the social conditions established at the yard.
Throughout the past year, our mission at the Bellona Environmental Transparency Center has focused on two key, but intertwined issues—nuclear and radiation safety as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drags on, and the worldwide influence of Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear corporation, which itself is actively involved in the war and has participated in the occupation of a Ukrainian nuclear power plant.
At the beginning of the year, reports in the German and Russian press suggested an approximate 70% increase in uranium imports from Russia to Germany in 2024. But does this reflect broader European trends? It does not. Overall, imports of uranium and nuclear fuel from Russia to Western countries actually dropped sharply in 2024. Unlike the situation in Germany, this is already an established trend.
A Lingen, Germany plant could begin producing nuclear fuel in cooperation with a subsidiary of Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear corporation, which is directly involved in the war in Ukraine and occupying the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
In this news digest, we monitor events that impact the environment in the Russian Arctic. Our focus lies in identifying the factors that contribute to pollution and climate change.