First Address on Chernobyl - Mikhail Gorbachev (1986) - How does Gorbachev depict the Chernobyl disaster?

Extract

[...] First Address on Chernobyl - Mikhail Gorbachev (1986) - How does Gorbachev depict the Chernobyl disaster? Critical summary of a research article - 1st address on Chernobyl, Gorbachev, 14th May 1986 The Chernobyl disaster is considered as the worst nuclear disaster in history. Experts agree on the death of approximately thirty people from immediate blast trauma but there is a debate on the accurate number of projected deaths due to the long-term health effects. The estimation is around 400,000 deaths in total for all those exposed in Europe. [...]

[...] Moreover, he uses Chernobyl as a pretext to demand a new organization of security rules for turbines. Indeed, he says about Chernobyl that the USSR "regard it as another warning bell, another ominous reminder that a new kind of political thinking and new policies are needed in the nuclear age." As a result, it would seem that Gorbachev is trying to place himself on the side of the pacifists, those who want to avoid nuclear war at all costs. But one cannot deny the fact that Gorbachev's position is necessarily linked to the fact that the USSR is losing the war and that it would be better to stop the war now than to continue the deadly attacks. [...]

[...] Indeed, in 1986 there is a desire in both sides to accuse each other in order to turn the world against him. Every situation seems to be a pretext to criticize the other's policy. For example, in his speech Gorbachev mentions the bombing of Libya by the Americans which was not at all the subject of the speech. But Gorbachev uses this example to achieve his aim: his will to end the arms race by showing public opinion on the disasters caused by the Americans. [...]

[...] He names the two people that immediately died and the 249 who were admitted to the hospital as a way to pay tribute to them. But Gorbachev considers that "the worst is behind us" which is far from being true since, according to the Russian Academy of Sciences in 2005, around 125,000 people died, but for other sources, it is up to 400,000. Here, Gorbachev is understating the real impact of Chernobyl while enhancing the power of Russian scientists. Indeed, he devotes much of his speech to show how well the soviets are handling the situation. [...]

[...] In order to convince people to be on their side, both forces use their soft power and propaganda to persuade the public opinion. Furthermore, since the beginning of the conflict, an arms race has started between the two which enables major improvements of weapons, especially nuclear ones. But in 1986, the USSR is positioning itself further and further away from the United States. Gorbachev is trying to reform its union by implementing a new policy named perestroika where he tends to improve areas in which the USSR is lagging behind. [...]