Russia pinches pennies on Chernobyl

An international donor conference on Tuesday approved 550 million euros for dealing with the consequences of the Chernobyl reactor catastrophe. But considering it is the successor to the Soviet Union Russia was conspicuously stingy, writes the left-liberal daily Süddeutsche Zeitung: "Russia has always been quick to present itself as the successor to the Soviet Union when it was to its advantage: the status as a nuclear power, the veto right in the UN Security Council. But Chernobyl is a vexing vat of poison which brings neither respect nor influence. And yet it is a legacy of the Soviet era, a memorial to Moscow's past. Russia's new thriftiness cannot be put down to a lack of money alone. The country has been spending as if there were no tomorrow on the Fifa World Cup and the Sochi Winter Olympics. It spontaneously took over the World Figure Skating Championships from Japan and is investing in the patriotic sectors of defence and aeronautics. But Moscow is overlooking something: Chernobyl may lie in Ukraine, but its new sarcophagus will protect all of Europe. And Russia as well."

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