Vladimir Slivyak of Ecodefense in Russia wins Right Livelihood Award!

Vladimir Slivyak of Ecodefense in RussiaAs announced at the Right Livelihood Award website:

"For his defence of the environment and for helping to ignite grassroots opposition to the coal and nuclear industries in Russia."

Vladimir Slivyak [pictured] is one of Russia’s most committed and knowledgeable environmentalists, who has been spearheading important grassroots campaigns against environmentally damaging practices for decades. He has stopped projects related to the exploitation of fossil fuels, the use of nuclear power and coal, and the shipment of radioactive waste from abroad.

As co-chairman and co-founder of Ecodefense, one of Russia’s leading environmental organisations for decades, Slivyak has worked extensively on reducing environmental risks, mitigating the climate crisis and promoting renewable energy in Russia.

Led by Slivyak, Ecodefense was the first environmental group in Russia to start an anti-coal campaign in 2013, which helped to empower local communities suffering from the impacts of coal mining and transportation. Connecting local communities around the country and information sharing led to a rapid growth of anti-coal protests in various parts of Russia.

Slivyak has also opposed Russia’s promotion of nuclear energy both at home and abroad. These enormous successes have proven that even in authoritarian Russia, grassroots activities can effectively challenge government-backed projects.

In recent years, Slivyak and Ecodefense have been targeted by Russian authorities for their work. However, Slivyak has stayed the course heartened by the growing influence of young climate activists. Standing with them, he is committed to ushering in a cleaner and more sustainable future for Russia and the world.

[Read more at the Right Livelihood Award website.]

Yablokov warned that a million or more have died from Chernobyl

As Chernobyl's 35th annual commemoration approaches on April 26, 2021, it is important to remember Alexey Yablokov's warning, that nearly a million premature deaths could likely be attributed to the nuclear catastrophe, and that just between the years 1986 to 2004 (there will have been many more deaths since then). See this link for more information: <http://www.beyondnuclear.org/home/2011/4/14/chernobyl-a-million-casualties-april-23.html>.

Yablokov published the shocking figure in his book, Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment. See this link for more information: <http://www.beyondnuclear.org/radiation-health-whats-new/2011/6/1/lynn-ehrle-promotes-chernobyl-consequences-of-the-catastroph.html>.

Yablokov, an environmental advisor to Russian President Boris Yeltsin, warned at a National Press Club press conference in Washington, D.C., alongside Beyond Nuclear's Cindy Folkers, and Friends of the Earth's Erich Pica, that Fukushima could prove more deadly and harmful than Chernobyl in the end, for such reasons as the population density of Japan exposed to the hazardous radioactivity, the proximity of Fukushima to the ocean, etc. See this link for more information: <http://www.beyondnuclear.org/home/2011/3/25/alexey-yablokov-press-conference-today-watch-on-c-span.html>. The press conference had been planned months in advance, to mark the 25th anniversary of Chernobyl -- but as fate would have it, the Fukushima catastrophe began two weeks earlier, so that dominated the discussion.

A QUIET HERO OF OUR TIME: COVID takes life of young Russian anti-nuker

Photo of Rashid Alimov, from his own Facebook Page.Rashid Alimov, a 40-year old Greenpeace Russia campaigner and journalist, has died due to covid-19, shocking and saddening the Russian anti-nuclear movement and colleagues across the world.

Alimov had faced arrests and harassment while protesting in St. Petersburg and against nuclear waste transports from Germany, and was an inveterate champion for the victims of the Mayak disaster. When authorities planned to fuel floating reactors at a port close to the 5 million living in St. Petersburg, it was Alimov’s efforts that got the operation moved to Murmansk. “It’s not often that an entire Russian region owes a debt of gratitude to a single reporter, but in Rashid’s case, it’s true”, wrote Bellona’s Charles Digges in a tribute.

READ MORE.

BELARUS NUKE SHUTS ON DAY 1: Country still suffers from Chernobyl fallout

As reported by AP, the brand new atomic reactor built by Belarus (green on map) dictator Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled more than a quarter-century, operated for but one day before breaking down, already needing replacement parts. Unprecedented large-scale protests against the brutal dictatorship have continued for nearly four months, at very high risk to the protestors. More than 300 peaceful demonstrators were arrested on November 30. Decades ago, Belarus first suffered Stalinist terror, then a brutal Nazi invasion. Beginning April 26, 1986, Belarus suffered very severe Chernobyl radioactive fallout, the exploded and burning reactor just a short distance from its border. Chernobyl Children International has striven to help Belarus since 1991. Deploying reactors there should be a crime.

MORE.

Russia Matters: Maintaining Nuclear Safety and Security During the COVID-19 Crisis

Russia Matters - Maintaining Nuclear Safety and Security During the COVID-19 Crisis - William Tobey, Simon Saradzhyan and Nickolas Roth

As posted at State of NV Agency for Nuclear Projects' "What's News?" website section.