Every year on April 26, the anniversary of the Chernobyl
disaster, YABLOKO has been conducting an action by the Russian
Atomic Energy Agency (Rosatom) to commemorate those who died,
express sympathy for those who got sick in this tragedy and
remind everyone of the consequences of nuclear energy sector.

The danger of explosion has not been the only issue for the
past years, the topic of distribution of budgetary funds by
Rosatom has also been touched. This time YABLOKO has protested
against Rosatom’s plans to spend billions of dollars of budget
money on construction of nuclear power plants’ abroad.

Rosatom plans to invest USD 20 billion in the economy of Turkey
to construct and operate the Akkuyu nuclear power plant. Turkey’s
economy will receive this colossal amount of money from Russia’s
taxpayers without any counter profit for Russia. Rosatom also
plans to construct a nuclear power plant in Vietnam which
will cost USD 10 billion. India, China, Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Egypt and even Bangladesh with its unstable situation and
some other countries are next in turn for Russia’s budgetary
funds via Rosatom.

Galina Mikhaleva

“This money belongs to the citizens of Russia and it should
be spent on medicine, education, infrastructure, but not on
the construction of nuclear power plants abroad,” said Galina
Mikhaleva, First Deputy Chair of the Moscow branch of YABLOKO.
She also added that the money for the construction of the
nuclear power plant in Turkey would be enough to build 5 thousand
kindergartens in Russia.

According to Galina Mikhaleva, Rosatom would receive 1.247
trillion rubles from the budget between 2013 and 2020. The
amount would exceeded Russia’s Pension Fund deficit.

Address to Sergei Kiriyenko, General Director
of Rosatom

Mikhaleva also spoke about the results of investigation of
Rosatom’s activities held by YABLOKO’s anti-corruption department.
Rosatom had ordered the delivery and installation of 18 air-supply
units, which cost 17 million rubles, for its plant in the
Electrostal city in the Moscow area. YABLOKO anti-corruption
department found out that the order was made so that the client
could weed out independent suppliers. YABLOKO had already
appealed against this order in the Federal Antimonopoly Service
of the Russian Federation, added Galina Mikhaleva.

The picket took place during the lunch break in the Agency,
and common employees of Rosatom received YABLOKO’s leaflets
on how Rosatom had been engaged in budget distribution.

The police was impressed by YABLOKO newspaper
as its contents did not coincide with the topic of the action.
Maya Zavyalova, the organiser of the action, proved to the
police officer that he was wrong.

See also:

Nuclear
Safety

Protection
of Environment

YABLOKO
Agianst Corruption