Studii și Materiale de Istorie Contemporană, vol. XXIV, 2025

George DUMITRESCU, Riscul radioactiv în România comunistă: gestionarea informației și propaganda politică în cazul Cernobîl (1986) [Radioactive Risk in Communist Romania: Information Management and Political Propaganda in the Chernobyl Case] [SMIC, XXIV, 2025, pp. 202-220] 

https://www.doi.org/10.62616/SMIC.2025.24.13 

The full text is available on CEEOL/ Textul integral al studiului poate fi accesat prin CEEOL: https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=1419332

The Chernobyl nuclear disaster had serious consequences for neighboring countries, including Romania. This article analyzes how decisions were made at the political level in Moscow and Bucharest and how the dialogue between the two governments unfolded.

The article explores two main questions: was the Romanian population protected from radiation; and, what were the government’s policies in response to this catastrophe. The communist leadership used the accident at the Chernobyl power plant for propaganda purposes, particularly in terms of nuclear disarmanent and the world struggle for peace. The contribution uses documents from the National Archives of Romania, the Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Archives of the Secret Police. These primary material is balanced with an analysis of the daily and weekly press from the years of the Chernobyl accident.

Keywords: Chernobyl; enrivronment; health; International Atomic Energy Agency; censorship