"In Chernobyl, there was no time to be afraid. There was rather a practical approach — how to avoid high doses of radiation, not to go where one shouldn’t, because it was a matter of chance — whether you would end up in a high-radiation zone or a low-radiation one, and there was no accurate data on the actual level of radiation," said one of the liquidators of the Chernobyl disaster, orthopedic doctor and former President of Latvia Valdis Zatlers, in the TV24 program "Dr. Apinis," recalling the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster and linking it to today.
But why is there no need to be afraid? Zatlers concluded that the consequences of a nuclear explosion are so vast and long-lasting that the territory cannot be cleared by any means, including the Soviet army, which was believed to be preparing for nuclear war.
"If someone talks about tactical nuclear weapons as something small and harmless — that’s complete nonsense!" he stated, adding that radioactive contamination from a nuclear explosion is unpredictable. The contaminated territory is unsuitable even for the army that uses nuclear weapons. It is dead land, and it is unclear why one would even want to capture it.
Therefore, in Zatlers' opinion, nuclear weapons are primarily a means of threat and intimidation. The United States first used them in Japan to intimidate both Japan and the Soviet Union. At that time, it seemed that only the United States had the atomic bomb, but just five years later, the USSR also acquired it.
Zatlers considers this arms race pointless. A treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons was quickly concluded to prevent its further spread. Nevertheless, today many countries possess nuclear weapons, and they mainly serve as a means of deterrence — for example, the conflict between India and Pakistan ended after both countries acquired nuclear weapons.
He also believes that modern conflicts can only be resolved by achieving such a balance, despite many believing that, for example, Iran should not possess an atomic bomb. According to him, 25 years ago, he was told that possessing nuclear weapons could stabilize the situation. The question is only when the balance is achieved. Between the USSR and the USA, it was established after accumulating about 1500 nuclear warheads.
Zatlers admits that in the case of a conflict involving Iran, the level of armament may be lower; however, considering that Israel has about 200 nuclear warheads, achieving balance will be difficult.
Thus, much depends on how we perceive the world. Fear often drives us in the wrong direction, paralyzes us, and deprives us of common sense. "If we had been afraid back then in Chernobyl, perhaps we wouldn’t be here today," he noted, emphasizing that caution should not be confused with fear.
"Right now, Lukashenko (President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko) is scaring us with the idea that he will have nuclear weapons. And then what? What will you do with it?" Zatlers said. If it is used against Latvia, the wind could carry the radiation back to Belarus — this has happened before. According to him, politicians often lack an understanding of the technical side of the issue and the reasons why nuclear weapons have not been used since Hiroshima, but have only been used as a means of threat.
"If we understand this and can explain it to people, we will be able to prepare well for other types of threats," Zatlers concluded, adding that he could not speak so confidently if he had not been to Chernobyl at the very beginning.
