Daniel Wolfram
The incident with the possible outbreak follows a very similar playbook.
Back in 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear accident happened and caused a lot of environmental disasters and death.
But if it had been up to Russia, they would have swept the incident under the rug and not let anyone know about it. It was not until the alarms at a Swedish nuclear site went off that the rest of the world found out what had just transpired days earlier.
Now, a new disaster could be unfolding. This time in Siberia, where a plague research institute employee was found dead. Some experts warn that this could be the start of a new Chernobyl.
A similar playbook
Russia’s history of hiding information is well-documented, not just with Chernobyl. Putin has a tight grip on what information gets relayed in his country.
Retired CIA agent Dan Hoffman says this could leave many outsiders in doubt and sow panic outside of Russia.
“Putin, you know, is a dictator and he’s got pretty strict control over information, so they’re obviously not going to release any truth to the public, and that means we have to rely on intelligence to understand what’s going on behind the scenes,” Hoffman says to Fox News Digital.
Could this be Putin’s Chernobyl?
Hoffman also argues that if this single incident in Siberia turns into a widespread pneumonic plague in Russia and even abroad, this could be Putin’s version of the Chernobyl disaster.
Furthermore, growing unrest in Russia with the war in Ukraine and the failing economy have already put a serious dent in his regime and Hoffman compares the situation to the events in Russia surrounding Chernobyl that look similar to today.
“The reason why the Soviet Union collapsed wasn’t because of Chernobyl, but that was a part of it. Was it a failed economy? Well, they kind of got that going too. The failed war in Afghanistan? Well, that war in Ukraine doesn’t look too good. So all these things just pile up on Putin.”
Impossible to control the news stream
Back in the 1980s, it was much easier for Russia to control the media and what information the public could obtain.
As journalist David Averre argues in his op-ed for Newsweek, that is impossible in 2026 due to the technological advancements made since Chernobyl.
Still, he argues that if Russia is not forthcoming about a possible outbreak, the plague could turn into a dangerous epidemic.
He compares it to China’s slow and secretive response to the Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan and encourages the Russian government to prove that everything is under control as they claim.
Not the first time an incident could become ‘Putin’s Chernobyl’
Before panic mode sets in, there have been numerous times when an incident involving Russia and/or Putin has been compared to Chernobyl.
According to The Independent, nuclear experts have warned that Putin’s reckless bombing of nuclear plants could lead to the next Chernobyl incident in Ukraine.
There was also a study done by the Danish Institute of International Studies (DIIS) that argued that Covid-19 could be Putin’s personal Chernobyl because of the “destructive force” of the pandemic.
The consensus seems to be that experts can sometimes appear eager to hang a potential global event on the widespread consequences of Chernobyl that still linger 40 years later.
