The Relevance of Tolstoy

Though the headlines may tell another story, to anyone living in Vienna the most remarkable thing about Europe after Chernobyl is how most remarkably like Europe before Chernobyl it is. In the direct aftermath of the accident, Austria did join in the embargo on Soviet bloc produce, but that expired soon enough. A month later, the markets in Vienna overflowed once more with Polish hams, Hungarian poultry and, best of all, those fabulous Bulgarian vegetables. Chernobyl certainly made the point that vegetarianism in Vienna is almost totally dependent on Bulgarian exports.

That seems to be about the only point it did make. The Soviets and their central European clients are again assuring us that nuclear power plants are perfectly safe...