Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster

Voices from Chernobyl is bookended by two similar monologues sharing a title, “A Solitary Human Voice.” Why do you think Svetlana Alexievich chose these particular monologues to frame the book? What is the significance of their title?

Alexievich’s subjects in the book frequently compare the Chernobyl disaster to war. Is this a fair comparison? How is the disaster similar and dissimilar to wartime atrocities?

According to many of Alexievich’s subjects in the book, what did the post-disaster response reveal about the Russian/Soviet “character” or “mindset”? What are the defining features of this mindset, and is it seen as a strength or a liability?

How does the book illuminate weaknesses in the centrally planned Soviet economy?

Many subjects in Voices from Chernobyl state that the disaster created a “new world” and formed a new identity for its survivors. What do they mean? Draw on evidence from at least three monologues to explain the meaning and significance of these claims.

Select one monologue from each of the book’s three parts of to compare and contrast. How do these three monologues develop different themes or different takes on the same theme? How does a change in perspective affect your understanding of the Chernobyl disaster?

Why do you think Alexievich chose to end each of the three parts of Voices from Chernobyl with a “chorus” of multiple speakers rather than a single monologue? How does each chorus relate to the preceding monologues? What do the titles—“Soldiers’,” “People’s,” “Children’s”—signify?

In explaining why the evacuation of Pripyat was delayed for 36 hours after the Chernobyl reactor exploded, historian Serhii Plokhy states:

Soviet managers and bureaucrats tended to do what years of party rule had trained them to do—avoid responsibility. Everyone was afraid of being accused of spreading panic, and everyone was glad to defer to the higher authorities to make a decision. They were company men, the ‘company’ being the Soviet system (Plokhy, Serhii. Chernobyl: The History of a Nuclear Catastrophe. Basic Books, 2018, p. 116).

Does Voices from Chernobyl support or contradict this claim? Cite evidence from at least three monologues to support your argument.