1967 or possibly 1972, a convoy of black Volgas navigated the winding south-Estonian roads toward Lake Võrtsjärv.1 Whether in summer, collecting dust and mosquitoes, or in autumn or spring, accumulating heavy dirt on the marshy terrain, the leather-fitted cars carried three esteemed men from the Soviet Estonian Academy of Sciences – geologist Anto Raukas, biologist Harald Haberman and energy engineer Ilmar Öpik. Accompanying them were four to six ‘Moscow people’ with plans to establish a nuclear power plant (hereafter NPP) at the picturesque site. Perhaps, as they reached the elevated banks of Vehendi, where reddish pines reached for the blue sky, the men in ominous KGB attire exchanged nods, finding the location suitable for their cutting-edge technology. Maybe, hearing the rustling reeds, they concurred with the Estonian scientists that a new 4000 MWe power plant could not be built on this shallow lake without raising temperatures to harmful levels.
Tag Archives: academia
ESEH 2025 Is Coming Up Soon!
From 18 until 22 August this year many environmental historians, historians of technology, artists and discussion-enthusiasts are going to meet up in Uppsala, Sweden. The European Society for Environmental History invites us to participate in this lovely city about an hour north of Stockholm. The biannual ESEH conferences are always a highlight in any historian’sContinue reading “ESEH 2025 Is Coming Up Soon!”
The Technocratic Culture Behind Chernobyl’s Disaster
Recently my new article about nuclear Ukraine was published. In this article, I am using a technocratic culture perspective to analyse what was going on at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant before that fateful night in April 1986, when reactor block four exploded.
Research under changed conditions?
This Thursday and Friday, 14-15 November, the GWTF, the Gesellschaft für Wissenschafts- und Technikforschung, is hosting her yearly meeting in my old hometown of Dortmund in the Ruhr Area in the western parts of Germany. The overarching topic will be about how we can conduct research in a changed environment. Here the precarity of manyContinue reading “Research under changed conditions?”
My Defence
On Friday afternoon, 22 March 2024, I defended my PhD at KTH Royal Institute of Technology. In hindsight it was a marvellous day, with so many people thinking of me and participating in this event that marked the end of the journey I embarked on 15 October 2018. A huge “Thank you!” to all ofContinue reading “My Defence”
Upcoming Defence!
Five and a half years ago, on 15 October 2018, I joined KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, to embark on a journey of doctoral education. Working as a doctoral student in the Nuclearwaters-Project (ERC Consolidator Grant, PI Per Högselius), I focussed on the nuclear history of Eastern Europe, especially on the territoryContinue reading “Upcoming Defence!”
What a year! 2023 is coming to an end…
2023 was a turbulent year for me. I am grateful for many great experiences that helped me to grow as a novice scholar and as a person. In the following I would like to reflect in a few paragraphs on this past year. But before I start: Merry Christmas and happy end-of-the-year holidays to everyone!Continue reading “What a year! 2023 is coming to an end…”
Achim Klüppelberg 