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Plutopia: Nuclear Families, Atomic Cities, and the Great Soviet and American Plutonium Disasters

Kate Brown presented "Plutopia", the first history of Richland, Washington and Ozersk, Russia, two communities developed in parallel by opposing nations at the height of the Cold War.

Date & Time

Wednesday
May. 8, 2013
4:00pm – 5:30pm ET

Location

6th Floor, Woodrow Wilson Center
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Overview

Kennan Institute U.S. Alumni Series //

Plutopia is the first history of Richland, Washington and Ozersk, Russia, two communities developed in parallel by opposing nations at the height of the Cold War. Using firsthand interviews and historical archives, Kate Brown traces the development of the twin sites, showing how the cover provided by the idyllic towns allowed plant managers to grow corrupt and freely pollute. The result, she discovers, was a twinned pair of environmental and medical disasters ranking among the worst that the world has ever seen.

Life in a Real Nuclear Wasteland : Recent article by Kate Brown in Slate about daily life in Muslumovo, Russia. 

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Speaker

Kate Brown

Kate Brown

Associate Professor, Department of History, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and former Title VIII-Supported Research Scholar, Kennan Institute
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Hosted By

Kennan Institute

The Kennan Institute is the premier US center for advanced research on Russia and Eurasia and the oldest and largest regional program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The Kennan Institute is committed to improving American understanding of Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the surrounding region though research and exchange.  Read more

Nuclear Proliferation International History Project

The Nuclear Proliferation International History Project is a global network of individuals and institutions engaged in the study of international nuclear history through archival documents, oral history interviews, and other empirical sources. At the Wilson Center, it is part of the Wilson Center's History and Public Policy Program.  Read more

Cold War International History Project

The Cold War International History Project supports the full and prompt release of historical materials by governments on all sides of the Cold War. Through an award winning Digital Archive, the Project allows scholars, journalists, students, and the interested public to reassess the Cold War and its many contemporary legacies. It is part of the Wilson Center's History and Public Policy Program.  Read more

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