Soviet Politburo

CORNELL MODEL UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE 2021

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CMUNC 2021 Secretariat

Secretary-General Malvika Narayan

Director-General Bryan Weintraub

Chief of Staff James “Hamz” Piccirilli

Director of Events Alexandra Tsalikis

Director of Outreach Akosa Nwadiogbu

Director of Communications Annie Rogers

Director of Finance Daniel Bernstein

Director of Operations Andrew Landesman

Under-Secretary Generals Robyn Bardmesser Avery Bower John Clancy Mariana Goldlust

From Your Chair

Dear Delegates,

My name is Tiffany, Chou, and I am so excited to be your chair for the Soviet Politburo committee at CMUNC 2021! Get ready for a weekend filled with intense and exciting debate -- Youhan, Jun, and I have a fantastic committee planned which we hope you will enjoy!

As for a little about me: I’m a sophomore in the College of Engineering studying Electrical and Computer Engineering from Long Island, NY. Although this is my first time chairing a committee, I have participated in Model UN throughout high school (and actually attended CMUNC myself as a delegate!) and am part of the Secretariat for Cornell’s collegiate-level conference, CIAC.

On campus, I am involved with Cornell IEEE, Engineers Without Borders, The Steminist Movement, and The Advocate publication. In my free time, I love trying new restaurants and going on hikes in Ithaca (it’s true what they say about Ithaca being Gorges…).

I look forward to meeting you all in committee, despite the virtual format. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions about this committee or about Cornell in general at [email protected].

Tiffany Chou Soviet Politburo Chair CMUNC 2021

From Your Crisis Director

Dear Delegates,

My name is Youhan Yuan. I’m a senior from the College of Arts and Sciences. I’m from Nanjing, China. This is my first time being a Crisis Director and I’m as excited as you are (if you are excited)! I hope everyone will have a fun time and make some great memories over the course of the weekend.

In regards to the context of this committee, we are also intentionally not going to describe the disadvantages or the flaws of an RBMK reactor. This is intended to simulate the situation of real Soviet leaders as they are not nuclear scientists and they do not have freely available reports.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me. I’m an easy-going person at some level so don’t feel shy or deterred to email me because I believe my role is to serve you and ensure the happiness of mankind (and delegates of course). So if you have any suggestions, questions, persuasions, documents, texts, memes, plays, or poems, feel free to email me at [email protected].

And the above letter was written in 2020, when there wasn’t a thing called COVID, lol.

Youhan Yuan Soviet Politburo Crisis Director CMUNC 2021

History of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union, or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), was a federal socialist state that existed from 1922 to 1991. It was a union of multiple national Soviet republics with Moscow as its capital in its largest republic, the Russian SFSR. For most of its history, the USSR was a single-party state. It was rooted in the October Revolution of 1917 when Vladimir Lenin led Bolsheviks to overthrow the government of Russian Empire. After a civil war with many anti- Bolshevik forces across the former empire, the Red Army united the Russian and built the USSR. Following the death of Lenin, Joseph Stalin came to power. He brutally suppressed all political opposition (actual and perceived) within the Communist Party. The country, under his leadership, underwent a rapid industrialization and collectivization. Even though it led to economic development, rapid collectivization also led to large-scale famine. Stalin also set up the precedence of glorifying himself as the supreme leader. The glorification of leaders in Soviet Union will continue almost till its end. After World War II and following the death of Stalin, the country entered a period of de-Stalinization. Under the new leadership of Nikita Khrushchev, millions of political prisoners were released from Gulags. The limit of press was temporarily alleviated. With large amounts of workforce, the country underwent another period of industrialization. The industrialization provided a strong industry foundation that enabled the USSR to take the lead in the Space Race. For some years, the USSR had a better relationship with the U.S. (detente). However, the tension rose again when the USSR invaded Afghanistan. In the 1980s, Mikhail Gorbachev rose to power. He was determined to further liberalize the economy and reform the political system. The goal was to preserve the communist party and end the stagnation of the economy. With the fall of the Iron Curtain, the rise of nationalism within each individual Soviet Republics triggers seperatist movements. Eventually, Gorbachev resigned and the remaining republics emerged as independent post-Soviet states.

Structure of the Soviet Politics Similar to the U.S. system, Soviet Union political system can be divided into three branches. In the Legislative branch is the Supreme Soviet. It dealt with all matters within the jurisdiction of Soviet Union. You can imagine it as one of the normal congresses. It could approve five-year-plan (an economic development plan), create state budget, enact laws, ect. In the Executive branch we have the Council of Ministers. It was both responsible and accountable to the Supreme Soviet. In the periods between sessions of the Supreme Soviet, the Council was accountable to the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. The Council had the authority to perform similar tasks as the Supreme Soviet. Thus, you may imagine the Council of Ministers to be a presidential cabinet that is more agile in dealing with crises when the congress is not in session. In the Judicial branch is the Supreme Court. The Court supervised legal processes by the courts of the Soviet Union and its Soviet Republics. All of the above sound like what politics would look like in a democratic government. However, what’s interesting is the role the Communist Party played in politics. Since the Communist Party was the leading and guiding force of the USSR, the Party controlled important government apparatus. The Party contained Politburo (decision-making), the Secretariat (bureaucracy), and the Central Committee (policy forum). The General Secretary was the party leader. Even though in theory, the Politburo was under the control of the Central Committee, in reality the Politburo was the de facto central power of the Communist Party and the USSR.

Overview of the Soviet Union Nuclear Power Program

History of the Soviet Nuclear Program The Soviet Union first began experimenting with nuclear fission in 1943 under the direction of nuclear physicist Igor Kurchatov. While nowhere near the magnitude of the American Manhattan Project, the Soviet Atomic program picked up speed following the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. On Christmas Day, 1946, the program produced its first atomic chain reaction. By 1949, the Soviet Union had its first functioning atomic bomb, codenamed First Lightening, which they detonated at Semipalatinsk on August 29th. From that point on, production shifted to building up the Soviet nuclear arsenal to compete with the United States. Research and development throughout most of the 1950s was dedicated to the hydrogen bomb program. Detonations began in 1955 and culminated with a 58 megaton explosion in 1961. Nuclear power did not become a primary focus of Soviet Union till the 1970s in which they completed two major nuclear reactors; a 440-MWe standardized Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) in 1972 and later a 1000-MWe Light-water-cooled Graphite Reactor (LGR) in 1974. Because of increasing oil and gas prices, the Soviet Union under Brezhnev made energy diversification and eventual independence a goal of the 11th Five Year Plan from 1981-1985. Concentrated in the industrial West of the USSR, the Major Construction Projects plan of 1981 began development of nuclear reactors across the Soviet Bloc. The Five Year Plan called for the production of 1.55- to 1.60-trillion kilowatt-hours (kWh) by 1985. This energy production was spread out across Soviet Bloc states including Bulgaria, Poland, Czechoslovakia, the Ukraine, and East Germany. In the USSR alone, 24 nuclear reactors were planned and completed under Brezhnev’s Five Year Plan: located in Troitsk, Beloyarsk, Novovoronezh, Kola, Bilibino, Leningrad, Kursk, Armenia, Chernobyl, Rovno, Nikolayev, Smolensk, Kalinin, Ignalina, Bajakovo, Khmelnitsky, Zaporozhe, Rostov, Krymsk, Tatar, Odessa, Gorki, Dimitrovgrad. The goals of these reactors near major industrial complexes was not only to provide actual industrial power but also to develop hot water sources for previously barren regions. While all the sites were either expanded upon or began construction during this period, shortages and engineering failures slowed development in some reactor sites. Despite holdups, with this expansive energy policy, the USSR was on track towards energy independence and an expansive production curve to continue to compete with the United States

What is an RBMK Reactor? The RBMK reactor is a type of reactor design that emerged in the 1970s of the Soviet Union. It looks exactly like the following. The picture is from the

World Nuclear Association. RBMK is a really unique design compared to the vessel type reactor used in the west. First, it doesn’t have a vessel surrounding the reactor compared to the vessel type reactor. This means it has one less containment structure in case of a nuclear emergency, but also much cheaper to construct. Another benefit this design brought is workers even have access to the reactor core when it is in operation. This makes maintenance extremely convenient. Second, it’s uranium rods are not that purified compared to ones in the western style vessel type reactor. This leads to less production of energy per nuclear core volume. To produce a similar amount of energy then, an RBMK reactor requires more fuel rods. This leads to the fact that most RBMK reactors (especially ones in Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor) are extremely big (with more fuel channels). This also leads to the large amount of piping inside the facility to cool down more fuel channels. One of the best features of the RBMK reactor is that it has an Emergency Core Cooling System. In case of emergency, six diesel generators will power up emergency feedwater pump to ensure the cooling of the core.

Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant The Chernobyl power plant is located in Pripyat along the eponymous river in Northern Ukraine. The ninth “nuclear city”, Pripyat was founded in 1970 and the first reactor was completed in 1977 with another following it in 1978. The two most recently constructed reactors, Reactor 3 and 4 were built and designed during Brezhnev’s Five Year Plan, with the Reactor 3 being completed in 1981 and Reactor 4 completed in 1983. Each reactor produces 1,000 megawatts of power. The four fully operational reactors combined produce 10% of Ukraine's power. The town of Pripyat has a population of 49,000 of which all the plant operators and officials reside.Within a 30 kilometer radius, 119,000 reside in the city of old Chornobyl. Closed to the public, Pripyat functions as one of the Soviet closed cities in order to shield state secrets from prying Western eyes. For example, Pripyat locates one of the two Duga Radars for the Soviet Union to provide early warnings for any nuclear attack from the United States.

Despotic Power vs Infrastructural Power In an authoritarian regime, there’s a difference between people who make the decision and people who implement the decision. The power to make decisions is called despotic power. The power to implement decisions is called Infrastructural Power. Similar to many Authoritarian regimes, there exists such a division of power within the Soviet Union. As you may observe from the position described later in the background guide, even though there are, let’s say the general of the Red Army, has the power to make decisions for military

actions, the people who implement the decisions, or the de facto leader of the army, are commanders of each military district. We would like to advise delegates to pay attention to such issues and exploit it for their own benefits.

Positions:

Valery Legasov Comrade Legasov is an inorganic chemist. He is the chair of the department of Radiochemistry and Chemical Technology at the Faculty of Chemistry at Moscow State University. He is also the first Deputy Director for scientific work of the Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy. As an expert in nuclear engineering, he’s research focus includes synthesis and the properties of new compounds, nuclear and plasma technology, and ect. He has been pushing for more costly safe measures on indestructible nuclear reactors for years.

Heydar Aliyev Comrade Aliyev is the First Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union. He rose to power as head of the KGB's branch in Azerbaijan. Aliyev has heavy influence in not just KGB but also politics in Azerbaijan. Comrade Aliyev controls Interior Troops and police within Azerbaijan.

Vitaly Vorotnikov Comrade Vorotnikov is the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR. Served as the ambassador to Cuba after being exiled by Brezhnev, Comrade Vorotnikov controls Interior Troops and police within Russia. He’s also in charge of coordinating resources within RSFSR.

Mikhail Gorbachev Comrade Gorbachev is the General Secretary of the Communist Party in Soviet Union. Different from his predecessor’s leadership style, Comrade Gorbachev encourages open discussion within the Politburo. To the West, Comrade Gorbachev is seen as a more moderate and less threatening Soviet leader. Comrade Gorbachev serves in a role more similar to secretary of state.

Andrei Gromyko Comrade Gromyko is the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. As the legal head of state, Comrade Gromyko represents USSR on the international stage, participating in negotiations with foreign countries. He also leads and rectifies socio-economic development plans and law codes passed by other divisions within the USSR government.

Lev Zaykov

Comrade Zaykov is the Military Industry Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Coming from a engineering background, he was the First Secretary of the Leningrad Regional Committee of the CPSU. He's in charge of organizing military equipment development efforts.

Viktor Chebrikov Comrade Cherbrikov is the security administrator and head of the KGB. He is known as the initiator of the investigation of corruption in Uzbekistan. He's harsh and firm stance against dissidents of the Soviet Union protects the national interests and security of the nation.

Vladimir Shcherbitskiy Comrade Shcherbitskiy is the First Secretary of Communist Party Ukraine Central Committee. He is the de facto leader of Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. Military-wise, Comrade Shcerbitskiy controls Interior Troops and police within Ukraine. Comrade Shcherbitskiy also assisted the Central Committee to manage internal affairs within Ukraine, including industrial production, energy production, agricultural production, etc.

Aleksandr Yakovlev Comrade Yakovlev is the Secretary of Ideology and Propaganda in Politburo. Studied at Columbia University, he’s a good friend of Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and many foreign intelligence leaders. He’s in charge of media and propaganda within the Soviet Union.

Efim Slavsky Comrade Slavsky is the Minister of the Ministry of Medium Machine Building. The Ministry is in charge of development of Soviet Civil Nuclear Energy Program. Comrade Slavsky would coordinate civil nuclear industry within the Soviet Union to serve the needs of the people and ensure the safe running of civil nuclear programs.

Yegor Ligachev Comrade Ligachev is Second Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Compared to some quite liberal faction politicians within the politburo, Comrade Ligachev represents the conservative side. Comrade Ligachev raised concerns over the damage to the Soviet Union image of Gorbachev’s proposed liberal reforms.

Yevgeny Ivanovsky

Comrade Ivanovsky is the Commander of the Soviet Army. Comrade Ivanovsky has the authority to mobilize Soviet Troops and conduct military operations.

Valentin Mesyats Comrade Mesyats is the Minister of Agriculture of the Soviet Union. Comrade Mesyats is in charge of coordinate agricultural production and other relevant civil activities to ensure the food supply and healthy status of agriculture in the Soviet Union.

Nikolay Slyunkov Comrade Slyunkov is the first secretary of the Communist Party of Byelorussian SSR. He is the de facto leader of Byelorussian Republic. Military wise, he controls Interior Troops and police within Ukraine. Comrade Slyunkov also assisted the Central Committee to manage internal affairs within Byelorussian Republic, including industrial production, energy production, agricultural production, etc.

Nikolai Ogarkov Marshal Ogarkov is the commander of Western Military District of USSR. Through years of warfare and his high rank, Comrade Ogarkov earned the trust of his man. They will listen to Orgarkov’s order without hesitation.

Matvei Vasilevich Zakharov Marshal Zakharov is the commander of North-Western Military District of USSR. Through years of warfare and his high rank, Comrade Zakharov earned the trust of his man. They will listen to Zakharov's order without hesitation.

Viktor Skokov Marshal Skokov is the commander of Southern Military District of USSR. Through years of warfare and his high rank, Comrade Skokov earned the trust of his man. They will listen to Skokov’s order without hesitation.

Sergei Sokolov Marshal Sokolov is the commander of The NBC Protection Troop of the Red Army. The Troop, as an independent branch within the Red Army, provides logistic, scientific, and engineering support across the Red Army.

Works Cited

Begell House - Login Form. https://www.begellhouse.com/user/lgn.html?msg=msg_access_denied. Accessed 13 Mar. 2021.

Chernobyl | Chernobyl Accident | Chernobyl Disaster - World Nuclear Association. https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety-and-security/safety- of-plants/chernobyl-accident.aspx#.Ujyh-D-I-zx. Accessed 13 Mar. 2021.

CNBC, Tim Johnson, special to. “I Traveled to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone — Here’s What It Was Like.” CNBC, 16 June 2019, https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/16/traveling-to-the-chernobyl-exclusion- zone.html.

Davey, W. G. Nuclear Power in the Soviet Bloc. LA-9039, Los Alamos National Lab., NM (USA), 1 Mar. 1982. www.osti.gov, doi:https://doi.org/10.2172/5137371.

RBMK Reactors | Reactor Bolshoy Moshchnosty Kanalny | Positive Void Coefficient - World Nuclear Association. https://www.world-nuclear.org/information- library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/nuclear-power-reactors/appendices/rbmk- reactors.aspx. Accessed 13 Mar. 2021.

“Soviet Atomic Program - 1946.” Atomic Heritage Foundation, https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/soviet-atomic-program-1946. Accessed 13 Mar. 2021.

The Soviet Response. https://www.atomicarchive.com/history/cold-war/page- 7.html#:~:text=On%20November%2022%2C%201955%2C%20the,explosion%20of %20about%2058%20megatons. Accessed 13 Mar. 2021.