Master’s thesis in Global Studies Lithuania’s “Nuclear” Town in a Global World Local Millenials’ Perceptions of Visaginas after the Closure of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant Goda Cicėnaitė June 2021 Lithuania’s “Nuclear” Town in a Global World Local Millennials’ Perceptions of Visaginas after the Closure of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant Goda Cicėnaitė Final thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of a MA degree in Global Studies Instructor: Jónína Einarsdóttir 30 ECTS Faculty of Sociology, Anthropology and Folkloristics School of Social Sciences, University of Iceland June 2021 1 Lithuania’s “Nuclear” Town in a Global World. Local Millennials’ Perceptions of Visaginas after the Closure of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant This final thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment of a MA degree in Global Studies. The thesis may not be copied in any form without the author’s permission. © Goda Cicėnaitė, 2021 kt. 181191-4579 Reykjavik, Iceland. 2021 2 Ágrip “Kjarnorkubær” Litháens í hnattvæddum heimi: Viðhorf þúsaldarkynslóðar Visaginas til kjarnorkuímyndar bæjarins við lokun Ignalina kjarnorkuversins. Þegar eina fyrirtækið í iðnaðarbæ lokar, upplifa íbúarnir félags- og fjárhagslegar afleiðingar og sækjast eftir vinnu í nágrannabæjum eða borgum. Lokun Ignalina kjarnorkuversins hefur valdið kaflaskiptum í bænum Visaginas, sem tilheyrði kjarnorkuverinu. Missir aðal atvinnufyrirtækisins og rússnesk fortíð bæjarins hafði mikil áhrif á líf íbúana. Afskekkt staðsetning Visaginas og að rússneska hélst aðal tungumál íbúanna eftir að Litháen endurheimti sjálfstæði sitt, dró úr atvinnumöguleikum íbúa Visaginas í öðrum bæjum í Litháen. Fyrsta markmið þessarar rannsóknar var að kanna hvaða augum þúsaldarkynslóðin lítur náttúrulegt umhverfi Visaginas og byggðina í ljósi hnattvæðingar. Hitt markmiðið var að kanna afstöðu unga fólksins til hlutverks fortíðar Visaginas sem „kjarnorkubær“ í þróun bæjarins. Ellefu djúpviðtöl voru tekin við fólk af þúsaldarkynslóð bæjarins. Viðtölin voru tekin í Visaginas í september 2020. Í ritgerð þessari er hugmynd Tim Ingolds um landslag og fræðileg nálgun hans á mannlega skynjun notuð til að kanna hvernig viðmælendur skynja náttúrulegt og byggt umhverfi Visaginas. Nálgun Anthony Giddens að hugmyndinni að hnattvæðingu var nýtt til að greina alþjóðleg áhrif á mótun Visaginas í fortíð og nútíð. Niðurstöðurnar sýna að ungmenni bæjarins taka aukinni erlendri fjárfestingu, ferðaþjónustu og öðrum jákvæðum hagrænum áhrifum hnattvæðingar fagnandi. En þau hafna hugmyndum um að skipta út niðurníddum byggingum sovíet tímans fyrir nýbyggingar í stað þess að gera þær upp og að skipuleggja einbýlishúsahverfi til að laða að fjárfesta ógni afar sérstakri ímynd byggðarinnar í Visaginas. Þúsaldarkynslóðin, sem lítur ekki lengur á Visaginas sem „kjarnorku“ bæ, telja þó kjarnorku vera bestu orkutegundina. Í stað þess að vera mengaður bær, finnst þeim Visaginas vera bæ sem er umlukinn hreinni náttúru og ætti að stefna á náttúruferðamennsku. Það eru vissar mótsagnir í viðhorfum unga fólksins til náttúrulegs umhverfis Visaginas. Um leið og þúsaldarkynslóðin lítur vöxt náttúruferðamennsku sem tækifæri sem myndi stuðla að velferð bæjarins vilja þau að náttúra Visaginas haldist ósnortin, villt og mannlaus. 3 Abstract When the single enterprise of a mono-industrial town closes, the residents tend to experience socioeconomic consequences and seek employment in neighbouring towns or cities. The closure of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP) has left its satellite town, Visaginas, at a crossroad. Its residents experienced socioeconomic consequences caused by loss of the main industry and by the town’s Soviet past. These, along with Visaginas’s remote location and the dominance of the Russian language in an independent Lithuania, reduced Visaginians’ employment opportunities in other Lithuanian towns. The primary aim of this research was to explore how local millennials perceive Visaginas’s natural and urban environments in the context of globalisation. The secondary aim was to explore local millennials’ attitudes towards the impacts Visaginas’s “nuclear” past have on the town’s development and its future. Eleven qualitative, in-depth interviews were taken with local millennials. The interviews took place in Visaginas in September 2020. In this thesis, Tim Ingold’s concept of the landscape and his theoretical approach to human perception were used to explore the interviewees’ perceptions of Visaginas’s natural and urban environments. The concept of globalisation as approached by Anthony Giddens was used to analyse global forces shaping Visaginas’s past and present. The results show that the local millennials welcome increasing foreign investments, tourism, and other economically beneficial effects of globalisation in Visaginas. However, the replacement of deteriorating Soviet-era buildings with modern ones and the proposal to open an area of the town for private houses to help attract investors are seen as threatening the unique urban image. The local millennials, who no longer see Visaginas as a “nuclear” town, find nuclear energy the preferred energy type. Instead of being polluted, they envision Visaginas as a town, surrounded by clean nature, that should focus on nature tourism. Some contradictions were observed in millennials’ opinions about Visaginas’s natural environment. While millennials see the expansion of nature tourism as an opportunity that would assist the town’s socioeconomic recovery, many still want Visaginas’s surrounding natural environment to remain untouched and uncrowded. Key words: Visaginas, mono-industrial, millennials, globalisation, Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant 4 Preface This thesis is in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an MA degree in Global Studies at the University of Iceland. I would like to thank my research supervisor Dr. Jónína Einarsdóttir for providing feedback on drafts and guidance throughout this research. I would also like to thank the residents of Visaginas, who took part in the interviews, for their valuable contribution and cooperation, and for making me feel welcomed in Visaginas. Special thanks to Dr. Siarhei Liubimau for organising the LCT EHU workshop “Post-Nuclear Urbanism 2020,” which enhanced my knowledge about Visaginas’s urban environment. I cannot begin to express my gratitude to my fiancé Binni who supported and nurtured me at every step of this research. I would also like to thank my friend Vittorio for his constructive criticism that made me think about my ideas from a different angle. I am extremely grateful to Brian Barr and Stefán Benediktsson for their valuable assistance during the final stage of this research. Finally, I would like to thank my family and friends for their profound belief in my work. 5 Table of Contents Ágrip ...................................................................................................................................................... 3 Abstract ................................................................................................................................................. 4 Preface ................................................................................................................................................... 5 Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................. 6 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 8 1.1 Research Background ........................................................................................................................... 8 1.2 Motivations for this Study Area .......................................................................................................... 9 1.3 Aims, Research Questions, and Objectives .................................................................................... 10 1.3.1 Outline of the Thesis ....................................................................................................................................................... 12 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND STATE OF THE ART .................... 14 2.1 Globalisation .......................................................................................................................................... 14 2.2 Perception Theories ............................................................................................................................. 17 2.3 State of the Art ...................................................................................................................................... 20 2.3.1 Post-Socialism.................................................................................................................................................................... 20 2.3.2 Public Opinion on Nuclear Energy .......................................................................................................................... 22 2.3.3 Nuclear Decommissioning Associated Risks ....................................................................................................... 24 CHAPTER 3: THE SETTING ....................................................................................................... 27 3.1 Lithuania and Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant ................................................................................ 27 3.2 Visaginas: Past and Present ..............................................................................................................