On January 25th, the ministry held hearings in Seversk which one bus-load of Tomsk citizens was allowed to attend.

ECONOMIST: The time-bombs of Tomsk

Russia's Ministry of Atomic Energy, Minatom, is keen to build a new nuclear reactor at Seversk, though it does not have the money at present.

ECONOMIST: The time-bombs of Tomsk

In mid-February, however, Minatom told the United States that it wanted to abandon the idea of converting the reactors at Seversk so that they would no longer produce plutonium.

ECONOMIST: The time-bombs of Tomsk

In icy Tomsk, the potential for heat loss is even worse: astonishingly, the pipes that carry warm water around the district heating network of Seversk and Tomsk are completely uninsulated.

ECONOMIST: The time-bombs of Tomsk