Social aspects of the functioning of the ignalina nuclear power plant

Abstract

The key themes in this article relate to policy observation and analysis of social aspects of the functioning
of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP). The multiethnic Visaginas community is socially, economically
and culturally excluded from other areas of Lithuania as the majority of economic activities in
the region is oriented towards the INPP. The following interrelated questions are considered in the article:
the social costs of decommissioning of the plant, the integration policies and their operation in reducing
social and economic disparities in the region as well as the access to citizenship and education benefits of the
INPP residents. As the challenges confronted today by the second generation non-Lithuanians in the region
are still ignored there are some specific questions about the growing social, cultural and economic divide
between Lithuanians and non-Lithuanians in the INPP region addressed in the article.