A transition to more nuclear power? Comparative analysis of Russian and Ukrainian energy policies

This article provides comparative analysis of Russian and Ukrainian energy policies against the backdrop of political change, focusing on how the “energy transition” is envisaged in these countries and on the place of a “nuclear renaissance” in this transition. Russia and Ukraine are indeed two countries whose political evolution since the disappearance of the USSR has been characterized, in varying ways, by constant oscillations between democracy and authoritarianism. These two powerful nuclear states have 35 and 15 nuclear reactors on their territories, respectively. The analysis highlights both the weight of the legacy of the Soviet past and the importance of national imaginaries, the strong interdependencies between Russia and Ukraine in terms of their energy and technological infrastructure, and also the very different energy challenges they face. The comparison makes it possible to conclude that, in both cases, the “transition” to nuclear power promoted by the governments of these countries has been not only limited but also based on the maintenance of an energy (im)balance persistent since the Soviet era.