Vladimir Slivyak is famous in South Africa for leaking the secret Intergovernmental Framework Agreement between Russia and South Africa for the procurment of 9600 MW of nuclear power. Slivyak is currently a senior lecturer in environmental policy at a leading Russian university, the Higher School of Economics (HSE) in Moscow. Author of From Hiroshima to Fukushima (2011), a book that chronicles the 2011 Japanese nuclear catastrophe at Fukushima Daiichi and describes the Russian nuclear industry's own lack of preparedness for similar potential accidents, and to over 300 articles on environmental and energy issues published in various languages both by Russian and international media and in publications issued by environmental groups. From 2004 to 2012, Mr. Slivyak served as a board member to the Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS), the largest US-based network of safe energy and anti-nuclear activists. Slivyak is also the co-founder of the Russian environmental group Ecodefense (1989). Eco-defense is a leading anti-nuclear group in Russia. In it's 25- year history, Ecodefense has been successful in numerous environmental campaigns, including stopping the construction of new nuclear reactors and import of nuclear waste into Russia. Ecodefense is currently in danger of being shut down entirely by the Russian authorities. Slivyak continues to consult to various decision making authorities and has been invited to speak on nuclear issues to the Russian, European and German Parliaments. 


Abstract: Nuclear is not Mahala - the role of Rosatom in Russian international relations

The South African government has announced that it will procure 9600 MW of nuclear power to the value of R 1 trillion by the end of this financial year; most likely from the Russian state owned nuclear company- Rosatom. But, South Africa is also relying on the promise of Russian financing. Because of Western sanctions on Russia, the available state funding for Rosatom's international activities will be halved by 2016 and so all of Rosatom 's potential deals must be clenched by 2015. The big question is... what makes the  South African deal so attractive for the Russians? Despite what the global nuclear industry claims; the nuclear business is becoming regarded with mounting suspicion from governments around the world as costs rise, financing falls through and projects are delayed. None the less, global nuclear leaders like France and Russia continue to struggle to expand their nuclear territory. Vladimir Slivyak, from the Russian environmental organisation, Ecodefense, will explain how the nuclear industry lies at the heart of geopolitics and how nuclear is to Russia, an expression of international power. Slivyak, labeled a "foreign agent" by the Russian authorities will further outline how as European borders close to Russian nuclear expansion, the developing markets in Africa and Asia are becoming a target for Rosatom nuclear reactors.