Officials have found a uniquely Russian use for the nuclear power plant. They plan to turn it into a vodka distillery. Itar Tass news agency said that the Soviet-era plant, built five kilometers from the town of Nizhny Novgorod but never used, would join seven other alcohol-producing factories which have become the biggest source of local revenue. 'But many townspeople are furious,' Tass said. Nizhny Novgorod has plentiful supplies of liquor but is desperately short of heating.

LRB 25 February 1993 | PDF Download