Lithuania votes on fate of Soviet nuclear plant

This Baltic nation mulls a stark choice in a referendum this weekend held on the same day as national elections: Faith in an outmoded Chernobyl-style nuclear plant or dependence on Russian gas. The European Union says the Ignalina power station is unsafe and keeping it open violates Lithuania's accession agreement. But more than 70 percent of respondents in a recent poll said they will vote Sunday to keep the station online beyond its scheduled shutdown on Dec. 31, 2009. Mistrust of Russia runs high in Lithuania because of bitter memories of the Soviet occupation — but it has been particularly acute since Russia invaded Georgia in August and sparked fears that the Kremlin had designs on other neighbors. Energy wealth has been one of the Kremlin's most potent tools in seeking greater influence among former vassal states. "I... [read full story]