“The Soviets did have safeguards”
Don’t Soviet/Russian power plants lack one important safety feature - a giant concrete containment dome.
It has one now......................
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/04/27/science/chernobyl-capping-a-catastrophe.html
Yes, that is exactly what Chernobyl did not have. A 6’ thick steel reinforced concrete containment dome.
According to my former neighbor who worked on the construction of the Seabrook, NH Nuclear plant, the dome was built to withstand a direct hit by a 747.