Kazakhstan

Kazakhs Remember Their Country's Nuclear Past

David Trilling Jul 14, 2009
The Park of Nuclear Technologies lies in Kurchatov, 60 kilometers from the site of the 1949 test and on the edge of the Polygon. The Park of Nuclear Technologies lies in Kurchatov, 60 kilometers from the site of the 1949 test and on the edge of the Polygon.
Buttons and dials with labels in English, Chinese and Russian line the control panel of machinery in a retooled factory. Buttons and dials with labels in English, Chinese and Russian line the control panel of machinery in a retooled factory.
A video inside the museum in Kurchatov educates visitors about Kazakhstan's nuclear legacy. A video inside the museum in Kurchatov educates visitors about Kazakhstan's nuclear legacy.
A study by the Kazakh National Nuclear Center found a "complicated radiation situation" in the flood lands of the Shagan River. A study by the Kazakh National Nuclear Center found a "complicated radiation situation" in the flood lands of the Shagan River.
A retiree in Semey, formerly Semipalatinsk, displays a Soviet-era pin on the lapel of his blazer. A retiree in Semey, formerly Semipalatinsk, displays a Soviet-era pin on the lapel of his blazer.
Local residents cheer for Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev at Peace Mission 2009, a rally in the town of Semey. Local residents cheer for Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev at Peace Mission 2009, a rally in the town of Semey.
Nazarbayev arrives at the rally under a memorial to the victims of nuclear testing in the town of Semey. Nazarbayev arrives at the rally under a memorial to the victims of nuclear testing in the town of Semey.
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For more than 40 years the Soviet-era nuclear test site of the Polygon, located in eastern Kazakhstan about 60 kilometers from Kurchatov, witnessed more than 450 test nuclear detonations. During a rally in Semey, location of the Polygon test site and formerly called Semipalatinsk, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev headlined the Peace Mission 2009 rally, held ahead of the 20th anniversary of the moratorium at Semipalatinsk, where the last test took place on October 19, 1989.

David Trilling is the Central Asia news editor for EurasiaNet.

David Trilling is Eurasianet’s managing editor.

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