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Semipalatinsk: 60 years later
Between 1949 and 1989, the Soviet Union conducted 456 nuclear tests at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in what is today Kazakhstan. It did so with little regard for the local population's safety or health. Sixty years have gone by since the first test, but for the Kazakh people, the Soviet testing program still presents a complicated legacy.
The lasting toll of Semipalatinsk's nuclear testing
On August 29, 1949, the Soviet Union exploded its first nuclear weapon at the Semipalatinsk Test Site on the Kazakh steppe. Today, six decades later, the health impacts are still being felt.
The world must abolish nuclear weapons
Looking back at a 60-year legacy of Soviet nuclear testing in his country, the secretary of Kazakhstan's National Security Committee writes that the world must rededicate itself to abolishing nuclear weapons.
The shared sins of Soviet and U.S. nuclear testing
A new documentary helps illustrate the sad truth that neither the totalitarian Soviet Union nor the democratic United States protected those most affected by their testing programs.
Beryllium: Giving Kazakhstan the business
U.S. plans to partner with the former Soviet republic are already making some people sick.
Test anxiety
Beginning in 1949, the Soviet Union used a considerable chunk of Kazakhstan to test its weapons. There have been more than 450 nuclear explosions at Semipalatinsk.
A dosimeter for every dacha
A wealth of radiation horror stories, first from emigres and now from the Soviet mass media and even official sources, suggests that the Soviet public's growing nuclear fears are justified.
Nevada, U.S.S.R.
A new Soviet antinuclear group called Nevada--a name chosen to attract the attention of the U.S. antinuclear activists--has had an impressive first year.
Soviet nuclear testing, August 29, 1949-October 24, 1990
Since the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, information on the country's nuclear testing has spilled out. What follows is an excerpt from an NRDC report on Soviet testing history.
A "temporarily nuclear state"
Kazakh law says that all objects on its territory belong to it--including 1,400 nuclear warheads and bombs.
Kazakhstan: Finding its own way
From the very beginning of its emergence as a state in the aftermath of the Soviet Union, there has been something special about Kazakhstan: It has been peaceful.