Six decades ago, the Soviet Union conducted its inaugural nuclear test, code-named “First Lightning,” at a test facility situated on the vast steppe of northeast Kazakhstan, formerly known as the Kazakh SSR.
This site, the Semipalatinsk Polygon, would serve as the stage for a staggering 450(+) atomic explosions over the course of four decades. The unsuspecting residents in the surrounding region unwittingly thus became test subjects, exposed to the far-reaching consequences of these detonations. The question of how much was done by design, however, remains. To what extent was the harm inflicted a product of unforeseen consequences and accidents, and to what degree was it a result of deliberate choices and preexisting knowledge of the severe consequences that would be brought upon the individuals living near the test site regions?
The aftermath of these nuclear blasts has left a silent but devastating impact on three generations of people in Kazakhstan, affecting hundreds of thousands of individuals (estimates range from 500,000 to nearly 8 million; the exact number is hotly contested).1The Nuclear Threat Initiative. “Semipalatinsk Test Site.” Accessed August 4, 2023. Link.,2Najibullah, Farangis, and Khadisha Akaeva. “Victims Of Kazakhstan’s Soviet-Era Nuclear Tests Feel ‘Abandoned’ By Government.” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 10:00:43Z, sec. Kazakhstan. Link.,3Yan, Wudan. “The Nuclear Sins of the Soviet Union Live on in Kazakhstan.” Nature 568, no. 7750 (April 3, 2019): 22–24. Link. The toll on their health has been immense, with thyroid diseases, cancer, birth defects, deformities, premature aging, and cardiovascular ailments becoming prevalent among the affected population.
As a consequence, the life expectancy in this area lags seven years behind the national average of Kazakhstan, with the most heavily impacted regions experiencing up to a 10 year decrease.4Balmukhanov, S. B. “Medical Effects and Dosimetric Data from Nuclear Tests at the Semipalatinsk Test Site:” Fort Belvoir, VA: Defense Technical Information Center, October 1, 2006. Link.
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