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Polygon (Kazakhstan)
The Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site, also known as the Polygon, was the primary Soviet nuclear weapons testing ground during the Cold War. Established in 1949, after being chosen in 1947, the Polygon covers an area of about 18,000 square kilometres in eastern Kazakhstan, bigger than some European countries. It was selected as a remote, supposedly uninhabited steppe to minimize the impact on Soviet populations. The Polygon was where the USSR conducted its first atomic bomb test in 1949, marking the beginning of its nuclear weapons program. Over four decades, it hosted hundreds of nuclear explosions, including atmospheric, underground, and radioactive warfare agent tests, making it one of the most intensively used nuclear test sites in history. The Polygon symbolized Soviet military power but also created a lasting environmental and human health catastrophe. Now you can explore this nuclear wasteland, an experience that makes you feel like you’re stepping back in time, while also witnessing an apocalyptic future.
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Tours
Kazakhstan Polygon Spring Tour
Journeying from the country's capital to the former capital, via some of the craziest nuclear testing sites on the planet.
Kazakhstan Polygon Spring Budget Tour
Kazakhstan’s answer to Chernobyl, the test site at Semeypalatinsk is where the Soviet Union did the majority of their nuclear testing.
Kazakhstan Polygon Summer Tour
You might have heard of Chernobyl, but have you ever heard of the Semepalatinsk Testing Sites? Hundreds of dystopian kilometres in the north of Kazakhstan, you've got to see it to believe it.
Kazakhstan Polygon Summer Budget Tour
Putting Chernobyl to shame, this is your chance to see the Soviet nuclear testing sites of Northern Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan Polygon Autumn Tour
Makes Chernobyl look like child's play!
Kazakhstan Polygon Autumn Budget Tour
From Semey to Kurchatov, we’ll explore the sites of the Soviet nuclear testing program.