Kazakhstan: From Nuclear Test Ground to Disarmament Champion
Kazakhstan, despite being the site of extensive Soviet nuclear testing, has emerged as a champion of nuclear disarmament. The country, which gained independence in 1991, has signed and ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Meanwhile, its people continue to grapple with the lasting effects of the twentieth-century nuclear tests.
The USSR chose the Kazakh steppe as its primary testing ground for nuclear weapons, conducting a quarter of the world's nuclear explosions there between 1949 and 1989. This decision, made without regard for local communities, exposed around 1.5 million people to harmful ionised radiation. The impact of this 'nuclear colonisation' is still felt today, with the people of Kazakhstan dealing with the toxic legacy of these tests.
Artists like Karipbek Kuyukov, born near the Semipalatinsk test site, are using their work to challenge accepted ideas and provoke emotional reactions. Kuyukov, who uses his mouth and toes to draw and paint, examines nuclear identity and decoloniality in Kazakhstan's atomic past. His art is part of a broader effort to resist colonialism and reclaim agency over Kazakhstan's radioactive legacy.
In 1989, Kazakhs rose up against Soviet nuclear colonisation, organising as the Nevada-Semipalatinsk anti-nuclear movement. They demanded the closure of the Semipalatinsk test site, which was eventually shut down that same year. While there is no specific information about organisations actively demanding nuclear compensation from Russia, general efforts to address the impacts of nuclear testing continue.
Kazakhstan's nuclear past continues to shape its present and future. While the country advocates for global nuclear disarmament, it also grapples with the local impacts of nuclear testing. Art and activism are playing crucial roles in addressing this legacy, challenging colonial narratives, and reclaiming agency for the people of Kazakhstan.
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