The city of Stepnogorsk in Kazakhstan, which played a key role in the nuclear weapons of the Soviet Union, was held by the Kremlin secret from the Western bloc during the Cold War, in particular from the USA.
ANADOLOSISSIA Film group captured life in Stepnogorsk, located 200 kilometers from the capital of Kazakhstan Astana.
The city during the USSR was not even marked on maps, and was the “secret project” of the Soviet regime. Its construction began in 1964, after the world’s largest Uranus deposit was discovered here.
At the Stepnogorsk Mining and Chemical Plant, Uranus was produced – the main raw material necessary for the development of Soviet nuclear weapons.
The first nuclear test in the USSR was carried out in Kazakhstan in 1949. Thanks to this enterprise, the Soviet Union managed to catch up with the United States in terms of nuclear weapons.
Despite the fact that the object was located on the territory of the Kazakhstani SSR, it obeyed directly orders from Moscow. The city to this day carries traces of the Cold War.
Each building in the city was built taking into account the likelihood of a nuclear strike from the United States. Under each structure at a great depth, a bunker is built.
A local school teacher, historian Karat Baltasulah told Anadol that Stepnogorsk today resembles an open -air museum, describing the period of the Cold War between the two superpowers.
According to him, the city was built taking into account the probability of a nuclear attack. “Stepnogorsk is located between the hills. In the case of a nuclear war, the city would become one of the main goals,” he said.
Baltashuli emphasized that in the event of a nuclear blow in the city, a large number of bomb shelters were created. They stored supplies that would be enough for local residents for the next 20 years, he said.
Stepnogorsk played a key role not only in the nuclear weapons of the USSR, but also in the development of biological weapons.
In 1970, Moscow decided to create a progress microbiological complex in Stepnogorsk. The object was built 14 km from the city, equipped with a laboratory and a bunker at a depth of 8 floors. The best specialists of the entire Soviet Union worked here.
According to official information, fertilizers and pesticides were produced here, but in fact, the development of various biological weapons were conducted.
About 30 percent of the population of Stepnogorsk today are older people.