Inside the Semipalatinsk Test Site, scientists tested the impact of nuclear bombs on animals, buildings, cars and food. Each test included several nuclear bombs, above and below ground.
Residents in the surrounding area of the Polygon became unwitting guinea pigs, exposed to the aftereffects of the bombs both intentionally and unintentionally. The radiation has silently devastated three generations of people in Kazakhstan - the total number affected is thought to be more than one million - creating health problems ranging from thyroid diseases, cancer, birth defects, deformities, premature aging, and cardiovascular diseases.
The Polygon is an area in north-central Kazakhstan where the Soviet Union conducted over 450 nuclear test. Each test included several nuclear bombs, above and below ground. Many Kazaks suffer deformities or have died from the radioactive fallout.
Andrea Bruce-The Washington Post
In 1963, all nuclear tests, except those conducted underground, were prohibited by the Partial Test Ban Treaty, which was signed by the United States, Soviet Union and United Kingdom.
Andrea Bruce-The Washington Post
The region of Kazakhstan has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, according to local health officials. Many young men who discover they are impotent -- one of the effects of nuclear fallout -- end their own lives.
Scientist examine the levels of radioactivity that still exist in the Polygon in Kazakhstan.
A nuclear scientist uses a geiger counter to test radiation levels.
August 29, 1949, was the first nuclear explosion on the polygon. On August 29, 1991, the Polygon was officially closed.
The Polygon is an area in north-central Kazakhstan where the Soviet Union conducted over 450 nuclear test. Each test included several nuclear bombs, above and below ground. Many Kazaks suffer deformities or have died from the radioactive fallout.
Andrea Bruce-The Washington Post
The widespread contamination of soil and water prevents the land from being farmed, and most residents face unemployment because of the lack of opportunity.
Andrea Bruce-The Washington Post
A date is painted on the wall of a building that was part of nuclear testing in the Polygon region. Testing took place from 1949 to 1989.
Andrea Bruce-The Washington Post
National statistics show that the eastern Kazakhstan region has one of the highest mortality rates in the country. Many Kazakhs suffer deformities or have died from the radioactive fallout.
Andrea Bruce-The Washington Post
A model of the nuclear testing ground in the Polygon of Kazakhstan stands at a museum in the city of Kurchatov, detailing the nuclear testing conducted by the Soviet Union in Kazakhstan.
A model of the nuclear testing ground in the Polygon of Kazakhstan stands at a museum detailing the nuclear testing conducted by the Soviet Union in Kazakhstan in the city of Kurchatov, Kazakhstan.
Andrea Bruce-The Washington Post
Looters have managed to get inside the test site's tunnels and steal scrap metal and contaminated copper cables as a means of survival.
Andrea Bruce-The Washington Post
A memorial to the victims of the Soviet Union's nuclear testing in Kazakhstan stands in Semey, the biggest city in the region.
Andrea Bruce-The Washington Post
Barik Syzdykov, 30, sings a Kazakh folk song while playing the dombra in Semey, Kazakhstan. His face is covered with tumors, a direct result of the nuclear testing that the Soviet Union preformed on the Polygon area of Kazakhstan, which includes the city of Semey.
Andrea Bruce-The Washington Post
Zeynelkhan Syzdykova cries while listening to her son Barik Syzdykov, who was affected by the nuclear testing, play the dombra in the city of Semey.
Andrea Bruce-The Washington Post
Barik Syzdykov, right, lives part time in an apartment with his brother, sister-in-law Zarina Sholtykova and nephew Eldar Karimov in Semey, Kazakhstan.
Andrea Bruce-The Washington Post
Barik Syzdykov, left, laughs with his sister-in-law, Zarina Sholtykova, and nephew Eldar Karimov.
Andrea Bruce-The Washington Post
Barik Syzdykov, left, sits next to his sister-in-law Zarina Sholtykova and nephew Eldar Karimov in Semey, Kazakhstan.
Andrea Bruce-The Washington Post
Barik Syzdykov plays with his nephew Eldar Karimov in Semey.
Andrea Bruce-The Washington Post
Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev is broadcast on the television. He has served as the nation's president since the fall of the Soviet Union and the country's independence in 1991. He is criticized by some for slow action on widespread corruption, suppression of opposition, unfair elections and insufficient freedom of speech.
Andrea Bruce-The Washington Post
Barik Syzdykov smokes in the hallway of his apartment in Semey.
Andrea Bruce-The Washington Post
Nuclear fallout from the tests has caused physical and mental deformities in many of the residents of local villages.
Andrea Bruce-The Washington Post
Barik Syzdykov, left, thanks his sister-in-law in an apartment that they share in Semey.
Andrea Bruce-The Washington Post
Zeynelkhan Syzdykova walks outside her son's apartment building with her other son, Barik Syzdykov, where he lives part-time in the city of Semey.
Andrea Bruce-The Washington Post
Barik Syzdykov smokes outside his mother's house while his mother, Zeynelkhan Syzdykova, walks inside.
Andrea Bruce-The Washington Post
Soviet-style apartments, seen through a fogged window, supply most housing in Kazakhstan.
Andrea Bruce-The Washington Post
The Center for Disabled Children in Semey, Kazakhstan, helps children with like Almas Kazezor, who has mental and physical disabilities due to nuclear testing that the Soviet Union preformed on the Polygon area of Kazakhstan.
Andrea Bruce-The Washington Post
The Center for Disabled Children in Semey, Kazakhstan, helps children such as Almas Kazezor, left, who were affected by nuclear testing in the area.
Andrea Bruce-The Washington Post
Isylzhan Tiyanak, right, receives help from the Center for Disabled Children in Semey.
Andrea Bruce-The Washington Post
Alexander Shakhvorostov, 56, and his brother Anatoliy Shakhvorostov, 53, live in Dolon, Kazakhstan, where their mother takes care of them. Both are severely mentally disabled. Their disabilities are a direct result of nuclear testing the Soviet Union preformed on the Polygon area of Kazakhstan, which includes the village of Dolon.
Andrea Bruce-The Washington Post
Alexander Shakhvorostov, 56, walks in his house in Dolon, Kazakhstan, where his mother takes care of him and his brother.
Andrea Bruce-The Washington Post
Alexander Shakhvorostov has diseased feet as a result of nuclear testing. Local officials say there were hundreds of thousands of people, possibly as many as a million, who lived in the Polygon region during the nuclear testing.
Andrea Bruce-The Washington Post
Lyudmila Shakhvorostova stands between her sons, Anatoliy and Alexander Shakhvorostov, in their small house in Dolon, Kazakhstan.
Andrea Bruce-The Washington Post
Gallery Credits:
Text Reporter Andrea Bruce
Text Editor Heather Farrell
