Semey (Semipalatinsk)

Semey (Semipalatinsk) - darkometer rating : 4 - A city in the east of Kazakhstan , whose old name of Semipalatinsk is forever associated with the Soviet -era nuclear test site ( Polygon ). The devastating legacy of decades of nearby nuclear testing is the subject of a couple of local museums and a dedicated monument. Other than that the city also serves as a good base for further dark explorations in the area. > More background info > What there is to see > Location > Access and costs > Time required > Combinations with other dark destinations > Combinations with non-dark destinations > Photos More background info: for the history and other background information on nuclear testing at the Semipalatinsk Test Site (STS) see under Polygon and Kurchatov , especially its Museum of the Test Site . The city of Semipalatinsk has been renamed Semey partly to shake off the negative connotations of the old name, and also in line with a general trend of "Kazakhification" of place names all over the country (cf. Astana , Almaty , etc.). But its historical origins go back to early 18th century Tsarist Russian expansion into the south-east, resulting in the construction of a fortress on the river Irtysh. It developed into a trading post, and for a while also had notable political significance during the early 20th century in particular. During the Soviet era it was at least a regional capital, but in independent Kazakhstan it lost that status in 1997 when the Semipalatinsk region was merged into East Kazakhstan, whose capital is Ust-Kamenogorsk (or Oskemen, as that place's parallel name goes). Economic decline too accompanied the post-independence fate of the city, but things are slowly looking up a bit again. One symbol of contemporary hopes is the shiny new suspension bridge over the Irtysh river, built with support from Japan .