Nuclear testing at Semipalatinsk and its aftermath (1949–1991 & legacy)

1. USSR selects Semipalatinsk as main test site

   Jan 1, 1947Labels: Semipalatinsk Test, Soviet Ministry

   • NTI
   • e History

2. First Soviet atomic bomb tested at Semipalatinsk

   Aug 29, 1949Labels: RDS-1, Semipalatinsk Test

   • KAS Timeline
   • NTI

3. Atmospheric testing expands, exposing nearby populations

   Jan 1, 1951Labels: Atmospheric Testing, Downwind Communities

   • NTI
   • Bulletin

4. Limited Test Ban Treaty pushes testing underground

   Oct 10, 1963Labels: Limited Test, Soviet Nuclear

   • National Archives
   • NTI

5. Chagan “peaceful” test creates an artificial lake

   Jan 15, 1965Labels: Chagan Test, Lake Chagan

   • Chagan Test
   • IAEA INIS

6. Large-scale testing continues through late Soviet period

   Jan 1, 1980Labels: Semipalatinsk Test, Soviet Nuclear

   • NTI
   • Bulletin

7. Nevada–Semipalatinsk movement launches mass protests

   Feb 28, 1989Labels: Nevada Semipalatinsk, Olzhas Suleimenov

   • CTBTO Youth
   • Kazakh Movement

8. Last nuclear explosion conducted at Semipalatinsk

   Oct 19, 1989Labels: Final Test, Semipalatinsk Test

   • IAEA INIS
   • Bulletin

9. Kazakh SSR decrees closure of Semipalatinsk Test Site

   Aug 29, 1991Labels: Nursultan Nazarbayev, Site Closure

   • TIME
   • UN Chronicle

10. Kazakhstan commits to non-nuclear status via Lisbon Protocol

    May 23, 1992Labels: Lisbon Protocol, Kazakhstan

    • Congress gov
    • FAS NPT

11. Budapest Memorandum gives security assurances to Kazakhstan

    Dec 5, 1994Labels: Budapest Memorandum, Security Assurances

    • Budapest Memo
    • FAS NPT

12. Secret project begins to secure plutonium at Degelen Mountain

    Jan 1, 1996Labels: Degelen Mountain, Plutonium Project

    • Belfer Center
    • Semipalatinsk Site

13. Treaty of Semipalatinsk creates Central Asian nuclear-weapon-free zone

    Sep 8, 2006Labels: Treaty of, Central Asia

    • UN NWFZ
    • RFE RL

14. UN creates International Day against Nuclear Tests

    Dec 2, 2009Labels: UN International, Semipalatinsk Closure

    • UN Day
    • UN Chronicle

15. Degelen Mountain plutonium security operation completes

    Oct 1, 2012Labels: Degelen Operation, Plutonium Cleanup

    • Belfer Center
    • Semipalatinsk Site