Opinions

35 Years After Semipalatinsk: From Nuclear Tragedy to Global Responsibility

By Dauren Aben on 28 August 2026

On Aug. 29, 1991, Kazakhstan made a decision that would shape not only its own history, but also its place in the world. By decree, the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site was permanently closed. Thirty-five years later, the significance of that decision has acquired an even broader meaning. Between 1949...