Talk:Semipalatinsk Test Site

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Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 08:57, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 16 August 2021 and 17 December 2021. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Kmcolgan.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 08:57, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Location of Balapan
In article wroten "Balapan subcomplex in the STS's southwest" but at the map Balapan subcomplex is in the southeast of area. samething wrong. Stepanovas 15:16, 10 July 2005 (UTC)


 * Yes, well spotted; I fixed and clarified that, and added some more info. A marginally better map is at, which also shows another test complex that I'll have to investigate. I think the eastern margin of the STS is formed by the Chagan (Shagan) River (and I believe than the Shagan River site was/is a site used extensively for missile testing).  Maps and texts (particularly english ones) are pretty hard to come by for this whole area, so I'd very much welcome input and clarification about the site and its geography.  I have the original Inkscape file used to create the maps, so I can fix and augment them as necessary. -- Finlay McWalter |  Talk 16:41, July 10, 2005 (UTC)


 * Yes. The Murzhik site is real (it is known as Area M, also as Sary-Uzen). I don't know why many maps don't show it. The Chagan river runs along the southeast edge of the Balapan area inside the Semipalatinsk boundaries. No missile testing here; you may be thinking of Sary-Shagan, and area south-southeast of Semipalatinsk which is a huge test area for missile systems and a target area for the missiles in the K project, which were launched at the western end of Kazakhstan at Kaputsin Yar.  See the map on the K Project page.

Which nomads
In the article the following sentence require citation: "The first Soviet bomb, Operation First Lightning (nicknamed Joe One by the Americans) was conducted in 1949 from a tower at the Semipalatinsk Test Site, scattering fallout on nearby villages of Kazakh nomads (which Beria had neglected to evacuate). " Otherwise delete or correct this information. You claim that "scattering fallout on nearby villages of Kazakh nomads". Why is only on "villages of Kazakh nomads"? Do you claim there was no other nationalities living in that area during test? Or all others but Kazakhs were evacuated? My grandparents and my father were living at that exact site which was effected by fallout during First Lightning and other consequent operations. I am not Kazakh. My people had thousand years agricultural history by that time. Also, you claim lacking some logic, you say "villages of ... nomads", how nomads can have villages? According Cambridge Dicionary definition village is "a group of houses and other buildings, such as a church, a school and some shops, which is smaller than a town, usually in the countryside". It assumes settled people living in one place. Nomads do not live in one place by definition: Nomad is "a member of a group of people who move from one place to another rather than living in one place all of the time". Just because of that Kazakn nomads you claim to be stuck during experiments could have easily move to another place to live on their horses as that is what they do and what makes them nomads. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Olgaskrip (talk • contribs) 2 June 2008


 * The villages of other nationalities were also affected by the fallout. The Soviet government did not value human life, and the Semipalatinsk Test Site was located too close to populated areas. Whoever your people are (you did not mention), the fact that they had a thousand years of agricultural history is irrelevant, unless you somehow connect this to the topic at hand or put it in comparison with Kazakh heritage. There is plenty of agricultural and other history as well on the part of the Kazakhs. It may be useful for you to read about the earlier history of Almaty. Also, Kazakh nomads do have villages. There are summer villages (jaylaw), and winter villages (qystaw). The summer villages have temporary structures such as yurts and tents, and the winter villages have permanent structures. Finally, even if we consider the mobility of the Kazakh nomads, the ones who lived near the Semipalatinsk Test Site were certainly not informed by the government about the nuclear tests, and therefore would not know to move away from it. Radiation is not something that is easy to perceive or to understand. Selerian (talk) 21:34, 6 September 2009 (UTC)

Faulty map
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wfm_sts_overview.png is wrong. Toshkent is situated in Uzbekistan, not in Kazakhstan as the map shows. Move Toshkent (Tashkent) south of the border, add Shymkent north of the border as it is the most important roadcrossing between Europe-Russia, China and India, the three biggest population centers in the world. Roger491127 (talk) 00:25, 19 May 2012 (UTC)

The map
The map is horrible... everything is not accurate in that map... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.120.241.173 (talk) 19:31, 20 March 2017 (UTC)
 * Feel free to create a better one! Batternut (talk) 19:59, 20 March 2017 (UTC)

1991 detonation
may be worth mentioning the 1991 detonation mentoned in 1990 Soviet nuclear tests in the legacy section.©Geni (talk) 20:57, 13 December 2023 (UTC)