Semey
Kazakhstan · Abai Region · 200 m
Description
Semey was called Semipalatinsk and the name still attaches to the test site on the steppe west of it, where the Soviet Union fired more than four hundred nuclear devices over forty years while people went on living around the perimeter. The monument in town called Stronger than Death is for them. The city is also a literary place, the exile of Dostoyevsky for five years and the home ground of the poet Abai, and both have museums here. Visiting the test site itself needs a permit from the radiation safety institute, and its status is not dependable.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 1 to 3 days (optimal 2 days)
Travel season
Best time to visit: June or September
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Stronger than Death monument
- Dostoyevsky literary museum
- Abai Kunanbayev museum
- Zhidebay mausoleum complex of Abai and Shakarim(Day trip)
- Suspension bridge over the Irtysh
- Test site museum at Kurchatov(Day trip)
- Regional museum of local lore
- Voskresensky cathedral
- Ground zero and the Atomic Lake(Multi-day trip)
- Semey pine forest reserve(Day trip)
Getting there
- Airports:
- PLX
- Train stations:
- Semey