Atomic Steppe: How Kazakhstan Gave Up the Bomb
Atomic Steppe tells the untold true story of how the obscure country of Kazakhstan said no to the most powerful weapons in human history. With the fall of the Soviet Union, the marginalized Central Asian republic suddenly found itself with the world's fourth largest nuclear arsenal on its territory. Would it give up these fire-ready weapons—or try to become a Central Asian North Korea?

This book takes us inside Kazakhstan's extraordinary and little-known nuclear history from the Soviet period to the present. For Soviet officials, Kazakhstan's steppe was not an ecological marvel or beloved homeland, but an empty patch of dirt ideal for nuclear testing. Two-headed lambs were just the beginning of the resulting public health disaster for Kazakhstan—compounded, when the Soviet Union collapsed, by the daunting burden of becoming an overnight nuclear power.

Equipped with intimate personal perspective and untapped archival resources, Togzhan Kassenova introduces us to the engineers turned diplomats, villagers turned activists, and scientists turned pacifists who worked toward disarmament. With thousands of nuclear weapons still present around the world, the story of how Kazakhs gave up their nuclear inheritance holds urgent lessons for global security.

1138846548
Atomic Steppe: How Kazakhstan Gave Up the Bomb
Atomic Steppe tells the untold true story of how the obscure country of Kazakhstan said no to the most powerful weapons in human history. With the fall of the Soviet Union, the marginalized Central Asian republic suddenly found itself with the world's fourth largest nuclear arsenal on its territory. Would it give up these fire-ready weapons—or try to become a Central Asian North Korea?

This book takes us inside Kazakhstan's extraordinary and little-known nuclear history from the Soviet period to the present. For Soviet officials, Kazakhstan's steppe was not an ecological marvel or beloved homeland, but an empty patch of dirt ideal for nuclear testing. Two-headed lambs were just the beginning of the resulting public health disaster for Kazakhstan—compounded, when the Soviet Union collapsed, by the daunting burden of becoming an overnight nuclear power.

Equipped with intimate personal perspective and untapped archival resources, Togzhan Kassenova introduces us to the engineers turned diplomats, villagers turned activists, and scientists turned pacifists who worked toward disarmament. With thousands of nuclear weapons still present around the world, the story of how Kazakhs gave up their nuclear inheritance holds urgent lessons for global security.

32.0 In Stock
Atomic Steppe: How Kazakhstan Gave Up the Bomb

Atomic Steppe: How Kazakhstan Gave Up the Bomb

by Togzhan Kassenova
Atomic Steppe: How Kazakhstan Gave Up the Bomb
Add to Wishlist
Atomic Steppe: How Kazakhstan Gave Up the Bomb

Atomic Steppe: How Kazakhstan Gave Up the Bomb

by Togzhan Kassenova

Overview

Atomic Steppe tells the untold true story of how the obscure country of Kazakhstan said no to the most powerful weapons in human history. With the fall of the Soviet Union, the marginalized Central Asian republic suddenly found itself with the world's fourth largest nuclear arsenal on its territory. Would it give up these fire-ready weapons—or try to become a Central Asian North Korea?

This book takes us inside Kazakhstan's extraordinary and little-known nuclear history from the Soviet period to the present. For Soviet officials, Kazakhstan's steppe was not an ecological marvel or beloved homeland, but an empty patch of dirt ideal for nuclear testing. Two-headed lambs were just the beginning of the resulting public health disaster for Kazakhstan—compounded, when the Soviet Union collapsed, by the daunting burden of becoming an overnight nuclear power.

Equipped with intimate personal perspective and untapped archival resources, Togzhan Kassenova introduces us to the engineers turned diplomats, villagers turned activists, and scientists turned pacifists who worked toward disarmament. With thousands of nuclear weapons still present around the world, the story of how Kazakhs gave up their nuclear inheritance holds urgent lessons for global security.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781503632431
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Publication date: 02/15/2022
Pages: 384
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Togzhan Kassenova is senior fellow at the Universityat Albany, SUNY and a nonresident fellow of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Table of Contents

Maps, Tables, and Photographs ix

Acknowledgments xi

Explanatory Notes xv

Abbreviations xvii

Part 1 Ruled By Russia, Scarred By Nuclear Tests: Kazakhstan Under The Russian Shadow

Prologue 3

1 The Steppe 12

2 Forty Years of Nuclear Tests 29

3 The Human Toll 54

4 The Nation Rises 73

5 The Swan Song of the Soviet Union 100

Part 2 Freedom Dawns, but the Arsenal Remains

6 Fears in Washington and Alma-Ata 125

7 A Temporary Nuclear Power 145

8 The Final Push 172

9 Project Sapphire and the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program 185

10 Farewell to Bombs 208

Epilogue: Reimagining the Atomic Steppe 243

Notes 277

Bibliography 325

Index 351

From the B&N Reads Blog
Page 1 of

Related Subjects

Current Affairs & Politics
Diplomacy & International Relations
Military Policy
Arms Control & Disarmament
Current Affairs & Politics
Diplomacy & International Relations
Military Policy
Arms Control & Disarmament

Customer Reviews