Kurchatov, Kazakhstan

Kurchatov (in Kazakh and Russian: Курча́тов) is a town in East Kazakhstan Province in northeast Kazakhstan. Named after Soviet nuclear physicist Igor Kurchatov, the town was once the centre of operations for the adjoining Semipalatinsk Test Site. With the cessation of nuclear testing and the decomissioning of the test site, Kurchatov's population has fallen from over 20,000 to around 8,000. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/4501810.stm "In pictures: Kazakh nuclear town"] , BBC News website, 2005-12-06] In its heyday Kurchatov (which was known by its postal code Semipalatinsk-16) was a closed city, one of the most secretive and restricted places in the Soviet Union.

Kurchatov is located on the south bank of the Irtysh River at its confluence with the Chagan River. A railway connects it to the nearby village of Moldary to the west and to Semey 100 miles to the east. [ [http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/russia/semipalatinsk-16_nuc.htm Semipalatinsk-16] page at Global Security]

The nuclear facilities at Kurchatov are managed by the Kazakhstan Institute of Atomic Energy, a division of the country's National Nuclear Center.

References

External links

* [http://www.neutron.kth.se/gallery/conferences/iaea_semipalatinsk/kurchatov/page_01.htm Photographs of Kurchatov] taken by an IAEA delegate
* [http://www.travelpod.com/photos/0/Kazakhstan/Kurchatov.html Photographs of buildings in Kurchatov]