Semey
The first Russian settlement in the area dates from 1718, when Russia built a fort beside the river Irtysh, near the ruins of an ancient Buddhist monastery, where seven buildings could be seen.[citation needed] A small city developed around the fort, and largely served the river trade between the nomadic peoples of Central Asia and the growing Russian Empire.The construction of the Turkestan-Siberia Railway in the early 20th century added to the city's importance, making it a major point of transit between Central Asia and Siberia.Between 1917 and 1920, the city operated as the capital of the largely unrecognized Alash Autonomy, a state (1917–1920) established after the outbreak of the October Revolution in Russia.In 1949 the Soviet atomic bomb programme selected a site on the steppe 180 km (110 mi) west of the city as the location for its weapons testing.[3] Some land around Semey has suffered environmental and health effects from the time of its atomic prosperity: nuclear fallout from the atmospheric tests and uncontrolled exposure of the workers, some of whom lived in the area close to the testsite, have resulted in high rates of cancer, childhood leukemia, and birth defects among the residents of neighbouring villages.
KazakhCountryKazakhstanRegionAbai RegionTime zoneTime in KazakhstanPostal codeArea codeVehicle registrationRussianSiberiaIrtysh RiverRussiaAlmatyIrtyshBuddhistCentral AsiaRussian EmpireTurkestan-Siberia RailwaySemipalatinsk OblastAlash AutonomyOctober RevolutionRed ArmyPetrogradSoviet atomic bomb programmesteppeKurchatovIgor KurchatovSoviet UnionSemipalatinsk Test Sitecancerleukemiabirth defectsEast Kazakhstan RegionOskemenSemey BridgePresidentTokayevRegion of Kazakhstanwarm-summer humid continental climateKöppen climate classificationprecipitationrelative humiditysunshine hoursDeutscher WetterdienstTurkestan–Siberia RailwayAlma-AtaBarnaulNovosibirskAbay QunanbayuliKazakh SSRPavel BazhovFyodor DostoevskyWladimir KlitschkoStanislav KurilovSergey LetovVladimir LisitsinAbai QunanbaiulyNinety OnetwinnedBelgiumAnti-nuclear movement in KazakhstanNational Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationAksuatAyagozBeskaragayBorodulikhaKokpektiMakanshiUrzharZhanasemeyZharmaCities in KazakhstanAstanaAktobeArkalykAtyrauBaikonurBalkhashEkibastuzJezkazganKapchagayKaragandaKentauKokshetauKostanayKyzylordaPavlodarPetropavlovskQosshyRidderSatbayevShymkentStepnogorskTaldıqorğanTemirtauTurkistanUralskUst-KamenogorskZhanaozen