Semey

Semey (Kazakh: Семей), formerly known as Semipalatinsk (Russian: Семипала́тинск, until 2007) and Alash-kala (Kazakh: Алаш-қала / Alaş-qala, 1917–1920), is a city in Kazakhstan with population of around 300,000 people.

Understand
Semipalatinsk got its start as a fort of the Russian empire in 1718 where a Buddhist monastery had existed along the Irtysh River. But probably what it is most known for is its notoriety for being close to the centre of the Soviet atomic weapons testing program known as the that was active from 1949 to 1989, about 150 miles to the west. This has had long-lasting ill effects on the populace of Semipalatinsk, which was shortened to just Semey to try to disassociate from that disastrous spectacle.

By train
Train connections include Almaty, Astana via Pavlodar and Novosibirsk.

Go next

 * Omsk and Novosibirsk in Russia
 * Oskemen
 * Pavlodar