Kimberley Hawryluk

The Polygon: The Untold Secret of the Soviet Union's Nuclear Testing Program in Kazakhstan

Adam Schomer, Kimberley Hawryluk

The Polygon shines a light on the village of Sarzhal in East Kazakhstan, situated only 18kms from the perimeter of the former Semipalatinsk Test Site, that was home to over 600 nuclear detonations. Between 1949 and 1991 the Soviet Union detonated 116 above ground bombs, whose massive radioactive mushroom clouds were witnessed by thousands of innocent and unsuspecting Kazakh villagers. They gazed openmouthed at the spectacle, completely unaware that nuclear fallout was raining down on them, their children, livestock and homes. 20 years after the closure of The Polygon they are still suffering high rates of cancer, cancer related diseases and mental illness. The Polygon takes us on a journey from the twisted Cold War experiments to those victims who remain today, still suffering despite the emergence of Kazakhstan as a major economic player on the global stage.