Mirroring Our Struggles: Nuclear Legacies in Oceania and Central Asia

Abstract

Semey, in eastern Kazakhstan, is approximately 2,800 kilometres from the nearest ocean. It sits on the West Siberian Plain, and the temperatures in January average around −15 degrees Celsius. Downstream from Semey, along the Irtysh River, which cuts through the city, the plains give way to an arid steppe landscape of grasses and shrubs. The population of Semey is approximately 350,000 and majority Kazakh — a Turkic and predominantly Muslim people — with a significant minority of Russians. A former resident is 19th century novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky. There’s little to suggest a connection with the Pacific Ocean, except that Semey, formerly known as Semipalatinsk, was the site of 456 nuclear tests between 1949 and 1989. This nuclear legacy links Kazakhs to I-Kiribati, Mā‘ohi Nui, and Marshallese, whose homelands and oceanscapes the United Kingdom, France, and the United States (US) considered similarly ‘remote’ for the purpose of weapons testing. The unaddressed legacy of testing in Oceania and Central Asia has given way to strong antinuclear movements in both regions — often led by younger persons — seeking colonial states to remediate harmful environmental and health outcomes. This In Brief outlines the bilateral relations between states in Oceania and Central Asia, then moves on to the shared histories of nuclear testing. Lastly, I examine civil society responses in both regions, their alliances, and the broader impact of these connections.