Semipalatinsk: The Most Nuked Place on Earth

[@geographicstravel]

Have you checked out my latest channel Business Blaze? It's interesting business stories with a dose of ridiculousness thrown in. Check it out here: kzbin.info/door/YY5GWf7MHFJ6DZeHreoXgw

[@arftejano2284]

Geographics Yesssss, keep expanding your informative empire

[@thekaiser4333]

Nonsense. This place is called Nevada Desert.

[@vmaxloner3263]

After this outright propaganda, i doubt i will watch anything from your channel again

[@kacieburdett3118]

I just love the name semipalatinsk it's so catchy.

[@pleasureincontempt3645]

I like you better when you’re serious. Your cavalier attitude in, “business blaze” is disingenuous.

[@limeyfox]

In a hot nuclear war, you try to nuke your enemy out of existence. In a Cold War, you nuke yourself repeatedly to try and scare your enemy.

[@booskie4316]

The US at least nuked the pacific islands. Too bad about days with westerly winds.

[@sean-e-boy]

@@booskie4316 they also nuked nevada?

[@booskie4316]

@@sean-e-boy How else were they going to get rid of the Roswell evidence?

[@davidcaron623]

Best answer. Good job

[@SVNFLDFN]

Yup

[@39ocean]

It used to be called Palatinsk, but so much was blown away it became Semi-Palatinsk.

[@ShahjahanMasood]

Get out

[@davidlynch1958]

Booo

[@greenkoopa]

I applaud your capitalist attempt at humor

[@ME262MKI]

I was about to write the same.... damn it!

[@4T3hM4kr0n]

AHAHAHAHAHAHA oh my god! (falls over laughing)

[@d0y0uwantm0re]

Scientists: We designed a bomb so powerful that even just one can render the enemy’s homeland unliveable for thousands of years. Soviet Leaders: Let’s test 200 of them in our own homeland!

[@surfinsilver]

456*

[@richardmarty9939]

The Soviet Tsar Bomba was actually a 100 megaton design purposely downsized to 50 megatons through the replacement of internal reactive uranium parts with inert lead... Thanks Krushchev!

[@oldstudbuck3583]

wantafanta01 the USA always does more and do it better than anyone else. That’s why the USA is number 1! Get onboard or stay out of the way.

[@kurtpatterson509]

The USA exploded twice as many.

[@teebosaurusyou]

@@richardmarty9939 Even with that, it put out a much higher yield than expected.

[@SlayerBG93]

I live in a ex soviet state. I have a piece of advice for my western friends about estimating casualties. Everything that could make the regime look remotely bad is covered up so good a lot of the stuff you will never hear about. So whenever you hear an estimate of the deaths take the upper estimate, and then double it. Now you are probably in the ballpark of the real number.

[@o6ina]

Was BG a Soviet state, though?... Same can be applied to every country with a heavy military power and a mass destruction weapons' programs. Like the covered up consequences of the US nuclear testing on the Marshall islands.

[@SlayerBG93]

@@o6ina technicaly not part of the soviet union but part of the Warsaw pact. We were behind the iron curtain ruled by a communist government that answered to the soviet union. So close enough. And yes all governments cover up their fuckups but none do it quite like the communists.

[@francisebbecke2727]

"In the USA the past is always certain, but the future is unknown. In the Soviet Union the future is always certain, but the past is always changing." said a Soviet professor visiting the USA.

[@deyanbonchev663]

@@o6ina Bulgaria was almost the 16-th soviet state. So prety much my countryman is right.

[@o6ina]

@@deyanbonchev663 You said it - almost. А почти не се брои.

[@yehorsanko9241]

Well, here's a story: my mother was born in Semipalatinsk, her parents were teachers and there weren't that many schools in the area so they had to relocate. You guess where... To Pripyat'. They lived there for another 4 years before the explosion on the power plant. Finally, they moved to Kyiv. They're OK now... kinda, but my grandma had to fight cancer.

[@believerforever7154]

Your grandparents must be so strong to survive one of the harshest eras of mankind. If they are around, please do give them my regards. Best wishes from India!

[@RadioactiveSherbet]

That's seriously unlucky. I'm sorry.

[@believerforever7154]

@@metanumia I agree. And go era era, year by year, event by event - see what their perspective was, what their hardships were, what they felt was good, etc.

[@yourmirrorimage993]

So they relocated to another country??

[@yehorsanko9241]

@@yourmirrorimage993 yes, to Ukraine.

[@meme9935]

Man the Soviets really loved destroying Kazakhstan.

[@zoranlazarevic7526]

real-life sandbox

[@PugilistCactus]

Its not a very heavily populated place so uh... yeah.

[@barovan]

They also used Kazakhstan as a place for internal exile and sent disadents to Alamty (where I live). If I remember correctly the largest Gulag was also here. But I don't remember the name.

[@Ake-TL]

Jeff Stier we even have diaspore of Pontic Greeks who were moved here from Caucasus, though it’s small

[@Ake-TL]

Pickled Sausages well, Semipalatinsk was a major city and Syrdaria river region is one of the more heavily populated regions

[@gangpardos3833]

Americans: I’m glad we get all this compensation for getting hit with radiation. Khazahstanians : Wow I only get $12 a month. Russians: You’re getting paid?!?!

[@poonoi1968]

@@AO00720 only afganistanians would say that

[@ShahjahanMasood]

@@poonoi1968 you sound like Bulgarianian

[@cookietraction2966]

Shahjahan Masood you ruined it both other countries mentioned end in N while Bulgaria ends with A.

[@rsmith155]

Idiot

[@davidlynch1958]

@Cameron Kincaid is joke pendejo

[@andrewedmunds4583]

My grandparents were actually downwinders. My Grandmother said that they could climb to the top of the hill next to their town and spot the mushroom cloud in the distance whenever a test was done. Fast forward to today, my grandmother is now dead in part thanks to cancer complications, and my grandfather is currently going through another round of treatments. I'm very thankful that they've been able to get the compensation that they did.

[@AlexFilozof1996]

But capitalist's bomb is less dangerous than those from the Communists . Ha ha. America killed him and you would probably never accept that there is no big difference between communists and capitalists, both wanted control over more resources.

[@TroutBoneless]

Wait the soviets compensated the people they nuked? The US should tell think about doing that

[@cloeshay87]

@@TroutBoneless no baby I think they were referencing the test in America

[@surianikki4219]

@@TroutBoneless Clearly you didnt watched/listened carefully to the video. Literally creator told that the US compensated downwinders alot while Kazakh gov compensated $12/month

[@cloeshay87]

@@surianikki4219 explain what they missed but next time do it a bit nicer. We don't know how old they are and we want to teach not belittle. Have a beautiful day hunny

[@mitchellthomas5921]

My grandma grew up in St. George Utah and remembers seeing mushroom clouds at school and watching flakes of radiation fall from they sky. She got thyroid cancer but beat it thank god.

[@Aretedubs]

That's my hometown wtf lol. Was born there 98.

[@ThatShelbyGuyIgor]

You can't see radiation.

[@nocoffeebadday695]

But you can see radioactive ash and flakes from some sort of obliterated material.

[@Exeros]

@proud Dutchman. Well of course, but if someone has it, everyone needs it.

[@debbidonosenshi]

"The power to cause pain is the only power that matters, the power to kill and destroy, because if you can't kill then you are always subject to those who can, and nothing and no one will ever save you." - Ender's game

[@critictactic7090]

I come from Kazakhstan and my grandparents told me about their experience. They lived quite far away and yet had their plates shake, their doors close of their own accord and so on. The most horrific part is that they were completely, 100% convinced that these were the earthquakes. That’s how good the Soviet propaganda and information control used to be. You could always say “oh, they were mere peasants. No big deal”, but no. These were ones of the top Kazakh academics.

[@critictactic7090]

@icankillbugs this… is my wife, this is my other wife, this is my Mrs, this is my girlfriend

[@jasonwomack4064]

Fact check: False. The most nuked place on earth is a Taco Bell bathroom on New Year's Eve.

[@davonmulder5272]

U had me on the first half not gonna lie

[@MsSaudm]

vile comment on something important go away child

[@WyattRyeSway]

MsSaudm ....he made a joke. Get over yourself. Geez.

[@WyattRyeSway]

MsSaudm .....im betting everything offends you and you hold yourself in very high regard. For all you know, he is 12 years old and has every right to be on You Tube as you do. If you live in the US, Taco Bell jokes are common. So, calm down. Just because you find it offensive doesn’t mean other people won’t find humor. I am from the country that has poisoned more of the earth than any other. It’s not a fact I’m proud of but I have had people tell me anti-Russian jokes both in person and online. I usually chuckle even if it’s not something I find funny. I’ve had friends tell me holocaust jokes (I’m Jewish) that I didn’t find very funny but I smiled because I assume it was an attempt at humor. I lost relatives in the holocaust. Should I have gone to tell the teachers (I came here 4 years ago at 14). No. I assumed they meant no harm. How about trying to give a person the benefit of the doubt rather than majestically dismissing them as a child? Do you dismiss all children? I guess you must be a school, teacher huh? Now, let me clarify before you begin to get all butthurt.....that was a joke. I had some great teachers in the US. You must be a lot of fun at parties. Wow. Yikes.

[@gaylemc2692]

@@WyattRyeSway don't be so sanctimonious at the age of 18.

[@ElkStirrinTheHoney]

My uncle was a "downwinder". He lived in Hurricane, Utah. Just outside St. George. He passed away 2 years ago, from his ailments from the nuclear testing. After he got his lung transplants 12 or so years ago, the doctors told him he had 5 years to live with his new lungs. He lived for 10 years with his lungs. 10 years we are grateful for. The medicine he needed so his body wouldn't reject his lungs costed about $2,000 per month.

[@prockershamian3980]

but the guy in the video said the nuclear tests in the US didn't hurt the people nearby...

[@ElkStirrinTheHoney]

@@prockershamian3980 You didn't watch the whole video then. He said meteorologists in the US could give pinpoint accuracy of the wind, except for one time. When the wind blew east. Which placed the fallout in St. George, Utah. There was only once that they miscalculated the direction of the wind.

[@bigb252]

5ll

[@Fetidaf]

@icankillbugs rookie numbers

[@AttacMage]

didn't know hurricane got hit. amazing how far fallout can travel

[@pftgfhbk]

I was born in Semipalatinsk and spent my first 18 years there. We still have the highest cancer rate in Republic. There are rumors of people having mental problems because of the radiation. It is believed that the place was chosen intentionally in order to study radiation effects on people. And I still have my radiation passport which I never used. Soviet government is guilty for genocide of Kazakh people and the polygon is just one example.

[@thejoetandy]

What is the purpose of your radiation passport, @QBM?

[@peacefulman1523]

Joseph Stalin can rot in hell for what he did to your hometown. Only a person with a heart of iron would nuke their own citizens on purpose.

[@darthjarjar8174]

I wish people in the US that want communism and think we are so bad would here your story. Not saying the US is perfect but they are the least evil super power ever and the only one not trying to take over the whole world

[@peacefulman1523]

@@darthjarjar8174 There are no communists in the USA. I have not seen any people in the US waving USSR or North Korean flags yet.

[@darthjarjar8174]

@@peacefulman1523 I’ve seen self admitted communist and socialist. Socialism isn’t necessarily evil but its stupid and those people admire the soviets

[@mandalor45]

villager: whats that flash and bang up in the hills russian soldier: its just an earthquake don't worry about it

[@plinkitee]

Being told it's just an earthquake wouldn't make me feel any better.

[@evilemuempire9550]

If I’ve learned anything, when someone tells you not to worry about something, you worry

[@TotalRookie_LV]

"Don't worry!" - he said, put on black sunglasses and took something, that looked like a polished metal pen - "Now, we need to check your eyesight after that flash. Look at the red dot, please!"

[@UnchainedAmerica]

@@plinkitee People in that region were poorly educated and no doubt very naive.

[@UnchainedAmerica]

@@TotalRookie_LV "Don't worry" is the Soviet Union favorite motto.

[@mikelandon8479]

"if you've ever been to Chernobyl" Yeah bud I go every summer with my family.

[@GaryR55]

CBS News sent reporters to ground zero just months after the "meltdown." I have yet to hear any mention of their health. Also, Hiroshima and Nagasaki never evacuated their survivors and both cities are well populated modern cities today. Hmmm....

[@JonS]

There are tourist tours these days. People do go there (to the low radiation areas).

[@goldfishkaden1539]

@@GaryR55 I believe a worker(s) that were inside the reactor closest to the explosion and radiation survived with radiation poisoning and he didn't have any complications after (I don't know if that is still the case but still. (they couldnt have kids because that would be terrible) but people around the area have had terrible reactions

[@Melody_Raventress]

I bet your yelp review was glowing...

[@stig1280]

A more honest place than the former usa.

[@theragnarok13]

Hi there. I was born and spent first 20 years of my life 200 km away from the Polygon. I didn't witness the testing but father and his father did. In fact, my grandfather was a WW2 veteran, born in 1908. My father was born in 1958 and those times were the most crazy. My dad told me stories how they were taking shelter during the bomb testing. Teachers used to take every student outside, there would be a giant hole in the ground, which were dug up and served as a shelter. They'd drive students into this hole, cover them with some thick canvas. And that's pretty much all of the precaution measures they took. My grand-dad survived the WW2, but the radiation took him anyway. He died in 1988, in the age of 88 due to esophageal carcinoma. He was the strongest person I ever knew.

[@sallyt1819]

he would be 78 not 88 if born in 1908

[@theragnarok13]

@@sallyt1819 ye, im slow, living near a polygon in 3 generations has done its job very well 🫠

[@theragnarok13]

1988-1908=78 right

[@justanothergermantankie9142]

80​@@theragnarok13

[@charlieduke6393]

I'm from St. George, Ut. My grandparents remember a metallic taste in the air on several occasions during their youth.

[@davidwright3390]

I am from alamo Nevada 20 miles away from the site and the old timers said the same

[@alfredorotondo]

Actually the dust arrived in Michigan

[@charlieduke6393]

@Stevie Rios yes I have

[@Faymous9]

Ah yes, the downwinders. My grandparents here all remember it. A lot of my family has patchy white spots on their legs because of it.

[@nuclearcatbaby1131]

The Rockies somehow got the worst of the nuke test fallout.

[@ryanbusch2885]

I love the way Vegas interacted with the test site, I’ve researched the downwinders and the other negative effects as well but the idea of nuclear tourism almost tripling the size of that city still just amazes me

[@MacTechG4]

Quark from DS9; “They irradiated their *OWN* planet?!”

[@bellaferelli751]

Us: “Uhhh...yeah. Yeah we did.”

[@jamieclifton1997]

Earthlings; 'and don't have any issues Nuking yours too.'

[@bellaferelli751]

Quark: Jesus Christ, guys, sorry! The radioactive glow around your planet is kinda cool 😎 ..don’t nuke me bro.

[@johnochiltree1170]

‘The way I see it, Hue-mons used to be a lot like Ferengi: greedy, acquisitive, interested only in profit. We're a constant reminder of a part of your past you'd like to forget.’ - Quark

[@pixynowwithevenmorebelkanb6965]

IN RUSSIA YOU NUKE YOU

[@keingewissen5778]

My parents lived in Semipalatinsk and immigrated to Germany in 1998. My grandmother told me she saw a mushroom cloud. And my mother talked about the “earthquakes”. Luckily, there are only a few cancer cases in my family. But it’s heartbreaking that every result you get if you Google “Semipalatinsk” is that’s a nuclear test area. They simply didn’t care that people lived there. Probably also because most of them were poor, such as my family. My mother even got a compensation-passport, but it was simply worthless. This story is definitely terrifying, I’m so glad my family lives in Europe now.

[@minhqun]

Citizen: What is happening comrade? Soviet soldier: Earthquakes Citizen: But why do I feel sick? Soldier: Go to the research center for cattle desease. They will help you Citizen: But that's n... Soldier: That's it to the gulag you go comrade

[@phantommanass]

@gossiping is for cowards what does that have to do with the USSR being shitty?

[@UnchainedAmerica]

hahaha! Witty humor.

[@mrs.chandler9384]

gossiping is for cowards The US only objected people to radiation unknowingly. The Russians did it knowingly.

[@bradleyweiss1089]

Tyrant Xi Jinping 👌🏻 Okay

[@Albertan762x39]

The last part should be Soldier: swiggity swoo its to the gulag for you.

[@waynechesser2000]

Being a linguist specializing in Russian, I'm always fascinated by all of Simon's video about Russia and the Soviet Union. I find it interesting the this particular place was called "The Polygon" when the word in Russian just means "site" or "range" and I believe that all of the test sites were called the same thing - испытательный ядерный полигон (nuclear test site, with the last word being "polygon"). Just interesting what carries over as a cognate, whether false or true.

[@vitkriklan2633]

Russian is indeed interesting. What we call war or invasion they call "special operation". What we call a genocidal maniac they call "president".

[@winter-rabbit]

You are right, in the Russian military tradition, places for testing weapons or for example for training sites are called "polygon". In this case, the official name was "Semipalatinsk Nuclear Polygon" (and even longer - 2-й Государственный центральный научно-исследовательский испытательный полигон (2 ГЦНИИП)". The abbreviation to a simple "Polygon" is more of a local jargon. Local residents immediately understood what place they were talking about, while for the rest of the inhabitants of the Soviet Union, this name itself did not mean anything and could refer to any military training ground. For example, when i was a boy (in a completely different part of the country) the local military shooting range was also called "Polygon".

[@williammartinez9906]

Guy pulls out cigarette and asks local “So comrade have any problems with radiation around here ?” Local uses his mini arm coming off the back of his neck to reach into his front shirt pocket and grabs a cigarette lighter responds “ Nyet”.

[@C4V4C0]

Нет

[@shiftstart7873]

@@C4V4C0 ниет

[@shenghan9385]

Haha

[@ro4eva]

LOL!

[@gimbit7583]

Lol

[@gulbakytkantay5163]

I'm your new subscriber and I'm so happy you made a video about Semi-Palatinsk, as I'm a Kazakhstani. People often forget the horrible things Soviets did to Kazakhs or even deny these things happened. The nuclear test is just a little thing compared to many horrors of communist party. Confiscation, killings of our own educated youth, 3 or 4 hunger periods, mixing us with Ukraine peasants, brainwashing. Even our government doesn't say anything about those times because we are very close with Russia right now. Most documents are destroyed, if not, they are not in school books.

[@qweebey]

Kazakhs don’t call themselves kazakhstani 🤦‍♂️

[@katjakaupang2064]

@@qweebey It's the correct demonym in English and she was writing in English 🤷

[@Blackgriffonphoenixg]

hopefully after the war in Ukraine your country can gather the courage to split off from the Kremlin's yoke as well

[@jacobkobald1753]

@icankillbugshe’s clearly implying after Russia loses the Ukraine war

[@jacobkobald1753]

@icankillbugs they don’t have the industrial capacity to replace loses of high tech equipment. They don’t have access to the computer chips necessary for their guided missiles. And they don’t have enough experienced well armed troops to seal the deal. What do you watch Russian propaganda all day? Or maybe you’re a time traveller from the day after the invasion because then I’d understand why you’d think that.

[@Alex.Shalda]

I am born near that place, my sister lost one of her children cause the infant didn’t have a proper liver due to genetic mutation caused by the effect of radiation, despite the childbirth was 15 years after the polygon was shut down. The worst thing is that the authorities don’t care much about your health issues related to the radioactive contaminated environment.

[@InexorWoW]

From someone who operated a nuclear reactor for years: contamination is the radioactive material (fission products like Iodine, Xenon), radiation is the product of it's decay (x-rays, alphas, gamma rays).

[@InexorWoW]

@jack daniels He exclusively used the word 'radiation' to discuss the spread and concentration of contamination. You can have pockets of contamination that give a high radiation flux. You don't really get spread out radiation because it comes from a source, either directional from that source or the source is homogeneous therefore the radiation flux is homogeneous.

[@DChappelle27]

Civilian: What the hell was that huge bang? Soldier: Its just a nuclear test. Civilian: Oh ok, as long as it's not a nuclear Reactor exploding...

[@reversalmushroom]

Reactors don't explode. When they melt down, they release radiation into the environment. Reactors exploding when melting down is Hollywood fiction by people who don't know what they're talking about.

[@DJWeapon8]

@@reversalmushroom Im guessing OP is referencing Chernobyl Reactor 4. Which DID explode. A steam explosion inside the reactor core, to be specific. It wasn't a gigantic, kiloton yield explosion. But an explosion that lead to a lot of really bad shit.

[@debravalreyes2033]

The fear is important

[@jeffborders5526]

Graham Stewart so you're saying it exploded.

[@jeffborders5526]

Reactors don't explode. Except for all the reactors that did. Cough Fukushima. That mushroom cloud tho.

[@PreyofBird]

I’m from Utah. Several of my older family members were downwinders. It killed 2 of them

[@adamneeves21]

Is it just me or is KZbin slowly becoming The Simon Whistler Experience? Dude is everywhere

[@englishruraldoggynerd]

Agree. He’s watchable though, and mostly interesting!

[@scotthenrie5148]

He has a very nice voice.

[@rogermucroy750]

I'm Ok with that.

[@lekkerkoffie8605]

@@englishruraldoggynerd I can't watch him. He's not relaxed.

[@artemis_smith]

Every day, his power grows.

[@brendan722002]

Villager: "My house has been flattened and my son has two heads!" Soviet soldier: "You saw nothing, or you go to Gulag!"

[@TocTeplv]

Villager is just as soviet as a soldier. Villager served in the same army as a soldier. Westerners never learn

[@cavebeastdemon3631]

TocTeplv -?

[@mrs.chandler9384]

They wouldn’t even threaten the gulags. They sent innocent people there knowingly.

[@monsters9930]

He is dellusional, take him to infirmary

[@3xoticG4m3r]

@@TocTeplv they still put them in gulags you silly "eastener"

[@ThatAngryLatvian]

Drinking atomic cocktails while watching a mushroom cloud from a distance? anyone has Fallout vibes?

[@judsongaiden9878]

F.A.L.L.O.U.T.: Shadow of New Vegas

[@spacesentinel1287]

Miss Atomic Bomb

[@mccoytheboy3858]

the atomic cocktail is a consumable in fallout new vegas

[@laatdovahkiin7405]

Id rather some radiated whiskey and Nuka Cola but sounds good lol

[@skyfox585]

Is exactly the time period fallout is based on

[@bentboybbz]

This man eyebrows more active than the secret weapons testing.

[@masonmuhonen]

This made me only watch his eyebrows the whole video

[@Plumbump]

thanks a lot :(

[@ethanneal8158]

Tried to be like vsauce

[@easondowntheroad8447]

No hair follicles in that dome to keep them eyebrows under control 😂

[@melissahanrion3824]

Brow code

[@izzojoseph2]

💯 % accuracy ~ at least that’s what they said. Gov’t: “Won’t hurt you, wind is blowing east.” Downwinders: “I live east.” Gov’t: “...have a cookie.”

[@Cenentury0941]

Govt : you live East? I thought you meant we-st

[@Blaklege63]

and i quote: “oh those russians”

[@MrFreakyFarhan]

I was just listening to that song but not an hour ago...

[@scoe5908]

Bruh most of the Communist Party and NKVD weren't ethnic Russians

[@rays5073]

RA RA RASPUTIN

[@CAMSLAYER13]

@@scoe5908 not if Russia has anything to say about it lol

[@postit5725]

Yeah, commies are worse than Hitler

[@Quypzhatyr]

Hi there from Kazakhstan! A great video. I have been watching you for a while, but wouldn't have thought that you'd portray this horrible story of ours so well. Thanks for great content😁

[@Rob-fz8gy]

Say hi to Borat for me I like his video films.

[@Toxic_Man_]

@@Rob-fz8gy Sacha Baron Cohen showed the future of the Western world!

[@Toxic_Man_]

@@Rob-fz8gy You are not afraid of God! For this you can answer to God even if you are an atheist! And Borat is also a Jew!

[@techpriest4787]

​@@Rob-fz8gyoh for crying out loud. Is it possible to mention Kazakhstan without mentioning Borat?

[@robburns4176]

I visited St. George Utah a couple of times on business years ago. We visited a local restaurant that had photos on the wall taken by residents of the mushroom clouds. The owner told us how it was a thing during US testing for people to go to a mesa on the edge of town and sit in their cars drive-in style, and watch the testing. They would listen to their radios and get the latest update on when to expect the atomic flash. I think he talked about the dusting too.

[@TotalRookie_LV]

I wonder if anyone has heard of phenomena that Soviet soldiers working on this polygon called "рассыпатся" (to fall apart, to fall into pieces, to shatter)? A man who first worked in Semipalatinsk, and later on the building of Baikonur space launch site, where it happened to him personally for the first time - he was digging and... then came back to senses, laying on the ground, showel just next to him. He had seen others soldiers passing out like this before. Speculation was, it happened only to those who had experienced multiple nuclear blasts, in one case, when he was facing away from the blast, he claimed he saw his own brain for a second, as that terrible flash lighted up from behind him, beamed through his skull and made an image of the brains from the other side of retina.

[@timstiteler4817]

Wtf did I just read

[@beaubeaukitty5301]

The nuclear flash is not biologically friendly to say the least

[@Vamutus]

Well, it doesnt just flash in the spectrum of visible light. Maybe the electromagnetic burst could wreck the brain too after many exposures

[@mikestckl6939]

@@Vamutus exactly , just imagine getting an xray done , that amount of radiation is like nothing compared to a nuke ... i also read about american soldiers seeing their fingerbones while covering their eyes with their hands during a nuke test

[@kruler-westoz-nauman3638]

@@mikestckl6939 It has also been reported to happen during bad thunderstorms, rarely granted but has been reported

[@morskojvolk]

Fun fact: "Polygon" (Полигон) is a generic reference to any weapons range.

[@andrewgrandma2816]

Polygon is always my favorite shape.

[@morskojvolk]

XP

[@WyattRyeSway]

It also refers to “landfill”

[@WyattRyeSway]

Also means “landfill” in many instances.

[@Disarray-c2o]

Depending on context it can also mean a military training or weapons testing area as well as some nonmilitary meanings.

[@krislhull]

Semipalatinsk might have been the most nuked place in the former Soviet Union, but it is not the most nuked place on earth. That distinction falls to the Nevada Test Site just 65 miles NW of Las Vegas. Semi saw 456 nuclear tests, while the NTS saw over twice that many at 928.

[@UnchainedAmerica]

But the civilians exposed to radiation was non-existed except the poor folks of St. George. Beria and the Soviet government took no effort to protect the Kazakh tribes.

[@krashd]

The majority of searches state Semipalatinsk but the NTS did see 928 detonations so I'm assuming there are different goalposts in play and that the NTS is a larger complex with smaller test sites in it.

[@zaganim3813]

@@Cenentury0941 whats your point? the russian single site is still a lot bigger in area so the US still blew more nukes in nevada, doesnt matter that they divided it into "individual sites"... other than in name....

[@piotrd.4850]

Indeed, by Simon the Lair.... ;) usually means biased content.

[@THIS---GUY]

That doesn’t even cover the USA use of depleted uranium munitions in Afghanistan and Iraq

[@Politik-mit-Kopf]

Sometime in the seventies my mom moved to Zemipalatinsk in order to start an apprenticeship. In the first week she felt shaking, heard people in the metro speak about the atomic tests and developed headache. After this week she quit the apprenticeship and left the city.

[@jacktingey7886]

My dad’s family lived in St George in the late 1950s, early 1960s. My aunt was a Downwinder. She does of Leukemia in 1995. Nuclear fallout is a real damage on people’s lives.

[@puncheex2]

Something Simon didn't say. The Soviets were in such a hurry to leave the site that they left one device in a shaft that they never got around to firing. It was destroyed in place by the joint US/Kazakhstan mission using conventional explosives around 2004.

[@Moodymongul]

2:04 - lets straight talk here; the city was NOT beside the test site ..it was PART of the test site

[@MazeGibtBaze]

"Dad, why do so many humans have cancer?" "bOmB gO bRrRrRRrrRrRRrR"

[@slavamaksakov2043]

Dead meme

[@MazeGibtBaze]

@@slavamaksakov2043 Im a boomer since 5 month now and even I know writing "dead meme" under a stupid joke is cringe af..

[@dickbutt7854]

They don't rumble, they sound more like a door slamming

[@BihImTopHattin]

@@slavamaksakov2043 old but gold

[@slavamaksakov2043]

@@MazeGibtBaze tbh seeing my comment now that I completely forgot about it I also agree that it was cringe af of me to write this bullshit lmao

[@retlaw83]

I hear it used to be an entire Palatinsk before the nukes.

[@FodrMichalych]

Ashesofpalatinsk

[@matthewzacher8879]

"Sadly not actually radioactive geese" sadly?! Geese are already OP murder machines and you want to see them GLOW?!

[@christopherconard2831]

Makes night hunting much easier.

[@AngryPandaMania]

At least you'll see them coming lol

[@armageddonite8039]

Matthew Zacher Hmmmm what kinda loot is in it for me if I kill a lvl 23 glowing goose?

[@CryonicArrow]

Lvl 50 Legendary rad goose

[@matthewzacher8879]

@@armageddonite8039 radioactive feather (+5 charisma/ strength), bottle of syrup (health regen over time), hockey puck (projectile weapon).

[@jameswells755]

Robin Williams discription of Chernobyl engineers giving a tour of the facility is priceless.slumpt over hunchback engineers motioning to guest to come inside and “walk this way” with one leg dragging behind.

[@DiamondCalibre]

My chemistry teacher used to live in st George Utah at the time and had to have his thyroid removed due to cancer, as did many people in the area. Glad you mentioned it.

[@DayZeroChannel]

U.S.-Pentagon U.S.S.R.- Polygon No one: Absolutely no one: France: Square

[@KanishQQuotes]

In India they call it circle

[@vixx-kun7686]

France: SqUaRe India: cIRCL E

[@ZedNinetySix_]

@@KanishQQuotes yeah, a *circle-jerk*

[@brokedude1663]

UFC Octogon

[@ciphergalm1174]

egypt pyramid

[@stepbruv8780]

Japan : I got nuked twice Soviet Union : Hold my nuke

[@Admjoh]

Except Japan got giant cities with people going about their lives nukes. Not their 'empty' deserts.

[@stepbruv8780]

@@Admjoh Lives city? That is the best part of it

[@Cenentury0941]

In Soviet Russia, your own government nukes you.

[@stepbruv8780]

@@Cenentury0941 In Japan, your government make another government nukes you.

[@Mambo.Canibal]

Cenentury0941 same as in the US lmao

[@armansarbassov9363]

My friend just got diagnosed with cancer his family is from semey he is only 17 this shit still has consequences

[@gram.]

Yaaasss, Simon. So well put. Presented without sounding disrespectful and still coming across as unbiased imo.

[@darknet180]

I am really enjoying all your videos. Especially about the USSR / various places in Russia. Dark periods of history that need to be remembered.

[@MEGAMIGA]

I see what you did there!

[@lovepeace9727]

By dark you mean bad or unknown?

[@darknet180]

@@lovepeace9727 yes

[@lovepeace9727]

@@darknet180 Wasn't any bad actually. At least in 1980's.

[@dustinleckey2987]

Funny to think this will be videos of the CCP when they finally crack...

[@WoWMinGM]

I love stories about these crazy USSR places. What a fascinating and scary country it was.

[@fatetestarossa2774]

Agree : )))))

[@galestar2]

As a Canadian you could say the same thing about the us, you guys are just as crazy and just as scary, setting off nukes in Nevada over your own country, and setting off nukes in the Marshall Islands messing up someone else’s country! Not to mention the fact that both countries scooped up nazi scientists like they were hot commodities after the war, or operation mk ultra where you tested on your own civilians without consent with street drugs like acid, or the countless amounts of countries the us has just invaded without inpunaty! The United States is the big bully of the world...

[@WoWMinGM]

@@galestar2 who are you talking to? i’m not from the US, i never did any of that

[@yo_its_gingey5329]

@@galestar2 we don’t do it in Nevada anymore because it would wipe out the entire country so it’s all done over either the ocean or in computer simulations now

[@inboundspies099]

@@galestar2 you have a huge point

[@sketchesofpayne]

I'd have a hard time choosing between being downwind from nukes or anthrax. The Soviets could have gone for a double whammy by nuking Aralsk-7.

[@artsofthewood5748]

Mutated anthrax?

[@suprlite]

Easy choice, because you cant cure anthrax with vodka 😝

[@deathwings51]

Wouldn’t radiation and heat have killed the virus there ?

[@UnchainedAmerica]

ancient anthrax are reappearing in Siberia.

[@Master_Yoda1990]

SysAdminUnix Despite anthrax being extremely hard to kill, the amount of heat from a nuke is more than enough to kill anthrax (it takes a minimum of 200 degrees Fahrenheit of prolonged heat), however radiation perhaps not.

[@pocketdynamo5787]

Three dogs, one from the US, one from Poland, and one from the Soviet Union, are having a chat. The US dog says: "Whenever I'm hungry, I just ask my human for a piece of meat to eat." The Polish dog replies: "What is meat?", the Soviet dog: "What is eat?"

[@merafirewing6591]

British dog: "Ye wanker, ye don't know what meat is." French dog: *speaks in french* German dog: "Now that is funny, but I find a bratwurst more tasty." Dutch dog: "Interesting." Italian dog: "I had my human give me a spicy a meatballs." Japanese dog: "Sushi!" Chinese dog: *doesn't even care* Spanish dog: *raids the meat locker like a Conquistador* Norwegian dog: "There is scores of meat in Valhalla! Onwards!"

[@paulofearghail9408]

I was on the site in 2004. I was involved in analyzing the operations of a mining company that was drilling an area that had been opened up and certified as safe. We spent about five days in Kurchatov, which had been the operations center for the nuclear program, and we made daily trips out onto the steppe to view the operation sites, including where a gold/copper processing plant was being built. For the remainder of our 10-day visit to Kazakhstan, we worked at the company's headquarters in Almaty. That was 16 years ago, and thus far I haven't had any ill effects (if you don't count my third eye).

[@FukcAUsername]

Have cancer yet?

[@randomtv5107]

Villager: why is my house now gone? Soviet soldier: Go to gulag

[@ProtoPropski]

American Citizen: Why is my skin peeling off American Political Official: Sorry you'll have to put a 50+ year work order in, before we'll tell you the whole truth, and maybe give you a small some of money divided between anyone else who puts in a work order

[@ignitionfrn2223]

1:15 - Chapter 1 - Building a bomb 4:45 - Chapter 2 - When the wind blows 7:40 - Chapter 3 -In the shadow of the mushroom cloud 10:55 - Chapter 4 - A land of death 14:20 - Chapter 5 - The meltdown 16:45 - Chapter 6 - Sacrificed for what ?

[@profilore]

I read "the most naked place on earth". Was intrigued lmao

[@williamlee7672]

Soviet “I don’t care about the environment” Union. Aral Sea, Lake Karachay, Chernobyl, Severny Island Etc

[@zoranlazarevic7526]

A major world power that doesn't care about the environment? impossible.

[@b226tj]

Chernobyl was an accident so if I understand correctly it shouldn't be in your comment. I think, I'll double check.

[@andrewgrandma2816]

@@b226tj an accident caused by a engineer bored and intending on testing the plants safety. His test got out of hand and it all exploded and melted.

[@smashandburn1]

@@b226tj Chernobyl may have been an accident, but the complete disregard for safety protocol practiced in the Soviet Union is also an indicator that they just didn't care about the environment (or the people who lived nearby).

[@b226tj]

@@smashandburn1 ugh too bad you're right

[@hsinava]

Why's everywhere in the former Soviet Union eerie?

[@WyattRyeSway]

It just is. Petersburg isn’t but the Yevry....OMG....just don’t go there!

[@greenkoopa]

Because the newest building was erected in 1979 😅

[@fastinradfordable]

Because a vast desolate plane is very eerie when it can kill you or make you sick. Or make the next generation sick and deformed.

[@shindari]

When you have literally hundreds of millions of ghosts of World War II, Cold War Nuclear Testing, and Chernobyl walking around, that's a lot of ghosts... Somebody's bound to see at least a few.

[@Gerwulf97]

evil empire m8

[@MixedMartialHelp]

Bald and Bankrupt would end up visiting and having a swim with a local

[@michaelbeevers6088]

It's on his list lol.

[@MixedMartialHelp]

@@michaelbeevers6088 What an absolute legend lol! Would love to have a beer with him one day!

[@josephseifert234]

I haven't seen any videos from him or Harold recently.

[@iamcalsen]

"Hey W-Sauce, Mike here."

[@blake8480]

It’s rumored that spending 10 minutes here is the equivalent to spending 10 seconds in a stall in the boys bathroom

[@deusexaethera]

Semipalatinsk is the answer to the question: "How do the Kazakhs tan?" Seriously though, this illustrates the real reason you should never fight a land war in Asia: Because Asians, especially Central Asians, have a level of nihilism that makes Nietzsche look like a flower child. "Oh, the Russians are testing nukes a few miles away, oh well, such is life." Central Asians can tolerate such incomprehensibly bad situations that it's literally impossible to demoralize them enough to make them surrender. Your worst war crimes are nothing compared to just surviving the winter every year.

[@mambojambo4870]

Nice joke, but you know Nietzsche, right? xD

[@god2k562]

Damn

[@StandingTNT]

I read in a book that when Barbarossa began, the Germans just steamrolled the Soviets in the Baltic's, but there were some Kyrgyz (Central Asian) Soviet soldiers who fought ferociously that the Germans nicknamed them the 'brave Kyrgyz'...

[@blueskyjavelin2289]

Joke beside Stalin made the worst massacre ever happened to these people

[@blueskyjavelin2289]

Standing TNT also more than 10 million of them died during the battles.

[@NeedlessPedantics]

You made a mistake at the 6:03 mark. You said "the first thermonuclear test in 1953" then later compared it to the "first hydrogen bomb test two years later". Thermonuclear and Hydrogen are synonymous. The first Thermonuclear, or Hydrogen, test was in 1953, period.

[@ktaragorn]

Thanks, I came here to say the same

[@puncheex2]

Well, no, not exactly. The Soviets had an idea that building a layered bomb of a fission bomb layered with LiD and U-235 could make a thermonuke as the US did. It was called the RDS-27, or "Alarm Clock", or Sloika. It was powerful - 700 megatons, but it didn't break the megaton barrier like the Soviets hoped it would. It was a thermonuke of sorts, and what was worse is that it was dropable - it was a real potential weapon, unlike Ivy/Mike which was a cryogenics plant. The physicists went back to the drawing board and independently developed the Teller-Ulam design of radiation implosion in the RDS-37, their first "true thermonuke". so there is this dichotomy. The US did the first true nuke, the USSR did a droppable super-weapon. Then the US tested Castle/Bravo, and then the USSR tested an equivalent design. History is almost never simple.

[@NeedlessPedantics]

@@puncheex2 Thanks for the info, always happy to learn more. Totally agree, if something seems obvious you're probably just missing some nuance. Do you have any links for further reading? How do these developments fit into the timeline?

[@sviyy9396]

pErIoD. Stfu

[@LiLBitsDK]

@@puncheex2 it was 700 megaton... but it didn't break the megaton barrier... ok så which is it?

[@Juiceb0xful]

Man, learning about nukes and bombs is always kinda depressing. Like humanity really just hates itself doesn't it.

[@collinbuck9275]

Add more photos/images it helps tell a story. besides that I love your stuff man!

[@fredferd965]

Simon, your videos are always, without exception, thoughtful, insightful, and well written. Even among those, this one might be your best!! Very well done!!!

[@anzerupnik1442]

When you want to move out of the city and into the nature and they suddenly start dropping atomic bombs on you.

[@GeoffTV2]

Great video, thank you. The comments at about 11:30 suggest that the Soviets were universally considered crazy to use nuclear weapons for construction purposes but the Americans did many tests under their "Ploughshare" program that had exactly the same goals.

[@caroljomartin3051]

This was a fascinating documentary! I would like to see the location on a map, tho. Please show us on the map where these places are, so that we can better understand the story!

[@trueordrue]

I am glad that Semipalatinsk(now called Semey) recovered from it

[@gregtheflyingwhale]

My father was born in 1964 in USSR. He says every morning his family was waking up at 6 am to the radio, where there was a USSR hymn being played e v e r y d a y ! This was enough for me to be happy this ended

[@discovery2727]

no, you lie, flying whale.

[@alfiyaa8214]

It was true... I was born in 1963

[@neversarium]

bro we still have Kazakh anthem every day at 6:00 and 00:00 on every tv station and radio

[@kevinkingston1504]

Well done; both my Grandfather and Uncle were Downwinders growing up in St. George, UT. Although exposed, their thyroid and stomach cancers didn't take them until early 2000's. Family received minor compensation both posthumously

[@pakeshde7518]

The soviets.. our eathquakes come with mushroom clouds!

[@fatetestarossa2774]

NOICE : )))))))))))))))))) jajajajajjajajajajajajajajjajajajajajajajajajjajajaj

[@prosperitystar]

Lenin is a mushroom

[@planescaped]

It's kind of telling that the main thing that led to the USSR's downfall was Gorbachev's policy of the government not lying to people. XD

[@alfredorotondo]

No it was that he just let his friends take the stock in the magazines and let sold that goods at a price lower than the price of product this things so the state was not capable to pay anymore the workers so sold all the great industries to big companies (and the fleet to nestle), so the nepotism was the problem, but that was a problem since krushev so the economy had a double market and when the socialist marked collapsed so it did the parallel economy

[@alfredorotondo]

Basically Gorbachev while denouncing a corruption was even more corrupted

[@adjuster57]

Gorbachev not lying. That’s hilarious.

[@haraldhimmel5687]

Thats a nice story but a big part of the downfall was arguably that Gorbachev thought that the West had good intentions and would support him in this critical transition. When it became apparent that his government had no experience in implementing capitalism, he asked them for help, which was denied. Now that the USSR opened up and was collapsing it was seen as safer to let them hit rock bottom rather than helping them with their economic reforms. One of the reasons why democracy turned out to be a failed experiment there,, why Putin became so popular and why many Russians still deeply distrust Western claims.

[@philsonofcoul5025]

I just made a documentary on the Nevada Test Site. Interviewed the Chief Counsel of the Western Shoshone Nation, Director of the Atomic Testing Museum and got a statement from Congresswoman Titus the expert on legislation for the issue. There were accidents and downwinders were exposed to radiation. The land is also Western Shoshone land from the Treaty of Ruby Valley and testing was illegal

[@Affricanized]

Is your documentary on youtube??. I'd like to see it, I was born and raised in St. George. I know a lot of people likely dealing with the aftermath of those tests.

[@DegenerateToo]

Gotta trust our government, because they would never lie to us! They would never subvert our history either. So glad you have your facts straight from our government!

[@piemonster11]

HOW MANY CHANNELS DOES SIMON HAVE LMAO, this dude is everywhere, thankfully he's likeable and good at whatever he does.

[@The.Drunk-Koala]

I dont like him.

[@pequenoperezoso3743]

its not only him btw, its a whole team, hes only the uh... spokesman?

[@cassandraralph5906]

Thank you so much for sharing this video, I found it to be most interesting and educational, I had a friend who worked in Kazakhstan. Which is why I became interested in this country.

[@lylew7]

I loved this video. I grew up when the cold war was still a thing, and frequently heard terms such as glasnost, dirty bombs, etc, but being young I didnt really understand what was happening. I'm loving learning more about this. Thank you!

[@wkbdgeorge]

This guy sounds like an American practicing his English accent

[@Friduwulf]

🤣

[@Hazy4944]

Friduwulf your here?????

[@xWordsToLiveByx]

Friduwulf holy shit lol, when your interests cross paths .

[@martinmengh]

a Canadian pretending to be an America practicing his English accent

[@thisismyname1701]

@@Friduwulf get back to rust my guy

[@kelvinwang2485]

Locals: casually minding their own business Soviet officials nearby: haha bomb go blyat

[@pedalking100]

The Americans just intentionally tested the effects on their own soldiers instead. See the documentary 'Atomic Soldiers' - very powerful film

[@stomach5000]

So did the soviets with their soldiers.

[@22steve5150]

@@stomach5000 Chinese and French did it too along with UK doing it to Australian soldiers. Of course like everything, the goddamn Soviets and Chinese had to do it in a much more horrific and widescale manner than everyone else, which their armies of internet trolls and apologists never seem to acknowledge.

[@Cleatus2424]

I'm pretty sure the U.S. dropped some sort of lightly radioactive material or a similar substance by plane on a city in Alberta, Canada to see how far radiation would spread in a city setting, but either way people did get sick from it. No one in Canada knew till long after, or so they say

[@Midlife-Adventures]

Stephen everything I can find suggests that all of the UK nuclear tests were carried out in Australia.

[@anonym3017]

@@22steve5150 mate vegas is some 80 miles southeast of the nevada test site. So it ain’t like the US government gave any additional fucks.

[@toutsen]

My mother is a downwinder and barely survived. She received $60K for the inconvenience. She was left infertile after the birth of my older brother (I was adopted) and has a laundry list of medical conditions.

[@mozismobile]

The Biritish started down this path in Australia. With the same "there's no-one living there" approach the the local residents.

[@fastinradfordable]

mozismobile So sad to think about all the unexplored wilderness across the globe. .... That would negatively affect your life if you tried to explore it. Great job everybody. For ruining the freggin earth.

[@billrich9722]

Shut the fuck up. You’re never going to visit any of them, you limp-wrist Millennial.

[@TobuscusGameing]

Deborah Meltrozo Barely anyone really

[@mozismobile]

@Deborah Meltrozo I kind of agree, all we had was criminals, slave-owners and aboriginies. Plus some wowsers in Adelaide. I could live without the wowsers and we'd all be better off without the rest. Oh, and happy genocide day for tomorrow.

[@sneeringimperialist6667]

If the fires keep burning, there won't be. ...

[@LK-ln1fi]

Sir, you are doing a great thing here educating the world, keep up the good work!

[@dustyt6226]

Wow I never thought I'd see my house in one of your videos :O

[@jackpleier5534]

A John Wayne movie where he played a mongol war lord was filmed near St George Utah, most everyone involved in the movie died from contracting cancer.

[@lovepeace9727]

That's...yep-ish.

[@waylonwebb3053]

Another testament to John Wayne's badassery...

[@zaganim3813]

@richard mccann dude take it easy, we all gonna die eventually its no biggie

[@LADYJAYY19788]

Almost 200 from the cast of that movie had died from cancer most john wayne, Susan Haywood, and others from the main cast were heavy smokers.

[@PawlOwl]

John Ford was such a hack

[@michaelbrock805]

I would love to see one of these on the US testing at Bikini Atoll. Keep up the great work, Simon!

[@rsears78]

Michael Brock and the giant concrete dome that was made to “contain” the waste from the testing, that’s now leaking...

[@jamessveinsson6006]

Simon I always feel just a little bit smarter after watching one of your videos

[@sansocie]

Please do one on Nevada and Utah. The whole sacrifice zone would be nice. I love Hartford in the spring time! I love Pine Bluff in the falllllll

[@johnochiltree1170]

The more I hear about this Lavrentiy Beria character the more I don’t care for him!

Let's all take a minute to admire how wonderfully epic it is that somewhere there exists a government black site called, The Polygon.

[@FakeRussianDude]

For a very brief moment I was trying to question what happened to VSauce's voice, but then I realized where I am. XD Really cool and interesting video! Also another channel for me to start watching. :)

[@charlesroeckeriv6226]

I had a neighbor who'd grown up in St. George during the tests. As a downwinder she was not even forty but she looked like a grandmother because of the effects of the fallout.

[@flybeep1661]

So I came here thinking it was about the "Most Naked place on Earth", was a bit dissapointed I have to say.

[@timstiteler4817]

Good idea for an episode though. Simon get on it

[@timstiteler4817]

@@DBBravo yeah they got blasts covered

[@Skyprince27]

@Fly Beep No, that’s the No-Bikini Atoll

[@ffggddss]

That's Cap d'Agde, France. Fred

[@olil4842]

@@ffggddss true story...

[@YearZeroVids]

Such creepy and fascinating stuff. I don't think 70,000 were instantly turned to ash in Hiroshima though. Being turned to ash would probably been better. I think most people suffered horrible burns and radiation sickness until they died hours or days later. I have trouble even imagining what that horror must have been like. Even for the people who hadn't been mortally wounded the first day.

[@carlsaganlives5112]

Yeah, I wanna be one of the guys that leaves a shadow on the ground, not a quivering mass of goo a few days later