Semipalatinsk

On Aug. 29, 1949, the Soviet Union detonated its first nuclear bomb. Between then and independent Kazakhstan closing the Semipalatinsk test site, “some 456 nuclear blasts were set off, including 86 air bursts and 30 ones on the surface.”

“When the Soviet Union fell apart without warning, they (Kazakh leaders) found themselves the proud owners of more nuclear warheads and delivery systems than the U.S., France and China combined. The threat of illegal sale or theft involving terrorists was obvious. Nazerbayev and his officials worked closely with the U.S. in securing and disposing of the weaponry.

“One operation, set up under an anti-weapon program by Sens. Sam Nunn and Richard Lugar, involved CIA-sponsored covert flights of gigantic C-5A Air Force cargo planes flying out dozens of warheads. They ended up in the U.S. where they were disassembled and their enriched fissionable was removed and sent for reprocessing into fuel for commercial nuclear plants.”

http://www.baconsrebellion.com/2010/09/remembering-semipalatinsk.html