Do not look for the names of this, now former, city on the world map. But the prehistory of its rise and subsequent collapse goes back many decades. In the second half of the 20s of the last century, on the eve of the world revolution, the Soviet leaders realized that traditional three-rulers, Maxim machine guns on carts and similar primitive weapons of destruction were not enough for its implementation - the scale was not the same. At that time, science had not yet opened the path to atomic energy for politicians and the military. But there were also other possibilities - chemical or bacteriological means of killing all living things. And the command of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army took care of creating a scientific center for the development of biological weapons and finding a suitable place for it.
Where to plant the seeds of death?
As a location for such a specific object, some medium-sized island would be suitable, at least 5-10 kilometers from the inhabited shores.
They were looking for such an island at first on Lake Baikal, but then they decided to stop at three other objects: the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea, the Gorodomlya Islands on Lake Seliger and the Vozrozhdenie Island in the Aral Sea. So 80 years ago, on a godforsaken island in the middle of the Aral Sea, a Soviet center for the development and testing of biological weapons grew up, where large-scale tests of deadly biological agents, such as anthrax, plague, tularemia, brucellosis, typhus and the like, took place. Prior to that, for some time, the main center for studying this important problem was the Gorodomlya Island located in the Tver region, which was relatively close to the capital. In 1936-1941, the Third Testing Laboratory, subordinate to the Military-Chemical Directorate of the Red Army, moved from the Suzdal monastery here. However, the war that began soon showed that such institutions should be located away from the borders with a potential enemy.
Newcomers to the Aral
Vozrozhdenie Island was ideal for the task at hand. An unpopulated piece of land almost in the center of the Aral Sea (in fact, an endless salt lake) was discovered in 1848. The lifeless archipelago, where there was no fresh water, for some reason was called the Tsar's Islands. Its three constituent parts were named Nicholas, Constantine and the Heir. One of the islands - Nikolai, renamed Vozrozhdenie Island - was destined to become a Soviet top-secret testing ground for testing deadly bacteria put in the service of the homeland. The island, with an area of about 200 square kilometers, has a flat relief and a hot climate, unsuitable for the survival of pathogens. All this met the safety requirements In the summer of 1936, the first expedition of military biologists headed by Professor Velikanov landed here.the father of the Soviet bacteriological program. The island was taken away from the jurisdiction of the NKVD, the kulaks who had once been exiled here were evicted, and a year later, the first tests of bioagents based on tularemia, plague and cholera were carried out. But the activities of the newly expanded center were complicated by the repressions that befell the leadership of the Military Chemical Directorate (in particular, in 1938 Professor Velikanov was shot). During the Great Patriotic War, the work of the center was suspended in order to resume with a vengeance after its end.in 1938 Professor Velikanov was shot). During the Great Patriotic War, the work of the center was suspended in order to resume with a vengeance after its end.in 1938 Professor Velikanov was shot). During the Great Patriotic War, the work of the center was suspended in order to resume with a vengeance after its end.
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Aralsk-7
A military town was built in the northern part of the island, named after the local color of Kantubek. In official documents, it became another "numbered" city and was listed as Aralsk-7. It was very much like hundreds of its counterparts that arose in the USSR: several dozen residential buildings (the so-called DOS - officers 'houses), soldiers' barracks, a club, a canteen, a stadium, a couple of shops, a school, an autonomous] power plant. The actual landfill, located slightly away from the town, was named "Barkhan". Not far from it, an airfield of the same name was built, the only one in the Soviet Union that had four runways that resemble a wind rose in the top view. This location is due to the fact that the island's weather was characterized by strong winds that often change direction. Depending on the situation, the aircraft could land on one or another lane. Up to 1,500 military men and their families lived in the town. It was an ordinary garrison life, distinguished only by a heightened secrecy regime and not a very comfortable climate. The children went to school, their parents worked (although work was a problem for many officers 'wives), watched movies in the Officers' House in the evenings, and on weekends they had picnics on the shore of the Aral Sea, while it still resembled the sea until the end of the 1970s.in the evenings they watched a movie in the House of Officers, and on weekends they arranged picnics on the shore of the Aral Sea, while it still resembled the sea until the end of the 1970s.in the evenings they watched a movie in the House of Officers, and on weekends they arranged picnics on the shore of the Aral Sea, while it still resembled the sea until the end of the 1970s.
With Aralsk - the nearest city on the mainland - there was a sea connection. From there, fresh water was also delivered by barges, which was then stored under strict guard in huge tanks on the outskirts of the town. A few kilometers from the residential town there was a laboratory complex - the 52nd field research laboratory. It also contained experimental animals that became victims of experiments conducted here. In the 1980s, 500 monkeys were purchased specifically for experiments in Africa. As a result, they all became victims of the tularemia strain, after which their corpses were burned, and the ashes were buried on the island. The southern part of the island was directly occupied by a testing ground, where projectiles were detonated or pathogenic strains of deadly biological agents were sprayed from an aircraft. After such tests, anti-epidemic measures and decontamination of the territory were carried out. A hot climate with a 40-degree heat was an additional factor ensuring the safety of military biologists: most bacteria and viruses died from exposure to high temperatures. All specialists who participated in the tests were subject to mandatory quarantine.
The death of the Aral
Meanwhile, at first, an imperceptible but steady degradation of the Aral Sea began. The main source of food for the lake-sea was the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya. Together, these two largest rivers of Central Asia brought at least 60 cubic kilometers of water to the Aral Sea annually. In the 1960s, due to the “cotton boom” in Uzbekistan, the waters of both rivers began to diverge through irrigation canals. The result was not long in coming: the cotton harvest, of course, increased, but the Aral Sea began to rapidly grow shallow.
By 1970, the amount of river water reaching the sea was reduced by a third, and 10 years later, only 15 cubic kilometers per year fell into the sea, and finally, in 1980, the Aral received only 1 cubic kilometer. Soon the sea was divided into two large lakes not connected with each other and many small ones. The area of the island, on the contrary, with the shallowing of the sea, increased just as rapidly and by the end of the 90s it had grown almost tenfold. The Tsar's Islands practically merged into one island, which then, joining the mainland, turned into a peninsula.
Although these processes were not directly related, but in time, along with the dying of the sea, Aralsk-7 also died. The collapse of the USSR finally "buried" him. In the post-Soviet realities, weapons of mass destruction have lost their former relevance. In November 1991, the military biological laboratory Aralsk-7 and the Barkhan training ground were closed. Within a few weeks, the town was empty, the population was evacuated, and the entire infrastructure (both residential and office) was abandoned. So Kantubek turned into a ghost town over the dead sea. When the military left the island, marauders immediately appeared on it, in their own way appreciating the wealth left by the army and scientists. Everything that was of any value and amenable to dismantling and transportation was removed from the island. Aralsk-7 has become a dream and a feeding trough for lovers of abandoned cities.
Unlike, for example, the Chernobyl exclusion zone, being here is not so dangerous for health: the biological threat is less tenacious than the radiation one. However, ecologists do not stop sounding the alarm about the burial grounds remaining on the island that died during the tests of animals.
The shallow Aral Sea opens up a wide scope for geological exploration activities. Already in the 90s of the last century, oil and gas deposits, as well as non-ferrous metals, were discovered here. Their active development, combined with the accessibility of the now peninsula of the Renaissance, make it increasingly likely that many people will get into the territory of the former biological laboratory. And although the central and local authorities claim that all security measures in relation to the former landfill were taken in full, it remains to be seen what other unpleasant surprises the Vozrozhdenie Island hides in its bowels.
Magazine: Historical Truth No. 1. Author: Constantin Richet