James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies
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Former Soviet Biological Weapons Facilities in Kazakhstan: Past, Present, and Future

Gulbarshyn Bozheyeva
Yerlan Kunakbayev
Dastan Yeleukenov

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CONTENTS

Foreword by Jonathan B. Tucker, Ph.D.

Former Soviet Biological Weapons Facilities in Kazakhstan: Past, Present, and Future

• Brief History of the Soviet Biological Weapons (BW) Program
  The Biopreparat Complex
  Other BW-Related Centers

• Kazakhstani Elements of the System
  Vozrozhdeniye Island
  Infrastructure and BW Development
  Desiccation of the Aral Sea
  Stepnogorsk Scientific Experimental and Production Base (SNOPB)
  Research and Development Work
  Infrastructure of the Facility
  Scientific Research Agricultural Institute (NISKhI)
  Anti-Plague Scientific Research Institute

• Initial Efforts at Conversion
  AO Biomedpreparat—Heir to SNOPB
  NISKhI
  Anti-Plague Institute

• Prospects for Conversion
  Structural and Technological Constraints on Conversion
  Role of Foreign Assistance Programs

• Conclusions

• Notes

• Photographs of SNOPB
  1. Building 600, where research was conducted
  2. View of Buildings 600 and 241-244, from Building 221
  3. Fermentors in Building 221
  4. Refrigeration units at SNOPB
  5. Buildings 251-252, used to store finished products
  6. Entrance to bunker next to helicopter landing pad