Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Aleksandr Nikitin with the Bellona foundation is halfway laughing when asked about safety aspects on Russia's planned civilian nuclear-powered submarine for bringing gas to markets in Asia He does not at all believe the project will surface.  Design work has begun, said president of the the Kurchatov Institute, Mikhail Kovalchuk. He presented the news at the OMR 2024 forum devoted to development of shipping and high-tech equipment for the Arctic taking place in St The idea to conquer difficult ice conditions by simply sailing under it is not new. Both the Kurchatov institute and Malachite Design Bureau have previously discussed the plan of creation of a reactor-powered submarine for transport of hydrocarbons from the Arctic shelf is the first time the designers announce an agreement of intent with Gazprom the Kremlin mjority-owned energy corporation.  Gazprom director Alexei Miller and Kurchatov Institute chief Kovalchuk had a working meeting on October 11 where the implementation of nuclear power project for Russia’s Arctic shelf was discussed, the energy-online Neftegaz reported.  Gazprom is in deep financial crisis after sales more than halved following Russia’s all-out war on Ukraine The energy giant lost pipeline gas sales to Europe and faced its first annual net loss in 2023 after decades of making big money.  Gazprom is now ranked as Russia's most unprofitable company but building south- and eastbound pipelines take time and become more difficult as thawing permafrost makes the ground unstable.  A nuclear submarine with giant LNG-tanks can provide year-round transportation from terminals along the north coast of western Siberia is too shallow for such giant submarine to sail submerged Assistance from icebreakers will therefore still be needed from ports at Sabetta (Yamal LNG) or Gydan (Arctic LNG 2) to deep-sea Arctic waters north of Siberia.  Except the small-scale Portovaya LNG in the Baltic Sea Gazprom does not have its own LNG production capacities Today's two LNG plants in the Arctic are operated by Novatek.  Mikhail Kovalchuk claims a submarine will increase safety compared with surface carriers and pipelines A few of those submarines will be sufficient to transport the same amount of gas as a subsea pipeline can do.  Preliminary design studies suggest the submarine LNG-carrier should be 360 meters twice the length of the giant Cold War Typhoon-class submarines.  The new subs will be powered by 3 reactors 30 meters high and have a draft of 12-13 meters the submarines would carry about the same as today’s surface tankers Sailing under the ice can be done regardless of climate and weather conditions Unlike surface LNG-carriers that have to follow an icebreaker crushing the ice a submarine can sail much faster eastbound from the terminals in the Ob Bay a nuclear expert that until 2022 chaired the St Petersburg-based Environmental Right Centre Bellona describes the plans as fantasies not rooted in reality.  economy and industrial implementation,” Nikitin says to the Barents Observer.  “Russia doesn’t even have basic shipbuilding capacities,” he argues and point to the fact that the country is short of abilities to build basic tankers and dry cargo ships this is nonsense from Kovalchuk,” Nikitin says The nuclear safety expert is today based in Oslo and is critical to how war-time Russia is brushing dust off reactor-projects from Soviet times.  Arctic has got an special focus after the state nuclear corporation Rosatom in 2018 became in charge of the Northern Sea Route Directorate responsible for infrastructure and investments Published by: The Independent Barents Observer AS About us The Barents Observer follows the Code of Ethics of the Norwegian Press and the document Right and Duties of the Editor We report under full editorial independence and have no external interference Donate to our independent journalism Støtt oss via Vipps: 105 792 - Det betyr mye newstips@thebarentsobserver.com atle@thebarentsobserver.com thomas@thebarentsobserver.com☏ +47-905 73 143 denis@thebarentsobserver.com georgii@thebarentsobserver.com liza.vereykina@thebarentsobserver.com olesia@thebarentsobserver.com Privacy policy Russian authorities will restrict entry to Kurchatov, the town where the Kursk nuclear plant is located, amid Ukraine's ongoing incursion in the Kursk border region, the region's acting governor said Wednesday “Despite the fact that the security of the Kursk nuclear power plant is maximized the Ukrainian Armed Forces are not abandoning their attempts to penetrate the city as well as in order to provide additional security measures the counter-terrorism regime's operational headquarters has decided to limit entry to Kurchatov in the near future,” Kursk Governor Alexei Smirnov wrote on the Telegram messaging app Only citizens who are registered as Kurchatov residents will be permitted to freely enter the town People who work in Kurchatov will need an entry permit issued by local authorities Employees at the nuclear power plant will obtain entry permits from their employer City and district administration employees will be on duty at checkpoints from 7:00 a.m “Transit vehicles that previously moved through the territory of Kurchatov will have to use alternative detour routes,” Smirnov said Ukraine launched its surprise incursion into Kursk on Aug even as Russian forces move deeper into eastern Ukraine Russian President Vladimir Putin last week accused Ukraine of trying to attack the Kursk nuclear power plant which is less than 50 kilometers (30 miles) from fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces Kyiv has denied claims that it plans to attack the plant Visiting the Kursk nuclear plant on Tuesday, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Rafael Grossi warned that the plant's proximity to ongoing fighting was "extremely serious." "I was informed about the impact of drones signs of impact they had," Grossi said Tuesday Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent." These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help please support us monthly starting from just $2 and every contribution makes a significant impact independent journalism in the face of repression President Donald Trump is dismantling the world's security order Nuclear arms in the hands of some medium-sized countries could help to stabilize it again this would be true only under certain conditions In the areas of both economic and security policy President Donald Trump is seeking to dismantle the existing international order The president sees the world system that the United States built after World War II and consolidated after the end of the Cold War as a kind of conspiracy against America – a plot by foreign powers aiming to enrich themselves at the United States’ expense He regards his predecessors in office as a series of naive figures who allowed themselves to be ripped off in bad deals by clever leaders elsewhere He thinks that America is losing its industrial capacities and paying for the security of its allies Trump is determined to change this state of affairs he is charging ahead like a bull in a china shop showing little concern for the damage he leaves behind Will the existing world system be overturned Or will Trump simply use his typically aggressive approach to reconfigure it for a new era It is clear that Trump’s actions are already leading to a general sense of unease especially among America's allies and partners Yet insecurity generated by America itself is precisely the opposite of what is needed at a time when Russia and China are massively arming themselves attacking their neighbors both covertly and openly constructed in the second half of the 20th century is based on nuclear deterrence By taking allies under the umbrella of its «extended deterrence,» Washington has offered them an acceptable alternative to developing their own nuclear arms capacities But at a time when the perception of a threat from nuclear powers Russia and China is growing and when Iran has come closer than ever to building its own nuclear bomb Americans have elected a president whose actions are eroding the foundation of trust between the United States and its allies and partners If the sense grows that this is not just an extreme moment in American history but the new normal then sooner or later a number of middle-sized powers will conclude that they must act on their own to avoid being swept under by the new world order and losing their own strategic autonomy initial attention is focusing on conventional rearmament with many countries already boosting their investment considerably in this area But the shift to self-reliance will not stop there America's allies will next seriously consider acquiring their own nuclear deterrence capabilities in order to assert themselves in a new world in which no power can count reliably on anyone but itself This is because if trust in the partnership with the United States is fundamentally shaken the new state of affairs will encourage more aggressive action even beyond that of Russia and China the nuclear taboo that was established over decades and enshrined in the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons still holds Yet this nuclear order has functioned as well as it has only because each country’s own status as a nuclear power has been replaced by the guarantee provided by an extended U.S That arrangement has been seen as both politically acceptable and the United States remains the only entity that can provide a credible extended deterrent America has acquired the power to do this over the course of decades The country was decisive in the victory of the Allies in World War II secured Western Europe against the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact during the Cold War and waged wars in Asia to prevent the advance of communism it assumed the role of the global order's security guarantor The United States combines a long history of security guarantees for allies with its position as the leading Extended deterrence can be credibly provided only from this position of strength this is nothing more than the protector's promise to respond to an attack on the protected country in the same way as to an attack on its own territory neither France nor the United Kingdom are even remotely in a position to take on such a role This is particularly true given that a credible offer of extended deterrence requires that the protector maintain a certain contingent of its own troops in the country to be protected A loss of U.S.-provided nuclear deterrence is likely to lead medium-sized powers particularly in three regions to develop their own nuclear arms capacities The most likely candidates for such actions are South Korea and Japan in Asia; Saudi Arabia and Turkey in the Middle East region (especially if Iran goes down the path to becoming a nuclear power); and Poland and Germany in Europe although particularly strong public resistance can be expected in this latter country The path to developing a nuclear weapon is not an easy one industrially sophisticated and internationally well-connected countries It is unlikely that Russia and China would simply stand by and watch But they are also unlikely to launch a major war for this reason alone Now assume that this transition phase were to succeed and the countries cited above were to develop their own nuclear arms capacities What would that mean for the security of each of these regions it has mainly been geopolitically bellicose states that have focused on acquiring nuclear weapons Washington has repeatedly managed to get Beijing and Moscow on board to exert pressure on these countries The concern has been that these countries might use nuclear weapons to shield their autocratic systems against forces of democratic renewal as well as to undermine their surrounding regional orders – and in the worst case that they might even supply terrorist groups with nuclear material All these concerns would be far less acute with respect to nuclear-armed liberal democracies in Europe or Asia Italy and India today use their nuclear weapons purely defensively Japan or South Korea – as a guarantee of survival and as a deterrent against Russia and China even Saudi Arabia’s primary interest would likely be in protecting itself against a regionally expansive Iran if this country too were to become a nuclear power Were these countries to become nuclear powers new regional balances of deterrence could be established Credible deterrence provided by these new nuclear powers could help prevent expansionist imperial powers such as Russia China and Iran from taking aggressive action against neighbors By far the safest and most advantageous path would be for the United States to continue playing its traditional role much as it has in the past is no longer available to serve in this function in the future the greatest danger is that expansionist imperial powers will fill the vacuum This could lead to considerably more regional wars – and to a hardening of the aggressive imperialist identities of Russia In the absence of extended nuclear deterrence provided by the U.S. the second-best solution would be for stable democracies in Europe and the Indo-Pacific region to arm themselves with nuclear weapons This would tend to stabilize the existing order much as the French and British nuclear weapons do today The same would presumably also apply if Saudi Arabia and Turkey were to arm themselves with nuclear weapons in response to Iran's development of nuclear arms capacities A scenario of this kind would not necessarily mean fewer regional wars Nuclear weapons are often not relevant in the strategic calculus surrounding smaller wars Ukraine was even able to conquer Russian territory without Moscow resorting to the use of tactical nuclear weapons the most important role played by nuclear weapons is to prevent countries from becoming vulnerable to blackmail and to make sure that they are taken seriously by the other side This makes aggression and attack less likely In order to secure regional balances of power in a world in which the U.S is no longer serving as the global guardian of order reasonably acting states could become necessary either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content Russia is building new defenses around a nuclear power plant in its border Kursk region as Ukraine advances deeper into Russian territory following its cross-border incursion New photos appear to show Moscow constructing new lines of defenses close to the Kursk nuclear power plant, the BBC reported on Sunday The facility sits on the edge of the town of Kurchatov Newsweek has been unable to verify the photos and reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email Ukrainian forces crossed from the country's northeastern Sumy region into Kursk on Tuesday They quickly gained territory as Russia scrambled to respond to the most significant advance into Russian territory since the start of full-scale war nearly two-and-a-half years ago The U.S. think tank, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said on Sunday that Ukraine had likely advanced west and to the northwest in Kursk in the past few days Kyiv officials had largely swerved commenting on the cross-border push, although Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky nodded to "actions to push the war out into the aggressor's territory" on Saturday Russia's community of influential military bloggers have speculated that Ukraine hoped to reach the Kursk nuclear power plant Moscow's forces have clashed around 30 miles away from the Kursk plant with satellite imagery showing "several newly constructed trench lines in the vicinity" starting from around 5 miles from the Kursk facility International authorities have long raised the alarm over how the war in Ukraine could impact nuclear facilities and the safety of the plants close to front-line fighting "I am personally in contact with the relevant authorities of both countries and will continue to be seized of the matter," the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief the IAEA had expressed fresh concern over the security of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine which is Europe's largest facility and has sat on the front lines of fighting since the early days of the war Intense fires were reported close to the plant including a blaze underneath the two remaining cables linking the nuclear facility to external power Late on Sunday, Ukraine's Zelensky then said Russia had started a fire near the Zaporizhzhia plant but Russian-installed authorities pointed the finger of blame at Kyiv Zelensky said radiation levels are within norm at the plant adding: "Russia has been using the Zaporizhzhia NPP [nuclear power plant] only to blackmail Ukraine and the consequences of the fire will not affect the operation of the station itself." dark smoke at the plant and heard multiple explosions but said there was no impact on nuclear safety Russian forces have controlled the Zaporizhzhia plant since 2022 and while Moscow maintains its grip on the facility "the potential for the site to be used as a giant dirty bomb cannot and should not be ruled out," Darya Dolzikova a research fellow for proliferation and nuclear policy at the London-based Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) defense think tank Key systems and equipment could be damaged Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground Newsweek is committed to journalism that's factual and fair Hold us accountable and submit your rating of this article on the meter. Newsletters in your inbox See all Vice President Mike Pence said Putin "only understands power." About 800 million euros ($905 million) will be allocated for the acquisition and installation of anti-tank mines to deter potential aggression  (Updated:  May 6, 2025 9:37 am)Ukraine's drones target Moscow second night in a row, Russian official claims, ahead of Victory Day parade. Debris from one of the drones reportedly fell on the Kashirskoye Highway The reported attack comes just days before Russia's Victory Day parade and three-day "truce."  (Updated:  May 6, 2025 9:36 am)War analysisFrance is sending Ukraine more AASM Hammer bombs — here's what they can do Polish President Andrzej Duda said the United States has tools that can effectively influence the Kremlin arguing that only President Donald Trump has real leverage over Russian President Vladimir Putin The number includes 1,430 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day "To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause: The Many Lives of the Soviet Dissident Movement" by Benjamin Nathans which covers dissent in the Soviet Union and Russia today Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on May 5 announced they had facilitated Russian journalist Ekaterina Barabash's escape from Russia to France after she fled house arrest on April 21 A Russian drone attack on Odesa Oblast on May 5 killed one and caused damage to local infrastructure "We appreciate that Germany plays a pivotal role in supporting Ukraine throughout the years of war Ukraine is also grateful for your personal commitment," President Volodymyr Zelensky said MPs will be able to ask questions and learn more about the details of the agreement in meetings with Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko May 6-7 MP Serhii Sobolev told the news outlet Suspilne The ratification vote is scheduled for May 8 Attacks against the border villages of Bilopillia and Vorozhba damaged civilian infrastructure and triggered emergency evacuations the regional military administration reported "I look forward to working with President Erdogan on getting the ridiculous war between Russia and Ukraine ended — now!" U.S Putin's Victory Day truce "doesn't sound like much if you know where we started from," Trump told reporters at the White House on May 5 by Martin FornusekThe Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (Wikimedia Commons)The head of the counter-disinformation center at Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council denied claims from the Russian media about an attempted Ukrainian attack against the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant on Oct "Russia released false information about a HIMARS strike against the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant," Andrii Kovalenko said on his Telegram channel Moscow has repeatedly accused Kyiv of attacking or planning to attack the plant since the start of the Ukrainian incursion in Kursk Oblast in early August The plant lies roughly 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Ukrainian-held positions in Kursk Oblast according to the DeepState monitoring site Russian Telegram Shot and Mash claimed that explosions rocked the nearby town of Kurchatov amid a supposed attempted Ukrainian attack on the Kursk plant The channels did not specify whether HIMARS rockets were used in the attack Mash claimed that four missiles and a single drone were deployed The drone, alleged to be Ukraine's new Palianytsia model Russian air defenses were used to intercept a "French aerial bomb" that fell 5 kilometers from the power station Shot wrote that Ukrainian forces made "four unsuccessful attempts" to strike the plant causing a fire some 5 kilometers from the plant Both channels shared footage of smoke rising over what appears to be Kurchatov Kursk Oblast Governor Alexei Smirnov claimed that a Ukrainian drone was neutralized by electronic warfare means near Kurchatov Its fall allegedly caused explosions at an outbuilding not related to the nuclear plant The power station's management said on Telegram that it is "operating in normal mode" and that the radiation levels are within norms Russia showed some kind of fire in Kurchatov and a video of an explosion on the ground," Kovalenko said "What is the purpose of attacking the nuclear power plan?.. It (the explosions) have nothing to do with an attack against the Kursk plant." The Ukrainian outlet Suspilne also wrote that its sources in Ukraine's intelligence services refuted the claims about the strike on the plant The Kyiv Independent could not verify all the claims Ukrainian intelligence services did not respond to a request for comment at the time of the publication saying it was hoping for "a more objective and clearer position." Russia has been occupying Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant since March 2022 Kyiv said Moscow has been consistently endangering the plant's safety and using it as a tool of nuclear blackmail Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies The Kurchatov Institute and Yakutia have agreed to jointly develop the Elena-AM nuclear plant in a step towards enhancing the regions energy sector A cooperation agreement has been signed between the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia in the north-east of the Russian Federation and Russia’s Kurchatov Institute during a meeting between the head of Takutia Aisen Nikolaev and Kurchatov Institute President Mikhail Kovalchuk Nikolaev said the document will be an important step in the development of the republic’s energy sector and will open up new prospects for scientific and technological progress in the region “The agreement provides for the development of cooperation in the implementation of socially significant projects in the energy sector fundamental research and applied development in various fields of science and technology,” he noted “The institute will take part in the development and implementation of a programme for the development of a low-power nuclear power plant as well as in the training of local personnel for the nuclear energy of the Arctic and the Far East.” Yakutia and the Kurchatov Institute will develop cooperation in a number of areas including energy supply to settlements with a decentralised power supply system using Elena-AM nuclear thermoelectric power plants training of highly qualified specialists in the field of nuclear energy as well as development and testing of full-cycle hydrogen technologies suited to the conditions of the Far North The Kurchatov Institute is the scientific leader or development of the Elena-AM In 2023 Rosatom’s public procurement website posted documents on construction of the Elena-AM with a contract price for development of the reactor project of RUB 3bn ($39m) The Elena-AM is a nuclear thermoelectric heat supply station (ATST – Atomnikh Termoelektricheskikh Stantsii Teplosnabzheniya) designed for use in small remote villages with a decentralised energy supply Primarily it will provide a heat supply to isolated settlements dependent on biofuel The plant will use some of the generated electricity to cover its own needs which will allow it to work autonomously without external power Heat produced by a small reactor will be converted into electricity directly These are solid-state semiconductor devices that convert a temperature difference and heat flow into a useful power source using the Seebeck effect to generate voltage Although this is less efficient than other generators the low efficiency is offset by the ability to use some of the generated heat for heating The nominal thermal power of the planned reactor is 7 MWt and the power of the station is at least 200 kWe This is enough to heat and illuminate two or three small remote villages The planned life of the station with a single fuel load is 40 years Rosatom specifies that the Elena-AM will be an unattended station without operator intervention and without any connection to external energy sources All equipment of the reactor installation must be trouble-free for 8,400 hours (350 days) after which two-week maintenance and scheduled preventive repairs are allowed with the replacement of individual components and parts The station and reactor must be able to continue to operate during and after an earthquake of magnitude 8 And in the case of nine-point seismic fluctuations automation must ensure that the station is put into safe mode Elena-AM must be able to withstand the crash of an airplane weighing 20 tonnes at a speed of 215 m/s without loss of operability an aircraft weighing up to 200 tonnes at a speed of no more than 100 m/s is taken into account the reactor should automatically go into a safe state The station must maintain uninterrupted operation at ambient temperature between 45ºC in summer and minus 70ºC in winter The first Elena-type reactor stations were designed in early 1990 The project was to develop a small NPP to produce heating and energy for small remote inaccessible settlements The first experimental industrial design of such a station was intended for a small scientific village of the Pacific Oceanological Institute in the area of Elena Bay on the island of Popova Working drawings of the installation were developed but work was suspended because of economic difficulties at a meeting in the Council of Ministers of Yakutia decided to build an Elena-type station in the village of Kyusur but political turmoil put an end to these plans Similar plans that were being developed for the far east Primorsky Territory in the villages of Krasnaya Yar Sobolinoe and Yasenevoi and for Khabarovsk Territory in the villages of Chumikan and Neran were also dropped at that time Give your business an edge with our leading industry insights View all newsletters from across the Progressive Media network © Business Trade Media International Limited Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war Isabel joined Newsweek in 2021 and had previously worked with news outlets including the Daily Express You can get in touch with Isabel by emailing i.vanbrugen@newsweek.com or by following her on X @isabelvanbrugen Explosions were heard in Kurchatov in Russia's Kursk region as Ukrainian forces conducted a series of cross-border raids "Sounds of explosions in the sky over Kurchatov, Kursk region. There is a nuclear power plant in the city," Telegram channel Country Politics reported sharing a video it obtained from a local resident The Kursk Nuclear Power Plant is located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of the city of Kursk and is approximately 110 kilometers (68 miles) from the border with Ukraine which borders Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region after Ukraine deployed troops and armored vehicles into the area some 90 percent of residents from Kursk's Sudzhansky District were evacuated from four settlements Some Russian military bloggers including Russian war correspondent Alexander Sladkov have speculated that Ukrainian forces are planning to take control of the nuclear power plant in Kurchatov There is no evidence to suggest that Ukraine intends to capture the nuclear power plant The nuclear plant—Europe's largest—has been under Russian control since early March 2022, just days after President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began It was one of the first sites to be seized by Russian forces Ukraine may also "demand that troops be withdrawn" from the country "otherwise they will blow up the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (it is impossible to blow it up with artillery and missiles) causing a gigantic catastrophe," said Sladkov Ukrainian forces may attempt to "disable the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant without incident thereby depriving Russia of this largest source of energy," he added Newsweek has contacted Ukrainian authorities for comment by email X (formerly Twitter) user Dmitri, from War Translated, an independent project that translates materials about the war, said Wednesday that Russian propagandists "badly want to spread the theory about the intention of the UAF [Ukrainian Armed Forces] to seize the Kursk nuclear power plant." it is their favorite technique - the Russians are excellent at nuclear terrorism and blackmail they've already captured the Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plants earlier," he wrote the distance from the border to the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant is almost 100 kilometers and it is located close to the city of Kursk You'd need a huge amount of forces to not only reach it but also capture and then hold it," Dmitri added Last August, the Ukrainian Armed Forces, citing the country's National Resistance Center, said leaked documents were obtained that showed the Kremlin was preparing a provocation at the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant Do you have a tip on a world news story that Newsweek should be covering Do you have a question about the Russia-Ukraine war Russian authorities on Wednesday declared that they introduced restrictions on entries into a town near the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant which Moscow claims has been targeted by Kyiv.  Acting Kursk Governor Alexey Smirnov said on Telegram that the operational headquarters established in the region decided to restrict entries “in the near future” into the town of Kurchatov about 4 kilometers (2,5 miles) east of the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant and almost 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the Ukrainian border “Despite the fact that the security of the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant is maximally ensured the Ukrainian Armed Forces do not abandon their attempts to enter the city,” Smirnov said adding that the decision will be implemented at specially organized checkpoints Smirnov further said that residents of Kurchatov who have registration will be able to freely enter the settlement while those who work there and do not have a residence permit will be able to obtain passes from the town and district’s administrations Kursk is among three of Russia’s border regions where a “counter-terrorist operation regime” has been declared due to Ukraine’s ongoing “operation” in the region since Aug Russia claimed that Ukraine launched a drone attack on the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant with the drone being shot down near a spent nuclear fuel storage facility Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned the attack calling it "an act of nuclear terrorism that demands immediate action from the IAEA." Ukrainian authorities have not commented on Moscow’s claims and independent verification of the claim is difficult due to the ongoing war The Kursk Nuclear Power Plant is one of Russia’s largest nuclear power plants and plays a vital role in the country’s energy system providing electricity to 19 regions within the country’s Central Federal District Ukrainian armed forces in Russia's western region of Kursk pose a "direct threat" to a nearby nuclear facility the head of Rosatom told the UN's nuclear watchdog "The actions of the armed forces of Ukraine pose a direct threat not only to the Kursk NPP (nuclear power plant) but also to the development of the entire global nuclear energy industry," Alexey Likhachev said in a telephone call with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi the CEO of Russia's state-owned nuclear energy company discussed Ukraine's attempts to capture the plant Highlighting the increasingly complex situation on the ground near the power plant Rosatom said debris from downed missiles was found Thursday near the facility including in the vicinity of its radioactive waste processing complex a transformer substation was put out of operation there is a real danger of strikes and provocations by the armed forces of Ukraine at the nuclear power plant "The current situation not only negatively affects the normal operation of the Kursk NPP but also directly compromises the postulates of nuclear safety and security formulated by the head of the IAEA in 2022 and thereby undermines confidence in the nuclear energy industry as a whole," it said Grossi urged "all sides to exercise maximum restraint in order to avoid a nuclear accident with the potential for serious radiological consequences." Brendan Cole is a Newsweek Senior News Reporter based in London He also covers other areas of geopolitics including China Brendan joined Newsweek in 2018 from the International Business Times and well as English You can get in touch with Brendan by emailing b.cole@newsweek.com or follow on him on his X account @brendanmarkcole Districts in Russia's Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces have staged an incursion have reportedly been left without electricity after a substation caught fire with video footage on social media showing the aftermath of the blaze going viral Ukrainian troops entered the Russian region on Tuesday reportedly capturing a number of settlements in a surprise operation which Kyiv has remained tight-lipped about "A substation has been attacked in the Oktyabrsky district of Kursk region," reported eastern European news outlet NEXTA shared on X, formerly Twitter, next to footage of the site as smoke billows into the sky the clip had been viewed over 104,000 times Newsweek has contacted the Russian and Ukrainian defense ministries for comment A substation has been attacked in the Oktyabrsky district of Kursk regionThere is no light in Kurchatov and five other districts of the region due to a fire at a transformer substation, - the governor's deputy Smirnov. pic.twitter.com/c7U35Z6MgI said a fire at a transformer substation caused by debris from a drone had cut off power to five districts and as well as Kurchatov where the Kursk nuclear power station (KNNP) is located Smirnov has been posting on his Telegram channel regular rocket danger warnings for citizens to be ready to take shelter Fighting is reportedly ongoing around the nuclear plant prompting International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi to ask for "maximum restraint" from both sides Grossi said that two of the six nuclear reactors at the KNPP are in shutdown He added that a nuclear accident at the site would have "the potential for serious radiological consequences." The independent Russian news outlet IStories reported on Friday that Russia is preparing to defend the power plant and some security personnel have been withdrawn The speed of Ukraine's incursion has taken Russia and Kyiv's allies by surprise It did get the measured backing of Germany whose foreign ministry said in a statement that the principle of self-defense for Ukraine "is not limited to its own territory." Ukrainian forces have reportedly entered and now and partially control between 170 and 210 square miles of the Kursk Region. They are attacking in multiple directions, according to the X account Ukraine Battle Map which posts regular updates of the state of the front line Russia has declared an anti-terrorist operation across Kursk as well as the regions of Bryansk and Belgorod A video shows troops holding a Ukrainian and Georgian flag claiming to have captured a village in the Belgorod region "The 252nd battalion is in the Poroz settlement in the Belgorod region," one of the troops says The news comes as civilians continue to evacuate the border province of Kursk amid fears that the conflict will continue to creep onto Russian soil Military commanders have also scrambled to send reinforcements from across the country to the region said in a statement on Telegram that “fighting is several dozen kilometers” from the nuclear plant monitoring the situation,” Korpunkov added The International Atomic Energy Agency wrote in a statement to Russian state media organ TASS “is following reports about recent developments and has channels of communication open to both sides of the conflict At this point there is no reason for concern with regard to nuclear safety and security.” “IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi reiterates that all nuclear power plants should never be a target of an armed attack,” the agency added Unconfirmed reports from later in the day, Friday, from the Ukrainian outlet OBOZ.UA claim that a Ukrainian drone hit the substation of the plant Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters during a Thursday press conference that Ukraine’s advance into Russia “were within the U.S policy,” referring to Ukraine’s use of U.S Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here Brett Bachman is a night editor at The Daily Beast. He is a graduate of the Columbia Journalism School and has been an editor at the New York Post, The Daily Mail and Salon. Send him tips at brett.bachman@thedailybeast.com, tips@thedailybeast.com, or use our anonymous document submission system, SecureDrop. Click here to find out how This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article Kurchatov directed the construction of the first nuclear reactor in Europe (1946) and oversaw development of the first Soviet atomic bomb, which was tested on August 29, 1949, four years after the United States conducted its first test. Kurchatov also oversaw the thermonuclear bomb effort with key tests in August 1953 and a more modern design in November 1955 Kurchatov was elected to the Academy of Sciences in 1943, and he was awarded the Hero of Socialist Labour in 1949, 1951, and 1954. A further honour was his burial in the Kremlin Wall in Moscow and the renaming of his institute to the I.V Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy in 1960 (redesignated the Russian Research Centre Kurchatov Institute in 1991) the Kurchatov Medal was established by the Academy of Sciences and awarded for outstanding work in nuclear physics Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry has identified the regions of Balkhash, Kurchatov, and Mangistau as potential sites for the country’s second and third nuclear power plants, Energy Minister Almasadam Satkaliyev has announced The first plant is set to be built in Almaty region Kazakhstan planned to build a single nuclear power plant by 2035 to address potential energy shortages President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev later instructed the government to explore the construction of at least two additional plants Following an Energy Ministry board meeting on Wednesday Satkaliyev told reporters that three locations are under consideration for the second and third nuclear plants: “We plan to build at least three nuclear power plants in Kazakhstan in the medium term The government has identified promising sites for the second and third plants based on regional development needs and diversification of the national power grid with the capacity for up to four 1,200 MW units Kurchatov is suitable for two 1,200 MW units The Mangistau site also offers significant advantages including the potential for a medium-capacity plant,” Satkaliyev stated Timeline and Contractors for the First Plant The government has approved the Zhambyl district of Almaty region as the site for the first nuclear power plant the final decision will depend on engineering surveys in the region Four companies are in contention to construct Kazakhstan’s first nuclear plant: we plan to announce the configuration for the first nuclear power plant,” Satkaliyev said The Energy Ministry has sent a list of 207 questions covering 19 key aspects of construction and operation to all four bidders Responses were received last week and are now under review by an interdepartmental commission “It is too early to determine a frontrunner The final decision on the contractor will be made after a thorough review possibly even earlier than expected,” Satkaliyev noted showed that 71.12% of voters approved the construction of a nuclear power plant in Almaty region Ukrainian forces attempted to attack a Russian nuclear plant in the border region of Kursk with at least five kamikaze drones and one S-200 missile The drones and missile which targeted the Kurchatov Nuclear Power Plant were shot down by Russian air defense systems but the falling debris damaged a substation which provides power to at least seven streets in the Kursk region Russian Telegram channel Mash reported on Wednesday The nuclear power plant is located about 40 kilometers west of the city of Kursk and is approximately 110 kilometers from the border with Ukraine It marks at least the fourth time that the nuclear power plant has been targeted throughout Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine according to independent Russian publication The Moscow Times The plant's Telegram channel said the facility is operating as normal Newsweek has contacted Russia's defense ministry for comment by email Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Defense Intelligence, said during a Ukrainian television appearance last week that the "Kursk and Belgorod regions are now an area of active combat actions." "And as stated by the volunteers and rebels are defending their civil right with arms against the Putin regime," Yusov added Kursk regional governor Roman Starovoit had warned on his Telegram channel that there was a missile threat in the area you need to take shelter in rooms without windows with solid walls: in the hallway go into the nearest building or suitable shelter," said Starovoit He later said that there were temporary power outages in Kursk and urged residents not to approach or touch fallen drone debris "Air defense systems are working in the skies over the Kursk region The Russian defense ministry said air defense systems destroyed a Ukrainian S-200 missile over the territory of the Kursk region Ukraine rarely claims responsibility for attacks on Russian soil, but the Kremlin has accused Kyiv of trying to carry out terrorist attacks using drones ET: This article was updated with a change to the spelling of Roman Starovoit deputy chief of the Russian Armed Forces’ Main Military-Political Department and commander of the Akhmat special forces commando unit The Armed Forces of Ukraine were supposed to take the nuclear power plant in Kursk's Kurchatov on August 11, said Apty Alaudinov, deputy chief of the Russian Armed Forces’ Main Military-Political Department and commander of the Akhmat special forces commando unit, APA reports citing Russian media "Ukraine had planned to enter into negotiations with Russia with an ultimatum - after the planned seizure of the nuclear power plant in Kurchatov. However complete their task as most of their equipment had already been destroyed," he noted New ITER Boutique! Purchase ITER-branded merchandise here ITER NewslineKeep in touch with ITER through our main news feed ITER Magazine - French onlyLearn more about the ITER Project by subscribing to this quarterly online magazine (in French) that is geared toward the general public ITER Open Doors Day - NotificationsStay informed about the ITER Open Doors sessions and be among the first to subscribe to the next event ITER ("The Way" in Latin) is one of the most ambitious energy projects in the world today ITER is charting new territory in fusion research You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed Every year on August 29, at the initiative of Kazakhstan, the UN and its Member States mark the International Day against Nuclear Tests. This year the Day coincides with the 70th anniversary of the first atomic bomb test at the Semipalatinsk test site in Kazakhstan Moscow-400, Semipalatinsk-21, End of the Line, Kurchatov City  - all names for a top-secret town built on the banks of the Irtysh River in the north-east of Kazakhstan after the Second World War. Its inhabitants were mainly Soviet scientists and members of the military whose job it was to conduct nuclear tests.   which in the late 1940’s was surrounded by checkpoints friends and family members of its residents would have to wait for months for permission named after Soviet nuclear physicist Igor Kurchatov, wasn’t so easy either.    the town was stocked with the best food supplies High-quality merchandise was delivered there and top class amenities for the work and leisure pursuits of the 50,000 or so inhabitants.   456 nuclear devices were exploded on the territory, which stretches across some 18,500 square meters and the first iconic and chilling “mushroom cloud” rose over the test site near Semipalatinsk exactly 70 years ago It takes about two hours to get from Semey - Semipalatinsk's official name since 2007 - to Kurchatov City and it takes another hour by cross-country road to get from there to ‘ground zero’ the centre of the site.  In the Soviet era a concrete road was constructed here for delivery of heavy loads but it fell into disrepair and was never rebuilt.  Today, it's an immense, flat steppe overgrown with dry grass Grim, triangular structures that were once topped with sensors everything here looked different: to study the effects of the nuclear explosions the Soviet military built streets erected bridges and even excavated a subway in the area. Animals used for testing were deliberately brought into the “impact zone.” The locals readily share their memories: some describe the “horrible mushroom” cloud in a shaky voice while the others say that it was “even beautiful” the military would go to the nearby villages and ask the inhabitants to go outside during the blast.  “My grandfather remembers how they exploded a hydrogen bomb in 1955 how he felt the blast wave and saw the light flash,” Amir Kayranov, told UN News He is a young employee of the National Nuclear Center that was opened in Kurchatov City after the tests ceased.  not many people realized the dangers nuclear blasts posed Even though Kazakh scientists have been conducting decontamination proceedures for almost 30 years radiation levels here are still elevated and children in the area continue to be born with genetic mutations A local medical university has even amassed a horrific collection of infants born with abnormalities.   no one says these problems are directly connected to the test site and the scientists don’t have numbers at their disposal And that’s not just on the true number of mutations suffered.  one would hear about suicides all the time; people would take their own lives – by hanging themselves or jumping from a bridge an employee of the Semey City Hall.   “There is no evidence that would prove a direct connection between those incidents and the nearby nuclear tests but people in the villages got used to suicides that occurred quite often at the time,” he explained.  Tolkyn Bulegenov, Vice-President of the Semey Medical University, would only confirm an increase in contemporary oncology indices.   one can encounter malignant growths of the thyroid and blood malignancies – hematological blastoma lymphoma and chronic leukemia – 10 to 15 per cent more often than in other regions of Kazakhstan”, the medic told UN News.  it is precisely these diseases that are connected to the prolonged exposure to radiation and all the cases nowadays are meticulously tracked.  the information about the health of the people who were exposed to direct radiation during the operation of the Semipalatinsk Test Site Mr. Bulegenov says that in the 1960s, a survey was conducted but “the results of the study remain classified up until today.” The official estimate is that there were approximately one million people in the zone of radiation impact.  Kazakhstan was faced with the question of how to decontaminate the land and what to do with the military-industrial complex that remained on the territory of the test site.    the National Nuclear Center was founded in Kurchatov City Employees of the Center conduct research and carried out ‘re-cultivation’ which requires the land to be plowed in such a way that the contaminated topsoil ends up on the bottom and the uncontaminated soil rises to the surface.   Kazakhstan also came forward with a proposal to create the International Day against Nuclear Tests to be observed in order to promote the dissemination of information about the consequences of such tests August 29 is not only the date of the first test at Semipalatinsk; on this date in 1991 President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed the decree closing the test site also known as the Polygon.      The legacy of nuclear testing is “nothing but destruction,” and in a world of rising tensions, “our collective security depends” on bringing a global treaty into force that bans nuclear explosions, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has said More than three decades after the devastating explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant parts of Belarus’ adjoining regions have sprung back to life and the biggest of them has become a leading destination for domestic and international investors On board were two of the most powerful and enigmatic men of that time: Nikolai Bulganin President of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party The first thermonuclear plasma has been achieved at the T-15MD tokamak at Russia’s Kurchatov Institute and the facility is operating steadily according to Kurchative Institute President Mikhail Kovalchuk The physical launch of the T-15MD tokamak took place in May 2021 has been obtained.… This most complicated and expensive installation started up immediately and is now working gaining power and reaching global parameters,” he said at Russia’s Kurchatov Institute and the facility is operating steadily has been obtained.… This most complicated and expensive installation started up immediately and is now working gaining power and reaching global parameters,” he said The T-15MD tokamak is a modified version of the T-15 complex that operated at the Kurchatov Institute from 1988 to 1995 It is the first new thermonuclear plant to be built in Russia in the last 20 years The facility supports the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) under construction in France The original T-15 machine was entirely disassembled in 2017 and all major components were modernised from auxiliary plasma heating and current drive systems to the new non-superconducting silver-copper magnet systems and graphite inner surfaces ITER said the upgraded tokamak “will extend the operational domain of ‘ITER-complementary’ machines with an experimental programme that will contribute to the determination of optimal operating parameters for ITER and for future fusion reactors” The T-15MD is unique in its combination of high power and compact dimensions High-performing auxiliary plasma heating and current drive systems will allow the simultaneous achievement of high plasma temperature and plasma density ITER said the machine will be a test bed for different auxiliary heating scenarios through its capabilities in neutral beam injection electron cyclotron resonance heating (six gyrotrons) ion cyclotron resonance heating (three antennas) as well as a test bed for fusion material studies The research programme on the T-15MD tokamak will be aimed at solving the most pressing problems of ITER such as the mechanism of formation and maintenance of transport barriers the stationary generation of non-inductive current control of processes on the first wall and in the divertor and the suppression of global instabilities and periodic energy emissions on the wall The concept of the tokamak – toroidal chamber with magnetic coils – was developed in the 1950s by Soviet physicists Igor Tamm and Andrei Sakharov The first working tokamak – the T-1 – was the work of Natan Yavlinsky in 1958 the tokamak designs began to show greatly improved performance showed performance far in advance of any other fusion machine and scientists from the UK were invited to the USSR to make their own measurements dozens of tokamaks had been constructed around the world Image: Russian tokamak T-15MD (courtesy of Rosatom) The Cold War and nuclear arms race may never have erupted into a full-blown nuclear war but it still resulted in destruction and irreparable damage to the environment.  primarily at sites in the former Soviet Union were some of the most secret and well-guarded locations in the Soviet Union While researching a project on large Russian cities photographer Nadav Kander discovered some of the testing sites on Google Earth Most had been destroyed after the collapse of the Soviet Union Some say that they wanted to show their military might; others that they felt too old—although they were both barely over 60—or too embarrassed to arrive for a state visit in an outdated two-engine Ilyushin propeller plane (1) Whatever the reason, the arrival in Portsmouth of a Soviet cruiser (escorted by two destroyers) carrying Nikolai Bulganin The date was 18 April 1956 and this was the first-ever visit of Soviet leaders to the West Igor Kurchatov (1903-1960) had been running the Soviet nuclear program since 1943 Now that the USSR was on an equal strategic footing with the US "The Beard," as he was known to his colleagues at the Laboratory of Measuring Apparatus of Academy of Science (in fact the Institute for Atomic Research) could now focus his remarkable energy on another quest maybe the most promising but also the most difficult of all: "the thermonuclear synthesis problem" —in other words the harnessing of thermonuclear energy for peaceful uses collaboration in the field of fusion was about fundamental science and didn't pose any threat of strategic or military nature.  Only in September 1958, in Geneva where the United Nations held its Second International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy did the seeds that were sowed in Harwell begin to sprout the Soviet Union conducted its last nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site Kazakhstan –  also known as “The Polygon” – has been  transformed from nonproliferation’s biggest nightmare to one its biggest success stories Unprecedented cooperation between Kazakhstan 17-year project to secure hundreds of pounds of plutonium many have not heard about the circumstances that fostered cooperation between the Cold War rivals cooperation that on many fronts has since faded In the four decades that preceded its last test the Soviet Union carried out 456 nuclear tests at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in an area roughly five times larger than the US nuclear test site in Nevada and in some cases breached areas containing plutonium from tests The tunnel portals were sealed but the plutonium within the tunnels was left inside and long empty trenches where copper cabling had once been buried He observed that although the portals of many tunnels were sealed scavengers had simply drilled in behind the barriers and entered the tunnels What was first believed to be a few scavengers with pickaxes and shovels turned out to be major industrial operation Leveraging friendships with Russian and Kazakh scientists familiar with the test site Hecker set up a series of meetings to get a better picture of the situation on the ground soon the scientists revealed that the situation was worse than first believed officials and laid the ground work for a series of operations at Semipalatinsk were carried out under the auspices of CTR and worked to secure the plutonium located at Semipalatinsk in order to keep it from falling into malicious hands cooperation between the United States and Russia was slow; Cold War distrust remained  Many of the problems did not center around operations but the plutonium itself Russian officials were suspicious that their American counterparts would use the plutonium clean-up effort as a means of gathering intelligence about Russian nuclear weapons Russian officials were concerned that the United States may back out of the process before remediation could be completed leaving the area more dangerous than it had been initially Russian officials favored simply securing the plutonium on site whereas the United States favored its return to Russia Russian officials preferred a step-by-step process in which one area would be identified and dealt with before work in additional areas was begun who were deeply concerned about the environmental degradation associated with the Soviet nuclear testing program The project may have remained at an impasse were it not for a long record of scientist-to-scientist cooperation established in the waning days of the Cold War These working-level relationships created a foundation of trust that eventually worked its way up to the political level By leveraging unofficial channels and emphasizing the scientist-to-scientist connection and Russia were able to secure large amounts of plutonium reducing the threat that it could fall into the wrong hands the world cannot close the book on Semipalatinsk just yet Serious questions remain about the long term security of Semipalatinsk and the completion of the project While efforts have greatly reduced the risk of terrorists acquiring the plutonium at Semipalatinsk they have not eliminated the possibility of a terrorist group acquiring the materials As plutonium remains viable for weapons use for millennia security of the site is critical to the long-term success of any operations Will Kazakhstan remain interested in the surveillance and maintenance of the site and drones focus on the most sensitive areas at Semipalatinsk If the United States decides to withdraw funding licensed mining operations are being carried out in the proximity of some of the secured areas are there credible assurances that one of the mining companies will not breach a sealed location nuclear tests at Semipalatinsk went on for forty years No one is certain whether historical information about events that occurred in the 1950s was adequate to inform scientists in the 1990s and 2000s Is it possible that Russia does not have complete information or has not shared everything with Kazakhstan Have all the most vulnerable sites been dealt with Although the operations at Semipalatinsk have made the world a safer place it is important that the international community remain vigilant to the dangers posed by nuclear terrorism and more importantly not forget the legacy of nuclear testing worldwide Unfortunately, your version of Internet Explorer is outdated and it doesn't support some of the 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This may lead to incorrect display of some pages. Please upgrade your browser and get all benefits of browsing the new JINR site You can also use the previous version of the JINR site Scientific Leader of the Joint Institute Victor Matveev became one of the first holders of A. P. Alexandrov Medal I degree, a new award of the NRC “Kurchatov Institute” for his contribution to the development of atomic science and technology The awarding ceremony took place on 18 January at an extended meeting of the Scientific Council of the NRC KI Photos © NRC “Kurchatov Institute” The President of the Russian Academy of Sciences Gennady Krasnikov and Scientific Leader of the NIKIET Evgeny Adamov also won the I degree medal. The award of the 2nd degree was given to Andrey Kuzmin, Director-General of the Joint Institute for Power and Nuclear Research – Sosny of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus the NRC “Kurchatov Institute” established its own medals: A The first award ceremony was held on the stage of the A Alexandrov Scientists Club within the extended session of the Scientific Council of the Kurchatov Institute dedicated to the development of nuclear medicine The awards were presented by the President of the Centre Mikhail Kovalchuk and the Director of the Centre Marat Kambolov History students and teaching staff members of the SUSU Department of Russian and International History participated in an event at the Russia – My History multimedia park.  The occasion for this visit to the multimedia park was a presentation of a multi-author research monograph titled "Igor Kurchatov This monograph had been released by the Bank Kul'turnoy Informatsii publishing house in Yekaterinburg as the sixth book in the "National Heritage of Russia Prominent Scientists of the Urals" series dedicated to the 300th Anniversary of the Russian Academy of Sciences In addition to the traditional introduction of the book by the authors the presentation program included an "Adrenaline" interactive game on the topic of the academician Igor Kurchatov an excursion was organized to the "Science Wins" exhibition created specifically for the 120th birthday anniversary of Igor Kurchatov research supervisor of the Soviet nuclear project and Triple Hero of Socialist Labour This event sparked interest also thanks to the fact that one of the monograph authors is Nikolai Antipin Associate Professor of the Department of Russian History It should be noted that among the event's organizers were the alumni of the Department of Russian History of the SUSU Institute of Media who now work at the Russia – My History multimedia park Please refer to http://susu.ru/ when you use information from this site the birds fell from the sky and lay squawking on the shaken ground until they died their black-feathered bodies circling above as the dust settled on the trees The Polygon Nuclear Test Site VIINearly 25 years have passed since the Soviet Union’s nuclear testing site on Kazakhstan’s eastern border stopped detonating nuclear devices It reveals itself in devastatingly high numbers of local birth defects and landscapes adorned with shuttered cities and crumbling buildings Priozersk II (Tulip in Bloom)It is these cities, shrouded in secrecy and not shown on maps until Google Earth unveiled them, that drew photographer Nadav Kander to document the scarred landscapes of Kazakhstan, and, by doing so, to explore the darkness within the human condition. The Aral Sea III (Fishing Trawler)“That idea of secrecy and people keeping things from other people really ignited me,” says Kander. “I just knew that I would find very interesting things in these areas that were still quite secret and difficult to get into. They seemed perfect for what I like to photograph, which is memories and the landscape, the human traces that can tell us more about ourselves than ourselves.” Graveyard Near KurchatovIn the resulting body of work, “Dust,” Kander uses spacious compositions and a subdued color palette to evoke a sense of stillness. The quiet scenes invite the viewer to linger and contemplate the implications of the hauntingly beautiful devastation before them. “My landscapes are never about the nature,” he says. Instead they’re about the “palm print of man, how we exist on our planet, how we deal with our surroundings.” Kurchatov IV (Telephone Exchange)Through Kazakhstan’s radioactive ruins Kander confronts the central balancing acts of human nature. “You can’t live without dying; there’s no beauty without imperfections,” he says. “If you hide away from that all the time, it’s a perfect recipe [for] unhappiness.” Kurchatov I (Scientific Research Facility)These landscapes––and the stories they represent––may seem too wrecked and barren to harbor any remaining beauty, but it is precisely this uncomfortable tension between their beauty and their cynicism that drew Kander in. Priozersk XIV (I Was Told She Once Held an Oar)One of Kander’s favorite images, “Graveyard Near Kurchatov,” was taken just outside of Kurchatov. The ground is covered in a fresh layer of snow, a graveyard stretches along the horizon, and smokestacks in the background release gray plumes of vapor into the air. Of the juxtaposition of life and death, beauty and fallibility, reflected in the image, Kander says, “It is the inevitable, the yin and the yang … the ‘reality of life.'” “I’m always asking myself if my questioning is being seen in the pictures,” he says I’m just like you; I’m leaving the question open A picture doesn’t hold the script—the narrative is all in the viewer.” Energy Secretary Steven Chu signed two important energy agreements one on U.S.-Russia joint nuclear cooperation and one on a joint action plan to enhance U.S.-Russia cooperation in the energy sphere As part of a joint action plan to enhance cooperation between the United States and Russia in the energy sphere Energy Secretary Steven Chu during an official visit to Russia DOE’s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) will partner with Moscow’s Kurchatov Institute to evaluate the potential of unique ceramic membrane separators as an economic means of recovering advanced biofuels JBEI will provide samples of fuels made from biomass using microbes and the Kurchatov Institute will provide and test the membranes “In this project with the Kurchatov Institute we are basically trying to eliminate the need for distillation and extensive chemical separations to recover biofuel from culture media,” says Blake Simmons “The ceramic membranes will be evaluated in terms of their biofuel recovery efficiencies the goal is to develop a cost-effective and energy-efficient means of producing biofuels on a commercial scale by advancing biofuel membrane separation technology.” Studies have consistently shown that biofuels especially those derived from lignocellulosic biomass the most abundant organic material on earth green and renewable alternative to petroleum-based fuels if a cost-effective means of commercial production is developed one of three Bioenergy Research Centers funded by DOE are deploying cutting-edge science to the microbial fermentation and synthesis of advanced and sustainable biofuels one of Russia’s premier scientific research centers characterization and testing of membranes based on ductile ceramics “We will start by evaluating the Kurchatov ceramic membranes with ethanol-water separations and then move on to more advanced biofuels such as fatty acid ethyl esters,” Simmons says “The performances of the membranes will be evaluated as a function of recovery We hope to begin shipping biofuel samples from JBEI to Kurchatov later this month.” Simmons says that JBEI researchers will use the results of the Kurchatov evaluations to help them better understand the various technologies that can be used to recover biofuels from the fermenters in which they are produced and to get a better perspective on the costs associated with each of these technologies “This information will help us build a more robust techno-economic model of a biorefinery based on the most advanced fuels and technologies available,” Simmons says the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) was established by the DOE’s Office of Science in 2007 to advance the development of the next generation of biofuels JBEI and Kurchatov researchers will also submit a proposal to produce large samples of biofuels using the industrial-scale fermenters at the Advanced Biofuels Process Demonstration Unit (PDU) which is expected to open later this summer The Advanced Biofuels PDU is also a DOE-funded facility that is intended to help expedite the commercialization of next generation biofuels by providing industry-scale test beds for innovative technologies It is operated by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) which is also the lead in the multi-institutional partnership that operates JBEI Berkeley Lab will oversee the Advanced Biofuels PDU though its Physical Biosciences Division The JBEI-Kurchatov Institute collaboration is one of 12 projects approved under the joint action plan that was signed during the Second Plenary Session of the United States-Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission’s Clean Energy Technologies Working Group The action plan is designed “to promote energy efficiency and ensure energy stability and security.” Co-signing the plan with Secretary Chu was Sergei Shmatko Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation For more information about Energy Secretary Steven Chu’s trip to Russia visit DOE’s Energy Blog at http://blog.energy.gov/ For more information about the Joint BioEnergy Institute  visit the Website at http://www.jbei.org/ For more information DOE’s Biomass Program, visit www.biomass.energy.gov For more information about Berkeley Lab’s Physical Biosciences Division, visit the Website at pbd.lbl.gov/ On 12 April 2018, the National Research Centre “Kurchatov Institute” turns 75 The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research congratulates NRC “Kurchatov Institute” on this remarkable date The Directorate and the international staff of JINR congratulate you heartily on the 75th anniversary of the world-famous Kurchatov Institute a flagship of the Soviet and Russian science The Russian scientific centre “Kurchatov Insitute” was founded in November 1991 on the basis of the Laboratory #2 of the USSR Academy of Sciences established in 1943 for fulfillment of the state task of development of the nuclear weapon for ensuring security of the country The task of wide use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes set to your staff became the important stage for the country This task was also successfully fulfilled by development of the first in the world atomic power station and the atomic ice-breaker We are pleased to note that among specialists who participated in development and test of nuclear weapons and facilities for the peaceful use of nuclear energy there were scientists who contributed significantly to founding establishing and development of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna Leader of the world’s first nuclear power station construction D.I Blokhintsev became the first JINR Director The Kurchatov Institute rapidly came to the forefront in solving the main issues of fundamental science carrying out the whole range of research starting from justification of an idea to development of experimental technologies and prototypes of advanced equipment the first Russian national research centre was established on the basis of the Kurchatov Institute by decree of the RF President a considerable part of nuclear potential of the country is focused in the NRC “Kurchatov Institute” where research of high priority is conducted at the large-scale scientific facilities Importance of the NRC “KI” for modern science as well as its multidimensional relations with leading scientific institutes and centres in Russia and abroad can hardly be overestimated The Kurchatov Institute is an active participant and co-author of research conducted jointly with JINR More than a dozen of scientific themes reflect the common interests of our centres Many years of fruitful scientific contacts between the NRC “Kurchatov Institute” and JINR leave no doubts in successful achievement of stated objectives accept our sincere congratulations on the anniversary of your centre We wish you great success in achieving your goals are two of the closed cities where Russian military tested hundreds of atomic bombs and weapons during the Cold War.  see his eerie images of the radioactive ruins left in the closed cities Source: Study Source: Dark tourism Source: Flowers Gallery and a mantle of an Honorary Doctor of Kurchatov Institute Director of the Institute of Archaeology RAS RAS Vice President Nikolay Makarov was also awarded the high title The agreement signed at the meeting of the Scientific Council concerns the joint implementation of educational projects and programmes the NRC “Kurchatov Institute” and JINR enhance scientific interaction One more cooperation area will be the formation of the scientific personnel reserve “It is wonderful that our outstanding scientist Yuri Tsolakovich Oganessian has been awarded a high title of Honorary Doctor of Kurchatov Institute Kurchatov Institute sets high standards not only for science but also for culture and everything the Institute is engaged in It is important to note that we have been cooperating with this organization throughout all the years of JINR’s existence we have strengthened the scientific bridge and built the cultural one We hope to launch a number of mutually reinforcing initiatives will be the coordinator of basic research and the NRC “Kurchatov Institute” will coordinate applied studies Formats related to education and staff training are being actively discussed In the frames of the synchrotron-neutron and mega-science programmes we discuss joint development of centres for advanced accelerator technologies.”