Stepnagorsk Scientific and Technical Institute for Microbiology
Encyclopedia
The Stepnagorsk Scientific and Technical Institute for Microbiology, also known as the Scientific Experimental and Production Base, was one of the premier biological warfare
facilities operated by the Soviet Union
. It was the only Biopreparat
facility to be built outside of Russia
proper, and one of the few ever visited officially by Western experts. Currently, the site conducts civilian biological research, overseen by director Vladimir Bugreyev. The United States Department of State
and the U.S. Civilian Research & Development Foundation
provide significant funds supporting research at Stepnogorsk.
, Kazakhstan
, in the wake of the accident at Sverdlovsk
. It was built to develop and produce large quantities of weaponized anthrax
, almost 300 tons annually, in order to fill the production gap caused by a potential shutdown of their Sverdlovsk facility. Soviet leadership placed Colonel Kanatjan Alibekov (a.k.a. Ken Alibek
) in charge of the base until his transfer to Moscow in 1987.
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Stepnogorsk base fell under the purview of the nascent Kazakh government, who, having little interest in weapons of mass destruction
, let the secret city fall into disrepair.
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev
personally granted a team of American
experts, led by U.S. Department of Defense diplomat Andy Weber, permission to visit the still-operational site in 1995, the first time an American intelligence team had ever been allowed to do so.
Biological warfare
Biological warfare is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi with intent to kill or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war...
facilities operated by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. It was the only Biopreparat
Biopreparat
Biopreparat was the Soviet Union's major biological warfare agency from the 1970s on. It was a vast network of secret laboratories, each focused on a different deadly agent...
facility to be built outside of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
proper, and one of the few ever visited officially by Western experts. Currently, the site conducts civilian biological research, overseen by director Vladimir Bugreyev. The United States Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
and the U.S. Civilian Research & Development Foundation
U.S. Civilian Research & Development Foundation
CRDF Global is an "... independent nonprofit organization that promotes international scientific and technical collaboration ..." CRDF Global was authorized by the U.S. Congress in 1992 under the Freedom Support Act and established in 1995 by the National Science Foundation...
provide significant funds supporting research at Stepnogorsk.
History
The facility was built in 1982, ten kilometers from StepnogorskStepnogorsk
Stepnogorsk is a town in Akmola Province, Kazakhstan. It was established in 1959, and has been a town since 1964. It is located about 200km North-East of Astana. It was first established as a secret town with code names Tselinograd-25 , Makinsk-2 . The town is known as a nuclear and biochemical site...
, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, in the wake of the accident at Sverdlovsk
Sverdlovsk anthrax leak
The Sverdlovsk anthrax leak is an incident when spores of anthrax were accidentally released from a military facility in the city of Sverdlovsk 1450 km east of Moscow on April 2, 1979. This accident is sometimes called "biological Chernobyl"...
. It was built to develop and produce large quantities of weaponized anthrax
Anthrax
Anthrax is an acute disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Most forms of the disease are lethal, and it affects both humans and other animals...
, almost 300 tons annually, in order to fill the production gap caused by a potential shutdown of their Sverdlovsk facility. Soviet leadership placed Colonel Kanatjan Alibekov (a.k.a. Ken Alibek
Ken Alibek
Colonel Kanatzhan Alibekov — known as Dr. Kenneth Alibek since 1992 — is a former Soviet physician, scientist and biological warfare expert of Kazakh descent. He is a military physician, has PhD in microbiology and ScD in biotechnology...
) in charge of the base until his transfer to Moscow in 1987.
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Stepnogorsk base fell under the purview of the nascent Kazakh government, who, having little interest in weapons of mass destruction
Weapons of mass destruction
A weapon of mass destruction is a weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans and/or cause great damage to man-made structures , natural structures , or the biosphere in general...
, let the secret city fall into disrepair.
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev
Nursultan Nazarbayev
Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev has served as the President of Kazakhstan since the nation received its independence in 1991, after the fall of the Soviet Union...
personally granted a team of American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
experts, led by U.S. Department of Defense diplomat Andy Weber, permission to visit the still-operational site in 1995, the first time an American intelligence team had ever been allowed to do so.