Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09ASTANA311
2009-02-20 10:46:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Astana
Cable title:  

KAZAKHSTAN: ONCE "SECRET" BIOWEAPONS CITY STILL IN

Tags:  PGOV PINR ECON EINV SOCI TBIO KNNP RS KZ 
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ASTANA 000311 

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EUR/RUS, ISN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINR ECON EINV SOCI TBIO KNNP RS KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: ONCE "SECRET" BIOWEAPONS CITY STILL IN
TRANSITION

REF: ASTANA 0254

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ASTANA 000311

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EUR/RUS, ISN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINR ECON EINV SOCI TBIO KNNP RS KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: ONCE "SECRET" BIOWEAPONS CITY STILL IN
TRANSITION

REF: ASTANA 0254


1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet.


2. (SBU) SUMMARY: PolOff recently accompanied several U.S.
scientists on a trip to Stepnogorsk. Once a secret "closed" Soviet
city dedicated to research on biological weapons, Stepnogorsk today
represents the opportunities and challenges the Kazakhstani
government faces in modernizing its overall infrastructure,
especially its bio-tech centers. Traveling to Stepnogorsk is
difficult and the population is small. The city is still dependent
on biotechnology and remains an isolated location, overwhelmingly
populated by ethnic Russians. Many residents appreciate the stable
work prospects in the scientific sector, but others are leaving due
to limited opportunities in other sectors. The city's
infrastructure is adequate, but needs investment. Despite the
Soviet-era ambience, Kazakhstan's National Center for Biotechnology
is clearly investing in developing Stepnogorsk. END SUMMARY.

STEPNOGROSK: A FORMER SECRET CITY SURROUNDED BY EMPTY VILLAGES


3. (SBU) Traveling to Stepnogorsk -- population 66,000, located
approximately 136 miles from Astana in Akmolinsk oblast -- is like
going back in time. Transportation options are limited. Local
interlocutors told PolOff air connections were discontinued, and the
train route from Astana to Stepnogorsk is so circuitous few
travelers use it. The only viable means of traveling there are by
car or bus. There are 12 buses between Astana and Stepnogorsk
daily, with one-way trips taking approximately three to four hours,
depending on traffic and road conditions. The last departure from
Stepnogorsk back to the capital is at 18:40. The first half of a
journey by car is on paved road past empty fields with soil which
the taxi driver told PolOff is too alkaline to produce crops. The
second half is on a bumpy dirt and gravel road with one lane of
traffic in either direction through an empty steppe landscape dotted

occasionally by abandoned farming villages. PolOff persoQly
observed numerous farmhouses and barns falling apart where they
stood. A local taxi driver named Pavel, who drove PolOff and two
USDA scientists from Astana to Stepnogorsk, was born and raised in
Stepnogorsk, and told PolOff that during Soviet times, the farming
region surrounding the city was primarily settled by ethnic Germans
who left Kazakhstan in the 1990s. When PolOff asked why there were
no working farms to replace the empty villages, Pavel claimed it was
not clear whether the Kazakhstani government owned the land or had
sold it. Pavel said that although the region had once produced
plentiful amounts of grain, uncertainty over land ownership made
farmers reluctant to invest in needed refurbishment of old equipment
and irrigation systems.

STILL A "ONE-COMPANY" TOWN


4. (SBU) Many residents of Stepnogorsk still remain dependent on
the city's main industry -- biochemistry. Once a secret "closed"
Soviet city dedicated to research on biological weapons,
Stepnogorsk's primary employers today are Biomedpreparat, a
government research facility under the administration of the
National Center for Biotechnology, and its two government-funded
affiliates, the Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology (IAB) and
the Institute of Industrial Biotechnology (IIB). The city also
boasts a nursing school. Most of Stepnogorsk's residents are ethnic
Russians. During a project coordination meeting at IIB with over 10
scientists, only one scientist was an ethnic Kazakh. Many of
PolOff's interlocutors, such as IIB's interpreter, Nadezhda
Polchenko, had been assigned to Stepnogorsk by the Soviet
government. (NOTE: Polchenko now works as an English teacher in
several schools, but also interprets for, and teaches English at
IIB, "to make ends meet." END NOTE.) PolOff's interlocutors stated
that when they were sent to Stepnogorsk, many were not allowed to
tell their families where they were being sent.

ISOLATION LEAVES A LEGACY OF ALCOHOLISM


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5. (SBU) The after-effects of Stepnogorsk's history of isolation
continue to affect the city and its residents today, with alcoholism
and depression reportedly serious problems.
As described in reftel, former IIB scientist and USDA project
director, Dr. Nadirov, died in June 2008. According to senior IIB
officials, Nadirov was sent to Stepnogorsk after being involved in
an accidental, Soviet-era incident of anthrax-poisoning, which
resulted in a large of number of deaths. Although reportedly a
brilliant scientist, Nadirov suffered from alcoholism while in
Stepnogorsk. USDA officials who worked with Nadirov told PolOff
that the research projects he was managing were well-designed and
were showing excellent promise of meaningful scientific discoveries.
However, Nadirov had been known to disappear for several days at a
time on drinking binges, which interfered with progress.

STABLE EMPLOYMENT FOR YOUNG SCIENTISTS


6. (SBU) Since Kazakhstan lacks qualified scientific personnel, for
those who worked in Stepnogorsk at the end of the bio-weapons
program or came from Russia since Kazakhstan's independence,
Stepnogorsk offers stable employment opportunities. One mid-level
ethnic Russian scientist, a graduate of the Tomsk Institute in
Russia, told PolOff he had been working at IIB for eight years, and
was very content with his life and job in Stepnogorsk. Ethnic
Russian IIB employee Slava Kenzhebayev, who just defended his Ph.D.
and is the youngest USDA project manager at IIB, also said he was
very content in Stepnogorsk.

SMALL-TOWN DANGERS AND CHALLENGES


7. (SBU) Several interlocutors, however, highlighted some of the
dangers and challenges of life in Stepnogorsk. IIB interpreter
Nadezhda Polchenko told PolOff that when she and her husband sold
their first apartment in Stepnogorsk, they took the lump-sum cash
payment that they received home, planning to deposit the money in a
bank the next morning. Overnight, the money was stolen, and the
case was never solved. Taxi driver Pavel, who had grown up in
Stepnogorsk, attending the same school where his mother taught, said
that there were "more long-term opportunities for ethnic Russians in
Russia than in Stepnogorsk." After retiring from teaching school,
his mother moved to Novosibirsk, and Pavel said he was also planning
to move to Novosibirsk at the end of 2009, along with his ethnic
Russian wife, who was currently finishing nursing school in
Stepnogorsk. Pavel, who owns a small taxi company with several cars
and employs several drivers, told PolOff he intended to continue to
run his taxi company from Novosibirsk.


8. (SBU) Stepnogorsk's infrastructure is adequate, but needs
investment. The city's buildings, from its hospital to its central
bus station to shops, restaurants, and hotels, all appear to be
modern and in relatively good repair, if a bit poorly-lit and
spartan. Scientists at IIB commented on their new spectroscope,
worth over $30,000, but also expressed concern about whether IIB
would have frequent power outages during the cold winter, noting
that the electric company had been having problems generating power.
Stepnogorsk Hotel, reportedly the best hotel in town, still uses
the old Soviet tradition of having guests leave their key with a
floor warden, and advised guests at check-in of when hot water would
be available.


9. (SBU) Despite its Soviet-era ambience, however, there are
indications that authorities in Astana are intent on modernizing
Stepnogorsk and turning it into a biotechnology center. Yerlan
Ramankulov, Director of the Astana-based National Center for
Biotechnology (NCB) takes an active interest in Stepnogorsk and is
directing money, capable personnel, and equipment to the city.
Ramankulov recently selected a well-respected Kazakhstani scientist,
Oleg Ten, who graduated with a Ph.D. from Moscow State University,
to be IIB's new director. As described in reftel, Ramankulov has
also been using NCB funds to train Stepnogorsk's scientists and
encourage international collaboration. In place of the fermenters
once used for bio-weapons that were dismantled under joint

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U.S.-Kazakhstani non-proliferation programs, Ramankulov organized a
public-private enterprise, Biocorm, which installed massive new
fermenters moved from Almaty, Kazakhstan's former capital.
Ramankulov, who reportedlQ{4N-?wce agent is trying to get
to Stepnogorsk to visit its "secret installations." The film was
shown on local Kazakhstani TV on February 15. In some ways,
Stepnogorsk does not appear to have changed much since the Soviet
era. Despite being geographically close to Astana, the difficulties
of getting there and its small population make it seem secret and
remote. With its largely ethnic Russian population, Stepnogorsk has
strong cultural ties to Russia. Whether Ramankulov succeeds in his
efforts to develop Stepnogorsk into a Kazakhstani biotech center
remains to be seen. END COMMENT.

HOAGLAND