Former Soviet State Incubating High-Tech Businesses at Former Nuclear Weapons Site [Slide Show]

A complex of laboratories and data centers under construction in Kazakhstan is attracting tech entrepreneurs and, more importantly, the money to deliver the goods

HOT AND COLD A woman in traditional clothing stands at her yurt at the former Soviet nuclear test site on the Kazakhstan steppe. The yurts protect from the harsh winters and are cool during the hot summers. © PATRICK G. RYAN AND W. DAVID GARDNER
TRADITION A couple in traditional garb at the Ground Zero nuclear test site in Kazakhstan. © PATRICK G. RYAN AND W. DAVID GARDNER
RESILIENCE A Kazakh official participates in a welcoming ceremony at the Park of Nuclear Technology at Kurchatov. Nomadic Kazakhs suffered greatly under Stalin's collectivism campaign, losing half their population during World War II and the Cold War. The Kazakhs, however, retained their indomitable custom of welcoming strangers. © PATRICK G. RYAN AND W. DAVID GARDNER
VIGIL The observation tower at the edge of the Semipalatinsk test site still stands as a silent monument to the more than 400 nuclear tests conducted in the area. © PATRICK G. RYAN AND W. DAVID GARDNER
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GROUND ZERO Model of the site for the Soviet Union's first atomic bomb test, with the bomb detonation tower in the middle. The Soviets placed airplanes, tanks and animals near the detonation area to see if anything could survive the blast. Nothing did. © PATRICK G. RYAN AND W. DAVID GARDNER
RED DAWN Former Red Army barracks are being rehabilitated in Kurchatov today to provide housing for scientists, technicians and businesspeople working at the rejuvenated National Nuclear Center and at the new technology park. © PATRICK G. RYAN AND W. DAVID GARDNER
COLD WAR THAW Scores of former Red Army barracks like these in Kurchatov were abandoned after nuclear tests were halted in 1991. © PATRICK G. RYAN AND W. DAVID GARDNER
KURCHATOV American visitors stand before a statue of Igor Kurchatov, who managed the Soviet Union's nuclear weapons program during the Cold War. The town, located some 65 kilometers from the Ground Zero test site, was named after Kurchatov. The village was previously called Semipalatinsk-21. © PATRICK G. RYAN AND W. DAVID GARDNER
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FROZEN STEPPES Scientists and employees at Kurchatov's new Park of Nuclear Technology have to bundle up in winter on the Kazakhstan steppe, where temperatures regularly can drop to minus 45 degrees Celsius. © PATRICK G. RYAN AND W. DAVID GARDNER
PARK OF NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY Kazakhstan's Park of Nuclear Technology already has six start-up companies operating from its headquarters building. The park initially was funded by the Kazakhstan government, but venture funds from South Korea, the Ukraine and a handful of other countries are also helping launch businesses. © PATRICK G. RYAN AND W. DAVID GARDNER

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