Vilnius, 28 August 2026 – The Embassy of Kazakhstan invites everyone to visit an exhibition at the Adam Mickiewicz Public Library in Vilnius. The photo exhibition is dedicated to the International Day against Nuclear Tests and the 35th anniversary of the closure of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site.

The documentary photographs on display tell the story of one of the most tragic chapters of the nuclear age – the history of the Semipalatinsk Test Site, the scale of the nuclear tests conducted there, and their long-lasting consequences for people and the environment. The exhibition will be open to library visitors for one week.

The date of 29 August holds special historical significance for Kazakhstan. It was on this day in 1991 that the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site, where 456 nuclear tests were conducted between 1949 and 1989, was closed. Eighteen years later, in 2009, at the initiative of Kazakhstan, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 29 August the International Day against Nuclear Tests.

The closure of the Semipalatinsk Test Site marked the starting point of Kazakhstan’s consistent anti-nuclear policy. The country voluntarily renounced one of the world’s largest nuclear arsenals inherited following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and, over the subsequent decades, has consistently advocated for nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation, and the definitive end of nuclear testing.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa-vilnius/press/news/details/1281858?lang=ru