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    Atomic Collective
    Radioactive Life in Kazakhstan

    Magdalena E. Stawkowski (Author)

    9781487560294

    Hardback, published 30 June 2025

    244 pages, 22 illustrations
    23.5 x 15.7 x 1.8 cm, 0.48 kg

    In the aftermath of the Soviet Union’s collapse, Kazakhstan inherited the remnants of one of the world’s most contaminated landscapes: the Semipalatinsk Test Site, known locally as the Polygon. Resigned to dispossession, residents have chosen to remain on the abandoned nuclear test site, despite the isolation and the radioactive environment, rather than face marginalization or the rigors of a neoliberal world. Atomic Collective examines this nuclear legacy through a decade-long ethnographic examination of the village of Koian, situated on the border of the test site. Facing residual radiation all around them and isolation, Koianers persist, reshaping their pastoral existence among the ruins and scientific debates surrounding genetic damage.

    Drawing on first-hand accounts and archival research, this book explores the resilience and everyday survival strategies of a community left behind to fend for itself in the shadow of nuclear testing. It offers a unique perspective on life in a nuclear zone and poses fundamental questions about human resilience and the impact of historical events on a collective identity. Atomic Collective sheds light on a community overlooked in the larger Cold War histories of atomic testing.

    Introduction: "Discovering" Koian

    1. "The Forbidden Zone": Atomic Bombs and the Good Life
    Introduction
    Before the Bombs
    Atomic Testing and the Virgin Lands Project
    After the Bombs
    Atomic Reflections
    Conclusion

    2. "Clean Air Is Our Death": Debates About Genetic Mutation
    Introduction
    The Debate About Low-Dose Radiation
    Radiophobia as a Discursive Strategy
    Containing the Damage
    The Koianer Response
    Conclusion

    3. "Sami Po Sebe": Economy on the Periphery
    Introduction
    Envisioning the Collective
    Trip to the Bazar
    The Return of Tradition
    Conclusion

    4. "They Think We are Stupid": Reinventing Kazakh Tradition
    Introduction
    A People Apart
    Experimental Rabbits
    False Compliance
    A System in Shambles
    Conclusion
    Conclusion: The Atomic Present
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