Depressing radioactive Soviet mining town 🇰🇬
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- Опубліковано 5 чер 2024
- At the height of the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union were both producing nuclear warheads at rates never seen before or since. Both countries bristled with tens of thousands of missiles, and they were willing to use them. In the USSR’s case, research, uranium enrichment and warhead assembly took place in Russia, but the bottom of the supply chain - uranium extraction - was centred in a few small towns in the mountains of Central Asia. For these towns, those were the good old days, marked by high wages and material support from the central government in Moscow. However, after stockpiles had started to reach practical limits, demand for fissile material gradually fell away. Along with that demand, life too slowly dwindled from the small mountain towns which once stole fire from the gods. Industry left, and the jobs too and the good times along with them. Moscow doesn’t send anything anymore. All that’s left for those who yet remain is the slow decay of waiting and remembering what came before.
Join me on an adventure through the Kyrgyz highlands to one of these towns, Min-Kush, to meet the people who remain there and hear their stories of their town and what is once was.
Pictures of the Min-Kush uranium mining infrastructure before it was demolished can be seen here: www.lostwithpurpose.com/min-k...
Instagram: joemorgan1
00:00 Lost and found
01:14 Kojomkul and mystery liquid
03:22 The road to Min-Kush
05:32 English vocab revision
07:25 Arrival in Min-Kush
10:42 Finest guesthouse in town
14:08 La traviata
15:08 First impressions and a mural
17:25 Arstan: Uranium Man
20:59 A walk through Min-Kush’s past
24:39 Sportshall and Lenin
27:24 Uranium processing
30:52 Closing remarks
Well, that was quite an opening for someone who's never seen your channel before. You sitting in the lorry chatting with the driver, and then on the road you sound like you could be my neighbour. That was a surprise, and a good one at that. Bravo, mate.
I assumed Joseph was Russian until he spoke English. I don't even know what language they were speaking in the truck.
Many thanks for the kind words, and welcome to the channel :) I hope you'll enjoy the upcoming videos from the rest of the trip.
Wow such an underrated channel. Brings me back to peak Bald and Bankrupt times. All the best to you. Please make more of these videos.
This is really interesting to me as an American, as we have similar towns that rose as boom towns and fell once the mine was depleted or economic forces caused the mine to fail from revenue. There are similarities, but also stark contrast, especially that most Soviet towns "failed" because the state withdrew the resources, versus American boomtowns that failed due to loss of incentive to mine.
Very true. We have a similar thing in the UK with seaside towns that declined when foreign holidays became accessible to the masses in the 60s. It seems like there were two distinct periods of decline for Min-Kush. The closure of the uranium mine marked the end of its heyday, but there were still things going on (decommissioning, coal mining, etc.) as well as material support from Moscow. But after the USSR fell, it was just forgotten about. I suppose the newly independent Kyrgyz government didn't have the resources.
ive grown up/worked in mining as sometimes it is just as simple as theyve run out of resources. there comes a point where its either no longer viable from a cost perspective to keep mining deeper or they have simply taken everything that is economical and the town has no other industries or reason for continuing. here in Australia it happened to broken hill (which was a major mining town for over 100 years and birth the worlds largest mining company) and is now happening in mt isa. it also happened in the coal mines in the uk which were just too small and too deep to keep competing with imported coal
all mines are finite unfortuntately
All very good points. Thanks for the extra info.
I found this enjoyable, the local people were for the most part having good lives, it was good to see them enjoying themselves. Thanks for taking us along with you.
No worries :) Yes, the people seem to be doing fairly well, all things considered.
Good to see a fellow Brit take an interest in former Soviet Union.. great vid!
Thanks, and I'm glad you liked it! I've got stuff from several other FSU states as well.
Thanks once again, for the amazing trip to Min-Kush, and explaining it's rise and subsequent fall. The town now almost strangely post apocalyptic. Haunting.
(The lady in the car, roasting the guy in the front, caught me off guard, I laughed out loud! hilarious! ) Great work 👍👏
I'm glad you enjoyed it :) It is indeed a haunting place, but, as you point out, humour and optimism are not hard to find. I suppose these things are more necessary in such places. Thanks once again.
I just started watching, & already the Kyrgyz lady in the car literally made me LOL😂
Haha yeah she was a real character. Shoutout to her husband
@JosephMorganYT Tell her she ade another older lady laugh all the way in California! Give her a hug, too!
Keep the videos coming. I got peak bald and bankrupt vibes
Yes, very, very similar to Mr. Bald and bankrupt, even same sunglasses. Bald is not welcome back in Russia anymore, so this chap has taken over.
Hey Joseph! Thanks for a great video! Listen, a suggestion: You use maps in the vid - I suggest bringing them on massively in the beginning of the vid with a repetition in the middle, showing where target country is at, surrounding countries, and then somw more regional maps - helps orienting the curious viewer!
I wondered where this was, too. I've never heard of this city.
I like that stained glass in the bus station! Very pretty! I'd live to see people doing stained glass and hot glass work there, or in Russia. They have many beautiful stained glass, mosaics, etc. Very beautiful stuff!
Good suggestion. I put some in the latest video :) Glad you're enjoying the content.
There's something strangely romantic about this place. Like the embers after a great fire quietly smoldering away. Beautiful place, in a way.
I know what you mean. Like a cobwebbed ballroom in a long-forgotten seaside town...
yes finally another travel youtuber, instantly subscribed, i love watching people document their travels, especially when its places tourists rarely ever go to
I don’t think this world needs anymore travel UA-camrs. But I’ll make an exception for this guy. Cause I’ll never want to set foot in Kyrgyzstan. Hahahaha
I love that you are visiting real people, that you are speaking Russian with the locals. That lady in the car was a hoot! I love that gal already! LOLROF.
I'm taking Russian lessons and it's great to see and hear people talking about every day things everyone would talk about, and having the subtitles is great! It's a big help, and what an interesting vacation! The school mural and trophies was very interesting. The town there is actually very pretty there.
Thank you for sharing your trip and the history there. I hope the uranium is no longer affecting those who remain there. Hopefully it'll be used for only positive things, like medicine, electricity, etc., and safely so.
Спасибо большое!
Thanks, Carol :) I'm glad you're enjoying the videos. Yes, the people of Min-Kush are very welcoming and they have a pleasant town all things considered. Best of luck with the Russian!
So glad I found your channel
amazing as always dude!
Thanks :) I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Excellent vid, very glad I watched. Will check your back catalogue now. Good effort
My pleasure :) I hope you enjoy the rest of the stuff too.
Wholesome comversations with the people great work
that bababushka was hella funny bro.
Yes, she was! Got me laughing all the way in California!
Thanks Jose❤
Hi Joseph, I'm impressed by your interest in the culture of the ex Soviet Union, especially in the current geopolitical climate. Your Russian seems good, how did you learn? It's not an easy language. I too have been to the south of Russia, but my Russian language ability was non-existent. Hopefully will speak better if I visit again.
Hello :) Thanks for the kind words. I started learning with a short free online course which taught me the basics of the grammar and some vocabulary. Then I started reading news articles while using a dictionary, and just went from there. I posted these tips in reply to another commenter:
"1) Focus on acquiring as broad a range of vocabulary as possible. If you understand the dictionary meaning of every word in a sentence, you stand a good chance of grasping the sentence. Use Anki if that kind of thing helps you.
2) Do not get too bogged down in the minutiae of grammatical points that don't really help you express yourself, eg. verbs of motion. You can learn those nuances later.
3) But do focus on those grammatical features which are essential to communication. I would say case endings are in that category.
4) Pay attention to stress patterns. I don't see many people give this much importance, but it turns out that if you pronounce a word with the wrong stressed syllable, a Russian speaker will look at you like you're an alien. I found that learning songs (and poems) was useful for drilling stress because the rhythm of the music reinforces the stress patterns in the words. For example, I learnt all the words to almost every song by Кино.
5) It is very, very hard, but stick with it. It opens up a whole new world and that can be incredibly rewarding."
@@JosephMorganYT Really useful mate, thank you. 1, 2 & 3 are confirmation of what I've experienced with learning Spanish on the ground among native speakers. 4 is new to me, I will definitely be learning more songs and poetry then. 5 goes without saying, how wonderful to know a culture we learnt so little about in the West (at least when I was growing up,).
So stoked I came across this channel!!! Subscribed! Thanks for your uploads!
great stuff as always, keep up the amazing work
The mysterious tower is a 'chimney.'
We have similar structures here in the UK too, Joseph🙂
Are those for hot water and heating? I've seen them in other parts of Russia, too, and I think they're basically chimneys for boilers? If not, please enlighten! I'd love to know how they work.
Loved it. I admire the energy and courage it takes to cover such remote, yet underrated places.
Brother this is amazing content.
Just keep continuing your soviet adventures, never stop.
Lots of love and support from India:))))
Thanks bhai and welcome aboard :) I'll keep the adventures coming
@@JosephMorganYT bhai 🤯😆👍🏻
She says she feels no negative effects of the uranium mines, yet needs injections for her headaches?
Bit sus
Probably heart disease, from the altitude.
Just found you and it's exactly what I needed. Great channel.
Welcome aboard :)
Good video bro❤
I wouldn't mind the subtitles a bit bigger. Watching on the phone.
Appreciate your russian. You're not Bald and Bankrupt, but maybe it can work for me :-)
Fascinating.
Just stumbled on you're channel. Great work!
Keep up the good work and you'll see your channel growing quickly.
Very cool video indeed, thx joseph! :)
Great stuff! I think this channel will go far! Arstan was wonderful and full of great information about the town. Glad you ran into him!
I hope so :) Thanks for the kind words.
Good video. Just found your channel. Subbed.
Many thanks :) I'll keep them coming.
super cool!
Thank you for this nice vedio.
you act normal so looking at this vedio is same I was there
sorry for bad english
Lmao I love the babushka who was in the car with you, I wish she was my grandma
How do you only have 4k subs? Great content!
The others are on their way :) I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
Just discovered your channel !- amazing trip. The Kyrgyz people are hospitable bunch. wonderful!
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it :)
Surprised there was not a railway line there ??
To my knowledge, in Min-Kush's case, the uranium was leached on-site. This yields a product called yellowcake, which has a much higher uranium concentration than natural ore. Owing to this, the quantity of yellowcake was not large enough to justify a railway; trucks would suffice. The yellowcake was then transported back to Russia for enrichment into weapons-grade material.
I’m new to your channel. What brought you to be traveling in Russia?
Welcome :) I learnt a few words of Russian to visit Chernobyl in 2016. I was taken by the language and then became more interested in the world which it had opened up for me. There really isn't anywhere like the FSU. To be clear, this is Kyrgyzstan, although most people can speak Russian due to the Soviet Union.
Russia is what brought him to be traveling in Russia.
all the Uranium is gone, out of country.
with that no hope for supplies from Moscow, for what.
You sound exactly like bald and bankrupt @3:39
Great channel and videos. Keep it up!
Thanks, Marko :) Plenty more like this on the way...
LOVE the Video - Thanks for sharing
🤩✨️
You just got a New Subscriber 🤗Greetings From Denmark
Tak and welcome :)
6:54 😂😂😂😂
Fantastic video and as others have said reminds me of the early bald and bankrupt times. Hopefully we can see of these in the future 🙏
Glad you enjoyed it, Darren :) Plenty more on the way...
Would have loved to explore there. Great video!
🙂
The tower will likely be a combined chimney stack for the various hot processes to take the inhalable nasties up away from the town. Similar to how lead smelting would work.
Channel popped up by accident so as a fan of bald and bankrupts obsession with all things Soviet I hope you keep it up
The US didn't want the ussr to dissolve because it wanted to keep an enemy.
Yet it spent half a trillion dollars trying to destroy post Soviet economies leaving all these small towns cut off from the centralized support that paid for the shops and hotel in every town.
Such a shame
Just found your channel. Wow what an opener lol you have yourself a new subscriber. Awesome vid seriously. I’ll be looking forward to the next one my friend.
Thanks man. Glad you enjoyed it and welcome aboard :) Plenty more on the way.
I couldn’t have helped myself to travel somewhere unnaturally radiated without a Geiger counter!
Reminds me of the town during the mission “ultimatum” in Call of Duty 4
We have places in Britain that are boarded-up and depressed.
☢️😳
Watched from start to finish and really enjoyed it. Real raw travel video in a post Soviet country, very interesting. Subscribed and looking forward to more videos and will watching older ones too
Regarding Min Kush itself, I was pleasantly surprised and impressed by how much foodstuffs was on the table at 12:33! The villagers were very welcoming too
Welcome aboard :) Glad you enjoyed the video - plenty more like this on the way. Yes, it was a good spread. People in this part of the world always try to make a guest feel welcome with gestures like this. For journalistic balance, I will note that we had a dinner of plain vermicelli that night... In any case, the villagers are very welcoming, as you say.
Bald really gave a birth to vlogging style used by so many travel youtubers :D
It's not Soviet, it's been Kyrgyz for 30+ years. The USSR is gone decades ago and isn't "responsible" for what you are showing and how it looks today. Maintenance is a continuous process.
Just found your channel, love it mate ☝️ new subscriber 👍
INSTANT SUB. AMAZING 😮
Why would you make your subtitles the most annoying color to read. Might consider subbing in the future if I can actually read what you’re saying.
it get better along. that normal life
What can you not read? The english?
The color is very straining on eyes. Why not just go white
Geiger Counter ????
arsenal and chelsea pre season friendly in min-kush when
going to guess the tower was part of a calciner or similar. hopefully another commenter can be more authoritative
just stumbled upon this channel. why does all his demeanor, movement, way of speaking in the intro remind me so much of Kurt Caz? Seems like a copy. interesting video nevertheless.
Love this video. I'm into Urban Exploration (photography) and Russia is such a gem when it comes to that. Regarding the chimney. I don't think it's specific for nuclear processing. I've seen those also at an abandoned steel factory in Belgium. Keep up the awesome content
Thanks, Henk :) Yes, the FSU is so good for this kind of stuff, although some of it is very hard to get though, eg. Tkvarcheli thermal power plant in Abkhazia.
23:27 within next 20 yrs it will become an official Islamic state like Afghanistan and Pakistan
Great video bro , your Russian is quite good as well
Finally someone took the button from Bald And bankrupt. Show us more soviet stuff. Well done.
Dude you need a bald head and u will be the next baldandbankrupt, enjoyed your video, only maybe in future try to be more open with the people, they all were surprisingly open to you but u seemed kind of shy or just quiet, more energy in the conversations and it will be perfect. Btw very good russian, are u related to any russian speaking relatives? Субскрайб от меня
Bald and bankrupt. Nothing original here
😂
Dude you need a bald head and u will be the next baldandbankrupt, enjoyed your video, only maybe in future try to be more open with the people, they all were surprisingly open to you but u seemed kind of shy or just quiet, more energy in the conversations and it will be perfect. Btw very good russian, are u related to any russian speaking relatives? Субскрайб от меня