SEMEY

The Nevzorov Family Museum of Fine Arts – Since 1870, the museum has been the home of merchant Fyodor Stepanov, a frequent gathering place for well-read and educated individuals, and the house gradually transformed into a cultural hub. The museum’s first collection consisted of works by Kazakh artists acquired in the 1980s and 1990s. The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow donated engravings and paintings by Russian, English, French, and Dutch masters of the 17th-19th centuries to the museum in Semey.

The Dostoevsky House Museum contains several thousand exhibits, including letters, manuscripts, and early editions of the writer’s works. A replica of Dostoevsky’s workspace, complete with his original desk, has been recreated in the basement.

The Abai House Museum is dedicated to the life and work of the outstanding Kazakh poet Abai Kunanbayev. It houses many of his personal belongings, including clothing, jewelry, and musical instruments. Over 13,000 exhibits are displayed across the museum’s seven halls.

Beibitshilik (Colonel’s) Island – The first thing that catches your eye is the “Stronger Than Death” monument. It is a reminder of the horrific events that began in 1949, when nuclear testing began near Semipalatinsk. For forty years, explosions literally tore apart the earth, leaving behind radiation, disease, and pain. This monument is more than just a sculpture; it embodies the memory of all who fell victim to nuclear experiments. Twenty years later, a children’s railway has reopened here.

The suspension bridge is one of the city’s most beautiful and unique landmarks, connecting the right bank of the Irtysh River with the left. There are no similar structures in any other CIS country. The total length of this architectural landmark is 1,086 meters.

The Semipalatinsk Test Site (by special permit only) is the first and one of the largest nuclear test sites in the USSR, also known as the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site (STS). Its territory includes the formerly closed city of Kurchatov, renamed in honor of Soviet physicist Igor Kurchatov, previously known as Moscow-400, Bereg, Semipalatinsk-21, and Konechnaya Station.

The Atom-Kol Chagan nuclear lake is of nuclear origin. It was formed by the flooding of the crater left by the thermonuclear explosion that occurred during the Chaban project in 1965. Spring floods filled the crater, creating an artificial reservoir.

Drakensberg Mountains (Delbegetey) – This mountainous region, rich in valleys and gorges, can safely be called a fertile land. Suffice it to say that it was here that the only emerald deposit in Kazakhstan was discovered. According to geologists, numerous miaroli—vertical tube-shaped holes in granite filled with crystals of microcline, smoky quartz, topaz, tourmaline, and heliodor—can still be seen inside the crater basins. Historians say that the site where we now live was once a vast Paleozoic sea. It later receded, leaving a completely flat surface.

We also recommend visiting: Yamyshevsky Gates, the Anatomical Museum.