Nightmares from the USSR
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Back to route Nightmares from the USSR
Day 1
Day travel distance:
73 km 
Arrival to the Astana airport. Journey from the airport to the city. Accommodation at the hotel, breakfast. A half-day survey excursion around the city: the sights of the Soviet time (including political repressions victims’ memorial, excursion to the Presidential culture center, Congress-Hall, “Yesil” hotel, Pioneers’ House, national security commitee, “Oktyabr” cinema, “Molodezhniy” palace, steam locomotive monument etc.), the new administrative center on the left riverside of Ishim. Lunch.
Trip to the Akmol (Malinovka) village and back (4 hours) including an excursion to the museum of the former “ALZHIR” correctional camp. Dinner.
Day 2
Day travel distance:
635 km 
Breakfast. Journey from Astana to Aksu (440 km, about 6 hours long). Lunch and visiting the public garden, where monuments of the Soviet period are kept together. Journey from Aksu to Kurchatov (195 km, about 2.5 hours long). Accommodation in Kurchatov. Walking tour around the town, being the former center of the Semipalatinsk test site (general directorate of the National Nuclear Center, National Security committee building, house of Lavrentiy Beria, deserted part of the town). Dinner.
Day 3
Day travel distance:
120 km 
Breakfast. Excursion to the museum of the test site. Lunch. Trip to the “Opytnoe Pole” test site (125 km, 4 hours), where the first nuclear explosion made in 1949 with short-term stay on the spot. Way back to Kurchatov. Lunch. Excursion to the ghost-town Shagan, where the aerodrome of long-range aviation was situated (120 km, about 3 hours). Dinner in Kurchatov.
Day 4
Day travel distance:
290 km 
Breakfast. Trip to Karkaralinsk partly along the territory of the former Semipalatinsk test site through the mountain oases Yedrey and Ku (290 km, 7 hours). Short stops in the most picturesque places, lunch in the field. Arrival to Karkaralinsk. Accommodation and dinner.
Day 5
Day travel distance:
218 km 
Breakfast. Excursion around Karkaralinsk (sights of the Civil War period: general Kornilov house, 78 Communards memorial, people's commissariat building etc.), excursion to the history museum, short excursion to the mountains (by request). Lunch. Journey from Karkaralinsk to Karaganda (218 km, 4 hours). Accommodation in the hotel. Survey excursion around the city (Lenin monument, the Miners’ culture palace, Stanislavskiy theatre, city administration, “Chaika” hotel, Nurken Abdirov monument, Circus, industrial part of the city, old town). Dinner.
Day 6
Day travel distance:
160 km 
Breakfast. A half-day trip to Dolinka village – the former center of the “Karlag” correctional labour camp (including excursion to the Museum of “Karlag”, Building of Former “Karlag” administration, Maternity hospital and “Mamochkino” child cemetery) and to the Spassk memorial, located in the place, where the former camp of prisoners of war was situated (total number of kilometres – 160). Way back to Karaganda. Lunch. Excursion to the Karaganda Ecological Museum (1 hour). Free time, purchasing souvenirs. Dinner. Departure.
P.S. 'Karlag' is derived from 'Karaganda' (the nearby city) and 'Lager' (= labour camp)