Semey (Kazakh: Семей /Semey), formerly known as Semipalatinsk (Russian: Семипала́тинск, until 2007) and Alash-kala (Kazakh: Алаш-қала / Alaş-qala, 1917-1920), is a city in Kazakhstan, in the northeastern province of East Kazakhstan, near the border with Siberia, around 1,000 km north of Almaty, and 700 km southeast of the Russian city of Omsk, along the Irtysh River.
From 1949 to 1989, a site on the steppe 150 km (100 miles) west of the city was a location for Societ nuclear weapons testing. For decades, Kurchatov (the secret city at the heart of the test range) was home to many of the brightest of Soviet weapons science. Semey suffered serious environmental and health effects from the time of its atomic prosperity: high rates of cancer, childhood leukemia, impotence, and birth defects. Modern Semey is a university town of over 300,000 with a more Russian character than other Kazakh cities.
The oblast of Semipalatinsk has merged with the larger East Kazahstan Province with capital in Oskemen.
CEMETERY:
active 1888 - 1970. [January 2011]
SEMIPALATINSK CEMETERY "The Monumental Jewish Tombstones in East Kazakhstan Abroad XIX-XX Centuries", by Nina Krutova) ]Apr 2014]
[UPDATES]
Wikimapia page for Semey Cemetery
JewishGem's page for Semipalatinsk Cemetery from 2013
Kazakhstan's Jewish Community is Prospering, Says Chief Rabbi - The Astana Times
History of the Jews in Kazakhstan - Revolvy
History of the Jews in Kazakhstan - Wikipedia
[September 2018]