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Togzhan Kassenova

@togzhankassenova.bsky.social
1.8K followers 174 following 56 posts

Almaty-born, DC-based expert on nuclear politics and financial crime prevention Author of Atomic Steppe: How Kazakhstan Gave Up the Bomb (Stanford University Press, 2022) www.togzhankassenova.com

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Reposted by Togzhan Kassenova
Bryan R. Early @brephd.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I’m happy to share that my new book with @togzhankassenova.bsky.social “Banks and the Bomb: Understanding Proliferation Financing” will be published by Stanford University Press in July 2027. It explores how to prevent international financial transactions that facilitate WMD proliferation. 1/4
A green book cover for Banks and the Bomb: Understanding Proliferation Financing.
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Togzhan Kassenova @togzhankassenova.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Congratulations, @amyjnelsonphd.bsky.social !!! 👏
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Togzhan Kassenova @togzhankassenova.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Live right now: www.youtube.com/live/K19FKPR...
youtube.com
Building a Secure Nuclear Future: US-Central Asia Partnership
YouTube video by Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies
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Togzhan Kassenova @togzhankassenova.bsky.social · 21/12/2025
Congratulations, @wellerstein.bsky.social! This will be an incredible read, I am sure.
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Mary Dudziak @marydudziak.bsky.social · 14/12/2025
Oh my. News of Bill Burr's death is a gut punch to all who knew him & everyone who relies on declassified US national security records. Once called the Yoda of FOIA, he always had a sparkle in his eyes. All who care about government transparency will continue to benefit from his contributions.
William Burr
1949-2025
Over the course of my half-century academic career, actually over the course of my lifetime, I never met anyone quite like Bill Burr. It’s a cliché to call him one of a kind, but in Bill’s case, it’s true. And that’s unfortunate. Not just the scholarly and public policy communities but also the world would be better off if there were more Bill Burrs. He was wicked smart; he was selfless and unassuming; his commitment to transparency and truth-seeking was boundless; his respect for evidence inspired us all; and above all he was a kind and generous human being.
These attributes made Bill irreplaceable. His countless electronic briefing books accessible to all of us on the National Security Archive’s web site told the hidden story of America’s nuclear history. Once labeled “the Yoda of FOIA,” his publication of thousands of declassified documents was vital to our scholarship. So was Bill’s own scholarship. His Nixon’s Nuclear Specter was an instant classic, and his Kissinger Transcripts was a staple of my “Superpower America” course. And, of course, Bill was extremely active in SHAFR, serving on Council and Diplomatic History’s editorial board and, it seemed to me, attending every annual meeting no matter the location. One of my greatest honors was to join with David Painter to nominate Bill for the Anna Nelson Prize. The last time I saw him was when he stood up to accept it. His body was diminished, but not his mind or soul.
Yet it was during my decade-plus tenure as HAC chair that I observed most unambiguously how one-of-a-kind Bill was....At almost every meeting he was the sole attendee who was not a member of the HAC or Office of the Historian. Drawing on his granular expertise, he held our feet to the fire, asking probing questions about the status of a FRUS volume or a State Department record group, always pushing for more rapid release. I wish I had archived our voluminous offline correspondence. Because of Bill Burr, I was a better HAC ch…
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Togzhan Kassenova @togzhankassenova.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
George Perkovich: "A House of Dynamite shows us why everyone on earth must question the wisdom of granting a handful of leaders with nuclear buttons the power to kill everyone and every living thing on the planet—in less time than it takes to watch the film." carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...
carnegieendowment.org
“A House of Dynamite” Shows Why No Leader Should Have a Nuclear Trigger
I’m a nuclear expert. The film’s illustration of powerlessness and choice was harrowing.
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Matthew Bunn @matthew-bunn.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
A new fellowship for historians looking to profile key figures of the nuclear age, named for the remarkable nuclear historian Marty Sherwin: www.gc.cuny.edu/news/generou...
gc.cuny.edu
Generous Gift to the CUNY Graduate Center Endows New Biography Fellowship
The family of Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Martin J. Sherwin establishes a fellowship for nuclear age biography at the Leon Levy Center for Biography.
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Togzhan Kassenova @togzhankassenova.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
Have you watched or planning to watch House of Dynamite? Check out this handy guide from the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. armscontrolcenter.org/a-house-of-d...
armscontrolcenter.org
A House of Dynamite - Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
How realistic is A House of Dynamite? Could it really happen? What's real and what's not? Our resources break it down.
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Togzhan Kassenova @togzhankassenova.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
Gift link: wapo.st/4oMTRWN
wapo.st
Trump push to restart nuclear tests could take years, cost millions, experts say
The Nevada Test Site — where the U.S. last tested a nuclear explosive more than 30 years ago — now relies on computer modeling, not physical explosions.
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Togzhan Kassenova @togzhankassenova.bsky.social · 13/09/2025
Earlier this summer, former U.S. Ambassador Richard Boucher, passed away. He'll be remembered as an astute observer of Central Asia. Back in 2021, Ambassador Boucher contributed a personal essay to the Davis Center/Eurasianet series. Pls give it a read: daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu/insights/whe...
daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu
Where Is Central Asia, Anyway?
A former top U.S. diplomat reflects on the many ways ex-Soviet Central Asia can be viewed from Washington — Russian dependency, Chinese sphere of influence, new global hub with links in all directions...
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Togzhan Kassenova @togzhankassenova.bsky.social · 30/08/2025
Just in time for the International Day Against Nuclear Tests, Atomic Steppe: How Kazakhstan Gave Up the Bomb is on sale for 50% off, at $16 from @stanfordpress.bsky.social www.sup.org/books/politi...
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Togzhan Kassenova @togzhankassenova.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
How layoffs will affect the State Department and American diplomacy www.npr.org/2025/07/17/n...
npr.org
How layoffs will affect the State Department and American diplomacy
NPR's Steve Inskeep asks John Dinkelman, new president of the American Foreign Service Association, about how layoffs will affect the State Department and American diplomacy.
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Togzhan Kassenova @togzhankassenova.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
July 10, 12:30 PM ET - In-person (at capacity) and online (registration is still open). More details and registration: www.armscontrol.org/From_Trinity... Draft agenda: www.armscontrol.org/sites/defaul...
armscontrol.org
From Trinity to Today: Nuclear Weapons and the Way Forward | Arms Control Association
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Togzhan Kassenova @togzhankassenova.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
Online tomorrow, Tuesday, June 10, 11 AM ET - Self-Dealing in the Trump Administration: A Conversation With Norm Eisen. carnegieendowment.org/events/2025/...
carnegieendowment.org
Self-Dealing in the Trump Administration: A Conversation With Norm Eisen
Join Aaron David Miller as he engages in conversation with Norm Eisen, founder of Democracy Defenders Action and a senior fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution, on the next Carnegi...
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Ankit Panda @nktpnd.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
If you're in the DC area, please join me at the @carnegieendowment.org on May 22 for an event launching my new book, 'THE NEW NUCLEAR AGE: AT THE PRECIPICE OF ARMAGEDDON' (with @coreyah.bsky.social, @atomicbell.bsky.social, and @davidehoffman.bsky.social): carnegieendowment.org/events/2025/...
carnegieendowment.org
Has the World Arrived in a New Nuclear Age?
Russia is issuing threats of nuclear strikes, China and North Korea are growing their arsenals, and there are prospects for proliferation around the globe. Moreover, emerging technologies, including A...
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Togzhan Kassenova @togzhankassenova.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
A new entry in the Ambassadors' Series on Central Asia, published by @eurasianet.bsky.social, spearheaded by @nargiskassenova.bsky.social of the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies. Allan Mustard on the use of shoe leather diplomacy in Turkmenistan. eurasianet.org/memoir-recol...
eurasianet.org
Memoir: Recollecting the benefits of shoe leather diplomacy in Turkmenistan
Getting out, getting a feel for the place, and putting pins on a map.
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Togzhan Kassenova @togzhankassenova.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
Apologies - only in person, but the recording should become available later.
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Togzhan Kassenova @togzhankassenova.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
Tomorrow, April 29, in person at GWU and online: calendar.gwu.edu/event/naviga...
calendar.gwu.edu
Navigating Geopolitical Shifts: Central Asia’s Quest for Autonomy and Sustainable Development
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Togzhan Kassenova @togzhankassenova.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
A conversation with the IAEA's DG Rafael Grossi at #nukecon is now available online. I highly recommend it. Iran, Zaporizhzhia NPP, peaceful nuclear energy, and much more... www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKNQ...
youtube.com
A Keynote Conversation With Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi
YouTube video by Carnegie Endowment
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Asel Doolotkeldieva @adoolotkeldieva.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
Have you been to Bozjyra, Mangystau region in Western Kazakhstan? Part of the ancient ocean Tetis. It's simply mind blowing. Mad Max, Furiosa and Dune are crying )) I strongly recommend visiting this Marsian place! 🤍🩶
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Togzhan Kassenova @togzhankassenova.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
"Sen. Cory Booker devoted all of Monday night and into Tuesday evening on the Senate floor, delivering an impassioned speech in protest of the Trump administration's policies. This effort [...] set a record for the longest speech on record given in the chamber." www.npr.org/2025/04/01/n...
npr.org
Cory Booker breaks a 68-year-old Senate record with a 25-hour speech
The New Jersey Democrat spent more than 25 hours criticizing the Trump administration's policies on immigration, education, the economy and more since 7 p.m. ET Monday. He ended his marathon speech sh...
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Togzhan Kassenova @togzhankassenova.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
"On a desolate former nuclear test site, three generations confront the haunting legacy of the past as they fight for survival and hope in a world on the brink of destruction." "We Live Here" by 🇰🇿 director Zhanana Kurmasheva is part of the CPH:DOX festival! cphdox.dk/film/we-live...
cphdox.dk
We Live Here - CPH:DOX
On a desolate former nuclear test site, three generations confront the haunting legacy of the past as they fight for survival and hope in a world on the brink of destruction.
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Mariana Budjeryn @mbudjeryn.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
H-Diplo roundtable of my book is finally out! Grateful to Anna-Mart van Wyck, Valeria Hesse, and Mark Kramer for their reviews, to Polina Sinovets and Iryna Maksymenko for the introduction, and to Elisabeth Roehrlich and Diane Labrosse for guiding the process through to completion.
issforum.org
H-Diplo | RJISSF Roundtable 16-29 on Budjeryn, Inheriting the Bomb
28 March 2025 | PDF: https://issforum.org/to/jrt16-29 | Website: rjissf.org | X: @HDiplo Editor: Diane Labrosse Commissioning Editor: Elisabeth Roehrlich Production Editor: Christopher Ball Pre…
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Togzhan Kassenova @togzhankassenova.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
In the Face of Oppression, Feminist Resistance in Kazakhstan Persists thediplomat.com/2025/03/in-t...
thediplomat.com
In the Face of Oppression, Feminist Resistance in Kazakhstan Persists
Kazakhstan’s feminist activists persist, despite formidable resistance from both the state and anti-feminist groups.
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Togzhan Kassenova @togzhankassenova.bsky.social · 15/03/2025
Woodrow Wilson Center 💔
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Anni Kangas @kangasanni.bsky.social · 08/03/2025
Ooo, tämä olisi mainiota saada nähtäväksi myös Suomeen!
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Tereza Hendl @terezahendl.bsky.social · 08/03/2025
Hope to catch this film somewhere! "JARA — Radioactive Patriarchy: Women of Qazaqstan" is an independent documentary that unearths the tragic legacy of environmental destruction and human suffering caused by 40 years of Soviet nuclear testing on Qazaq land.
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Togzhan Kassenova @togzhankassenova.bsky.social · 08/03/2025
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JBe...
youtube.com
Teach-in on Civil Rights, Civil Liberties, and the Rule of Law
YouTube video by Politics and Prose
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Reposted by Togzhan Kassenova
Donnacha Ó Beacháin @donnachadcu.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
Russian imperialism didn’t start in 2022, nor is it confined to Ukraine. My new book analyses the Kremlin’s long shadow—past and present. Out on 24 April.
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Togzhan Kassenova @togzhankassenova.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
March 13, in person, Cambridge, MA. Thank you for this important contribution, @hellogera.bsky.social!: daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu/events/film-...
daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu
Film Screening: 'JARA — Radioactive Patriarchy: Women of Qazaqstan'
This film sheds light on the stories of six women from a nuclear-affected community in Kazakhstan. It explores topics such as technology-driven and state-sponsored gender-based violence, as well as th...
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Donnacha Ó Beacháin @donnachadcu.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
Details here: www.agendapub.com/page/detail/...
agendapub.com
Unfinished Empire
An essential primer for the reader looking to understand the consequences of the war with Ukraine for Russia's regional relationships with bordering countries and Russia's place in the world beyond th...
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Nargis Kassenova @nargiskassenova.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
If you couldn't tune in yesterday, here's the recording. We had an excellent panel (Samuel Dover Vesterbye, @tumarov.bsky.social and Yunis Sharifli) to discuss the Middle Corridor initiative in the rapidly changing geopolitical context. www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJuB...
youtube.com
Making the Two Ends of Eurasia Meet: Prospects of the Middle Corridor in the Trump Era
YouTube video by Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies
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Alex Wellerstein @wellerstein.bsky.social · 02/03/2025
One of my problems with the standard way that "the decision to use the atomic bomb," aside from its ahistorical nature, is taught is that it is always done as a very crude utilitarianism: which would cost fewer lives, atomic bombing or invasion? If bomb dead < invasion dead, then bomb is moral.
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Marion Messmer @mgmessmer.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
The Chatham House Leadership Academy Fellowships are an incredible opportunity for early and mid-career researchers and policy professionals who want to have some time to focus on their own project, and who want to explore think tank work. See below for the different fellowships on offer and apply!
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ASQAQ Koalitsiyasy I QNFC – Qazaq Nuclear Frontline Coalition @qazaqnuclear.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
The #QazaqNuclearFrontlineCoalition is attending the 3rd Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty Conference. Our Co-Founders Aigerim Seitenova @hellogera.bsky.social and Yerdaulet Rakhmatulla @yerdaulet.bsky.social are co-organizing a series of events. Check our schedule out and join us.
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Togzhan Kassenova @togzhankassenova.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
"The United States voted with Russia, North Korea, Belarus and 14 other Moscow-friendly countries Monday on a resolution condemning Russian aggression in Ukraine and calling for its occupied territory to be returned." Gift link: wapo.st/41gmlOo
wapo.st
U.S. votes against U.N. resolution condemning Russia for Ukraine war
Washington’s shift on the Ukraine war marks a major break with European allies and comes as the Trump administration aims to repair relations with Russia.
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Mariana Budjeryn @mbudjeryn.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
On this day of remembrance of Ukraine’s Revolution of Dignity, re-upping my essay from a year go, to remind what Ukraine is fight for. @brookings.edu @belfercenter.bsky.social
brookings.edu
When Ukraine set course for Europe
Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity in November 2013 set in motion events that would change the course of history.
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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 17/02/2025
For folks in DC with animal pals
To our federal government employee/contractor community:  



We understand more than most that accidents and emergencies have a way of happening at the worst possible time.  



For federal government employees/contractors who have lost their jobs during the downsizing of the federal government workforce, starting tomorrow we are waiving our emergency exam fee, non-routine primary care exam fee (sick visit), and offering extended payment options on all services.  



As always, if you think your pet is having a medical emergency, take him or her to the nearest emergency facility. If you are unsure whether or not your pet needs to be seen, please give us a call at 202-363-7300.  We are available 24-hours a day to help assist you in your decision.  



Sincerely,



Your Friends at Friendship Hospital for Animals
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Togzhan Kassenova @togzhankassenova.bsky.social · 16/02/2025
It has been exactly 3 years since @stanfordpress.bsky.social published Atomic Steppe: How Kazakhstan Gave Up the Bomb. What followed was incredible: the book has inspired poems, theater performances, PhD dissertations, and the arrival of young Kazakh nuclear disarmament activists. 1/2
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Laura Portwood-Stacer @lportwoodstacer.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
The conditions we’re dealing with are making it so hard to focus on writing & scholarship. If you’d feel supported by having a dedicated hour to reconnect with why you’re writing a scholarly book in the first place, my free workshop on March 5 is for you courses.manuscriptworks.com/courses/book...
courses.manuscriptworks.com
Workshop: Clarify Your Book Goals
This free workshop from Laura Portwood-Stacer of Manuscript Works teaches scholarly authors at all career stages to explore what's possible and decide what you really want your scholarly book to DO fo...
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Togzhan Kassenova @togzhankassenova.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
Trump dismisses archivist to the United States Gift link: wapo.st/4huIEXz
wapo.st
Trump dismisses archivist to the United States
The National Archives became the target of Trump’s ire when the independent agency sought to retain documents from his Mar-a-Lago estate in 2022.
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Nargis Kassenova @nargiskassenova.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
Fresh off-the-press: I had the honor of contributing a chapter on Kazakhstan for the 2025 Atlas Freedom and Prosperity Around the World, the @atlanticcouncil.bsky.social's flagship publication: www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-res...
atlanticcouncil.org
Surrounded by superpowers, Kazakhstan walks a geopolitical tightrope
Still a relatively young nation, Kazakhstan finds itself at critical juncture amid a series of domestic and geopolitical shocks.
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Togzhan Kassenova @togzhankassenova.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
A post of appreciation for @lportwoodstacer.bsky.social. It doesn't matter if it's your 1st, 2nd, or 3rd book proposal, you will benefit from reading her book! In addition to being an author of a helpful book, Laura always contributes to the community. Follow her to hear about opportunities.
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Togzhan Kassenova @togzhankassenova.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
U.S. foreign aid freeze derails efforts to stem proliferation risks
Trump order could leave United States blind to foreign efforts to turn lab discoveries into weapons of mass destruction
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Togzhan Kassenova @togzhankassenova.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
www.c-span.org/event/news-c...
c-span.org
Congressional Democrats on Trump Admin. Closing USAID HQ
Democratic members of Congress, including House Oversight and Judiciary ranking members Gerald Connolly (VA) and Jamie Raskin (MD), hold a news conference on the Trump administration closing the U.S. Agency for International Development HQ to staff.
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Togzhan Kassenova @togzhankassenova.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
A wholesome thread 🙌
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Togzhan Kassenova @togzhankassenova.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
I am grateful to all the readers of Atomic Steppe...
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Togzhan Kassenova @togzhankassenova.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
The recording of our event devoted to the Project Sapphire and other cooperative threat reduction projects is now available: www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9ld...
youtube.com
Project Sapphire and Thirty Years of U.S.-Kazakh Cooperation
YouTube video by Carnegie Endowment
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Luca Anceschi @anceschistan.bsky.social · 18/11/2024
Latest issue of Central Asian Affairs features an intriguing round table on @togzhankassenova.bsky.social's Atomic Steppe. Please to have contributed to this discussion on one of the most influential books on Central Asia published across the last decade. More here: brill.com/view/journal...
brill.com
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Togzhan Kassenova @togzhankassenova.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
Join us tomorrow, December 4th, 1:30 PM ET, in person in DC or online for a special event on Project Sapphire (secret operation to airlift 600 kg of HEU from Kazakhstan). carnegieendowment.org/events/2024/...
carnegieendowment.org
Project Sapphire at 30: U.S.-Kazakh Cooperation to Reduce Nuclear Threats
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States and the Republic of Kazakhstan undertook a secret joint operation, now known as Project Sapphire, to secure large quantities of weapons-gr...
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