Radioactive Legacy: Surviving Soviet Nuclear Colonialism with Aigerim Seitenova

What does it mean to inherit radioactive fallout? Aigerim Seitenova explains how nuclear testing shaped generations in Semey, and why the struggle isn’t over. <p>For 40 years, the Soviet Union detonated 456 nuclear bombs in Semey, Kazakhstan. The fallout still shapes lives today.</p><p>In this episode of Yurt Jurt, nuclear disarmament activist and filmmaker Aigerim Seitenova shares her story as a third-generation survivor. She explains how nuclear testing left deep scars on her community, why the struggle for justice continues, and how memory itself becomes resistance.</p><p>With advanced degrees in international law and as director of the documentary JARA – Radioactive Patriarchy: Women of Qazaqstan, Aigerim connects personal history to global activism — highlighting urgent questions of decolonial futures, gender, and nuclear justice.</p><p>Follow us on Instagram: ⁠@yurtjurt</p>