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Dust: Exploring the radioactive ruins of secret cities on the Russia-Kazakhstan border

Taking an interest in the 'aesthetics of destruction,' photographer Nadav Kander's most recent project Dust explores the vestiges of the Cold War through the radioactive ruins of secret cities on the border between Kazakhstan and Russia.

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Weathered concrete and black metal structure tilting in an overgrown steppe landscape under stormy skies, remnants of Cold War weapons testing sites on the Russia-Kazakhstan border

Priozersk (formally known as 'Moscow 10') and Kurchatov are closed cities, restricted military zones, concealed and not shown on maps until they were 'discovered' by Google Earth. Enlisted to the pursuits of science and war, the sites were used for the covert testing of atomic and long distance weapons. Falsely claimed as uninhabited, the cities, along with nearby testing site 'The Polygon' set the stage for one of the most cynical experiments ever undertaken. Scientists watched and silently documented the horrifying effects of radiation and pollution on the local population and livestock.

Fascinated by the area's past and driven by discovery, Kander's photographs portray stark fact and bleak setting with a characteristic poeticism. Secrets seem to seep from the silence of the crumbling monuments, bowing under heavy grey skies. Describing what he saw as 'empty landscapes of invisible dangers' Kander's images evoke his sense of awe and fear as he responded to these places and to the weight of their history.

Special thanks to the Flowers Gallery

A partially collapsed Soviet-era apartment building tilts precariously in a barren desert landscape under an overcast sky, its exposed concrete and metal framework revealing the structural damage from decades of abandonment and environmental decay
Ruins of a pink concrete structure surrounded by rubble and bare trees in a snow-covered landscape under grey skies
Concrete brutalist building with turquoise-framed windows elevated on pillars, surrounded by bare trees and snow-covered ground beneath grey sky
Crumbling Soviet-era apartment buildings stand abandoned on barren, overgrown ground beneath an overcast sky, with a solitary figure visible in the distance
Abandoned metal structure with empty screen frame stands in desolate landscape with bare trees and crumbling ruins, Priozersk, Kazakhstan
Snow-covered cemetery stretching across flat terrain with numerous crosses and grave markers visible under an overcast sky in Priozersk
Rusted metal structure of a derelict building in an arid landscape, part of Nadav Kander's Dust series documenting Cold War ruins in Kazakhstan
A rusted metal monument with upright spears rises from barren, sandy ground surrounded by bare trees and shrubs under an overcast sky
Abandoned concrete structures and industrial debris scattered across a desolate landscape under overcast skies in the radioactive ruins of a secret Cold War city
Row of ornate concrete crosses standing on a barren hillside in one of the secret Cold War cities on the Russia-Kazakhstan border
Abandoned, rusted metal structure half-buried in scrubland beneath an overcast sky in the radioactive ruins of a Cold War secret city
Flowers and debris scattered across arid steppe beneath stormy sky, with distant fence line stretching across horizon
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