page_title: Priozersk, Kazakhstan
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Priozersk, Kazakhstan / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Priozersk city
context_page_description: Priozersk is a closed city at Lake Balkhash, Kazakhstan. It serves as the administrative center of Sary Shagan anti-ballistic missile testing site.
  Priozersk is located in Karaganda Region, approximately 620 kilometers to the south-east of the Karaganda and 747 kilometers from Astana. The Cambala Airport lies in the suburbs.
  Population: 13,479; 11,033. By nationality, the city is 46% Russian, 39% Kazakh, 6% Ukrainian, and 9% other. The town is closed to visits by foreign citizens.
context_section_description: Tens of thousands of workers and hundreds of missile experts and army officers arrived after the Soviet government decided to establish a secret military base in the Kazakh Steppe. This testing site for the soviet missile defense system was one of such centers, which had led to construction of anti-ballistic missiles and to attain parity in the arms race between the USSR and United States.
  After the Soviet Union's collapse, the Russian Federation agreed with Kazakhstan to lease some military units for 50 years.  The Russian Army continues to use the base at Priozersk as the testing site for improving anti-ballistic and anti-aircraft defense systems.
caption: Central Square in Priozersk
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