NT | nuclear test |
UNT | underground nuclear test |
UNE | underground nuclear explosion |
PNE | Peaceful Nuclear Explosion |
STS | Semipalatinsk Test Site |
NZTS | Novaya Zemlya Test Site |
AWE | (The British) Atomic Weapons Establishment |
Environment | Number | Location |
Ground surface | 32 | STS - 30; Aralsk - 1; NZ - 1. |
In the atmosphere | 177 | STS - 86; NZ-85; Totsk-1, KY-5. |
High altitude and space | 5 | KY-5 (Kapustin Yar TS) |
Underwater | 3 | NZ-3 |
Water surface | 2 | NZ-2 |
Underground NTs | 496 | STS-340; NZ-39; Azgir-17; |
other places of USSR -100 PNE. | ||
1961 - 1; | 1962 - 1; | 1963 - 0; | 1964 - 7; | 1965 - 12; |
1966 - 14; | 1967 - 15; | 1968 - 14; | 1969 - 14; | 1970 - 12; |
1971 - 15; | 1972 - 14; | 1973 - 9; | 1974 - 15; | 1975 - 12; |
1976 - 16; | 1977 - 15; | 1978 - 20; | 1979 - 20; | 1980 - 18; |
1981 - 15; | 1982 - 10; | 1983 - 14; | 1984 - 14; | 1985 - 8; |
1986 - 0; | 1987 - 16; | 1988 - 12; | 1989 - 7; | 1990 - 0. |
Date | Y, kt |
1965 Jan 15 | 140 |
1965 Oct 14 | 1.1 |
1968 Oct 21 | 0.24 |
1968 Nov 12 | 3 x 0.24 |
1971 Apr 9 | 0.23 |
1974 Dec 7 | 1.7 |
1974 Dec 16 | 3.8 |
Date | Event description |
1966 Mar 30 | First Soviet salvo PNE in two shafts was made in Bashkiria. |
1966 Dec 3 | First salvo UNT in a single tunnel was made at STS. |
1967 Oct 21 | First salvo explosion in two tunnels was made at STS. |
1968 Jul 11 | First salvo explosion (test) of three charges in single tunnel was made at Novaya Zemlya TS. |
1972 Dec 10 | First salvo explosion in two tunnels was made at STS. |
1975 Aug 23 | Salvo explosion with maximum number of sub-explosions (eight!) was made at NZTS. |
1975 Oct 18 | First salvo explosion in a single shaft was made at NZTS. |
1976 Jul 12 | First salvo explosion in a single shaft was made at STS. |
1978 Jul 28 | Salvo explosion at STS with maximum number of sub-explosions (five). |
Test type | Number of tests | Number of sub-explosions |
Single explosion tests | 230 | 230 |
Double sub-explosions tests | 76 | 152 |
Triple sub-explosions tests | 29 | 87 |
Four sub-explosions tests | 4 | 16 |
Five sub-explosions tests | 1 | 5 |
Total | 340 | 490 |
Test type | Number of tests | Number of sub-explosions |
Single explosion tests | 11 | 11 |
Double sub-explosions tests | 3 | 6 |
Triple sub-explosions tests | 5 | 15 |
Four sub-explosions tests | 10 | 40 |
Five sub-explosions tests | 5 | 25 |
Six sub-explosions) tests | 1 | 6 |
Seven sub-explosions tests | 2 | 14 |
Eight sub-explosions tests | 2 | 16 |
Total | 39 | 133 |
Date | Y, kt | Region | Comments |
1965 Mar 3 | 2.3 + 2.3 | Bashkiria | Made in two shafts |
1971 Mar 23 | 15 + 15 + 15 | Perm | Made in three shafts: Cratering PNE |
1978 Oct 17 | 18 + 56 | Azgir | Made in the same shaft |
1979 Jan 17 | 12 + 56 | Azgir | Made in the same shaft |
1979 Jul 14 | ? + ? + ? = 21 | Azgir | Made in the same shaft |
1979 Oct 24 | ? + ? = 33 | Azgir | Made in the same shaft |
Test type | Numbers of tests at: | Number of sub-explosions | |||
STS | NZTS | PNE | All locations | ||
Single | 230 | 11 | 111 | 352 | 352 |
Double | 76 | 3 | 4 | 83 | 166 |
Triple | 29 | 5 | 2 | 36 | 108 |
Four | 4 | 10 | - | 14 | 56 |
Five | 1 | 5 | - | 6 | 30 |
Six | - | 1 | - | 1 | 6 |
Seven | - | 2 | - | 2 | 14 |
Eight | - | 2 | - | 2 | 16 |
Total | 340 | 39 | 117 | 496 | 748 |
Environment | Number of tests | Number of sub-explosions |
Underground | 496 | 748 |
Other environments | 219 | 219 |
Total | 715 | 967 |
## | Date | Subarea | Detected test | mb | Undetected test | Comment | |
1. | 321 & 322 | 1970 Jun 28 | Both Degelen | #321 | 5.7 | #322 | |
2. | 325 & 326 | 1970 Sep 6 | Both Degelen | #326 | 5.4 | #325 | |
3. | 333 & 334 | 1971 Mar 22 | Both Degelen | #333 | 5.7 | #334 | |
4. | 353 & 354 | 1971 Dec 30 | Both Degelen | #354 | 5.7 | #353 | |
5. | 360 & 361 | 1972 Jul 7 | Both Degelen | #360 | 5.4 | #361 | |
6. | 376 & 377 | 1972 Dec 10 | Degelen | #376 | 5.6 | - | |
Balapan | #377 | 6.0 | - | Time interval - 10.0 sec | |||
7. | 417 & 418 | 1975 Feb 20 | Both Degelen | #417 | 5.7 | #418 | |
8. | 454 & 455 | 1976 Dec 7 | Both Balapan | #454 | 5.9 | #455 | |
9. | 457 & 458 | 1977 Mar 29 | Degelen | #457 | 5.4 | ||
Murzhik | - | - | #458 | ||||
10. | 473 & 474 | 1977 Oct 29 | Degelen | #473 | 5.6 | ||
Balapan | #474 | 5.6 | Time interval - 4.9 sec | ||||
11. | 479 & 480 | 1977 Dec 26 | Both Degelen | #479 | 4.9 | #480 | |
12. | 493 & 494 | 1978 Aug 29 | Degelen | #493 | 5.2 | - | |
Balapan | #494 | 5.9 | - | Time interval - 8.8 sec | |||
13. | 506 & 507 | 1978 Nov 29 | Degelen | #506 | 5.3 | - | |
Balapan | #507 | 6.0 | - | Time interval - 4.8 sec | |||
14. | 524 & 525 | 1979 Jul 18 | Murzhik | #524 | 5.2 | - | |
Degelen | - | - | #525 | ||||
15. | 561 & 562 | 1980 Dec 5 | Both Degelen. | ##561 & 562 | Neither was observed. | ||
16. | 629 & 630 | 1983 Nov 29 | Both Degelen | #629 | 5.4 | #630 | |
17. | 671 & 672 | 1987 Apr 3 | Balapan | #671 | 6.0 | - | |
Degelen | - | - | #672 |
N | # in official Russian list | Date | Described only in [9] | Y, kt | Subarea | Comment |
1 | #224 | 1964 Jun 6 | Yes | less than 20 | Deg | |
2 | #226 | 1964 Aug 18 | Yes | less than 20 | Deg | |
3 | #228 | 1964 Sep 30 | Yes | less than 20 | Deg | |
4 | #232 | 1965 Feb 4 | Yes | less than 20 | Deg | |
5 | #234 | 1965 Mar 27 | Yes | less than 20 | Deg | |
6 | #259 | 1966 Oct 29 | Yes | less than 20 | Deg | |
7 | #260 | 1966 Nov 19 | Yes | less than 20 | Deg | |
8 | #271 | 1967 Sep 2 | Yes | less than 20 | Deg | |
9 | #283 | 1968 May 23 | No | less than 0.001 | Deg | |
10 | #292 | 1968 Oct 29 | Yes | less than 20 | Deg | |
11 | #298 | 1969 Apr 4 | Yes | less than 20 | Deg | |
12 | #299 | 1969 Apr 13 | Yes | less than 20 | Deg | |
13 | #310 | 1969 Oct 30 | No | less than 20 | Deg | |
14 | #311 | 1969 Nov 27 | Yes | less than 20 | Deg | |
15 | #317 | 1970 Feb 18 | No | less than 0.001 | Deg | |
16 | #322 | 1970. Jun 28 | No | less than 20 | Deg | Simultaneous with UNE #321 from Degelen (mb=5.7) |
17 | #325 | 1970 Sep 6 | No | less than 20 | Deg | Simultaneous with UNE #326 from Degelen (mb=5.4) |
18 | #332 | 1971 Jan 29 | Yes | less than 20 | Deg | |
19 | #334 | 1971 Mar 22 | No | less than 20 | Deg | Simultaneous with UNE #333 from Degelen (mb=5.7) |
20 | #336 | 1971 Apr 9 | Yes | less than 20 | Deg | |
21 | #353 | 1971 Dec 30 | No | less than 20 | Deg | Simultaneous with UNE #354 from Degelen (mb=5.7) |
22 | #359 | 1972 Apr 20 | No | less than 0.001 | Deg | |
23 | #360 | 1972 Jun 7 | No | less than 20 | Deg | Simultaneous with UNE #361 from Degelen (mb=5.4) |
24 | #387 | 1973 Sep 20 | No | less than 0.001 | Bal | |
25 | #393 | 1973 Nov 4 | Yes | less than 20 | Bal | |
26 | #395 | 1973 Dec 31 | Yes | less than 20 | Deg | |
27 | #397 | 1974 Feb 28 | No | less than 0.001 | Deg | |
28 | #404 | 1974 Jul 29 | Yes | less than 20 | Bal | |
29 | #412 | 1974 Nov 28 | Yes | less than 20 | Mur | |
30 | #417 | 1975 Feb 20 | No | less than 20 | Deg | Simultaneous with UNE #418 from Degelen (mb=5.7) |
31 | #424 | 1975 Jul 15 | Yes | less than 20 | Deg | |
32 | #429 | 1975 Oct 5 | Yes | less than 20 | Deg | |
33 | #437 | 1976 Mar 17 | Yes | less than 20 | Deg | |
34 | #439 | 1976 Apr 10 | Yes | less than 20 | Deg | |
35 | #447 | 1976 Aug 4 | Yes | less than 20 | Mur | |
36 | #455 | 1976 Dec 7 | No | less than 20 | Bal | Simultaneous with UNE #454 from Balapan (mb=5.9) |
37 | #458 | 1977 Mar 29 | No | 20-150 | Mur | Simultaneous with UNE #457 from Degelen (mb=5.4) |
38 | #476 | 1977 Nov 12 | Yes | less than 20 | Bal | |
39 | #477 | 1977 Nov 27 | Yes | less than 20 | Deg | |
40 | #480 | 1977 Dec 26 | No | less than 20 | Deg | Simultaneous with UNE #479 from Degelen (mb=4.9) |
41 | #484 | 1978 May 24 | No | less than 0.001 | Deg | |
42 | #486 | 1978 Jun 02 | No | less than 0.001 | Deg | |
43 | #516 | 1979 Mar 23 | No | less than 0.001 | Deg | |
44 | #517 | 1979 Apr 10 | No | less than 0.001 | Deg | |
45 | #520 | 1979 Jun 12 | No | less than 0.001 | Deg | |
46 | #525 | 1979 Jul 18 | No | less than 20 | Deg | Simultaneous with UNE #524 from Balapan (mb=5.2) |
47 | #543 | 1980 Mar 14 | No | less than 0.001 | Deg | |
48 | #551 | 1980 Jun 25 | Yes | less than 20 | Deg | |
49 | #559 | 1980 Oct 23 | Yes | less than 20 | Deg | |
50 | #561 | 1980 Dec 5 | Yes | less than 20 | Deg | |
51 | #562 | 1980 Dec 5 | No | less than 20 | Deg | Simultaneous with UNE #561 from Degelen (mb=3.6) |
52 | #567 | 1981 Mar 25 | No | less than 0.001 | Deg | |
53 | #572 | 1981 Jun 4 | No | less than 0.001 | Deg | |
54 | #581 | 1981 Oct 16 | No | less than 0.001 | Deg | |
55 | #607 | 1983 Mar 11 | No | less than 0.001 | Deg | |
56 | #627 | 1983 Nov 2 | Yes | less than 20 | Deg | |
57 | #630 | 1983 Nov 29 | No | less than 20 | Deg | Simultaneous with UNE #629 from Degelen (mb=5.4) |
58 | #664 | 1985 Jul 11 | Yes | less than 20 | Deg | |
59 | #665 | 1985 Jul 19 | Yes | less than 20 | Deg | |
60 | #672 | 1987 Apr 03 | No | less than 20 | Deg | Simultaneous with UNE #671 from Balapan (mb=6.1) |
61 | #707 | 1988 Dec 28 | Yes | less than 20 | Deg |
NN | Date | Y | Subarea | Media | mb-ISC | mb-AWE | mb(Lg)-NOR | Comment |
1 | 1961 Oct 11 | 1 | D | granite | - | m(K)=4.42 | - | K=11.0 |
2 | 1965 Jan 15 | 140 | B | sandstone | 5.8 | 5.87 | - | PNE, crater |
3 | 1965 Oct 14 | 1.1 | M | aleurolite | - | m(K)=4.29 | - | K=10.7, PNE, crater |
4 | 1965 Nov 21 | 29 | D | granite | 5.6 | 5.605 | - | |
5 | 1966 Feb 13 | 125 | D | porphry | 6.1 | 6.256 | - | |
6 | 1966 Mar 20 | 100 | D | porphry | 6.0 | 6.040 | - | |
7 | 1966 May 7 | 4 | D | porphry | 4.8 | 4.734 | - | |
8 | 1967 Sep 22 | 10 | M | aleurolite | 5.2 | 5.160 | - | |
9 | 1968 Sep 29 | 60 | D | porphry | 5.8 | 5.861 | - | |
10 | 1968 Oct 21 | 0.24 | M | argillite | - | m(K)=4.05 | - | K=10.2, PNE, crater |
11 | 1968 Nov 12 | 0.72 | M | gravel | - | m(K)=4.24 | - | K=10.6, PNE, crater |
12 | 1969 Jul 23 | 16 | D | porphry | 5.4 | 5.504 | - | |
13 | 1969 Nov 30 | 125 | B | conglomerate | 6.0 | 6.02 | 6.043 | |
14 | 1969 Dec 28 | 40 | M | aleurolite | 5.7 | 5.791 | ||
15 | 1971 Apr 9 | 0.23 | B | _ | m(K)=3.87 | - | K=9.6, PNE | |
16 | 1971 Apr 25 | 90 | D | granite | 5.9 | 6.076 | - | |
17 | 1971 Jun 6 | 16 | M | aleurolite | 5.5 | 5.526 | - | |
18 | 1971 Oct 9 | 12 | M | aleurolite | 5.3 | 5.371 | - | |
19 | 1971 Oct 21 | 23 | M | sandstone | 5.5 | 5.580 | - | |
20 | 1972 Feb 10 | 16 | B | aleurolite | 5.4 | 5.27 | 5.372 | |
21 | 1972 Mar 28 | 6 | D | porphry | 5.1 | 5.177 | - | |
22 | 1972 Aug 16 | 8 | D | granite | 5.0 | 5.105 | - | |
23 | 1972 Sep 2 | 2 | M | sandstone | 5.1 | 4.788 | - | |
24 | 1972 Nov 2 | 165 | B | aleurolite | 6.1 | 6.16 | 6.118 | |
25 | 1972 Dec 10 | 140 | B | tuff, sandstone | 6.0 | 5.96 | 6.092 | |
26 | 1974 Dec 7 | 1.7 | M | - | 4.7 | 4.369 | - | PNE, crater |
27 | 1974 Dec 16 | 3.8 | D | granite | 4.8 | 4.887 | - | (06:41) PNE |
1964 - 90 kt | 1965 - 250 kt | 1966 - 420 kt | 1967 - 220 kt | |
1968 - 120 kt | 1969 - 270 kt | 1970 - 150 kt | 1971 - 300 kt | |
1972 - 450 kt | 1973 - 310 kt | 1974 - 150 kt | 1975 - 210 kt | |
1976 - 300 kt | 1977 - 350 kt | 1978 - 620 kt | 1979 - 960 kt | |
1980 - 600 kt | 1981 - 610 kt | 1982 - 470 kt | 1983 - 440 kt | |
1984 - 1,130 kt | 1985 - 450 kt | 1987 - 1,000 | 1988 - 670 kt | |
1989 - 300 kt. | - | - | - |
Date | Time | Coordinates (N, E) | mb | Type | Reference |
1966 Dec 26 | 17:39:38 | (49.52, 78.71) | 4.28 | Earthquake | [8] |
1967 Jun 3 | 09:21:10 | (51.68, 75.10) | 4.5 | Chemical explosion | [10] |
1976 Mar 20 | 04:03:39 | (50.02, 77.37) | 5.00 | Earthquake | Many publications |
1981 Mar 31 | 07:51:30 | (47.97, 80.00) | 4.88 | Earthquake | [10] |
1982 Jul 19 | 09:00:06 | (62.53, 47.81) | 4.4 | Chemical explosion | Sultanov, 1993 |
1984 Sep 15 | 06:15:07 | (50.07, 78.85) | 4.33 | Chemical explosion | [12] |
1987 Sep 16 | 07:30:01 | (49.85, 78.79) | 4.06 | Chemical explosion | [10] |
1988 Sep 26 | 07:45:02 | (49.93, 78.90) | 3.91 | Chemical explosion | [11] |