Kazakhstan faces legacy of Soviet weapons testing in nuclear power referendum

Moscow — Polls are open in Kazakhstan Sunday for a landmark referendum on building the country’s first nuclear power plant, confronting the country's painful legacy as a testing ground for Soviet nuclear weapons. The proposal is backed by the government and the country’s president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who hopes to boost the country’s energy security. The plant, which is slated to be built close to Lake Balkhash in Kazakhstan’s southeast, would take pressure off the coal-powered power stations on which the country heavily relies.