In Semey (former Semipalatinsk) there is a museum whose exposition is based on the fruits of a person with congenital pathologies, for which it is often compared with the famous Kunstkamera.art camera

The educational anatomical museum of the State Medical University of Semey has quietly turned into a sightseeing museum. In total, there are about 20 fetuses with congenital anomalies. Many people believe that the deviations in development presented here are related to the impact of tests at a nuclear test site near Semipalatinsk, which were carried out for 40 years. University staff argue that in no case has a direct connection with the test site been proven, and the etiology of a number of anomalies is unknown to science.

– In nature, there has always been a certain percentage of mutations and anomalies. Many examples of such deformities were collected by Peter I in his famous Kunstkamera, when there were no nuclear weapons, – says Ph.D. Irina Milyushina.

At the same time, no one denies that the surge in congenital anomalies occurred precisely during the period of active testing. However, along with the environmental situation, many other factors also influence the embryonic development of the fetus.

“This Cyclops came to us in 1984,” says the senior lecturer of the Department of Anatomy and Histology, Natalya Shchetinina, telling the story of one exhibit. The fetus died immediately after the umbilical cord was cut. He was doomed from the beginning, because he has no nose, no mouth. It is known for certain that his mother was an alcoholic with 40 years of experience. Perhaps this has become the predominant factor in ugliness.

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The exhibits presented here have never had names, since few people lived after birth even a day, and their biological parents even refused to bury them. Now, for decades, they have been educational material for future physicians…