Deep inside the Tien Shan mountains, close to the border of China, which is why you require a permit to travel here, you can find Inylcheck town. A mining town set up by the Sovjets and once crawling with workers and families living their life. After the collapse almost everybody left. Almost all the buildings, mines and machinery have been left behind. A few families still live here in complete isolation.
Min Kush is located far inland in the mountains at around 2000 meters height in a remote valley. The town was founded in 1953 and would grow to be one of the largest uranium producers of the Soviet Union. Radiation levels are still 10 times the norm here and little action has been taken to contain and prevent contamination.
In those days, the risks of uranium mining were compensated with high pay and extra perks for the workers, which attracted many workers and as such there waseven a waiting list to work in the factories. Having a chance at a wealthy life in the Soviet Union naturally sounded appealing to people and Min Kush used to be a thriving village, with about 20.000 people living there, who enjoyed a better life than their peers in other parts of the country in terms of comfort, luxury and income (not in health though). About 80 per cent of the population left the town when the Soviet Union collapsed and there was no work anymore.
