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Agence France-Presse

Alexei Vereshchagin remains certain that tourists will one day sip cocktails from the roof of his now abandoned hotel as they enjoy the lakeside view of Priozersk – a former secret city in central Kazakhstan.
Because of a lack of investment, Vereshchagin has been renovating the hotel alone – including putting in new windows in each of the 150 rooms. This mammoth task is likely to take years.
The hotel’s former Cyrillic-lettered “Hotel Russia” sign has been removed and is gathering dust on the roof alongside a rusty portrait of Vladimir Lenin.
“I want there to be a beautiful hotel in the centre of the city, like in the Soviet era. So I am restoring it, little by little,” says Vereshchagin, a Soviet Army veteran.

Once the hotel is renovated, tourists will be able to stay in the property near Lake Balkhash’s shores and enjoy the “magnificent views”, Vereshchagin says.
The development of a tourism sector in Priozersk would mark a dramatic change of fortune for the once-closed city, long unmarked on maps because of secretive military sites.
The Sary-Shagan missile range was built nearby in 1956, to test anti-ballistic weapons systems, and a portion of the range is still leased by the Russian government, Priozersk’s mayor, Mansur Akhmetov, says.
Reminders of its Cold War heyday are everywhere in the town of 15,000 people. Replicas of the S-75 surface-to-air missiles tested in Priozersk have been placed in the city centre and at its entrance, along with fading posters praising the “glory of the anti-missile shield of the Fatherland”.
Several sites dotted across the sprawling testing range on an arid steppe have been abandoned, and are now guarded by the likes of Ivan Sabitov. A Kazakh civilian, Sabitov whiles away the time watching over empty missile silos, dismantled radars and rocket fairings with his dog.
“These Soviet installations are destroyed, but other bases are still active,” says the 61-year-old with a weathered face.


Russian troops from the Strategic Missile Forces – which helps manage the Kremlin’s nuclear arsenal – are still stationed in the area and sometimes swim in Lake Balkhash in the evening with their families.
Despite the presence of Russian bases, Priozersk’s mayor is trying to transform the city into a seaside resort. This project is in line with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s desire to develop the country’s tourism sector, which represents just 3.2 per cent of its GDP.
“We are going to redevelop the entire coastline, so that pedestrians can walk along it,” Akhmetov says. “We also plan to build hotels and organise efforts to clean the beaches.”
Priozersk is already home to a smattering of small hotels that mostly host fishermen and a trickle of tourists during the first days of summer.
“Even if the town seems partly abandoned, Lake Balkhash is magnificent,” says Olga Ryapolova, a Russian tourist from Siberia who “hopes to come back” to Priozersk soon. “I enjoy the warm water and the sand on the beach.”

The picturesque lake contrasts with the desolation elsewhere. A disused cement factory still stands near the lake’s shores, which Akhmetov hopes to demolish.
But on the only road leading to the end of the peninsula stands a new hotel: The Golden Sands. This four-star spa was built in 2016 and has become a welcome source of jobs, with its 120 employees.
“In Priozersk, jobs are scarce, and mainly linked to the army,” says the spa’s receptionist, Aizhan Musina.
“My mother is a soldier. I was a police officer. But my salary [around €250, or US$270, a month] was too small, so I came to work here,” she explains, adding that she now makes roughly €370 a month.

Musina was born in Priozersk when the city was still sealed off from the public. She has long been waiting for her hometown to open up to tourists.
“I hope that our city will gain fame, and that people will know that we have such a beautiful spa.”


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Spa, seaside and a secret missile test range. Welcome to Priozersk, in Kazakhstan

People enjoy the beach of The Golden Sands hotel and spa in Priozersk, Kazakhstan, on June 17, 2024. Photo: AFP

People enjoy the beach of The Golden Sands hotel and spa in Priozersk, Kazakhstan, on June 17, 2024. The former secret city on the shores of Lake Balkhash serves as the administrative centre of the Sary-Shagan missile range - built in 1956 to test anti-ballistic weapons systems and still leased by the Russian government. Photo: AFP

Alexei Vereshchagin is renovating an abandoned hotel, formerly known as Hotel Russia, in Priozersk. Photo: AFP

Ivan Sabitov guards a semi-abandoned military base on the steppe around Priozersk. Photo: AFP

The semi-abandoned military base Sabitov guards. Photo: AFP

Russian tourist Olga Ryapolova walks along the shore of Lake Balkhash in Priozersk. Photo: AFP

The Golden Sands hotel and spa in Priozersk. Photo: AFP

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Travel & Leisure

As the former secret city by Kazakhstan’s Lake Balkhash attempts to transform into a seaside resort, contrasts can be found everywhere


Kazakhstan’s former secret city of Priozersk is attempting to transform into a seaside resort, with its beautiful Lake Balkhash and Golden Sands spa contrasting with reminders of its Cold War heyday.


Kazakhstan

Central Asia

Travel Destinations