Aral Sea fate. Since the disappearance of the Southeast Aral in 2008, Vozrozhdeniya effectively no longer exists as a distinct geographical feature. The area is now shared by Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. In 1948, a top-secret Soviet bioweapons laboratory was established on the island, in the centre of the Aral Sea which is now disputed territory between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The exact history, functions and current status of this facility are still unclear, but bio-agents tested there included "Bacillus anthracis", "Coxiella burnetii", "Francisella tularensis", "Brucella suis", "Rickettsia prowazekii", "Variola major" (smallpox), "Yersinia pestis", botulinum toxin, and Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus. In 1971, weaponized
Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan border Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan border The Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan border is 1,314km (816m) and runs from the tripoint with Kazakhstan to the tripoint with Tajikistan. It is Kyrgyzstan’s longest external boundary. The border starts in the north at the tripoint with Kazakhstan and then creates a ‘finger’ of Uzbek territory wedged between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan; the border traverses the Pskem Mountains, with much of this area being taken up by a series of national parks (Ugam-Chatkal National Park in Uzbekistan and Besh-Aral State Nature Reserve in Kyrgyzstan). The boundary then proceeds in a roughly south-eastwards direction, traversing the Chatkal Range and the Qurama Mountains before