Sverdlovsk Oblast

"Russia inherited the past offensive program of biological research and development from the Soviet Union," the department said in a 2025 report.

"The US assesses that the Soviet program was absorbed, not dismantled by the Russian Federation, and that the program has continued and evolved." In 1979, an accident at a Soviet facility led to an anthrax outbreak in Sverdlovsk, now Yekaterinburg.

Soviet officials first blamed contaminated meat.

Boris Yeltsin later told a Russian newspaper that a military development caused the outbreak.

You know, we watched him.

on tv because he made being scientist scientific interesting because he was antic and manic and then he got his politics on i'm like i don't know it's like it's like the pop culture version i feel like him because you know everyone's talking about science and illnesses with me Charles writes, and I haven't heard anyone bring up the 1979 release of weaponized anthrax in Sverdlovsk, now Yekaterinburg again, where Yeltsin was the party boss at the time.

The Soviets slash Russians lied for years about what happened.

All through the city, fevers, coughs, vomiting, at least 66 people died in this.