Download or read book Evil Spirits and Rocket Debris written by Ludek Broz and published by Berghahn Books. This book was released on 2024-02-02 with total page 307 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Altai Republic in southern Siberia is renowned for excavations of frozen mummies from high-altitude burial sites. Less well-known is the fact that it hosts fallout zones for the second stages of rockets launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome. Local inhabitants blame ‘evil spirits’ released by archaeological work and toxic fuel from rocket debris for their misfortunes. This book explores the divergent fates of such claims when confronted with state-fostered ‘rationalisms’ of science and governance.