The wall

Since the superb celebration of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall in 2009, we sometime forget that walls are still erected around the world.
The last one to date has been built in MIK site 31 around Cryosat-2 storage area. What a (good) surprise we had when it was discovered that instead of the safety chord we have asked for to protect CS-2 hardware, the Russians had put in place a solid wall completely surrounding the area! Not easy to enter the place this morning for the first "baby sitting'' checks, no "check points", we just had to move temporarily a piece of the wall!
The device on the right of the SHM is not an "observation tower" but the usual Mechanical Ground Support Equipment to service the SHM :-)


Beyond the MIK, the "wall" is a reality in Baikonur: it circles the city and we cross it every day, with the support of a dedicated escort, to reach the cosmodrome.
This wall materialises the border between the Russian enclave of Baikonur in the Кызылорда (Kyzylorda) region of Kazakhstan.
Our Russian visas give us access to this enclave, the city of Baikonur and the Cosmodrome, but we are not allowed to go to Kazakhstan (i.e. on the other side of the city wall). The Kyzylorda region seems to be forbidden to foreigners; most of it is semi or completely desertic (?)
Behind the wall stands the Kazakh village of Tyuratam.
Determining what is the best side of the wall is a complex question.

Credits: Raphael

Some other sections are poorly maintained or not tight at all and it is frequent to see people crossing them over, by-passing the regular check points.


Finally inside the city, long sections of walls are used for space or popular art expression.

Credits: Raphael

In the same way, the East Side Gallery in Berlin showed how wall painting has become recently an extraordinary mean to express a mixture of art, political satire and hope...


It is not sure that after its removal, the "Cryosat-2 wall" will ends its life in a museum and will inspire many artists :-(