
Analysis identifies lethal strain of anthrax the Soviets produced as bioweapon
On the first Monday in April 1979, a wind blew south through a Siberian city called Sverdlovsk. A few days later, people and sheep began to die. Government officials said the victims had eaten meat contaminated with anthrax or come into contact with animals sickened by the deadly bacteria. Or perhaps, officials hinted, it was a plot by the American government. By the time the outbreak ended two months later, 64 people had died. It would take nearly four decades for western sc