!['No prospects': Russians slowly leaving legendary spaceport city](https://cdn.newsserve.net/ONPglobe256.png)
'No prospects': Russians slowly leaving legendary spaceport city
Baikonur, Kazakhstan (AFP) Oct 20, 2023
Surrounded by the vast sand dunes of the Kazakh steppe, on satellite images the city of Baikonur looks like an oasis of glimmering lights in an otherwise dry desert. Leased by Russia from Kazakhstan since the collapse of the USSR, the legendary launch site was for years the heart of the Soviet space programme, sending both the first artificial satellite and human into space. Russia, whos