 The goals were both irrigation and the stabilization of the water level in the Caspian, which was thought to be falling dangerously fast at the time.During 1971, some peaceful nuclear construction experiments were carried out in the region by the U.S.S.R.In June 2007, in order to boost his oil-rich country's access to markets, Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev proposed a link between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea.