Everything about Astana totally explained
Astana (
Kazakh: Астана; former names include
Akmola,
Akmolinsk,
Tselinograd, and
Aqmola), is the capital and second largest city (behind
Almaty) of
Kazakhstan, with an officially estimated population (1 Dec.
2007) of 600,200
. It is located in the north-central portion of Kazakhstan, within
Akmola Province, although it's politically separate from the rest of the province, which has its own capital.
The current mayor of Astana is
Imangali Tasmagambetov, formerly mayor of
Almaty. He was appointed mayor on 4th April 2008.
Name
The word
Astana in
Kazakh language means
Capital city. In Kazakh and
Russian, it's pronounced "As-ta-
na", while in English and many other languages, the common pronunciation is "As-
ta-na". Astana was called "
Manhattan on the
Steppe."
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History
Early history
A unit of
Siberian
cossacks from
Omsk founded a huge fortress on the upper
Ishim in
1824, which later became the town of "Akmolinsk". During the early 20th Century, the town became a major railway junction, causing a major economic boom that lasted until the
Russian Civil War.
The
Gulags once spread over the Kazakhstan steppe like a thick wreath. Eleven camps housed hundreds of thousands of prisoners and their families. Outside Astana, there once stood the ALZHIR camp, a Russian acronym for the Akmolinskii Camp for Wives of Traitors of the Motherland, one of the most notorious in the
Gulag archipelago, which was reserved for the wives of men considered "enemies of the people" by
Joseph Stalin.
In
1961, it was renamed "Tselinograd" and made capital of the Soviet Virgin Lands Territory (Tselinny Krai). The city was at the centre of the
Virgin Lands Campaign led by
Nikita Khrushchev in the 1950s, in order to turn the state into a second grain producer for the
Soviet Union. The high portion of Russian immigrants in this area, which later led to ethnic tension, can be traced to the influx of agricultural workers at this time. Additionally, many Russian-Germans were resettled here after being deported under
Joseph Stalin at the beginning of World War II, when Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union.
After Kazakhstan gained its independence in
1991, the city and the region were renamed "Aqmola". The name was often translated as "White Tombstone," but actually means "Holy Place" or 'Holy Shrine'. The "White Tombstone" literal translation was too appropriate for many visitors to escape notice in almost all guide books and travel accounts.
As Kazakhstan's new capital
In
1994, the city was designated as the future capital of the newly-independent country, and again renamed to the present "Astana" after the capital was officially moved from
Almaty in
1997. Despite the isolated location of the new capital in the centre of the Kazakh
Steppe and the forbidding climate in winter, Kazakhstan simply needed a more central location than its former location of
Almaty, which lies on the far southeastern border with
Kyrgyzstan. Some speculate that it was a move to impose more control over the
Russian-dominated north of the country. Other reasons include the belief that the new city project is a strategic move to position the capital further from the borders with
China,
Kyrgyzstan, and
Uzbekistan, or that Almaty was limited in its development by mountains, or that President
Nursultan Nazarbayev created a "
Potemkin village", either to present an image of a modern, clean Kazakhstan to entice foreign investment. Internal political concerns may have played a part: Nazarbayev, like most of the Kazakh political establishment, belongs to the
Great Horde (Kazakh, ulı
jüz) in whose territory Almaty lies. The move to the traditional territory of the
Middle Horde may have been a gesture to the Middle and
Little Hordes' political sensibilities.
To some Kazakhs, the move remains controversial. Critics resent the massive expenditure of public funds to build the new government complexes, as well as the continuing cost of airfare and hotel expenses for the many government workers who still live in Almaty. The lucrative development contracts handed out to companies owned by President Nazarbayev's family members also remain highly suspect.
Population/Demographics
By 2007, Astana’s population has more than doubled since the move, to over 600,000, and it's estimated to top 1 million by 2030. Migrant workers – legal and illegal – have been attracted from across Kazakhstan and neighboring states such as Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, and Astana is a magnet for young professionals seeking to build a career. This has changed the city’s demographics, bringing more ethnic Kazakhs to a city that formerly had a Slav majority. Astana’s ethnic Kazakh population has risen to some 60 per cent, up from 17 per cent in 1989.
In 1999, Astana had a population of 281,000. The ethnic mix was about 60%
Kazakh and 30%
Russian,
Ukrainian, and
German.
Many argue that a drive to attract ethnic Kazakhs northward was the key factor in shifting the capital, which was officially put down to lack of space for expansion in the former capital, Almaty, and its location in an earthquake zone.
As of city population count (carried out 5 Nov. - 5 Dec. 2007) preliminary results Astana has 700,000 inhabitants.
Geography
The city is located in central Kazakhstan on the
Ishim River in a very flat, semi-desert steppe region which covers most of the country's territory. The elevation of Astana is at 347 meters above sea level. Astana is in a spacious steppe landscape, in the transient area between the north of Kazakhstan and the extremely thinly settled national center, because of the river Ishim. The older boroughs lie north of the river, whilst the new boroughs were located south of the Ishim.
Climate
Climatically Astana is the second coldest capital in the world (behind Ulaanbataar, Mongolia), with temperatures of -35 to -40 °C common in the late autumn. The new city is also known to regularly freeze for around six months every year. Overall however, Astana has a continental climate, with exceptionally cold winters and moderately hot summers, arid and semiarid.
The average annual temperature in Astana is 1 degree Celsius. January is the coldest month with an average temperature of -16 °C. July is the hottest month with an average temperature of 20 °C.
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Yearly average |
| Avg High Temperature °C (°F) | -12 (10) |
-11 (12) |
-4 (24) |
9 (48) |
19 (66) |
25 (77) |
27 (80) |
24 (75) |
18 (64) |
8 (46) |
-2 (28) |
-9 (15) |
7 (44)
|
| Avg Low Temperature °C (°F) | -21 (-5) |
-21 (-5) |
-15 (5) |
-2 (28) |
5 (41) |
11 (51) |
13 (55) |
11 (51) |
5 (41) |
-1 (30) |
-11 (12) |
-18 (0) |
-3 (26)
|
| Precipitation mm (in) | 22 (0.70) |
14 (0.50) |
19 (0.60) |
21 (0.90) |
31 (1.30) |
40 (1.40) |
50 (2.00) |
37 (1.60) |
26 (0.90) |
27 (1.20) |
20 (0.90) |
22 (0.70) |
32.7 (18.9)
|
Economy
Politics and government are the main economic activity in the capital, which also forms a
Special Economic Zone. Since the move, Astana has seen one of the world's greatest building projects, as
oil money has been spent on government buildings, a massive home for the president, a mosque, and numerous parks and monuments. The project is designed to not just make the town the centre of Kazakhstan, but of all
Central Asia.
People and culture
Town planning
Astana can be divided largely into a few different areas. North of the railway line, which crosses Astana in an east-west direction, are industrial and poorer residential areas. Between the railway line and the river Ishim is the city center, where at present intense building activity is occurring. To the west and east are more elevated residential areas with parks and the new area of government administration to the south of the Ishim. Here many large building projects are underway; for example, the construction of a diplomat quarter, and a variety of different government buildings. By 2030, these quarters are to be completed. The original plans for the new Astana were drawn up by the late
Japanese architect
Kisho Kurokawa. Astana's current chief planner,
Vladimir Laptev, wants to build a
Berlin in a
Eurasian style. He has stated that a purely administrative capital such as
Canberra isn't one of his goals.
Architecture
The architectural quality of the new buildings is, by the standards of almost all critics, quite high.
In December 2006, Kazakh President
Nursultan Nazarbayev unveiled plans to build
Khan Shatyry, a "giant, transparent tent", over an area of the city. The tent will be 150 metres high, and was designed by
British architect Norman Foster. It is expected to take around a year to build. Foster has also designed two other buildings in the city.
Sightseeing
Today there are many construction works under way, such as embassy buildings, representative riversides along the Ishim River, and some infrastructure for transportation and communication. In the centre of town, the
Avenue of the Republic acts as the main hub of activity. It is bordered by many stores, coffee houses, restaurants, discotheques and even some casinos. Worth a visit are the:
- Modern governmental quarter
- Ishim banks
- "Oceanarium"
- Astana Central National Mosque
- Islamic Center
- Roman Catholic Cathedral
- Market hall
- Bayterek Tower
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Image:Pic 54.JPG
Image:Pic 55.JPG
Image:Pic 214.JPG
Image:Pic 50.JPG
Image:Pic 40.JPG
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Image:S640x480.jpeg
Sport
Astana is home to
FC Astana, a
football (soccer) team in the
Kazakhstan Premier League, which won the national championship in 2000, 2001 and 2006. The city is also home to the
Astana-Tigers basketball team who successfully took the 2004/2005 season title, as well as
Barys Astana of the
Kazakh Ice Hockey League. In addition,
Team Astana is a professional
cycling team that competes on the
UCI ProTour. They participated in the 2007 Tour de France wearing blue national uniforms, but were excluded during the race after the conviction of
Alexander Vinokourov for illegal doping practises, and have since been banned from the 2008 race.
Transport
Astana International Airport was, like the plan for the whole new city, designed by the late
Japanese architect
Kisho Kurokawa.
The
Astana Metro is a planned
underground construction in Astana.
Sister Cities
Moscow, Russia
Amman, Jordan
Riga, Latvia
Gdańsk, Poland
Warsaw, Poland
Tbilisi, Georgia
Seoul, South Korea
Sharon, United StatesFurther Information
Get more info on 'Astana'.
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