Astana

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This article is about the capital of Kazakhstan; for the article on the palace in Sarawak, see Astana (Sarawak); for the professional road-cycling team see Astana Team; for the Iranian city, see Astaneh-e Ashrafiyyeh.

Astana

City flag	City seal
Map showing Astana's location in Kazakhstan
Population	600,000 est.
Established	1997
Time zone	GMT +6
Mayor	Askar Mamin
51.18° N 71.45° E
[edit]

Astana (Kazakh: Астана; former names include Akmola, Tselinograd, and Aqmola), estimated population of 600,000 (2004), is the second largest city and the capital of Kazakhstan since 1997. The name "Astana", which in Kazakh language means "Capital city", was allegedly chosen because it is easily pronounced in many languages^{[citation needed]}. However, in Kazakh, it is pronounced "As-ta-na", while in English and many other international languages, the common pronunciation is "As-ta-na". It is within Aqmola Province, though politically separate from the rest of the province, which has its own capital.

The current mayor of Astana is Askar Mamin, formerly Minister for Transportation. He was appointed mayor on 25 September 2006.^[1]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Early history 1.2 As Kazakhstan's new capital 2 Geography 2.1 Climate 3 Economy 4 People and culture 4.1 Town planning 4.2 Architecture 4.3 Sightseeing 5 Sports 6 Transportation 7 Sister Cities 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

[edit] History

[edit] 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 "Akmola". During the early 20th Century, the town became a major railway junction, causing a major economic boom that lasted until the Russian Civil War.

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 for alleged Nazi ties during the World War II.

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". The "White Tombstone" literal translation was too appropriate for many visitors to escape notice in almost all guide books and travel accounts.

[edit] 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 southeast 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 (which is objectively not the case), or that President Nursultan Nazarbayev created a "Potemkin village", either to present a contrived image of a modern, clean Kazakhstan to entice foreign investment.

To some Kazakhstanis, 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Climate

Climatically Astana is one of the coldest capitals in the world, with temperatures of -35 to -40 degrees common in the late autumn. The new city is also known to regularly freeze for around six months every year. Overall however, Astana can be seen as enjoying a continental climate, with exceptionally cold winters and moderately hot summers, arid and semiarid.

The average annual temperature in Astana is 1 degrees Celsius. January is the coldest month with an average temperature of -16 degrees Celsius. July is the hottest month with an average temperature of 20 degrees Celsius.

Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Yearly average
Avg Temperature [°C]	-16	-16	-10	3	12	18	20	17	11	2	-7	-14	1
Precipitation (mm)	22	14	19	21	31	40	50	37	26	27	20	22	32.7

[edit] 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.

[edit] People and culture

[edit] 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. Astana's chief planner, Vladimir Laptew, wants to build a Berlin in a Eurasian style. He has stated that a purely administrative capital such as Canberra is not one of his goals.

[edit] Architecture

The architectural quality of the new buildings is, by the standards of almost all critics, quite high — ethno-postmodernism in an Albert Speer pattern dominates.

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.^[2] It is expected to take around a year to build. ^[3]

[edit] 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

[edit] Sports

Astana is home to FC Astana, a football team in the Kazakhstan Super 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.

Club	Sport	Founded	League	Venue
FC Astana	Soccer	1964	Kazakhstan Super League	Kazhimukan Munaitpasov Stadium
Astana-Tigers	Basketball	–	Kazakh Basketball League	-
Barys Astana	Ice hockey	1999	Kazakh Ice Hockey League

[edit] Transportation

Astana International Airport was designed by the famed Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa.

[edit] Sister Cities

• Ankara, Turkey
• Moscow, Russia
• Amman, Jordan
• Gdańsk, Poland
• Warsaw, Poland

[edit] See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Astana

• Names of Asian cities in different languages

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Astana International Airport (official site)
• Astana - New City
• Astana Research Project (German)

Provinces of Kazakhstan
Provinces: Almaty | Aqmola | Aqtöbe | Atyrau | East Kazakhstan (Shyghys Qazaqstan) | Mangghystau | North Kazakhstan (Soltustik Qazaqstan) | Pavlodar | Qaraghandy | Qostanay | Qyzylorda | South Kazakhstan (Ongtüstik Qazaqstan) | West Kazakhstan (Batys Qazaqstan) | Zhambyl Metropolitan Cities: Almaty | Astana | Baikonur