Baikonur
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Baikonur (Kazakh: Байқоңыр; Russian: Байконур), formerly known as Leninsk, is a city in Qyzylorda Province of Kazakhstan rented and administered by Russia. It was constructed to service the Baikonur Cosmodrome and was officially renamed Baikonur by Boris Yeltsin on December 20, 1995.
The original Baikonur is a mining town a few hundred kilometres northeast, near Dzhezkazgan in Kazakhstan's Qaraghandy Province. The launch site was given this name to cause confusion and keep the location secret. The name Baikonur is Kazakh for "wealthy brown", i.e. "fertile land with many herbs". Another possible contributing factor is that the old name of the area, Tyuratam (or Turatam) means "broken arrow," which could be seen as inappropriate for a space base. The railway station there, however, predates the base, and keeps the old name.
The fortunes of the city have varied according to those of the Soviet/Russian space program and its Baikonur Cosmodrome.
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| Provinces of Kazakhstan |  |
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| 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 |
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