Öskemen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Öskemen (Kazakh: Өскемен; also Russian: Усть-Каменогорск or Ust-Kamenogorsk), is the capital of the Shyghys Qazaqstan (Eastern Kazakhstan) Oblast. It is served by Ust-Kamenogorsk Airport.
[edit] History
Founded in 1720 at the confluence of the Irtysh and Ulba rivers as a fort and trading post named Ust-Kamennaya. In 1868 the city became the capital of the Semipalatinsk Oblast.
The city developed into a major mining and metallurgical center during the Soviet period. Mining of non-ferrous metals, especially copper, lead, silver and zinc remain important. It is a center for the construction industry producing manufactured housing and ferroconcrete articles.
Ust-Kamenogorsk is predominantly Russian and Ukrainian, with ethnic Kazakhs constituting less than thirty percent of the total population of 305,000.
[edit] Sport
Torpedo- Kazakh ice hockey team. Famed in the Soviet Union and responisible for most of Kazakhstan's top level players.
Home city of NHLers Nikolai Antropov, Vitaliy Kolesnik, Evgeni Nabokov, Konstantin Pushkarev and Alexander Perezhogin.
FC Vostok Öskemen - Kazakh football team, founded in 1963
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