Talk:Semey

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[edit] Notes on usage of Semey, Semipalatinsk, etc.

My suggestions (unratified by anyone, but seeming sensible) for using and linking to Semey/Semipalatinsk are as follows:
  • if you're talking about the site of nuclear weapons testing, and the associated Gulag, link to [[Semipalatinsk Test Site]]. Saying the Soviets tested bombs at Semipalatinsk is like saying the US tested theirs at Las Vegas.
  • As the site essentially closed before Kazak independence, there's really no mentions anywhere of "Semey Test Site" or anything like that.
  • if you're talking about historical events, essentially those happening before 1991, call it Semipalatinsk but link to Semey (e.g. Dostoyevsky was exiled in [[Semey|Semipalatinsk]])
  • if you're talking about post-91 events, and particularly current events, either just say [[Semey]] or [[Semey]] (formerly known as Semipalatinsk)
  • The current name seems to be transliterated from Cyrillic as Semi, Semij, Semii, Semy, and Semey. Use in english-language publication, including all those cited below, strongly favours "Semey", so I think we should adopt that as a standard spelling on wikipedia also.

-- Finlay McWalter | Talk 18:06, 31 Aug 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Renamed in 1994

Semipalatinsk isn't still official. The city was renamed in 1994! -- User:217.233.0.215

Technically wikipedia doesn't always use the "official" name, but rather the one most commonly used in English language publications. That said, a review seems to suggest the new name has become widely adopted in English publications, so I'm going to propose moving the article to Semey (although naturally we'll keep mention of the old name, its derivation, etc.). -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 19:33, 27 Aug 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Proposing rename

I'm in the process of writing (offline, for now) new versions for Semey and Semipalatinsk Test Site, I propose moving this page from Semipalatinsk to Semey, as this seems to be the currently best-used name in English language publications. Citations:

Note that I intend the test site article to retain the "Semipalatinsk" nomenclature as:

  • that's universally the name by which english language publications call it
  • that's the name it calls itself on its english website (among many others things, but never "Semey Test Site")
  • it essentially ceased functioning before the renaming of the city

I'll do this in a couple of days from now, so anyone who objects please speak up now. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 19:33, 27 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Absent opposition after four days, I've moved the page. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 17:59, 31 Aug 2004 (UTC)


is it not wikipedia's policy to adopt the most widely used toponyms, rather than the official names? the government of kazakhstan may have renamed the city by fiat a decade ago, but this has largely been lost on the people of kazakhstan. semej is the kazakh name of the city, but semipalatinsk is the russian one, and since an overwhelming majority of kazakhstan's people r russophones, it only stands to reason that the latter is the more widely used version. even those who speak kazakh as a primary language refer to the city as semipalatinsk in russian. if u visit the city u'll be hard-pressed to hear the locals calling the place 'semej.' for crying out loud, even the sign welcoming travellers at the main train station reads, welcome to semiplatinsk, in russian.

Wikipedia:Naming conventions says "Generally, article naming should give priority to what the majority of English speakers would most easily recognize". It doesn't matter what non-English speakers call something, as we're not writing an encyclopedia for them. We have articles called Cologne not Köln and Munich not München. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 13:17, 30 October 2006 (UTC)