Astana

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 Aqmola and Tselinograd), 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]

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 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 Kray). 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.

Independence

After Kazakhstan gained its independence in 1991, the city and the region were renamed Aqmola (literally "White Tombstone" — probably meaning "Holy Place", but the literal translation was too appropriate for many visitors to escape notice in almost all guide books and travel accounts). In 1994, it was designated as the future capital of the newly-independent country, and again renamed after the capital was moved from Almaty in 1997. There is also a range of symbolic meanings for the new capital, ranging from the Ankara-style symbol of Kazakhstan's new statehood, to an Ataturk-like legacy of the nation's founder, President Nazarbayev.

Reasons for moving the capital

There are various reasons for the switch of capitals, despite the isolated location of the new capital in the centre of the Kazakh Steppe and the forbidding climate in winter. The main official reason is that the vast nation simply needed a more central location so as to not exclude regions far from Almaty. Some suggest that it was a move to impose more control over the Russian-dominated north of the country, and to prevent secession to Russia; others, that the new city project is a strategic move to position the capital further from the borders with China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Yet other accounts include 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 (although foreign business and governments clearly prefer Almaty^{[citation needed]}), or just as a monument to himself.

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. Also criticized is the way that lucrative development contracts were handed out to companies owned by President Nazarbayev's family members. However, since the proceedings of the oil money would anyway not profit the Kazakh people, but the President and his family, it is said that the money might as well be used for construction, which at least is to the benefit of some Kazakhs involved in the projects.

Geography

Astana From Space

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 one of the coldest capitals in the world, with between -35 to -40 degrees common temperatures 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.

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. 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.

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.

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

Sports

Astana is home to FC Astana, a football team in the Kazakhstan Super League, which won the national championship in 2000 and 2001. 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.

Transportation

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

Sister Cities

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

See also

• Names of Asian cities in different languages

References

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

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