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Overview
Akmola region is one of the northern regions of Kazakhstan. It occupies an area of 146.2 sq. km, or 5.4% of the entire area of the country; this is the 9th largest region in Kazakhstan.
The population of the Akmola region as of January 1, 2023 amounted to 788 thousand people. The population density is 5 people per 1 sq. km.
The urban population prevails with a small margin – 56.1% against 43.9% of rural residents.
At the beginning of 2022, 52.8% of the population of the region is Kazakhs, 31.9% are Russians, 4% are Ukrainians.
The Akmola region, along with the North Kazakhstan region, is a home to the German diaspora – 3.44% of the population.
Administrative Structure
The administrative center of the Akmola region is Kokshetau. In the region (at the beginning of 2023), with 20 districts, there are 11 cities, 5 towns and 589 villages.
The capital of Kazakhstan, Astana, is located in the Akmola region, which, however, is not part of the region.
Kokshetau with population of 177.3 thousand people is not the only large city in the region. There are two cities of regional significance – Stepnogorsk with a population of 65.5 thousand people and Kosshy with 51.7 thousand people. Other major cities are Shchuchinsk and Atbasar.
Regional Center
Kokshetau is located in the north of the Akmola region on the shores of Lake Kopa. It is surrounded by the foothills of the Kokshetau Uplands, which includes, in particular, the Burabay resort area. Due to the peculiarities of the area where it is located, Kokshetau got its name. In Kazakh “kokshe tau” means “bluish mountains”.
Kokshetau is a relatively young city, it was created in 1824 as a Cossack military fortification, then called the Kokchetav order. Kokchetav received the status of the city in 1868.
In 1944, the city became the administrative center of the Kokchetav region as part of the Kazakh SSR.
After Kazakhstan gained independence, Kokchetav was renamed Kokshetau, from 1997 to 1999 the city was part of the North Kazakhstan region, and since April 8, 1999, it has been the administrative center of the Akmola region.
History
As part of the Russian Empire, the Akmola region was separated in 1868 as a administrative unit of the Steppe Governor General. with its center in the city of Omsk.
In the Soviet period, the history of the region begins on December 14, 1939, when, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Akmola region was formed from a number of districts that were previously part of the North Kazakhstan region. From 1961 to 1992, the region was called Tselinograd. After renaming the city of Tselinograd to Akmola in 1992, the region also changed its name to Akmola.
Since April 1999, the administrative center of the region was moved to Kokshetau, at the same time the region was expanded by three districts that were previously part of the North Kazakhstan region.
Climate
The territory of the region is predominantly flat; most of the land is occupied by steppes. In the south-west of the region, low hills predominate, this is the so-called uplands. The Tengiz- Korgalzhyn lowland is located in the south of the region. The region is a home to famous lakes included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Hills are located in the eastern part of the region, there are occasional mountainous terrains.
With the exception of a number of river valleys, the most significant of which is the valley of the Ishim River, the region suffers from a lack of drinking water. The Akmola region, in addition to Ishim, also has the rivers Kulanotpes, Nura, and Sileta. There are many salt and fresh water lakes. Among the salt lakes, the largest one is Lake Tengiz.
The climate of the Akmola region is quite severe. A sharply continental climate prevails, with its extremely cold long winters and hot summers. Spring and autumn in this region are relatively short; snow falls in October-November and stays until April. Strong winds are a distinct feature of the Akmola region.
The features of the terrain and climate described above determine the specifics of the flora and fauna of the Akmola region. Most of the region is covered in steppe vegetation with feather grass forbs. The northern parts of the region have famous pine-birch forests growing both on the plains and on the slopes of the mountains. In the north of the region, the Burabay State National Natural Park is located, a favorite vacation spot for the residents of Astana and the entire region. The unique nature of the lake-rich Korgalzhyn Reserve, located in the south of the region, is a habitat for many birds, including waterfowl, mammals, and fish.
As for minerals, there are deposits of non-ferrous and precious metals, iron ore, and uranium.
Economy
The Akmola region is one of the main agricultural regions of the country, specializing in the production of high quality wheat. Gross agricultural output in January 2023 amounted to 26 billion tenge (7th place in the republic), exceeding the output of the same period last year by 4.4% (for 2022 – 1,075.1 billion tenge or 121.7% to the level of 2021; second place in the republic).
The industrial production in January 2023 amounted to 126.9 billion tenge (third place in the republic) , exceeding the figure for the same period last year by 15.3% (the volume of industrial production for 2022 is 1,482.7 billion tenge). tenge or 113.4% to the level of 2021; 1st place in the republic). A significant share in industrial production is occupied by the manufacturing industry, which is represented by metallurgy, the construction industry, mechanical engineering, food production and the chemical industry.
Natural conditions, as well as the fact that the capital of the country is located on the territory of the Akmola region, create favorable conditions for the development of tourism. The Akmola region in terms of tourist services provided in January-September 2022 is in first place among the regions, reaching 12.8 billion tenge.
Tourism
Today, the region offers variety of tourist activities as part of cultural, educational, ecological, sports, health, and business tourism.
The unique nature combined with the developed infrastructure make the Akmola region attractive both for domestic tourism and for guests from abroad.
The share of the region in the tourism services for January-September 2022 is about 10% or 12.8 billion tenge out of 129.2 billion tenge in the republic, about 9% of all attractions in the country are located here (354 out of 3965 units in republic).
More than 600 tourism enterprises operate in the region (354 accommodation facilities, 16 sanatoriums, 186 roadside service entities), 57 travel agencies (22 tour operator profiles, 35 travel agency profiles) that have licenses to carry out tourist activities), 3 national natural parks (Burabai, Kokshetau, Buiratau) and the Korgalzhyn State Reserve. Six tour operators offer 73 tourist routes.
Undoubtedly, the priority tourist destination is the Shchuchinsk-Burabay resort area located close to Astana. In recent years, the Abylai Khan modern multimedia complex and the Botai Burabay archaeological and ethnographic open-air museum have been built here. The village of Burabay offers a Ferris wheel, a water park, and soon-to-be a large promenade area.
Fans of ecotourism can visit the Korgalzhyn nature reserve, located two hours away from the capital. The lakes of the reserve are included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The village of Akmol, located 40 km from Astana, has the Museum and Memorial Complex of Victims of Political Repressions and Totalitarianism, a former site of ALZhIR, the Akmolinsk Camp of Wives of Traitors to the Motherland.
The Akmola region has 11 museums with more than 130 thousand exhibits of the main fund. Most of the region's museums are local history museums.
For more information about tourist attractions, please visit the website of the Tourist Information Center of the Akmola region https://www.visitaqmola.kz/ru/where-to-go/
Website of the Akmola region’s Akimat https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/aqmola?lang=ru