Akimat of the city of Astana

Currently, the territory of Astana exceeds 722 square kilometers, the population is more than one million people. The city consists of three districts – Almaty, Saryarka and Yessil.

Astana is located in the center of Kazakhstan in the dry steppe zone, a subzone of dry fescue-feather-grass steppes. The territory of the city represents low upland fringes. The Yessil River is the main waterway of the capital.

The climate is sharply continental with cold and long winters and hot, moderately arid summers. The convenient location in the center of the Eurasian continent makes Astana an economically advantageous transport, communication and logistics center, a kind of transit bridge between Europe and Asia.

High growth rates of the city’s economy attract numerous investors.

The share of Astana in the republican volume of attracted investments amounts to 10%, the share of the city’s GRP in the economy of the republic is 10.2%.

Industrial production, transport, communications, trade and construction make the basis of the metropolitan economy. Industrial production is mainly focused on the production of building materials, food and beverages and mechanical engineering.

Astana occupies a leading position in Kazakhstan in the production of building metal products, ready-for-use concrete, and concrete building products.

Such facilities as the Tselinograd car-repair plant, Tsesna-Astyk concern, Tulpar-Talgo LLP passenger car assembly plant, Eurocopter Kazakhstan Engineering LLP helicopter assembly plant and others can be distinguished among the largest enterprises of the city.

The city has become one of the largest business centers in Kazakhstan. The entrepreneurial culture is dynamically developing, i.e. more than 128 thousand small and medium-sized businesses operate in Astana.

The average monthly nominal wage of residents of the capital is about 154 thousand KZT. The capital is the leader in construction in the country. After Astana gained metropolitan status, 10 million square meters of housing was built in the city. Hundreds of domestic and foreign construction companies took part in the construction of Astana.

The main symbol of the new capital, its unique “calling card” was the Baiterek complex. Other unique architectural structures include the Palace of Peace and Accord, designed by famous British architect Norman Foster and made in the shape of a pyramid; Khan Shatyr shopping and entertainment center – the tallest tent-shaped building in the world; Duman - an aquarium that is most remote from the sea aquarium; the Astana Opera and the Astana Ballet Theaters, Hazret Sultan – the largest mosque in Central Asia; Cathedral in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God; Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Archdiocese of the Blessed Virgin Mary; the Beit Rachel Chabad Lubavitch synagogue; Kazakhstan Central Concert Hall; Kazakh Yeli monument; Museum of Contemporary Art and the Presidential Cultural Center.

In 2016, construction of the highest in Kazakhstan and Central Asia, the 88-storey skyscraper Abu Dhabi Plaza was planned. Astana-Arena roofed stadium for 30 thousand viewers, the unique Sary-Arka cycle track for 10 thousand seats, recognized the best in the world in 2011 are among the new sports facilities in Astana. Another important sports facility is the Alau Ice Palace, which meets the highest international standards.

The flagships of national education include Nazarbayev University, L.N. Gumilev Eurasian National University, Kazakh National University of Arts, S.Seifullin Kazakh Agrotechnical University, Kazakhstan branch of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov, Astana Medical University and others.

Congresses of leaders of world and traditional religions, the Astana Economic Forum and other important international events are held in the capital on a regular basis. The historic OSCE summit was held in Astana, the jubilee summits of the SCO and the OIC were held. In early 2011, the capital of the republic hosted the participants and guests of the VII Asian Winter Games.

In 2017, Astana will host the EXPO-2017 international exhibition. In a short time, the new capital, born of the will of the First President of Kazakhstan, gained the status of a nationwide idea, became a symbol of independence and global success of the young state. In his program speech dedicated to the 10th anniversary of Astana, Nursultan Nazarbayev very vividly and figuratively defined the philosophy of development of the new capital city, “Here, in the ancient land of Sary-Arka, is not only the birthplace of the capital was born.

This is the cradle of the country’s future. The history of Astana and the fate of Kazakhstanis are inseparable. The capital is the embodiment of power, dynamic development and stability of our republic.

Astana has become a bright, strong, prosperous, uniting all Kazakhstanis and a rushing city. Our capital is the heart of our Motherland, a symbol of people’s faith in their own strength and great destiny. Today in Astana, as well as throughout Kazakhstan, representatives of more than one hundred nationalities reside. Friendship of peoples, mutual understanding and solidarity are the basis on which Astana and new Kazakhstan are built.”

There are several versions of the origin of this name.

The first one says that the city of Akmola was named after a white limestone hill.

The second version belongs to Byzantine author Prokopius.

He wrote in his writings that the Huns called a high hill or fortress “mola”.

And the third option: Akmola has always been the main center of cattle fairs, known for the abundance and variety of meat and dairy products (kumys, ayran, kurt, shubat, etc.). Consequently, the name of the city translates as “white holy place” or “white abundance”.

Kazakh Soviet Encyclopedia states that “Akmola is a structure made of white stone, over which quadrangular walls a dome was erected that resembles the upper part of a yurt or half a sphere. The dome glittering in the sun was visible from afar, which gave special beauty to the banks of the Yessil River.” Therefore, the name Akmola became the name of this region.

The steppes of Akmola since ancient times have been a place where various cultures and civilizations met. In the middle of the first millennium BC, the historian Herodotus mentioned the route through the Great Steppe (later the Great Silk Road), which ran here. Caravan routes contributed to the flourishing of trade and handicrafts in cities traditionally occupied with livestock and agriculture.

In 1992 Tselinograd was renamed to Akmola. And on July 6, 1994, a resolution of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan was adopted on the transfer of the capital from Almaty to Akmola.

One of the most significant stages in the history of the northern provincial town began with the decision of the party and government of the USSR on the development of virgin and fallow lands. Young enthusiasts from all cities of the Soviet Union set about implementation of the idea of Nikita Khrushchev, Secretary General of the CPSU Central Committee. On March 2, 1954, the first echelon arrived with volunteers from Alma-Ata, and on March 5 – with Moscow workers on the virgin land.

According to historical data, only in the period from 1953 to 1958 about 270 thousand people arrived in the Akmola region. Until now, children and grandchildren of those first virgin land workers live already in the young capital of Kazakhstan. Due to the development of virgin lands Akmola region has become one of the main granary of the country and a major center of agricultural engineering. During 1953-1956, 3.5 million hectares of virgin lands were raised in the region. The city was booming, and on December 26, 1960 a decree was issued on the formation of the Virgin Land.

And since 1961 it was already called Tselinograd. In pursuance of another idea of Nikita Khrushchev – the formation of the Tselinny Region in Kazakhstan with the capital in Tselinograd – a Resolution of the USSR Council of Ministers was adopted and a master plan for the development of the city was developed, as well as a plan for reconstruction of the old and development of the new building in the South-East. On November 6, 1963, the television center began to operate in Tselinograd. At the same time, the Tselinnikov Palace was opened, which was designed by Latvian architects P.Y. Fogels, O.N. Krauklis, D.K. Danneberg. It was designed for 2,355 seats.

It was considered the second in the USSR after the Kremlin Palace of Congresses by the scale and system of equipment at that time. The plan of Secretary General of the CPSU Central Committee Nikita Khrushchev was not destined to come true – the city did not become the official capital of the virgin region. But it was the city destined to become the new capital of sovereign Kazakhstan. Moreover, by historical standards the city had to wait for this high status not for a long time.