Karagandy (2)

Kazakhstan’s second biggest city, Karaghandy, some 200 km south-east of Astana and 1000 km northwest of Almaty, is famous for two things: coal and Gulag labour camps. The two are intimately connected, as the big network of camps around Karaghandy was set up to provide slave labour for the mines.

Founded in 1926, much of Karaghandy was built by Gulag labour. The nearby Samarka and Kengir camps were the centre of a famous revolt in 1954 – 700 prisoners were killed when tanks moved in to put it down.

Mining continues today, although on a much smaller scale, with a large portion of the coal feeding the Indian-financed steel works at Temirtau 25 km to the north.

Karaghandy is not a bad place to visit. The city centre is much cleaner than it once was when heavy industry was more prevalent, and there are avenues of trees and a large central park to provide greenery.

• True or False:

1. Karaghandy is the biggest city in Kazakhstan.

2. It is famous for coal and Gulag labour camps.

3. The city was founded in 1956.

5. It was built by prisoners.

6. Mining stops today.

7. The city is very dirty nowadays.

Kokshetau

Kokshetau means ‘blue mountains’ in Kazakh. At any time of the year mountains here are shrouded in blue haze. Kokshetau land is one of the most picturesque areas of the country. The western part of the region is crossed by the full-flowing Ishim River. There is a multitude of fresh and salty water lakes here. It makes it possible to build health resorts in this area. The most famous tourist and health centre is Borovoye.

From olden days the region was the cradle of many poets, composers, singers and writers. The akyn-improviser Birzhan Kozhamkulov (celebrated Birzhan-sal) was born and lived here pleasing his countrymen with his inimitable gift. It is the birthplace of Shokan Ualikhanov, the first Kazakh scientist, enlightener, geographer, traveler, writer and ethnographer of the 19 century.

The virgin lands development period was a powerful spur in the development of economy and culture of the region. In those years over 3 million hectares of land was turned up and nearly 50 industrial establishments put into operation. They included a textile and haberdashery mill, a chinaware factory, integrated ore-concentration factory and others. The country received different kinds of raw materials iron, ore, coal, dolomite, kaolin from the land of Koshetau.

New times that affected all the spheres of human activities have made noticeable advances in agriculture, the leading economic sector of the region. Today Kokshetau is the administrative and financial centre of the Akmolinskaya Oblast. The government and local authorities have implemented different programs stimulating the recovery of agricultural sector. The “Sary-Arka” international program sets the aim of creating a network of processing enterprises in the agro-industrial complex of the region. The “Agro” Republican Association and “SGA-system” American corporation elaborated a ten-year program aimed to support private agrarians, providing them with credits and technology.

Kazakhstan has always been one of the biggest producers of wheat. The task of Kokshetau region today is to return the glory and pride to their land and people. The first steps on this path are being done; the process of recovering is under way.