Home > Terms > English, UK (UE) > Astana
Astana
Astana is the capital and second largest city (after Almaty) of Kazakhstan, with an officially estimated population of 708,794 (2010). It is located in the north-central portion of Kazakhstan, within Akmola Province, though administrated separately from the province as a federal city area.
The city's first recorded history goes back to 1824 when a unit of Siberian cossacks from Omsk founded a huge fortress on the upper Ishim. During the early 20th century, the town became a major railway junction, causing a major economic boom that lasted until the Russian Civil War. After Kazakhstan gained its independence in 1991 the capital was officially moved to Astana on December 10, 1997.
The capital serves as the main political centre of the country and 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. In the centre of town, the Avenue of the Republic acts as the main hub of activity and is home to the Modern governmental quarter, the Ishim River waterfront, the "Oceanarium", the Astana Central National Mosque, the Roman Catholic Cathedral, the Market hall, the Bayterek Tower, etc.
- Part of Speech: proper noun
- Synonym(s):
- Blossary:
- Industry/Domain: Geography
- Category: Capitals
- Company:
- Product:
- Acronym-Abbreviation:
Member comments
Terms in the News
Featured Terms
Maglev
Maglev is a train that uses magnetic levitation to suspend, guide and propel itself at very high speed usually in the range of 400km to 500km per ...
Contributor
Featured blossaries
tim.zhaotianqi
0
Terms
40
Blossaries
4
Followers
semi-automatic espresso machine
Browers Terms By Category
- Wine bottles(1)
- Soft drink bottles(1)
- Beer bottles(1)
Glass packaging(3) Terms
- SAT vocabulary(5103)
- Colleges & universities(425)
- Teaching(386)
- General education(351)
- Higher education(285)
- Knowledge(126)
Education(6837) Terms
- Advertising(244)
- Event(2)
Marketing(246) Terms
- Hats & caps(21)
- Scarves(8)
- Gloves & mittens(8)
- Hair accessories(6)
Fashion accessories(43) Terms
- Manufactured fibers(1805)
- Fabric(212)
- Sewing(201)
- Fibers & stitching(53)