Astana
Astana (Kazakh, Russian: Астана), estimated population of 520,000 (2000 and growing fast), has been the capital of Kazakhstan since 1998. The name "Astana" means "Capital city" and was chosen because it is easily pronounced in many languages (pronounced "Astaná" and not "Astána").
Geography
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. Astana is located at 51°10' North, 71°30' East (51.1667, 71.5).Economy
Politics and government are Astana's main economic activity. Astana forms a Special Economic Zone.History
A unit of Siberian cossacks from Omsk founded a fortress on the upper Ishim in 1824, which later became the town of Akmolinsk. 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.After Kazakhstan gained its independence in 1991, the city and the region were renamed Aqmola ("White Tombstone"). 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 the switch of capitals vary, particularly given the isolated location of the new capital in the centre of the Kazakh Steppe. 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. More cynical interpretations suggest that President Nazarbayev desired to create a "Potemkin Village," to present a contrived image of a modern, clean Kazakhstan to entice foreign investment.
Since the move Astana has seen one of the world's greatest building projects as Oil money has been spent on ministerial buildings, a massive home for the president, and numerous parks and monuments. The project, engineered by President Nursultan Nazarbayev is designed to not just make the town the centre of Kazakhstan, but of all Central Asia. The architectural quality of the new buildings is, by the standards of almost all critics, quite low - ethno-postmodernism in an Albert Speer pattern dominates.
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.
Sightseeing
Today there are many construction works under way, such as embassy buildings, representative riversides along Ishim River, and infrastructure for transportation and communication. Worth a visit are the:- modern governmental quarter
- Ishim banks
- "Oceanarium"
- Islamic center
- Roman Catholic cathedral
- market hall