Kazakstan

Kazakstan

area:	2,717,300sq km (1,049,150sq mi)
population:	15,507,000
capital (population):	Astana (280,500)
government:	Multiparty republic
ethnic groups:	Kazak 54%, Russian 30%, Ukrainian 4%, Uzbek 2%, German 2%, Uighur 1%
languages:	Kazak (official); Russian, the former official language, is widely spoken
religions:	Islam 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%
currency:	Tenge

Republic in central Asia. Kazakstan is a vast, flat country in w central Asia. It stretches more than 3000km (2000mi) from the Volga and Caspian Sea lowlands in the w to the Altai and Tian Shan mountains in the e. The Caspian Sea lowlands extend e through the Aral Sea region and include the Karagiye depression at 132m (433ft) below sea level. Eastern Kazakstan contains several freshwater lakes, the largest of which is Lake Balkhash. Kazakstan's rivers have been used extensively for irrigation, causing ecological problems: the Aral Sea has shrunk from 66,900sq km (25,830sq mi) in 1960 to 33,642sq km (12,989sq mi) in 1993. Whole fishing villages are now barren desert.

Climate

Kazakstan has a continental dry climate. Winters are cold. At Almaty, snow covers the ground for an average of 100 days each year.

Vegetation

Kazakstan has very little woodland. Grassy steppe covers much of the n, while the s is desert or semidesert. Large, dry areas between the Aral Sea and Lake Balkhash have become irrigated farmland.

History and Politics

Little is known of the early history of Kazakstan, except that it was the home of nomadic peoples. In 1218, the Mongol Emperor Genghis Khan conquered the region. Following his death, the Empire was divided into khanates. Feudal trading towns emerged beside the oases. In the late 15th century, the towns formed a Kazak state that fought for its independence from the neighbouring khanates. In 1731, Kazakstan appealed to Russia for protection and voluntarily acceded to the Russian Empire. In the early 19th century, Russia abolished the khanates and encouraged Russian settlement throughout Kazakstan.

The conscription of Kazaks during World War I aroused much resentment, and after the Russian Revolution (1917) demands for independence grew. In 1920, Kazakstan became an autonomous Soviet republic, and in 1936 a full constituent republic. During the 1920s and 1930s, the process of Russification increased. Stalin's forced collectivization of agriculture and rapid industrialization led to great famine. Soviet minorities were transported to Kazakstan. In the 1950s, the “Virgin Lands” project sought to turn vast areas of grassland into cultivated land to feed the Soviet Union. The Soviets placed many of their nuclear missile sites in Kazakstan, and also built their first fast-breeder nuclear reactor at Mangyshlak. In 1986, nationalist riots were prompted by the imposition of a Russian to lead the republic.

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Kazakstan declared independence (December 1991) and joined the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Nursultan Nazarbayev, a former leader of the Communist Party, became Kazakstan's first elected president. He maintained a close relationship with Russia. Multiparty parliamentary elections were held in 1994, and a new constitution (1996) increased the powers of Nazarbayev. In 1997, the government officially moved the capital from Almaty to Astana. Nazarbayev won a second term in 1999, but the elections were widely regarded as fraudulent.

Economy

Kazakstan is a developing country (2000 GDP per capita, US$5000). The break-up of the Soviet Union hit Kazak exports. In 1994, it entered into a single market agreement with other Central Asian states. Free-market reforms encouraged much inward investment in the era immediately after independence.

Kazakstan is rich in many mineral resources. It is the world's ninth-largest producer of bituminous coal, and its gas, oil, and gold reserves are being increasingly exploited. The first major pipeline transporting oil direct from the Caspian opened in 2001. Agriculture is also becoming highly developed. Grain is the principal crop, and cotton and wool are also produced.

Political map

Physical map

Websites

http://to/kazakstan; http://www.kz