Kokshetau formerly known as Kokchetav is the administrative center of Akmola Province

Akmola Province

Akmola Province is a centrally located province of Kazakhstan. Its capital is Kokshetau. The capital of the whole country, Astana, is enclosed in the province, but is politically separate from Akmola Province. The province's population is 748,300; Kokshetau's is 124,000. The area is 146,200...

, northern Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...

. It has a population of 125,225 (2007 census).

Geography

Astana

Astana

Astana , formerly known as Akmola , Tselinograd and Akmolinsk , is the capital and second largest city of Kazakhstan, with an officially estimated population of 708,794 as of 1 August 2010...

, the new capital of Kazakhstan, is distant 1245 km south-eastwards. Kokshetau is well known for its nature and tourist sites, such as Burabay (Borovoe) Resort, among others.
Kokshetau was settled on a lake, called Kopa (Russian: Копа).

History

The town was founded in 1824 as a fortress, named for the Kokshetau hill it was built on; the name is Kazakh for "greenish mountain". In 1868 it became an uyezd

Uyezd

Uyezd or uezd was an administrative subdivision of Rus', Muscovy, Russian Empire, and the early Russian SFSR which was in use from the 13th century. Uyezds for most of the history in Russia were a secondary-level of administrative division...

 center.

During the late 1930s, as a result of the Polish operation of the NKVD

Polish operation of the NKVD

The Genocide of Poles in the Soviet Union often referred to as, the Polish operation of the NKVD, was a coordinated action of the Soviet NKVD and the Communist Party in 1937–1938 against the entire Polish minority living in the Soviet Union, representing only 0.4 percent of Soviet citizens...

 and related national operations, especially against Germans, many former residents of the kresy

Kresy

The Polish term Kresy refers to a land considered by Poles as historical eastern provinces of their country. Today, it makes western Ukraine, western Belarus, as well as eastern Lithuania, with such major cities, as Lviv, Vilnius, and Hrodna. This territory belonged to the Polish-Lithuanian...

 were forcibly settled in this region, and Kokchetav became the center of the Polish diaspora in Kazakhstan. On March 16, 1944, the Kokchetav Oblast was created, with Kokchetav as its administrative center.

Industry

There are urban light industries such as food production. The region produces low grades of wheat and other cultures. There is a gold mining

Gold mining

Gold mining is the removal of gold from the ground. There are several techniques and processes by which gold may be extracted from the earth.-History:...

 operation north of the city.

Kokshetau Mineral Waters company produces drinks such as still, sparkling water of the high-quality. It also produces alcohol beverages. The most known brands are: still and sparkling water "Свежесть", sparkling water "Кулагер" and still water "Туран",
vodka brands "Хаома", "Дастур". Company's web-site: Kokshetau Mineral Waters

Kokshetau is the termination of world's only operational powerline with a voltage greater than 1000 kV, the Powerline Ekibastuz-Kokshetau

Powerline Ekibastuz-Kokshetau

The Ekibastuz–Kokshetau is a power transmission line in Kazakhstan. It runs at 1,150 kV and holds the record for having the highest operating transmission voltage in the world....

.

Transport

Kokshetau has one airport

Kokshetau Airport

Kokshetau Airport is an airport in Kokshetau, the administrative center of the Akmola Province in northern Kazakhstan. It was formerly known as Kokchetav Trofimovka Airport.-Facilities:...

 with flights to Almaty

Almaty

Almaty , also known by its former names Verny and Alma-Ata , is the former capital of Kazakhstan and the nation's largest city, with a population of 1,348,500...

 and Petropavl

Petropavl

Petropavl is a city on the Ishim River in North Kazakhstan Province of Kazakhstan close to the border with Russia, about 261 km west of Omsk along the Trans-Siberian Railway. It is capital of the North Kazakhstan Province...

. The city is connected by railroad with southern Kazakhstan and Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

. Road transport to Astana include buses and shared taxis. The trip to Astana takes approximately 3 hours.

Restaurants

Kokshetau has a wide range of restaurants and cafes. While many of these restaurants have menus in either Russian or Kazakh, some do have menus in English. Popular restaurants among the ex-pat community include the Edinburgh restaurant at the Plaza Hotel and the Boulevard Cafe on Abay street. The Pyramid Cafe, close to the cinema is a popular spot for pizza. Cafe Annie is an Armenian restaurant with good food and a lively local clientele. Cafe Sevan is another cafe on the main street, Gorky Street, and is a popular hangout for the ex-pat community on a Wednesday evening.

External links

• www.kokshe.biz - Companies and services Kokshetau
• www.kokshetau.narod.ru
• www.akmo.kz
• www.kokshetau.kz
• www.sinegor.kz - local newspaper's web-site "Любимый город" ("My Favourite City")

Photos and videos

• 360º QTVR fullscreen panoramas of the Kokshetau