Oskemen
Encyclopedia
Oskemen and Ust-Kamennaya (Russian: Усть-Каменная, until 1868), is the capital of the East Kazakhstan Province. It is served by the Ust-Kamenogorsk Airport.
and Ulba
rivers as a fort and trading post
named Ust-Kamennaya. The city was established in 1720 according to the order of the Russian Emperor Peter the Great, who sent a military expedition headed by major Ivan Vasilievich Likharev in the search of Yarkenda gold. Likharev’s expedition directed up the Irtysh river to Zaysan Lake. There, at the confluence of the Ulba and the Irtysh rivers the new fortress was laid – the Ust-Kamennaya Fortress. The Ust-Kamennaya Fortress appeared on the map of the Russian Empire, the very southern end of the Irtysh line. In 1868 the city became the capital of the Semipalatinsk Oblast. It was the site of Georgy Malenkov
's 30-year internal exile
, during which he managed a local hydroelectric plant.
The city developed into a major mining
and metallurgical
center during the Soviet
period. Mining of non-ferrous metals, especially uranium
, beryllium
, tantalum
, copper
, lead
, silver
and zinc
remain important. It is a center for the construction industry producing manufactured housing and ferroconcrete articles. The post-war industrial history of the city is very closely intertwined with the Soviet nuclear bomb project, and the city was therefore kept closed to outsiders. One of the main industrial enterprises, the Ulba Metal Works (UMW) which produced and still produce uranium products, was kept entirely secret despite it employing thousands of workers. An explosion at the UMW's beryllium production line in 1990 led to the diffusion of a highly toxic beryllium-containing "cloud" over the city. The health effects of this incident are not entirely known, partly due to the fact that the incident was kept secret by the Soviet authorities.
in the world lies at Ablaketka where it allows river traffic to pass around a hydroelectric dam on the Irtysh river. It has a drop of more than 40m.
Since the opening of the Three Gorges locks, the upper lock of that five-lock cascade is theoretically on a par with this lock, but its full drop will be used only in extreme cases, while the Ust-Kamenogorsk lock is designed for permanent use at this height.
, Christian and non-traditional religions. There are 21 cultural buildings in the city: among them mosques and Orthodox Christian churches.
History
Founded in 1720 at the confluence of the IrtyshIrtysh
The Irtysh River is a river in Siberia and is the chief tributary of the Ob River. Its name means White River. Irtysh's main affluent is the Tobol River...
and Ulba
Ulba River
The Ulba River is a river of Kazakhstan....
rivers as a fort and trading post
Trading post
A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....
named Ust-Kamennaya. The city was established in 1720 according to the order of the Russian Emperor Peter the Great, who sent a military expedition headed by major Ivan Vasilievich Likharev in the search of Yarkenda gold. Likharev’s expedition directed up the Irtysh river to Zaysan Lake. There, at the confluence of the Ulba and the Irtysh rivers the new fortress was laid – the Ust-Kamennaya Fortress. The Ust-Kamennaya Fortress appeared on the map of the Russian Empire, the very southern end of the Irtysh line. In 1868 the city became the capital of the Semipalatinsk Oblast. It was the site of Georgy Malenkov
Georgy Malenkov
Georgy Maximilianovich Malenkov was a Soviet politician, Communist Party leader and close collaborator of Joseph Stalin. After Stalin's death, he became Premier of the Soviet Union and was in 1953 briefly considered the most powerful Soviet politician before being overshadowed by Nikita...
's 30-year internal exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
, during which he managed a local hydroelectric plant.
The city developed into a major mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
and metallurgical
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
center during the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
period. Mining of non-ferrous metals, especially uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
, beryllium
Beryllium
Beryllium is the chemical element with the symbol Be and atomic number 4. It is a divalent element which occurs naturally only in combination with other elements in minerals. Notable gemstones which contain beryllium include beryl and chrysoberyl...
, tantalum
Tantalum
Tantalum is a chemical element with the symbol Ta and atomic number 73. Previously known as tantalium, the name comes from Tantalus, a character in Greek mythology. Tantalum is a rare, hard, blue-gray, lustrous transition metal that is highly corrosion resistant. It is part of the refractory...
, copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
, lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
, silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
and zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
remain important. It is a center for the construction industry producing manufactured housing and ferroconcrete articles. The post-war industrial history of the city is very closely intertwined with the Soviet nuclear bomb project, and the city was therefore kept closed to outsiders. One of the main industrial enterprises, the Ulba Metal Works (UMW) which produced and still produce uranium products, was kept entirely secret despite it employing thousands of workers. An explosion at the UMW's beryllium production line in 1990 led to the diffusion of a highly toxic beryllium-containing "cloud" over the city. The health effects of this incident are not entirely known, partly due to the fact that the incident was kept secret by the Soviet authorities.
Economy
Under the name of the Ust-Kamenogorsk Lock, the highest lockLock (water transport)
A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...
in the world lies at Ablaketka where it allows river traffic to pass around a hydroelectric dam on the Irtysh river. It has a drop of more than 40m.
Since the opening of the Three Gorges locks, the upper lock of that five-lock cascade is theoretically on a par with this lock, but its full drop will be used only in extreme cases, while the Ust-Kamenogorsk lock is designed for permanent use at this height.
Sports
- Kazzinc-TorpedoKaztsink-Torpedo Ust-KamenogorskKazzinc-Torpedo is a professional Kazakhstani ice hockey team that plays in the Kazakhstani Championship. They play their home games at Sport-Palast, located in Ust-Kamenogorsk.- Achievements :*Kazakhstani Championship:...
: an ice hockeyIce hockeyIce hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
team. Alma mater of NHL players: Nikolai Antropov, Vitaly KolesnikVitaly KolesnikVitaly Nikolaevich Kolesnik is a Kazakhstani professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the Kontinental Hockey League .-Playing career:...
, Konstantin PushkarevKonstantin PushkarevKonstantin Vladimirovich Pushkarev is an ethnic Russian, Kazakh professional ice hockey player currently with the Astana Barys of the Kontinental Hockey League...
and Alexander PerezhoginAlexander PerezhoginAlexander Perezhogin is a Russian professional ice hockey player currently playing for Avangard Omsk of the Kontinental Hockey League .-Playing career:...
. In addition, Evgeni NabokovEvgeni NabokovEvgeni Viktorovich Nabokov is a Russian professional ice hockey goaltender who is playing for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League .Nabokov was selected by San Jose in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft...
is a former goaltender for the San Jose SharksSan Jose SharksThe San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
. Kazzinc-Torpedo is currently playing in Russian Vysshaya Liga. - FC VostokFC VostokFC Vostok is a Kazakh football club from Oskemen , a founding member of the Kazakhstan Premier League since 1992. The club's biggest achieved position in the league is the 5th place in 1997 and 1998...
: footballFootball (soccer)Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
club, currently playing in Kazakhstan First DivisionKazakhstan First DivisionThe Kazakhstan First Division is the second division of football in Kazakhstan. The League is controlled by the Football Union of Kazakhstan and feeds into the Kazakhstan Premier League, having been founded in 1994. It runs from spring and to late autumn, making each championship correspond to a... - The city sent a bandyBandyBandy is a team winter sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal.The rules of the game have many similarities to those of association football: the game is played on a rectangle of ice the same size as a football field. Each team has 11 players,...
team to the Spartakiade 2009 and finished third.
Religion
There are 32 religious unions, presenting 15 religious confessions including MuslimMuslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
, Christian and non-traditional religions. There are 21 cultural buildings in the city: among them mosques and Orthodox Christian churches.
Notable residents
- Max BirbraerMax BirbraerMaxim "Max" Birbraer is a professional ice hockey player who currently plays for Cardiff Devils.Birbraer is Jewish....
, ice hockey player drafted by NHL team (New Jersey DevilsNew Jersey DevilsThe New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey, United States. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
) - Anton KhudobinAnton KhudobinAnton Khudobin is a Russian professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League . He was drafted by the Minnesota Wild 206th overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.-Playing career:...
, ice hockey player - Nik AntropovNik AntropovNikolai Aleksandrovich Antropov is a Kazakhstani-Canadian professional ice hockey forward for the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League...
, ice hockey player drafted by NHL team (Toronto Maple LeafsToronto Maple LeafsThe Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
)