Aktobe: Difference between revisions

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| settlement_type = [[List of cities in Kazakhstan|City]]

| official_name = Aktobe

| native_name = {{native name|kk|Ақтөбе, Aqtöbe}}<br />{{native name|ru|Актобе}}

| image_skyline = <!-- images and maps -----------> {{multiple image

| image_flag = File:Flag of Aktobe, Kazakhstan.gif

| image_seal = Aktobe seal - 2.png

| image_map =

| map_caption =

| pushpin_map = Kazakhstan#Asia

| pushpin_mapsize = 280

| subdivision_type = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]

| subdivision_type1 = [[Regions of Kazakhstan|Region]]

| subdivision_name = {{KAZ}}

| subdivision_name1 = [[Aktobe Region]]

| established_title = Founded

| established_date = 1869

| government_type =

| leader_title = Akim <small>([[mayor]])</small>

| leader_name = Azamat Beket<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kaztag.kz/ru/news/azamat-beket-naznachen-akimom-aktobe|title=Азамат Бекет назначен акимом Актобе|language=ru|publisher=kaztag.kz|date=2023-06-26|access-date=}}</ref>

| area_magnitude =

| area_total_sq_mi =

| area_total_km2 = 400

| area_land_sq_mi =

| area_land_km2 =

| area_urban_sq_mi =

| area_urban_km2 =

| area_metro_km2 =

| area_metro_sq_mi =

| population_as_of = 2020-01-01

| population_total = 560,820<ref name="population_2023">{{cite web|url=https://www.stat.gov.kz/api/getFile/?docId=ESTAT480225|title=Census data|website=stat.gov.kz}}</ref>

| population_urban =

| population_metro = 750,000<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.stat.gov.kz/api/getFile/?docId=ESTAT471118|title=Census data|website=stat.gov.kz}} </ref>

| timezone = [[UTC+5]]

| utc_offset = +5

| timezone_DST =

| utc_offset_DST =

| coordinates = {{coord|50|17|01|N|57|13|47|E|region:KZ|display=inline,title}}

| elevation_m = 219

| elevation_ft =

| postal_code_type = [[Postal code]]

| postal_code = 030001

| area_code = +7 7132

| blank_name = [[Köppen climate classification|Climate]]

| blank_info = [[Humid continental climate#Hot/warm summer subtype|Dfa]]

'''Aktobe''' ({{lang-kzkk|Ақтөбе|Aqtöbe}}, {{IPA-kk|ɑqtɵbʲe|pron|Kk-aktobe.ogg}}; {{lang-ru|Актобе }}) is a city on the [[Ilek River]] in [[Kazakhstan]]. It is the administrative center of the [[Aktobe Region]]. In 2023, it hashad a population of 560,820.<ref name="population_2023"/>

Aktobe is located in thewestern west of [[Kazakhstan]]. The area of the city is about 428,469&nbsp;km². There are two water reservoirs, Aktobe and Sazdy. It ranks fourth among the cities of Kazakhstan in terms of population, and is the largest city in western Kazakhstan. The city's populace is ethnically diverse, with 79% [[Kazakhs]] and 14.8% [[Russians]]. The predominant religions are [[Islam]] and [[Christianity]].

The agglomeration of Aktobe is expected to grow up to 1.3 million people, including nearby settlements.<ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=https://www.stat.gov.kz/api/getFile/?docId=ESTAT355258 |title=Численность населения Республики Казахстан по отдельным этносам на начало 2020 года |publisher=Stat.kz |access-date=2020-08-06 |archive-date=2020-05-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200527204929/https://www.stat.gov.kz/api/getFile/?docId=ESTAT355258 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The name "''Aktobe"'' comes from Kazakh "ақ" ('white)' and "төбе" ('hill)'; the name is a referencerefers to the heights on which the original 19th -century settlement was located. Until 1999, the itcity was officially known as ''Aktyubinsk'' ({{lang-ru|Актюбинск}}).

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The territory of the modern-day [[Aktobe Region]] has seen the rise and fall of many [[Central Asian]] cultures and empires. The region figured prominently in the history of the [[Kazakhs|Kazakh]] "[[Little jüz|Little Horde]]". The Kazakh warlord [[Eset Kotibaruli|Eset Batyr]] based his campaigns against the [[Dzungars]] from this area. His mausoleum is located {{cvt|35|km|abbr=off}} to the south of Aktobe city. [[Abulkhair Khan]] (1693–1748) was also based in this region.

In March 1869, a Russian military fort with a garrison of 300 was built at the confluence of the [[Kargala]] and [[Ilek RiversRiver]]s, along the [[Orenburg]] - [[Kazalinsk]] [[Caravan (travellers)|caravan]] route. From that period onward, [[Slavic peoples|Slavic]] settlers began to migrate to the region in order to farm, and very soon, neighbourhoods were built around the fort. In 1874 the fort was expanded in size, and streets were laid out to and from the fort's gate. In 1891 the settlement was labelled a district city, and officially named Aktyubinsk.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries the settlement rapidly expanded in size. While the 1889 population was listed as 2,600, by 1909 the population had increased more than four times to 10,716 official residents. The physical characteristics of the city had developed as well, and by the turn of the century the city had two churches, a seminary, a [[Tatar]] mosque, a Russian-[[Kyrgyz people|Kyrgyz]] boys' school and girls' school, a clinic, a bank, a post office, a city park, a cinema and two mills. The [[Trans-Aral Railway]] was extended through the city in 1901. In the years leading up to World War I, industry began to develop in the town, including the construction of an electric factory, a brick factory, and the establishment of an annual trade fair.

The city was affected by the [[Russian Revolution of 1905]], and strikes and riots took place between 1905 and 1907. [[Bolshevik]] revolutionaries were very active in the city, according to official Soviet histories. On January 8, 1918, the Bolsheviks moved to seize control of the local [[Soviet (council)|Soviet]], and by January 21, 1918, the Bolsheviks had secured the city under their control.

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The city is located at the place where Kargaly flows into the Ilek River and its valley expands to 15 &nbsp;km. Directly in the center of the city flows the left tributary of Ilek - the Sazdy River, in the northwest - the left tributary of Ilek - the Zhinishke River. Since the channel of the Sazdy River lies in the central part of Aktobe and along it are large shopping and entertainment centers. In the southern part of the city are the lower reaches of the left tributary of Ilek - the Tamda River, but in the low-water period this channel dries up, forming several stretches. On the northern outskirts of the Zarechny district, the Peschanka river flows, the left tributary of the Kargaly, beyond which is the village of Kargaly. To the west of the Kirpichny district, separating it from the village of Akzhar, the Butak River flows through the lower part of the right tributary of the Kargaly.

At 10 &nbsp;km southeast of the city is the Aktobe reservoir with a volume of 245 million m³, called the inhabitants of the Aktobe Sea, it was commissioned in 1988. The Sazdinskoye reservoir, 8 &nbsp;km south-west of the city, which is a traditional resting place for citizens, was built in 1967, and the Kargaly reservoir, which is the largest artificial reservoir near Aktobe (located outside the territory of the city administration), the volume of which is 280 million m³, was commissioned in 1975 and is located 60 &nbsp;km northeast of the city.

=== Climate ===

|Jul record high C= 42.23

|Jan sun= 8768.1

|Feb sun= 133105.0

|Mar sun= 176154.3

|Apr sun= 237215.5

|May sun= 311291.3

|Jun sun= 317325.4

|Jul sun= 333319.3

|Aug sun= 300283.3

|Sep sun= 227207.0

|Oct sun= 137138.9

|Nov sun= 7870.9

|Dec sun= 6754.9

|year sun= 2403

|source 2= [[NOAA]] (sun, 1961–1990)<ref name=NOAA>

{{cite web |url=https://www.nceinodc.noaa.gov/pubarchive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/normals0-data/Region-2-WMO/1961-1990Normals-9120/TABLESKazakhstan/REG_IICSV/KS/35229Aktobe_35229.TXT csv|title=Aktjubinsk (Aktobe) Climate Normals 1961–19901991–2020 |publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] |access-date=131 MayNovember 2015 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118035722/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1961-1990/TABLES/REG_II/KS/35229.TXT |archive-date=2021-11-182023 }}</ref>

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The territory of Kazakhstan consists of 22 zoogeographic sites. The city of Aktobe and the entire northern part of the Aktobe region belongs to the western steppe site, in which, unlike other steppe sites, representatives of European forest species live. In addition, in the western steppe area, the [[Xerocole|desert fauna]] is richer than in other steppe areas. The widespread desert species of dressings here is found only occasionally, from the Mongolian fauna you can usually see an Eversman hamster. Kazakh desert species also live here, and near Aktobe you can find the Turanian species of combed [[Gerbillinae|gerbils]].

===Demographics===

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Aktobe ranks first in terms of population in Western Kazakhstan and is the fourth city in the country by this indicator (after Almaty, Astana and Shymkent). Aktobe rose in October 2019 from fifth to fourth place in terms of the number of inhabitants when the population of the city reached 497,381 inhabitants, overtaking Karaganda (496,701 people) in this indicator. By the end of 2019, the population of the city stepped over 500,000 people and as of January 1, 2020, numbered 500,803 people. The population density in the territory of the city administration (2,338 &nbsp;km²) is 214.2 people per km².

Aktobe is the Headquarters for the Western Military District of the Republic of Kazakhstan. This district's responsibilities include defence of the Caspian Sea region, and the district is commanded by a Rear-Admiral.<ref name="defac.ac.uk">Plater-Zyberk, H. ''[http://www.defac.ac.uk/colleges/csrc Kazakhstan: Security & Defence Challenges] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061126022246/http://www.defac.ac.uk/colleges/csrc |date=2006-11-26 }}'', Conflict Studies Research Centre, 2002</ref> A Russian military presence is maintained in the region at the Emba missile testing range.<ref name="defac.ac.uk"/>

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The largest enterprises of the city are the Aktobe ferroalloy plant, Aktyubrentgen, Aktobe plant of chromium compounds and a number of food industry enterprises. AFP produces 22% of Kazakhstan's ferroalloys. Aktobe plant of chromium compounds is the only enterprise in the country producing chromium oxide, chromic anhydride, tannins, sodium dichromate.

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On the territory of the city akimat in 2012, 32,021 garden plots were registered as part of collective gardening, as well as 1,101 garden plots as part of collective gardens. Some of the so-called horticultural plots are used not only for home gardening and horticulture, but also for temporary (seasonal) residence for the purpose of recreation and as an individual residential sector for permanent residence; the number of residents who use buildings in garden plots for permanent residence is estimated at 40 thousand people. According to the leadership of the city, cottages impede the development of Aktobe. Registration of permits for the construction of cottages was suspended, and existing garden plots are planned to be vacated for the construction of multi-storey buildings. In the future, summer cottages will be located 10–20 &nbsp;km from the city.

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Since the 2000s, there has been a trend of re-equipping open-air bazaars into indoor pavilions and the construction of shopping and entertainment centers. In 1998, the Bayzharkinov entrepreneurs built one of the first major shopping centers in the city - Nurdaulet. In the following years, several more shopping and entertainment centers appeared: Mega Shygys (2002), Alatau (2007), KeruenCity (2009, formerly Mega Aktobe), Alia Bazary (2011, formerly Alia Center "), CITY Shopping Center (2015). There is a wholesale center supermarket "Dastarkhan".

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The first city hospital opened in 1912. According to the data for 2019, there were 28 hospital facilities and 143 outpatient clinics in the city, in which 2,281 doctors and 4,002 medical personnel worked. With a growing population, the number of doctors and medical staff remained almost at the same level as in 2018.

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In the past, an amusement park opened in the city every summer. In the 2010s, as part of the general reconstruction of Aktobe Central Park, which was renamed in honor of Nursultan Nazarbayev, outdated attractions, including the Ferris wheel, were dismantled. Instead, the" Captain Brig" entertainment center was built, worth $ 10 million, on the territory of which carousels and roller coasters were installed, and in the main pavilion with an area of 1150 m² there were children's game attractions. "Captain Brig" is distinguished by the relative high cost of tickets for paid attractions and a small amount of free entertainment.

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Aktobe planetariumPlanetarium is the first planetarium in Kazakhstan. For a long time it was the only one in the country. The planetarium building with a domed hall was built by Moscow specialists in Pioneer Park at the intersection of Nekrasov and Frunze Streets. Until 2001, the permanent leader of the planetarium was Nikolai Pavlovich Zafiris.

The city sent a [[bandy]] team to the [[Spartakiade]] 2009 <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://akghaik.ucoz.ru/photo/9-1-0-0-2|title=Спартакиада-2009. - Фототека - Бесплатные онлайн-тесты<!-- Bot generated title -->|accessdate=9 May 2023}}</ref> and is home to football club [[FC Aktobe]].

The Aktobe Field has an estimated reserve of 1.17 billion barrels of crude oil, and iswas being developed as of 2007 by the CNPC/AktobeMunaiGaz consortium.<ref>US Department of Energy ''[http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/Kazakhstan/kazaproj.html Kazakhstan: Major Oil and Natural Gas Projects] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071125183930/http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/Kazakhstan/kazaproj.html |date=2007-11-25 }}'' US DoE, 2006</ref> Smaller German and American joint ventures arewere also involved in oil extraction projects in the region.<ref name="kazakhstaninvestment.com">''[http://www.kazakhstaninvestment.com/support-files/kazakhstan-oil.pdf Kazakhstan: Oil and Gas Sector Review for 2002] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006142039/http://www.kazakhstaninvestment.com/support-files/kazakhstan-oil.pdf |date=2008-10-06 }}'' Kazkommertz Securities, 2003</ref>

Major oil and natural gas pipelines transect Aktobe and the surrounding region.<ref>Energy Information Administration ''[http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/Kazakhstan/MapsTable.html Central Asian Oil and Gas Infrastructure] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024033414/http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/Kazakhstan/MapsTable.html |date=2007-10-24 }}'' US Department of Energy, 2006</ref> The {{cvt|400|km|mi|adj=on|abbr=off}} Keniyak-Orsk pipeline, with an annual capacity of 7.5 million tons, carries oil from the Aktobe fields to a refinery in [[Orsk]], Russia.<ref name="kazakhstaninvestment.com"/> The [[Kazakhstan-China oil pipeline|Kazakhstan-China Pipeline]] has transported oil from Aktobe's fields to Atyrau since 2003. The Keniyak-Kumkol phase of the pipeline iswas scheduled for completion in 2011, and willto link Aktobe's oil fields to the current Atasu-Alashankou pipeline supplying crude oil to Xinjiang.<ref>Energy Information Administration ''[http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/Kazakhstan/Oil.html Kazakhstan Country Analysis Briefing: Oil] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070703112448/http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/Kazakhstan/Oil.html |date=2007-07-03 }}'' US Department of Energy, 2006</ref> Aktobe is connected to the Bukhara-Urals natural gas pipeline.<ref>''[http://www.gasandoil.com/goc/news/ntc54177.htm Outlook for Kazakhstan's Gas Industry] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927184933/http://www.gasandoil.com/goc/news/ntc54177.htm |date=2007-09-27 }}'' Alexander's Oil and Gas Connections, 2007</ref>

*[[Konstantin Lokhanov]] (b.born 1998), Russian junior world champion and Olympic sabre fencer living in the United States

*[[Yury Lonchakov]] (b.born 1965), Russian [[cosmonaut]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition18/lonchakov_interview.html |title=Preflight interview:Yuri Lonchokov |author=NASA |date=24 September 2008 |access-date=8 June 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100731030259/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition18/lonchakov_interview.html |archive-date=31 July 2010}}</ref>

{{cncitation needed|date=December 2020}}

*[[Alexander Mikaberidze]] (born 1978), Georgian Napoleonic historian.

*[[Rashid Nezhmetdinov]] (1912—19741912–1974), International Master and 5-time winner of the Russian Chess Championship<ref>{{cite web |title=The chess games of Rashid Gibiatovich Nezhmetdinov |url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=37199 |work=Chessgames.com |access-date=June 5, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423111720/http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=37199 |archive-date=April 23, 2016}}</ref>

*[[Valeri Liukin]] (b.born 1966), Kazakh-American 2x gold medallistmedalist, Olympic gymnastics (Seoul 1988) & father/coach to 2008 Olympic Gymnastics Championchampion [[Nastia Liukin]]<ref name=IGHOF>{{cite web |title=Valery Liukin (USSR) |url=http://www.ighof.com/honorees/honorees_liukin.html |publisher=The International Gymnastics Hall of Fame |access-date=25 July 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928144833/http://www.ighof.com/honorees/honorees_liukin.html |archive-date=28 September 2011}}</ref>

*[[ZhalgasZülfia ZhumagulovSüleimenova]], (born 19881990), MMAgovernment fighterminister

*[[Sabina Altynbekova]], (born 1996), volleyball player