Fort-Shevchenko () is a military-base town and administrative centre of
Tupkaragan District in
Mangystau Region of
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
on the eastern shore of
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...
. Primary industries include fishing and the extraction of stone. Population: 5,559 (2016 estimate).
History
The city was founded as a military stronghold by the Imperial
Russian Navy
The Russian Navy is the Navy, naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. It has existed in various forms since 1696. Its present iteration was formed in January 1992 when it succeeded the Navy of the Commonwealth of Independent States (which had i ...
in 1846 after nearby New Alexander Fort, built in 1834 overlooking
Dead Kultuk, was deemed too remote.
Travel Guide to Fort Shevchenko and Bautino – Planet Esoterica
/ref> Until 1857, Fort Shevchenko was known as ''Novopetrovskoye'' (Новопетровское) and from 1857 to 1939 as ''Fort-Aleksandrovskii'' (Форт-Александровский). It was named for Ukrainian poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
Taras Shevchenko
Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko (; ; 9 March 1814 – 10 March 1861) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, artist, public and political figure, folklorist, and ethnographer. He was a fellow of the Imperial Academy of Arts and a member of the Brotherhood o ...
, who was assigned to military service here during his exile. Today the town is used by the Kazakhstan Navy as a base.
The coat of arms of Fort Alexandrovsky was approved October 22, 1908, along with other arms of the Transcaspian field: It is black and silver depicting the fortress and two fish.
Russian Civil War
Fort Alexandrovsky was the site of naval action on 21 May 1919, when a Squadron of the British Caspian Flotilla attacked the port.
Climate
Landmarks
There are several landmarks of significance; Shevchenko Memorial Museum, National History, and ethnographic museums. The Shevchenko Memorial Museum opened in 1932 near where he had been hiding. There are also some remnants of the fortress, a monument to Shevchenko and a state grave of Civil War heroes.
31 km from the city is the necropolis Beysenbay and up the coast the site Bautino (Баутино).
References
External links
Populated places in Mangystau Region
Transcaspian Oblast
{{MangystauRegion-geo-stub