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Atyrau ( kk, Атырау, ', ; russian: Атырау, ), known until 1991 as Guryev (russian: Гурьев, ), is a city in Kazakhstan and the capital of Atyrau Region. Atyrau is a transcontinental city, at the mouth of the Ural River on the Caspian Sea, between Europe and Asia, west of
Almaty Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to ...
and east of the Russian city of Astrakhan. Atyrau is famous for its oil and gas industries. It has a population of 355,117 as of 2020. It is predominantly made up of
Kazakhs The Kazakhs (also spelled Qazaqs; Kazakh: , , , , , ; the English name is transliterated from Russian; russian: казахи) are a Turkic-speaking ethnic group native to northern parts of Central Asia, chiefly Kazakhstan, but also parts o ...
, the minorities being Russians, Koreans, Tatars and Uzbeks.


History

The wooden fort at the mouth of the
Yaik River The Ural (russian: Урал, ), known before 1775 as Yaik (russian: Яик, ba, Яйыҡ, translit=Yayıq, ; kk, Жайық, translit=Jaiyq, ), is a river flowing through Russia and Kazakhstan in the continental border between Europe and Asia ...
was founded in 1645 as ''Nizhny Yaitzky gorodok'' (literally, ''Lower Yaik Fort'') by the Russian trader Gury Nazarov, a native of Yaroslavl, who specialized in trade with
Khiva Khiva ( uz, Xiva/, خىۋا; fa, خیوه, ; alternative or historical names include ''Kheeva'', ''Khorasam'', ''Khoresm'', ''Khwarezm'', ''Khwarizm'', ''Khwarazm'', ''Chorezm'', ar, خوارزم and fa, خوارزم) is a district-level city ...
and
Bukhara Bukhara (Uzbek language, Uzbek: /, ; tg, Бухоро, ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan, with a population of 280,187 , and the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara ...
. The fort was plundered by the
Yaik Cossacks The Ural Cossack Host was a cossack host formed from the Ural Cossacks – those Eurasian cossacks settled by the Ural River. Their alternative name, Yaik Cossacks, comes from the old name of the river. They were also known by the names: *Rus ...
, leading the Guriev family to rebuild it in stone (1647–62). Tsar Alexis sent a garrison of
Streltsy , image = 01 106 Book illustrations of Historical description of the clothes and weapons of Russian troops.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = , dates = 1550–1720 , disbanded = , country = Tsardom of Russia , allegiance = Streltsy D ...
to protect the fort from Cossack incursions. Despite these efforts, the Cossack rebel
Stepan Razin Stepan Timofeyevich Razin (russian: Степа́н Тимофе́евич Ра́зин, ; 1630 – ), known as Stenka Razin ( ), was a Cossack leader who led a major uprising against the nobility and tsarist bureaucracy in southern Russia in 16 ...
held the town in 1667 and 1668. The fort gradually lost its strategic significance and was demolished in 1810. Between 1708 and 1992 the city was known as ''Guriev''. The Kazakh name ''Atyrau'' means ' river delta'. Two parts of the world have the city. The side of Samarskaya (right side of the river) lies in Europe and the left bank of Bukharskaya is in Asia. It was established in 1615, by the employer Mikhail Guriev, who applied the decree to tzar Mikhail Fedorovich for a monopoly in the mouth of Ural to fish sturgeons.


Origin of the name

Murzaev E. Dictionary of popular geographical terms (1984) states: :"The branched coast of a large lake or sea, on which appeared the bay and islands, the estuaries of rivers and capes. The north-eastern coast of the Caspian Sea, including its alyp, the locals still call Atyrau." A. Nurmaganbetov and M. Khobdabayev states: :"The word atyrau, which earlier means "island", also grasps the concept of the word saga -" the mouth of the river, "and this is natural, whatever the river, at the point where it enters the ocean or the sea, its mouth branches out, and between each branch appears dry We think that this is the main reason for joint use of Atyrau together with the "mouth of the river". Ecological Kazakh-Russian dictionary (2001) states: :Atyrau is a tract, a cane shoal in the mouth of the Urals.


Geography

Atyrau (together with Aktau) is Kazakhstan's main harbour city on the Caspian Sea, Atyrau at the
delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also re ...
of the Ural River. Atyrau city is approximately
below sea level This is a list of places on land below mean sea level. Places artificially created such as tunnels, mines, basements, and dug holes, or places under water, or existing temporarily as a result of ebbing of sea tide etc., are not included. Places ...
. The city is considered to be located both in Asia and Europe, as it is divided by the Ural River. The city is a hub for the oil-rich Caspian Depression; because of this, many oil wells have been drilled in the Tengiz Field and
Kashagan Field Kashagan Field ( kk, Қашаған кен орны, ''Qashaǵan ken orny'') is an offshore oil field in Kazakhstan's zone of the Caspian Sea. The field, discovered in 2000, is located in the northern part of the Caspian Sea close to Atyrau and ...
areas. An
oil pipeline Pipeline transport is the long-distance transportation of a liquid or gas through a system of pipes—a pipeline—typically to a market area for consumption. The latest data from 2014 gives a total of slightly less than of pipeline in 120 countr ...
runs from Atyrau to
Samara Samara ( rus, Сама́ра, p=sɐˈmarə), known from 1935 to 1991 as Kuybyshev (; ), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with ...
, where it joins the Russian pipeline system. A separate oil pipeline runs from the Tengiz field to the Russian Black Sea port of
Novorossiisk Novorossiysk ( rus, Новоросси́йск, p=nəvərɐˈsʲijsk; ady, ЦIэмэз, translit=Chəməz, p=t͡sʼɜmɜz) is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is one of the largest ports on the Black Sea. It is one of the few cities hono ...
.


Demographics

At the beginning of 2020, the population of the city is 290,700 people, 355,117 people in the territory of the city akimat. National composition (at the beginning of 2020): *
Kazakhs The Kazakhs (also spelled Qazaqs; Kazakh: , , , , , ; the English name is transliterated from Russian; russian: казахи) are a Turkic-speaking ethnic group native to northern parts of Central Asia, chiefly Kazakhstan, but also parts o ...
- 313 534 people (88.29%) * Russians - 29 466 people (8.30%) * Koreans - 2 987 people (0.84%) * Tatars - 1 934 people (0.54%) * Uzbeks - 1 320 people (0.37%) * Ukrainians - 709 people (0.20%) * Karakalpaks - 700 people (0.20%) *
Azerbaijanis Azerbaijanis (; az, Azərbaycanlılar, ), Azeris ( az, Azərilər, ), or Azerbaijani Turks ( az, Azərbaycan Türkləri, ) are a Turkic people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan. They are the second-most numer ...
- 510 people (0.14%) * Germans - 406 people (0.11%) * Karachais - 357 people (0.10%) *
Dargins Dargins or Dargwa (, ''darganti'') are a Northeast Caucasian native ethnic group originating in the North Caucasus, and who make up the second largest ethnic group in the North Caucasian republic of Dagestan. They speak the Dargwa language. The ...
- 229 people (0.06%) *
Belarusians , native_name_lang = be , pop = 9.5–10 million , image = , caption = , popplace = 7.99 million , region1 = , pop1 = 600,000–768,000 , region2 = , pop2 ...
- 210 people (0.06%) * Bulgarians - 197 people (0.06%) *Others - 2 558 people (0.72%) In total - 355,117 people.


Climate

Atyrau's climate is semi-arid ( Köppen climate classification ''BSk''), just shy of being classified as arid (Köppen climate classification ''BWk''), with hot summers and cold winters. Precipitation is low throughout the year. Snow is common, though light in winter. The lowest temperature on record is , recorded in 1909, and the highest temperature is , recorded in 1984. It is much more continental than areas further west on the European continent, with summers characterized by temperatures averaging and lack of precipitation, resembling continental hot-summer mediterranean climates, and
subarctic The subarctic zone is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic, north of humid continental regions and covering much of Alaska, Canada, Iceland, the north of Scandinavia, Siberia, and the Cairngorms. Generally, ...
winters with little snow but with chilling temperatures. These vast temperature swings are more comparable to Siberia and the
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
n plains.


Industry


Oil industry

The third biggest refinery in Kazakhstan is located in Atyrau. Atyrau Refinery is operated by
KazMunayGas KazMunayGas (KMG) ( kk, QazMúnayGaz, ҚазМұнайГаз) is the state-owned oil and gas company of Kazakhstan.
and has a capacity of 16,600 m³/day (2012). A deep oil refining complex is under construction which is the final stage of complete reconstruction of Atyrau Oil Refinery. This project is designed to process 2.4 million tons/year of raw materials (oil and vacuum gas oil). The project will increase the depth of the oil processing at the refinery by 2016 to 85%. The volume of oil refining will reach 5.5 million tons per year. Atyrau is located near Tengiz field, which is operated in part by Chevron. Most families of Chevron employees live in Dostyk village, a compound that includes housing, recreational facilities, and an international school. Atyrau also has expatriate populations working for Agip,
ExxonMobil ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 30, ...
, Royal Dutch Shell, and
ConocoPhillips ConocoPhillips Company is an American multinational corporation engaged in hydrocarbon exploration and production. It is based in the Energy Corridor district of Houston, Texas. The company has operations in 15 countries and has production in ...
.


Education

There are three major institutions of higher education in Atyrau (all state-owned): Atyrau Institute of Engineering and Humanities, Atyrau Institute of Oil and Gas, and Atyrau State University.


Sports

The city is home to the basketball team
BC Barsy Atyrau Basketball Club "BC" Barsy Atyrau (russian: Баскетбольный клуб "БК" Барсы Атырау) is a Kazakhstani professional basketball club based in the city of Atyrau in western Kazakhstan. Founded in 2003, Barsy has competed ...
. The team competes in the international
FIBA Asia Champions Cup The FIBA Asia Champions Cup, previously known as the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) Champions Cup until 2002, is the Asian club championship for professional basketball. It is organised by FIBA Asia, and takes place once a year (since 199 ...
and the
Kazakhstan Basketball Championship The Kazakhstan Basketball Championship (russian: Чемпионата Казахстана по баскетболу) is the highest professional basketball league in Kazakhstan, it is organised by the National Basketball Federation Kazakhstan. Its ...
. It plays its home games at the ''Sports and Recreation complex Atyrau''. There's a multi-use stadium called
Munaishy Stadium Munayshy Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Atyrau, Kazakhstan. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of FC Atyrau Football Club Atyrau ( kk, "Атырау" футбол клубы, ''"Atyraý" fýtbol klýby ...
, which is mostly used for football matches and it's home to the football club FC Atyrau. The stadium's capacity is 8,690 spectators.


Transportation


Air

Atyrau Airport ATMA Atyrau Airport ( kk, Atyrau Halyqaralyq Äuejaiy) is an airport located northwest of Atyrau, Kazakhstan. It is the lowest international commercial airport in the world at below sea level. History ATMA obtained the operational right ...
serves the city of Atyrau. The airport is located 8 km northwest of Atyrau. The airport hosts 6 airlines, mostly operating domestic flights, and is the focus city of the flag carrier airline Air Astana. In 2019, it was the 5th busiest airport in Kazakhstan, as 937,032 people had passed the airport in that year. There are some international destinations, such as flights to Moscow, operated by
Aeroflot PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (russian: ПАО "Аэрофло́т — Росси́йские авиали́нии", ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; russian: Аэрофлот, , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. The ...
, Amsterdam and Istanbul, both operated by Air Astana.


Railway

There is a railway station, located northeast of Atyrau. There are mainly domestic routes, such as routes to large cities
Almaty Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to ...
, Aktobe and Nur-Sultan, but there's also international routes, such as a route to Russian cities Astrakhan,
Saratov Saratov (, ; rus, Сара́тов, a=Ru-Saratov.ogg, p=sɐˈratəf) is the largest city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River upstream (north) of Volgograd. Saratov had a population of 901,36 ...
, Moscow, Volgograd and Tajikistani cities Kulob, Khujand, Dushanbe and Uzbekistan's capital Tashkent.


International relations


Twin towns

Atyrau is twinned with: * Aktau, Kazakhstan * Oral, Kazakhstan * Aktobe, Kazakhstan * Shirvan, Azerbaijan * Astrakhan, Russia *
Syktyvkar Syktyvkar (, rus, Сыктывка́р, p=sɨktɨfˈkar; kv, Сыктывкар) is the capital city of the Komi Republic in Russia, as well as its largest city. It is also the capital of the Syktyvkar Urban Okrug. Until 1930, it was known as U ...
, Russia * Magnitogorsk, Russia * Aberdeen, United Kingdom *
Ashdod Ashdod ( he, ''ʾašdōḏ''; ar, أسدود or إسدود ''ʾisdūd'' or '' ʾasdūd'' ; Philistine: 𐤀𐤔𐤃𐤃 *''ʾašdūd'') is the sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District, it lies on the Mediterran ...
, Israel * Ashgabat, Turkmenistan


Bridges of Atyrau

On August 28, 1965, the first real reinforced concrete bridge in the city, passing through the Ural River, was built and put into operation. The bridge is 259 meters (847.9 feet) long and 10 meters (32.8 feet) high. The bridge connects Satpayev Avenue and Abay Street. On the right European coast on Satpayev Avenue, the akimat (mayor's office) of the city and akimat (governor) of the Atyrau region adjoin the bridge. In 2001, a unique pedestrian suspension bridge was built. The 551-meter (1807.7 feet)-long bridge is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest pedestrian bridge in the world. From the middle of the bridge over the Urals there are views of Azattyk Avenue and its surroundings. In 2009, the Sultan Beibars was opened - a four-lane bridge with a throughput capacity of 5–7 thousand cars a day, 800 meters (2624.6 feet) long with access roads, 380.74 meters (1249.1 feet) long and 22 meters (72.17 feet) wide. The width of the roadway is 16 meters (52.49 feet), plus two walking paths of 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) each.


See also

*
Beibarys Atyrau Beibarys Hockey Club ( kk, «Бейбарыс» хоккей клубы), commonly referred as Beibarys Atyrau, are a professional ice hockey team based in Atyrau, Kazakhstan. They were founded in 2009, and play in the Pro Hokei Ligasy, the top le ...
* Atyrau Football Club *
Atyrau Airport ATMA Atyrau Airport ( kk, Atyrau Halyqaralyq Äuejaiy) is an airport located northwest of Atyrau, Kazakhstan. It is the lowest international commercial airport in the world at below sea level. History ATMA obtained the operational right ...
* Radio Tandem


References


External links


City administration websiteInformation site on KazakhstanPhotos Atyrau
{{Coord, 47, 07, N, 51, 53, E, region:KZ_type:city, display=title Populated places in Atyrau Region Ural Oblast (Russian Empire) Populated places established in 1640 Populated places on the Caspian Sea 1640 establishments in Russia Cities and towns in Kazakhstan Transcontinental cities Port cities and towns of the Caspian Sea