Kandyagash (, ''Qandyağaş'') is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and the administrative center of Mugalzhar District in

Aktobe Region Aktobe Region (; ) is a region of Kazakhstan. The name ''Aktobe'' comes from Kazakh ''aq'' 'white' and ''töbe'' 'hill' or 'top (of something)'; supposedly, Aktobe's initial settlers were able to see white mountains far to the north. The Aktobe ...

of western

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 ...

. Population:

History

Kandyagash (also spelled as Kandygach) was founded in 1905 as a railway station. At the time, Kandagach was a part of Aktyubinsky Uyezd of Turgay Oblast. In 1920, Turgay Oblast was transformed to Turgay Governorate, and in 1921, it was abolished and included into Orenburg-Turgay Governorate. In the same year, Kandagach was transferred to Aktyubinsk Governorate of Kirghiz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1925, the republic was renamed

Kazak Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic The Kazakh Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic (; ), abbreviated as Kazak ASSR (; ) and simply Kazakhstan (; ), was an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics, autonomous republic of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) within ...

. On January 17, 1928 the governorate was abolished, and Kandagach was transferred to Aktyubinsk Okrug. The uyezds were abolished as well. In 1932,

was established. On July 5, 1933 Klyuchevoy District (currently Alga District) was established, and Kandyagach became a part of this district. In 1936, the republic was transformed into

Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic The Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Kazakhstan, the Kazakh SSR, KSSR, or simply Kazakhstan, was one of the transcontinental country, transcontinental Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Un ...

. By 1958, Kandagach already have the status of urban-type settlement. In 1963, in the course of abortive

Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...

's administrative reform, a number of districts were merged into Kandagach Industrial District, with the administrative center in Kandyagash. In the 1960s, substantial

phosphate Phosphates are the naturally occurring form of the element phosphorus. In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthop ...

deposits were discovered nearby (Chilisay deposits). In 1967, the administrative divisions of Aktobe Region were changed, and Oktyabrsky District (currently Mugalzhar District) was created. Kandyagash was granted town status, renamed Oktyabrsk (to commemorate 50 years after the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

), and made the administrative center of the district. Subsequently, a large plant serving the phosphate deposits was built and became by far the largest industrial enterprise in the town. Until the 1990s, Oktyabrsk experienced a rapid growth of population. After Kazakhstan became independent in 1991, the plant was basically abandoned, and the town got into a very difficult situation when most of the population was unemployed and most of the communications non-existent. By 1997, the population was halved. In the 1990s, the emergency state was introduced in the town. In 1997, Oktyabrsk was renamed Kandyagash. The town was subsequently reoriented to serve natural gas deposits.

Economy

Industry

Kandyagash has a chemical plant and a construction materials plant, as well as the oil refinery.

Transportation

Kandyagash is a rail junction station, where two railways cross: The

Trans-Aral Railway The Trans-Aral Railway, also known as the Tashkent Railway, is a railway built in 1906 to connect Kinel and Tashkent, both then within the Russian Empire. For much of the early 20th century, it was the only railway link between European Russia a ...

, which connects

Orenburg Orenburg (, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies in Eastern Europe, along the banks of the Ural River, being approximately southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is close to the ...

and

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

via

Aktobe Aktobe (, ; ) is a major city located on the Ilek River in western Kazakhstan. It serves as the administrative center of the Aktobe Region and is an important cultural, economic, and industrial hub in the region. As of 2023, the city has a popu ...

and

Kyzylorda Kyzylorda ( , formerly known as Kzyl-Orda (), Ak-Mechet (Ак-Мечеть), Perovsk (Перовск), and Fort-Perovsky (Форт-Перовский), is a city in south-central Kazakhstan, capital of Kyzylorda Region and former capital of the ...

, and another one connecting

Sol-Iletsk Sol-Iletsk () is a town in Orenburg Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Ilek River ( Ural's tributary), south of Orenburg, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: 22,000 (1975); 11,802 (1897). The climate is arid, ...

with

Atyrau Atyrau (, ; , ; ), known until 1991 as Guryev (), 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 and east o ...

and further with

Astrakhan Astrakhan (, ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the Caspian Depression, from the Caspian Se ...

. In contrast to the town itself, the station was never renamed. The town is connected by roads with Aktobe, Atyrau, and

Embi Embi (, ''Embı'') is a town in Mugalzhar District in Aktobe Region of western Kazakhstan. The town is on the left bank of the Emba River. Population: History Embi (or Emba) was founded in the 1900s, when the railroad connecting Orenburg a ...

Sport

Bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two team sport, teams wearing Ice skates#Bandy skates, ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The playin ...

is being developed in Kandyagash.Хромтауцы не подвели , Актюбинский вестник
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References

{{Authority control Populated places in Aktobe Region