Kyzylorda ( , formerly known as Kzyl-Orda (), Ak-Mechet (Ак-Мечеть), Perovsk (Перовск), and Fort-Perovsky (Форт-Перовский), is a city in south-central

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 ...

, capital of

Kyzylorda Region Qyzylorda Region (, ; ), formerly known as Kyzyl-Orda Region until 1991, is a region of Kazakhstan. Its capital is the city of Qyzylorda, with a population of 234,736. The region itself has a population of 823,251. Other notable settlements incl ...

and former capital of the Kazakh ASSR from 1925 to 1927. The city has a population of 242,462 (2020 Census). It historically developed around the

Syr Darya The Syr Darya ( ),; ; ; ; ; /. historically known as the Jaxartes ( , ), is a river in Central Asia. The name, which is Persian language, Persian, literally means ''Syr Sea'' or ''Syr River''. It originates in the Tian Shan, Tian Shan Mountain ...

river and was the site of a

Kokand Kokand ( ) is a city in Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan, at the southwestern edge of the Fergana Valley. Administratively, Kokand is a district-level city, that includes the urban-type settlement Muqimiy. The population of Kokand was ap ...

fortress. The population of the city with nearby villages is 312,861 (2020 Census).

History

A settlement existed under

Seljuk Seljuk (, ''Selcuk'') or Saljuq (, ''Saljūq'') may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * S ...

, the founder of the Seljuk dynasty. The modern city began in 1817 as the site of a

fortress known as Ak-Mechet, or ''white mosque''.Pospelov, p. 24 The later-famous Yaqub Beg was once the fort's commander, but he was not in command during the final battle. In 1853, during the

Russian conquest of Turkestan In the 16th century, the Tsardom of Russia embarked on a campaign to Territorial evolution of Russia, expand the Russian frontier to the east. This effort continued until the 19th century under the Russian Empire, when the Imperial Russian Army ...

, the fort was taken by Russian troops under General Vasily Perovsky. The Russians established a new fort and called it Fort-Perovsky (), after the general. The town of Perovsk () in

Russian Turkestan Russian Turkestan () was a colony of the Russian Empire, located in the western portion of the Central Asian region of Turkestan. Administered as a Krai or Governor-Generalship, it comprised the oasis region to the south of the Kazakh Steppe, b ...

later developed around the fort. In 1925, the city was renamed Kzyl-Orda () and was designated as the capital of the Kazak ASSR. The name means ''a red city'', from the Turkic "кзыл" (''red''; used here in the common

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

ideological connotation) and the Turkic Mongolian "орда" (''city''). In 1927 the capital was relocated to the southeastern region and

Alma-Ata Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains in southern Kazakhstan, near the border wi ...

. ''"Kyzylorda",'' the Kazakh-based Romanized spelling, has been used since the late 20th century after the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

and

's independence in 1991. Since independence, many of the

outhouse An outhouse — known variously across the English-speaking world otherwise as bog, dunny, long-drop, or privy — is a small structure, separate from a main building, which covers a toilet. This is typically either a pit latrine or a bucket ...

s were erected in several apartment buildings used as dormitories during Soviet rule due to a lack of sewage systems for

indoor plumbing Indoor(s) may refer to: *the interior of a building A building or edifice is an enclosed Structure#Load-bearing, structure with a roof, walls and window, windows, usually standing permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. Building ...

. A ''

RFE/RL Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

'' report in April 2018 stated that the Kazakh Republic government was planning to modernize Soviet-era buildings.

Climate

Kyzylorda has a cold

desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''BWk'') with hot summers and cold winters.

Precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

is low throughout the year, particularly in the summer months. Snow is common, though light, in winter. The lowest temperature on record is , recorded in February 1969, and the former highest temperature was , recorded on July 7, 1975, with the current record high temperature of being recorded on July 7, 2021.

Agriculture

Kyzylorda is known for its rice production. Many hundreds of hectares are devoted to rice production. Two rice mills operate in the city.

Education

Kyzylorda State University (KSU) after Korkyt ata is the leading center of education, a science and culture center in the Aral region of the Republic

. Established in 1950, the university trains highly skilled specialists in 54 specialties at 11 faculties.

Transportation

Kyzylorda has one

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

. It has developed as the supply center of the important oilfields in the nearby

Turgay Basin The Turgay Depression, also known as Turgay Basin, Turgay Trough, and Turgay Hollow (; ), is a structural basin in Kazakhstan.Aral Sea The Aral Sea () was an endorheic lake lying between Kazakhstan to its north and Uzbekistan to its south, which began shrinking in the 1960s and had largely dried up into desert by the 2010s. It was in the Aktobe and Kyzylorda regions of Kazakhst ...

and the

Baikonur cosmodrome The Baikonur Cosmodrome is a spaceport operated by Russia within Kazakhstan. Located in the Kazakh city of Baikonur, it is the largest operational space launch facility in terms of area. All Russian Human spaceflight, crewed spaceflights are l ...

, archaeological excavations in

Sauran Sawran or Sauran (, ) is an ancient city located north-west of the city of Turkistan (city), Turkistan in South Kazakhstan Region, Southern Kazakhstan, near the river Syr Darya. History One of the earliest mentions of the city comes from th ...

and

Shyganak Shyganak or Shaganak (; ),
''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' in 30 vols. — Ch. ed. A.M. Prokhorov. - 3rd ed. - M. Soviet Encyclope ...

, the memorial complex of Korkyt Ata, and several ancient mausoleums.

Notable people

* Asim Thahit Abdullah Al Khalaqi (1968–2015), Yemeni formerly held in Guantanamo, given asylum by Kazakhstan in 2015 * Vladimir Hotineanu (1950–2019), former Health Minister of Moldova *

Eliezer Kulas Eliezer Kulas (; born 29 August 1944) is an Israeli former politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Likud between 1981 and 1988. Biography Born in Kyzylorda in the Soviet Union (today in Kazakhstan), Kulas emigrated to Israel in 19 ...

(born 1944), Israeli politician * Oleg Tozoni (1927–2012), engineer and inventor *

Marina Volnova Marina Ivanovna Volnova (; born 26 July 1989 in Kyzylorda, Kzyl-Orda, Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union) is a Kazakhstani female amateur boxer. She won the bronze medal in the Women's boxing middleweight 75kg category in ...

(born 1989), Olympic boxer *

Ilya Ilyin Ilya Aleksandrovich Ilyin (; born 24 May 1988) is a retired Kazakhstani weightlifter who won four world championships and was regarded as one of the greatest weightlifters of all time, until banned for doping abuse in both 2008 and 2012 Olympic ...

(born 1988), Olympic weightlifter * Batyrkhan Shukenov (1962–2015), Soviet, Kazakh-Russian singer *

Mihhail Kõlvart Mihhail Kõlvart (born 24 November 1977) is an Estonian politician currently serving as the Estonian Centre Party, leader of the Centre Party since 2023. He served as the mayor of Tallinn, Estonia, a position he has held since April 2019, after th ...

(born 1977), Estonian politician

Twin towns – sister cities

Kyzylorda is twinned with: * Arvada, United States *

Bolu Bolu is a city in northern Turkey, and administrative center of the Bolu Province and of Bolu District,Bursa Bursa () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...

, Turkey

References

Notes

Sources

*Е. М. Поспелов (Ye. M. Pospelov). "Имена городов: вчера и сегодня (1917–1992). Топонимический словарь." (City Names: Yesterday and Today (1917–1992). Toponymic Dictionary." Москва, "Русские словари", 1993.

External links

History, facts and photos
{{Use mdy dates, date=January 2015 Cities and towns in Kazakhstan Populated places in Kyzylorda Region Syr-Darya Oblast Populated places established in 1820