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72-582: Several other similar proposals were made in the early 20th century, including a Kazakh-Turkestan Canal to connect Kazakhstan with the Black Sea . The projects were not seriously considered after the late-1920s, when a campaign was launched to ridicule "fantastic" hydraulic projects. In 1928, over a dozen hydraulic engineers operating in Central Asia were tried for mismanaging the irrigation system and "devising intentionally fantastic projects". Following

144-626: A Chagatayid prince of Kashmir , which locates Kazakh in the eastern part of Desht-i Qipchaq . According to Vasily Bartold , the Kazakhs likely began using that name during the 15th century. Though Kazakh traditionally referred only to ethnic Kazakhs , including those living in China, Russia, Turkey, Uzbekistan and other neighbouring countries, the term is increasingly being used to refer to any inhabitant of Kazakhstan, including residents of other ethnicities. Kazakhstan has been inhabited since

216-642: A small portion of Kazakhstan is also located west of the Urals in Eastern Europe. Kazakhstan's terrain extends west to east from the Caspian Sea to the Altay Mountains and north to south from the plains of Western Siberia to the oases and deserts of Central Asia. The Kazakh Steppe (plain), with an area of around 804,500 square kilometres (310,600 sq mi), occupies one-third of

288-498: A small portion of its territory in Eastern Europe . It borders Russia to the north and west , China to the east , Kyrgyzstan to the southeast , Uzbekistan to the south , and Turkmenistan to the southwest , with a coastline along the Caspian Sea . Its capital is Astana , while the largest city and leading cultural and commercial hub is Almaty . Kazakhstan is the world's ninth-largest country by land area and

360-695: A 1,600-km (1,500- verst ) canal stretching from the upper reaches of the Amu Darya in Afghanistan through the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan all the way to the Caspian sea. In his 1921 book entitled "Trans-Kaspiiskii kanal (Problema orosheniia Zakaspiia)" ( Russian : Транс-Каспийский канал (Проблема орошения Закаспия) ), Rizenkampf argued that the canal would support the growing of cotton in

432-509: A 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 8.23/10, ranking it 26th globally out of 172 countries. Common mammals include the wolf , red fox , corsac fox , moose , argali (the largest species of sheep), Eurasian lynx , Pallas's cat , and snow leopards , several of which are protected. Kazakhstan's Red Book of Protected Species lists 125 vertebrates including many birds and mammals, and 404 plants including fungi, algae and lichens. Przewalski's horse has been reintroduced to

504-686: A livestock-based economy continued to dominate the steppe . In the 15th century, a distinct Kazakh identity began to emerge among the Turkic tribes. This was followed by the Kazakh War of Independence , where the Khanate gained its sovereignty from the Shaybanids . The process was consolidated by the mid-16th century with the appearance of the Kazakh language , culture, and economy. Nevertheless,

576-569: A member of the Kazakh people, derives from Russian : казах . The native name is Kazakh : қазақ , romanized :  qazaq . It might originate from the Turkic word verb qaz- , 'to wander', reflecting the Kazakhs' nomadic culture. The term Cossack is of the same origin. In Turko-Persian sources, the term Özbek-Qazaq first appeared during the mid-16th century, in the Tarikh-i-Rashidi by Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat ,

648-597: A republic within the Soviet Union. Following the August 1991 aborted coup attempt in Moscow, Kazakhstan declared independence on 16 December 1991, thus becoming the last Soviet republic to declare independence. Ten days later, the Soviet Union itself ceased to exist . Kazakhstan's communist-era leader, Nursultan Nazarbayev , became the country's first President. Nazarbayev ruled in an authoritarian manner. An emphasis

720-701: A series of clashes and in brutal massacres committed by both sides. Both sides resisted the communist government until late 1919. Following the collapse of central government in Petrograd in November 1917, the Kazakhs (then in Russia officially referred to as "Kirghiz") experienced a brief period of autonomy (the Alash Autonomy ) before eventually succumbing to the Bolsheviks ' rule. On 26 August 1920,

792-1028: Is Azerbaijan ). With an area of 2,700,000 square kilometres (1,000,000 sq mi) – equivalent in size to Western Europe – Kazakhstan is the ninth-largest country and largest landlocked country in the world. While it was part of the Russian Empire , Kazakhstan lost some of its territory to China's Xinjiang province, and some to Uzbekistan's Karakalpakstan autonomous republic during Soviet years. It shares borders of 6,846 kilometres (4,254 mi) with Russia, 2,203 kilometres (1,369 mi) with Uzbekistan , 1,533 kilometres (953 mi) with China, 1,051 kilometres (653 mi) with Kyrgyzstan , and 379 kilometres (235 mi) with Turkmenistan . Major cities include Astana , Almaty , Qarağandy , Şymkent , Atyrau , and Öskemen . It lies between latitudes 40° and 56° N , and longitudes 46° and 88° E . While located primarily in Asia,

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864-535: Is 17.19% Christian . Other figures suggest that 24% of the population is Orthodox. The Christian population is mostly Russian origin and is concentrated in the north and north-east of the country. In 2022, the government considered the Russian Orthodox Church as one of the country's traditional religions. Kazakhstan celebrates Orthodox Christmas as a national holiday. As in the rest of Central Asia , in ancient times there were communities of

936-533: Is 80 kilometres (50 mi) long, cutting through a red sandstone plateau and stretching along the Charyn River gorge in northern Tian Shan ("Heavenly Mountains", 200 km (124 mi) east of Almaty) at 43°21′1.16″N 79°4′49.28″E  /  43.3503222°N 79.0803556°E  / 43.3503222; 79.0803556 . The steep canyon slopes, columns and arches rise to heights of between 150 and 300 metres (490 and 980 feet). The inaccessibility of

1008-576: Is also home to the Mynzhylky mountain plateau . Kazakhstan has an abundant supply of accessible mineral and fossil fuel resources. Development of petroleum, natural gas, and mineral extractions has attracted most of the over $ 40 billion in foreign investment in Kazakhstan since 1993 and accounts for some 57 percent of the nation's industrial output (or approximately 13 percent of gross domestic product). According to some estimates, Kazakhstan has

1080-740: The Church of the East in what today is Kazakhstan. These communities were long extinct by the time the modern history of Orthodoxy started in Kazakhstan with the expansion of the Russian Empire into the region. In the 1871 the Russian Orthodox Holy Synod founded the Eparchy of Turkestan to care for all Orthodox Christians in Russian Central Asia, but this was later divided into smaller dioceses. In June 1945

1152-642: The Golden Horde in the 15th century, the Kazakh Khanate was established over an area roughly corresponding with modern Kazakhstan. By the 18th century, the Kazakh Khanate had fragmented into three jüz (tribal divisions), which were gradually absorbed and conquered by the Russian Empire ; by the mid-19th century, all of Kazakhstan was nominally under Russian rule. Following the 1917 Russian Revolution and subsequent Russian Civil War ,

1224-850: The Kirghiz Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic within the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) was established. The Kirghiz ASSR included the territory of present-day Kazakhstan, but its administrative centre was the mainly Russian-populated town of Orenburg . In June 1925, the Kirghiz ASSR was renamed the Kazak ASSR and its administrative centre was transferred to the town of Kyzylorda , and in April 1927 to Alma-Ata . Soviet repression of

1296-631: The Oirats , a federation of western Mongol tribes, including the Dzungar . The beginning of the 18th century marked the zenith of the Kazakh Khanate. During this period the Little Horde participated in the 1723–1730 war against the Dzungar Khanate , following their "Great Disaster" invasion of Kazakh territory. Under the leadership of Abul Khair Khan , the Kazakhs won major victories over

1368-614: The Paleolithic era. The Botai culture (3700–3100 BC) is credited with the first domestication of horses. The Botai population derived most of their ancestry from a deeply European-related population known as Ancient North Eurasians , while also displaying some Ancient East Asian admixture. Pastoralism developed during the Neolithic . The population was Caucasoid during the Bronze and Iron Age period. The Kazakh territory

1440-604: The Paleolithic era . In antiquity, various nomadic Iranian peoples such as the Saka , Massagetae , and Scythians dominated the territory, with the Achaemenid Persian Empire expanding towards the southern region. Turkic nomads entered the region from as early as the sixth century. In the 13th century, the area was subjugated by the Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan . Following the disintegration of

1512-684: The Russian Orthodox Church . Although not autonomous or fully self-governing like the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarchate , the Church in Kazakhstan has been given some self-government, with jurisdiction over all Orthodox Christians in Kazakhstan . Most of its members are ethnic Russians , Ukrainians , Koreans, and Belarusians resident in Kazakhstan. The 2021 census noted that Kazakhstan

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1584-555: The Russian conquest of Central Asia , multiple suggestions were put forward for the construction of a transcaspian canal. Those who supported the project had Orientalist views and believed it would return "the [Khivan] oasis to cultured life". Among the initial proposals was one presented by Aleksandr Glukhovskoi in 1868. He argued that such a canal would allow ships sailing down the Volga to reach Tashkent via Bukhara . His proposal

1656-691: The Saka and Massagetae . Other groups included the nomadic Scythians and the Persian Achaemenid Empire in the southern territory of the modern country. The Andronovo and Srubnaya cultures , precursors to the peoples of the Scythian cultures , were found to harbor mixed ancestry from the Yamnaya Steppe herders and peoples of the Central European Middle Neolithic. In 329 BC, Alexander

1728-634: The Silk Road connecting Asia and Europe, true political consolidation began only with the Mongol rule of the early 13th century. Under the Mongol Empire , the first strictly structured administrative districts (Ulus) were established. After the division of the Mongol Empire in 1259, the land that would become modern-day Kazakhstan was ruled by the Golden Horde , also known as the Ulus of Jochi. During

1800-577: The Virgin Lands Campaign designed to turn the traditional pasturelands of Kazakhstan into a major grain-producing region for the Soviet Union. The Virgin Lands policy brought mixed results. However, along with later modernisations under Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev (in power 1964–1982), it accelerated the development of the agricultural sector, which remains the source of livelihood for a large percentage of Kazakhstan's population. Because of

1872-545: The Western Turkic Khaganate were independent. The Western Khaganate reached its peak in the early 7th century. The Cumans entered the steppes of modern-day Kazakhstan around the early 11th century, where they later joined with the Kipchak and established the vast Cuman-Kipchak confederation. While ancient cities Taraz (Aulie-Ata) and Hazrat-e Turkestan had long served as important way-stations along

1944-686: The 1930s and 1940s, such as approximately 400,000 Volga Germans deported from the Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in September–October 1941, and then later the Greeks and Crimean Tatars . Deportees and prisoners were interned in some of the biggest Soviet labour camps (the Gulag), including ALZhIR camp outside Astana, which was reserved for the wives of men considered "enemies of

2016-449: The 2022 report. On 19 March 2019, Nazarbayev announced his resignation from the presidency. Kazakhstan's senate speaker Kassym-Jomart Tokayev won the 2019 presidential election that was held on 9 June. His first official act was to rename the capital after his predecessor. In January 2022, the country plunged into political unrest following a spike in fuel prices. In consequence, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev took over as head of

2088-720: The Dzungar at the Bulanty River in 1726 and at the Battle of Añyraqai in 1729. Ablai Khan participated in the most significant battles against the Dzungar from the 1720s to the 1750s, for which he was declared a " batyr " ("hero") by the people. The Kazakhs suffered from the frequent raids against them by the Volga Kalmyks . The Kokand Khanate used the weakness of Kazakh jüzs after Dzungar and Kalmyk raids and conquered present Southeastern Kazakhstan, including Almaty ,

2160-645: The Golden Horde period, a Turco-Mongol tradition emerged among the ruling elite wherein Turkicised descendants of Genghis Khan followed Islam and continued to reign over the lands. In 1465, the Kazakh Khanate emerged as a result of the dissolution of the Golden Horde . Established by Janibek Khan and Kerei Khan , it continued to be ruled by the Turco-Mongol clan of Tore ( Jochid dynasty). Throughout this period, traditional nomadic life and

2232-658: The Great and his Macedonian army fought in the Battle of Jaxartes against the Scythians along the Jaxartes River, now known as the Syr Darya along the southern border of modern Kazakhstan. The main migration of Turkic peoples occurred between the 5th and 11th centuries when they spread across most of Central Asia. The Turkic peoples slowly replaced and assimilated the previous Iranian -speaking locals, turning

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2304-679: The Karatau basin with 650 million tonnes of P 2 O 5 and the Chilisai deposit of the Aqtobe phosphorite basin located in northwestern Kazakhstan, with resources of 500–800   million tonnes of 9 percent ore. On 17 October 2013, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) accepted Kazakhstan as "EITI Compliant", meaning that the country has a basic and functional process to ensure

2376-603: The Orthodox Church in Kazakhstan has its own statute approved by the Russian Orthodox Holy Synod and is responsible for coordinating the educational programs, publishing work, social outreach, and missionary efforts of Orthodoxy in Kazakhstan. The Orthodox Church in Kazakhstan is currently cared for by 9 eparchies or dioceses . They are: With the exception of the Eparchy of Astana and Almaty

2448-689: The Russian Orthodox Church created the Eparchy of Almaty and Kazakhstan to care for Orthodox Christians in Kazakhstan. The decades following this saw the Soviet Union and political control of all religious groups. Following the collapse of the USSR in 1991, the Russian Orthodox Church in Kazakhstan was reorganized into three eparchies - of Almaty and Semey , Shymkent and Akmola , and Oral and Guryevskiy. In 2003 these three eparchies were united as an ecclesiastical province , with

2520-410: The Russian language in all schools and governmental organisations. Russia's efforts to impose its system aroused the resentment of the Kazakhs, and, by the 1860s, some Kazakhs resisted its rule. Russia had disrupted the traditional nomadic lifestyle and livestock-based economy, and people were suffering from starvation, with some Kazakh tribes being decimated. The Kazakh national movement, which began in

2592-438: The Soviet Union. Elections to the Majilis in September 2004, yielded a lower house dominated by the pro-government Otan Party , headed by President Nazarbayev. Two other parties considered sympathetic to the president, including the agrarian-industrial bloc AIST and the Asar Party , founded by President Nazarbayev's daughter, won most of the remaining seats. The opposition parties which were officially registered and competed in

2664-409: The authorities in Moscow boasted of these 'fantastic projects,' but now apparently they need scapegoats to mollify the native population." Historian Maya K. Peterson similarly argued that the trial was aimed to "distract from Soviet failings and find scapegoats". Kazakhstan Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan , is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia , with

2736-406: The cabinet. Eastern Orthodoxy in Kazakhstan Autocephaly recognized by some autocephalous Churches de jure : Autocephaly and canonicity recognized by Constantinople and 3 other autocephalous Churches: Spiritual independence recognized by Georgian Orthodox Church: Semi-Autonomous: The Eastern Orthodox Church in Kazakhstan is a metropolitan district or metropolia of

2808-446: The canyon provided a safe haven for a rare ash tree , Fraxinus sogdiana , which survived the Ice Age there and has now also grown in some other areas. Bigach crater , at 48°30′N 82°00′E  /  48.500°N 82.000°E  / 48.500; 82.000 , is a Pliocene or Miocene asteroid impact crater , 8 km (5 mi) in diameter and estimated to be 5±3 million years old. Kazakhstan's Almaty region

2880-417: The country and is the world's largest dry steppe region. The steppe is characterised by large areas of grasslands and sandy regions. Major seas, lakes and rivers include Lake Balkhash , Lake Zaysan , the Charyn River and gorge , the Ili , Irtysh , Ishim , Ural and Syr Darya rivers, and the Aral Sea until it largely dried up in one of the world's worst environmental disasters. The Charyn Canyon

2952-474: The country since independence. Kazakhstan is a member state of the United Nations , World Trade Organization , Commonwealth of Independent States , Shanghai Cooperation Organisation , Eurasian Economic Union , Collective Security Treaty Organization , Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe , Organization of Islamic Cooperation , Organization of Turkic States , and International Organization of Turkic Culture . The English word Kazakh , meaning

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3024-413: The country, situated in Atyrau , Pavlodar , and Şymkent . These are not capable of processing the total crude output, so much of it is exported to Russia. According to the US Energy Information Administration , Kazakhstan was producing approximately 1,540,000 barrels (245,000 m ) of oil per day in 2009. Kazakhstan also possesses large deposits of phosphorite . Two of the largest deposits include

3096-467: The decades of privation, war and resettlement, by 1959 the Kazakhs had become a minority, making up 30 percent of the population. Ethnic Russians accounted for 43 percent. In 1947, the USSR, as part of its atomic bomb project , founded an atomic bomb test site near the north-eastern town of Semipalatinsk , where the first Soviet nuclear bomb test was conducted in 1949. Hundreds of nuclear tests were conducted until 1989 with adverse consequences for

3168-415: The deposits on the Caspian shore are only a small part of a much larger deposit. It is said that 3.5 billion tonnes (3.4 billion long tons) of oil and 2.5 billion cubic metres (88 billion cubic feet) of gas could be found in that area. Overall the estimate of Kazakhstan's oil deposits is 6.1 billion tonnes (6.0 billion long tons). However, there are only three refineries within

3240-404: The elections won a single seat. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe was monitoring the election, which it said fell short of international standards. In March 2011, Nazarbayev outlined the progress made toward democracy by Kazakhstan. As of 2010 , Kazakhstan was reported on the Democracy Index by The Economist as an authoritarian regime , which was still the case as of

3312-478: The eparchies are all contiguous territorially. The Eparchy of Astana and Almaty, however, covers two separate areas centered on the former and current capital cities of Kazakhstan. The Local Synod of the Orthodox Church in Kazakhstan consists of the nine diocesan bishops serving in the country as well as their vicar or auxiliary bishops . The Local Synod has competency over matters concerning Orthodoxy in Kazakhstan, but must have many of its decisions - such as

3384-485: The formal capital in the first quarter of the 19th century. The Emirate of Bukhara ruled Şymkent before the Russians gained dominance. In the first half of the 18th century, the Russian Empire constructed the Irtysh line  [ ru ] , a series of forty-six forts and ninety-six redoubts, including Omsk (1716), Semipalatinsk (1718), Pavlodar (1720), Orenburg (1743) and Petropavlovsk (1752), to prevent Kazakh and Oirat raids into Russian territory. In

3456-430: The largest landlocked country. It has a population of 20 million and one of the lowest population densities in the world, at fewer than 6 people per square kilometre (16 people/sq mi). Ethnic Kazakhs constitute a majority, while ethnic Russians form a significant minority. Officially secular, Kazakhstan is a Muslim-majority country with a sizeable Christian community . Kazakhstan has been inhabited since

3528-421: The late 18th century the Kazakhs took advantage of Pugachev's Rebellion , which was centred on the Volga area, to raid Russian and Volga German settlements. In the 19th century, the Russian Empire began to expand its influence into Central Asia. The " Great Game " period is generally regarded as running from approximately 1813 to the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 . The tsars effectively ruled over most of

3600-450: The late 19th century, sought to preserve the native language and identity by resisting the attempts of the Russian Empire to assimilate and stifle Kazakh culture. From the 1890s onward, ever-larger numbers of settlers from the Russian Empire began colonizing the territory of present-day Kazakhstan, in particular, the province of Semirechye . The number of settlers rose still further once the Trans-Aral Railway from Orenburg to Tashkent

3672-419: The nation's environment and population. The Anti-nuclear movement in Kazakhstan became a major political force in the late 1980s. In April 1961, Baikonur became the springboard of Vostok 1 , a spacecraft with Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin being the first human to enter space. In December 1986, mass demonstrations by young ethnic Kazakhs, later called the Jeltoqsan riot, took place in Almaty to protest

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3744-466: The people". Many moved due to the policy of population transfer in the Soviet Union and others were forced into involuntary settlements in the Soviet Union . The Soviet-German War (1941–1945) led to an increase in industrialisation and mineral extraction in support of the war effort. At the time of Joseph Stalin 's death in 1953, however, Kazakhstan still had an overwhelmingly agricultural economy. In 1953, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev initiated

3816-415: The population into the Great, Middle and Little (or Small) hordes ( jüz ). Political disunion, tribal rivalries, and the diminishing importance of overland trade routes between east and west weakened the Kazakh Khanate. The Khiva Khanate used this opportunity and annexed the Mangyshlak Peninsula . Uzbek rule there lasted two centuries until the Russian arrival. During the 17th century, the Kazakhs fought

3888-415: The population of Central Asia from largely Iranian , into primarily of East Asian descent. The first Turkic Khaganate was founded by Bumin in 552 on the Mongolian Plateau and quickly spread west toward the Caspian Sea. The Göktürks drove before them various peoples: Xionites , Uar , Oghurs and others. These seem to have merged into the Avars and Bulgars . Within 35 years, the eastern half and

3960-418: The powerful Security Council, removing his predecessor Nursultan Nazarbayev from the post. In September 2022, the name of the country's capital was changed back to Astana from Nur-Sultan. As it extends across both sides of the Ural River , considered the dividing line separating Europe and Asia, Kazakhstan is one of only two landlocked countries in the world that has territory in two continents (the other

4032-429: The region was the focus of ever-increasing disputes between the native Kazakh emirs and the neighbouring Persian-speaking peoples to the south. At its height, the Khanate would rule parts of Central Asia and control Cumania . The Kazakh Khanate's territories would expand deep into Central Asia. By the early 17th century, the Kazakh Khanate was struggling with the impact of tribal rivalries, which had effectively divided

4104-432: The region's GDP , primarily through its oil and gas industry ; it also has vast mineral resources. Kazakhstan also has the highest Human Development Index ranking in the region. It is a unitary constitutional republic; however, its government is authoritarian . Nevertheless, there have been incremental efforts at democratization and political reform since the resignation of Nursultan Nazarbayev in 2019, who had led

4176-430: The region. He predicted cotton would become the "fulcrum of life in Transcaspia". By the late 1920s, a media campaign was launched to ridicule large water diversion projects in Central Asia. In February and March 1928, 23 hydraulic engineers and water managers working in Central Asia, including those who had proposed a transcaspian canal, were tried in Tashkent. At the time the London Times reported that "Until recently

4248-998: The regular disclosure of natural resource revenues. Kazakhstan has an "extreme" continental and cold steppe climate , and sits solidly inside the Eurasian steppe , featuring the Kazakh steppe , with hot summers and very cold winters. Indeed, Astana is the second coldest capital city in the world after Ulaanbaatar . Precipitation varies between arid and semi-arid conditions, the winter being particularly dry. There are ten nature reserves and ten national parks in Kazakhstan that provide safe haven for many rare and endangered plants and animals. In total there are twenty five areas of conservancy . Common plants are Astragalus , Gagea , Allium , Carex and Oxytropis ; endangered plant species include native wild apple ( Malus sieversii ), wild grape ( Vitis vinifera ) and several wild tulip species (e.g., Tulipa greigii ) and rare onion species Allium karataviense , also Iris willmottiana and Tulipa kaufmanniana . Kazakhstan had

4320-507: The replacement of the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Kazakh SSR Dinmukhamed Konayev with Gennady Kolbin from the Russian SFSR . Governmental troops suppressed the unrest, several people were killed, and many demonstrators were jailed. In the waning days of Soviet rule, discontent continued to grow and found expression under Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev 's policy of glasnost ("openness"). On 25 October 1990, Kazakhstan declared its sovereignty on its territory as

4392-532: The seat of the Almaty Eparchy being transferred to Astana (formerly Akmola) following its designation as the capital of Kazakhstan. In October 2010 three more eparchies - of Karaganda , Kostanay , and Pavlodar - were created in Kazakhstan and the Archbishop of Astana and Almaty was elevated to the rank of metropolitan archbishop with the title 'Metropolitan of Astana and Kazakhstan.' In 2011 three more eparchies - of Kokshetau , Petropavl , and Oskemen - were founded. Although not autonomous or self-governing,

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4464-577: The second largest uranium , chromium , lead, and zinc reserves; the third largest manganese reserves; the fifth largest copper reserves; and ranks in the top ten for coal, iron, and gold. It is also an exporter of diamonds. Perhaps most significant for economic development, Kazakhstan also has the 11th largest proven reserves of both petroleum and natural gas. One such location is the Tokarevskoye gas condensate field . In total, there are 160 deposits with over 2.7 billion tonnes (2.7 billion long tons) of petroleum. Oil explorations have shown that

4536-527: The steppes after nearly 200 years. Officially, Kazakhstan is a democratic, secular, constitutional unitary republic ; Nursultan Nazarbayev led the country from 1991 to 2019. He was succeeded by Kassym-Jomart Tokayev . The president may veto legislation that has been passed by the parliament and is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces . The prime minister chairs the cabinet of ministers and serves as Kazakhstan's head of government. There are three deputy prime ministers and sixteen ministers in

4608-452: The territory belonging to what is now the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Russian Empire introduced a system of administration and built military garrisons and barracks in its effort to establish a presence in Central Asia in the so-called "Great Game" for dominance in the area against the British Empire , which was extending its influence from the south in India and Southeast Asia. Russia built its first outpost, Orsk , in 1735. Russia introduced

4680-406: The territory was reorganized several times. In 1936, its modern borders were established with the formation of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic within the Soviet Union . Kazakhstan was the last constituent republic of the Soviet Union to declare independence in 1991 during its dissolution . Kazakhstan dominates Central Asia both economically and politically , accounting for 60 percent of

4752-503: The traditional elite, along with forced collectivisation in the late 1920s and 1930s, brought famine and high fatalities, leading to unrest (see also: Famine in Kazakhstan of 1932–33 ). During the 1930s, some members of the Kazakh intelligentsia were executed – as part of the policies of political reprisals pursued by the Soviet government in Moscow. On 5 December 1936, the Kazakh Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (whose territory by then corresponded to that of modern Kazakhstan)

4824-421: Was a key constituent of the Eurasian trading Steppe Route , the ancestor of the terrestrial Silk Roads . Archaeologists believe that humans first domesticated the horse in the region's vast steppes. During recent prehistoric times, Central Asia was inhabited by groups such as the possibly Indo-European Afanasievo culture , later early Indo-Iranian cultures such as Andronovo , and later Indo-Iranians such as

4896-432: Was backed by the Ministry of Transport of the Russian empire. Many of Glukhovskoi's original reports and proposals were lost during the Russian Civil War and a 1924 flood. In June 1925, the Water Section of the State Planning Committee discussed the project. Among the plans considered was one made by Gluvoskoi in 1893. After the October Revolution , Georgii Rizenkampf ( German : Georgi Riesenkampff ) proposed to build

4968-407: Was completed in 1906. A specially created Migration Department (Переселенческое Управление) in St. Petersburg oversaw and encouraged the migration to expand Russian influence in the area. During the 19th century, about 400,000 Russians immigrated to Kazakhstan, and about one million Slavs, Germans, Jews, and others immigrated to the region during the first third of the 20th century. Vasile Balabanov

5040-432: Was detached from the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) and made the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic , a full union republic of the USSR, one of eleven such republics at the time, along with the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic . The republic was one of the destinations for exiled and convicted persons, as well as for mass resettlements, or deportations affected by the central USSR authorities during

5112-409: Was placed on converting the country's economy to a market economy while political reforms lagged behind economic advances. By 2006, Kazakhstan was generating 60 percent of the GDP of Central Asia, primarily through its oil industry. In 1997, the government moved the capital to Astana , renamed Nur-Sultan on 23 March 2019, from Almaty , Kazakhstan's largest city, where it had been established under

5184-495: Was the administrator responsible for the resettlement during much of this time. The competition for land and water that ensued between the Kazakhs and the newcomers caused great resentment against colonial rule during the final years of the Russian Empire . The most serious uprising, the Central Asian revolt , occurred in 1916. The Kazakhs attacked Russian and Cossack settlers and military garrisons. The revolt resulted in

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