Oral, Kazakhstan

Uralsk Уральск
Seal
Uralsk Location in Kazakhstan
Coordinates: 51°14′0″N 51°22′0″E / 51.233333°N 51.366667°E / 51.233333; 51.366667
Country	Kazakhstan
Province	West Kazakhstan Province
First Settled
Founded	1584
Incorporated (city)	1613
Government
- Akim (mayor)	Samigulla Khamzaevich Orasov
Area
- Total	700 km2 (270.3 sq mi)
Population (estimated)
- Total	350,000
- Density	300/km2 (777/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+5 (UTC+5)
Postal code	090000 - 090013
Area code(s)	+7 7112 [1]
Website	http://www.uralsk-akimat.kz/

Oral (Kazakh: Орал), Uralsk (Russian: Уральск) in Russian, formerly known as Yaitsk (Russian: Яицк, until 1775), is a city in northwestern Kazakhstan, at the confluence of the Ural and Chogan Rivers close to the Russian border. As it is located on the western side of the Ural river, it is considered geographically in Europe. It has a population of 350,000. It is the capital of the West Kazakhstan Province. Ethnic composition is dominated by Kazakhs (60%).

Oral is an agricultural and industrial center, and has been an important trade stop since its founding. Barge traffic has passed up and down the Ural River between the Caspian Sea and the Ural Mountains for centuries. Today it is one of the major entry points for rail traffic from Europe to Siberia, servicing the many new oil fields in the Caspian basin and the industrial cities of the southern Urals. It is served by Oral Ak Zhol Airport.

History

Oral, founded in 1613 by Cossacks, was originally named Yaitsk, after the Yaik river, the name of the Ural river at the time. Because the Yaik Cossacks (Ural Cossacks) sided with the insurrectionists during the rebellions of Stenka Razin and Pugachev, Empress Catherine II declared on January 15, 1775 that the Yaik river would henceforth be renamed the Ural River and Yaitsk would be known as Uralsk.

The city was captured by Pugachev, and its fortress besieged from December 30, 1773 to April 17, 1774. Czarist troops under Commander Mantsurov took the city after Golytsin had taken the city of Orenburg from the rebel forces.

Pushkin visited the city with his friend Vladimir Dahl in September 1833 while doing research for his book The History of Pugachev and his novel The Captain's Daughter.

The city was under siege imposed by Cossaks during the Russian Civil War. Mikhail Frunze, Vasily Chapaev and Georgy Zhukov participated in the defence. Uralsk was renamed Oral (it is never officially renamed to Oral. Oral is a Kazakh translation of Uralsk) after the independence of Kazakhstan in 1991.

Sport

FC Akzhayik are a Kazakhstani football club based in the P. Atoyan stadium in Oral.

Akzhayik also has a bandy section which is the best team in the country and plays in the 2nd highest division of Russia.^[2] The only international bandy championships in Kazakhstan so far was held in the city, WCS for boys U15. The city sent a team to the Spartakiade 2009 and finished 2nd.^[3]

• 

  Town hall

• 

  Pushkin Hotel

• 

  Uralsk Mosque

Sister cities

• Orenburg, Russia.
• Ploieşti, Romania.

References

1. ^ CODE OF ACCESS
2. ^ http://www.livetv.ru/en/matchstory/06728rhjjfjyiijbkjj/11/
3. ^ http://akghaik.ucoz.ru/photo/9-1-0-0-2

External links

• "Uralsk, Kazakhstan". NASA Earth Observatory. http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17093. Retrieved 2006-05-01. 
• Uralsk telephone directory

Coordinates: 51°14′N 51°22′E / 51.233°N 51.367°E / 51.233; 51.367