Kazakhstan (/ˌkɑːzəkˈstɑːn/ or /ˌkæzəkˈstæn/; Kazakh: Қазақстан Qazaqstan, pronounced [qɑzɑqˈstɑn]; Russian: Казахстан [kəzɐxˈstan]), officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a country in Central Asia, with its smaller part west of the Ural River i…
Astana (/əsˈtɑːnə/, US /æsˈtɑːnə/; Kazakh: Астана [astaˈna]) is the capital of Kazakhstan. It is located on the Ishim River in the north portion of Kazakhstan, within Akmola Region, though administrated separately from the region as the city with sp…
Baikonur Cosmodrome (Russian: Космодро́м «Байкону́р» Kosmodrom Baykonur; Kazakh: Байқоңыр ғарыш айлағы Bayqoñır ğarïş aylağı) is the world's first and largest operational space launch facility. It is located in the desert steppe of Kazakhstan, about…
Vostok 1 (Russian: Восто́к-1, East 1 or Orient 1) was the first spaceflight of the Vostok programme and the first human spaceflight in history.
Soyuz 11 (Russian: Союз 11, Union 11) was the only manned mission to board the world's first space station, Salyut 1 (Soyuz 10 had soft-docked but had not been able to enter due to latching issues). The mission arrived at the space station on 7 June…
The Ural (Russian: Урал, pronounced [ʊˈrɑl]) or Jayıq/Zhayyq (Bashkir: Яйыҡ pronounced [jɑˈjɯ̞q ], Kazakh: Жайық, pronounced [ʒɑjə́q]), known as Yaik (Russian: Яик) before 1775, is a river flowing through Russia and Kazakhstan. It originates in the …
The Semipalatinsk Test Site (STS or Semipalatinsk-21), also known as "The Polygon", was the primary testing venue for the Soviet Union's nuclear weapons. It is located on the steppe in northeast Kazakhstan (then the Kazakh SSR), south of the valley …
Soyuz 28 (Russian: Союз 28, Union 28) was a 1978 Soviet manned mission to the orbiting Salyut 6 space station.
The RDS-1 (Russian: РДС-1), also known as Izdeliye 501 (device 501) and First Lightning (Первая молния, Pervaya molniya), was used in the Soviet Union's first nuclear weapon test. The United States assigned it the code-name Joe-1, in reference to Jo…
The Syr Darya /ˌsɪrˈdɑrjə/ (Kazakh: Сырдария; Russian: Сырдарья́, tr. Syrdar'ya; IPA: [sɨrdɐˈrʲja]; Persian: سيردريا; Tajik: Сирдарё; Turkish: Seyhun, Siri Derya; Arabic: سيحون: Seyhun; Uzbek: Sirdaryo) is a river in Central Asia.
Almaty International Airport (Kazakh: Xalıqaralıq Almatı Äwejayı/Халықаралық Алматы Әуежайы, Russian: Международный Аэропорт Алматы) (IATA: ALA, ICAO: UAAA) is the largest international airport in Kazakhstan. It is located about 15 km (9.3 mi) north…
Lake Balkhash (Kazakh: Балқаш Көлі, Balqaş köli; Russian: Озеро Балхаш, Ozero Balkhash) is one of the largest lakes in Asia and 13th largest continental lake in the world. It is located in southeastern Kazakhstan, in Central Asia, and belongs to an …
Atyrau (Kazakh: Атырау (Atıraw), pronounced [ɑtərɑ́w]; Russian: Атырау [ɐtɨˈraʊ]), known as Guryev (Russian: Гурьев [ˈɡurʲjɪf]) until 1991, is a city in Kazakhstan, and the capital of Atyrau Province.
The Nedelin catastrophe or Nedelin disaster was a launch pad accident that occurred on 24 October 1960 at Baikonur test range (of which Baikonur Cosmodrome is a part), during the development of the Soviet ICBM R-16. As a prototype of the missile was…
Lake Chagan (or Lake Balapan), Kazakhstan, is a lake created by the Chagan nuclear test fired on January 15, 1965, part of the Nuclear Explosions for the National Economy. Its water comes from the Chagan River. Often referenced as "Atomic Lake," the…
Kazakhstan is located in Central Asia and Eastern Europe at (48°N 68°E). With an area of about 2,717,300 square kilometers, Kazakhstan is more than twice the combined size of the other four Central Asian states, or about twice the size of Alaska.
The GRES-2 Power Station (or Power Station Ekibastuz) is a coal-fueled power generating station in Ekibastuz, Kazakhstan. GRES-2, built in 1987, has installed capacity of 1,000 MWe and has the world's tallest flue gas stack at 419.7 metres (1,377 ft…
Aktobe (Kazakh: Ақтөбе) is a city on the Ilek River in Kazakhstan. It is the administrative center of Aktobe Region.
Chagan (Чага́н) was a Soviet underground nuclear test conducted at the Semipalatinsk Test Site on January 15, 1965.
Aralkum is a new desert that has appeared on the seabed once occupied by the Aral Sea.
Astana International Airport (Kazakh: Халықаралық Астана Әуежайы, Russian: Международный Аэропорт Астана) (IATA: TSE, ICAO: UACC) is an international airport in Kazakhstan located 16.7 km (10.4 mi) southeast of the capital Astana.
Gagarin's Start (Russian: Гагаринский старт, Gagarinskij start) is a launch site at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, used for the Soviet space program and now managed by the Russian Federal Space Agency.
The Voskhod programme (Russian: Восхо́д, IPA: [vɐsˈxot], Ascent or Dawn) was the second Soviet human spaceflight project.
Taraz (Kazakh: Тараз) is a city and the administrative center of Jambyl Region in Kazakhstan, located on the Talas (Taraz) River in the south of the country near the border with Kyrgyzstan. It had a population of 330,100 (1999 Census), up 9% from 19…
The Astana Arena (Kazakh: Астана Арена) is a football stadium in Astana, Kazakhstan. The stadium holds 30,000 and has a retractable roof. It serves as the national stadium for the Kazakhstan national football team. Astana Arena is the second largest…
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 t…
Oskemen (Kazakh: Өскемен/Öskemen) or Ust-Kamenogorsk (Russian: Усть-Каменого́рск) is the administrative center of the East Kazakhstan Province of Kazakhstan. It is served by Oskemen Airport.
Semey (Kazakh and Russian Семей / Semey), formerly known as Semipalatinsk (Russian: Семипала́тинск, until 2007) and Alash-kala (Kazakh: Алаш-қала / Alaş-qala, 1917–1920), is a city in Kazakhstan, in the northeastern province of East Kazakhstan, and …
Voskhod 1 (Russian: Восход-1, Восход is Russian for Sunrise) was the seventh manned Soviet space flight. It achieved a number of "firsts" in the history of manned spaceflight, being the first space flight to carry more than one crewman into orbit, t…
Pavlodar (Kazakh and Russian: Павлодар, Pavlodar) is a city in northeastern Kazakhstan and the capital of Pavlodar Region. It is located 450 km northeast of the national capital Astana, and 405 km southeast of the Russian city of Omsk along the Irty…
Khan Shatyr ("Royal Marquee") is a giant transparent tent in Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan.
The Ili River (Uyghur: ئىلى دەرياسى, ULY: Ili deryasi; Kazakh: Іле, İle; Russian: Или; Chinese: 伊犁河; pinyin: Yīlí Hé; Mongolian: Ил, literally "Bareness") is a river in northwestern China (Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture of the Xinjiang Uighur Aut…
The Mausoleum of Khawaja Ahmed Yasawi (Kazakh: Қожа Ахмет Яссауи кесенесі, Qoja Axmet Yassawï kesenesi) is an unfinished mausoleum in the city of Turkestan, in southern Kazakhstan. The structure was commissioned in 1389 by Timur, who ruled the area …
Turkistan (Kazakh: Түркістан), formerly known as Turkestan (Russian: Туркестан) - is a city in South Kazakhstan Region of Kazakhstan, near the Syr Darya river. It is situated 160 km (100 mi) north-west of Shymkent on the Trans-Aral Railway between K…
Kyzylorda (Kazakh: Қызылорда, Qızılorda), formerly known as Kzyl-Orda (Russian: Кзыл-Орда), Ak-Mechet (Russian: Ак-Мечеть), Perovsk (Russian: Перовск), and Fort-Perovsky (Russian: Форт-Перовский), is a city in Kazakhstan, capital of Kyzylorda Region…
Jezkazgan or Zhezkazgan (Kazakh: Жезқазған / Jezqazğan/ جەزقازعان), formerly known as Dzhezkazgan (Russian: Джезказган, until 1992), is a city in Karaganda Region, Kazakhstan, on a reservoir of the Kara-Kengir River. Population: 86,227 (2009 Census …