City in West Kazakhstan Region, Kazakhstan
About Oral, Kazakhstan
Oral, also known as Uralsk, is a city in northwestern Kazakhstan, at the confluence of the Ural and Chagan rivers close to the Russian border. As it is located on the western bank of the Ural river, Uralsk is considered geographically in Europe. It is the capital of the West Kazakhstan Region.
History
Oral was founded in 1613 by Cossacks, and was originally named Yaitsk, after the Yaik river, the name of the Ural river at the time. In 1773 there occurred the first Cossack rebellion against the local Russian commander General Traubenberg, led by Yemelyan Pugachev. Traubenberg was murdered along with several other officers. The city was captured by Pugachev, and its fortress besieged from 30 December 1773 to 17 April 1774. Tsarist troops under Commander Mantsurov re took the city after Golytsin had taken the city of Orenburg from the rebel forces. As a punishment for the Yaik Cossacks siding with the insurrectionists, Empress Catherine II declared on 15 January 1775 that the Yaik river would henceforth be renamed the Ural River and Yaitsk would be known as Ural'sk. …
Geography
The climate of Oral (Uralsk) is humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification: Dfa, Trewartha Dcac) with long cold winters and warm, often hot summers. Summers are extremely hot considering its position north of the 51st parallel, but winters are more reminiscent of continental climates further east than Europe.
Transportation
The city is served by the Mänşük Mämetova Oral International Airport located 12 km (7 mi) southeast of Oral.
Demographics
The ethnic composition is majority Kazakh (71%), followed by the second-largest ethnic group Russians (25%). Population: 271,900 (2009 census results); 194,905 (1999 census results).
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