tourism city

Ust-Kamenogorsk

Kazakhstan · Asia

Score

134

Difficulty

1.00

Lit count

Verified count

Loading map…

Top travelers for this city

No verified travelers yet. Be the first to light Ust-Kamenogorsk.

Scarcity

0 travelers have lit this city.

0 are strongly verified.

Selected city attractions

No selected P0 attractions are linked to this city yet. Admins can correct city links after import.

Capital of East Kazakhstan Region, Kazakhstan

About Oskemen

Öskemen or Ust-Kamenogorsk is the largest city in eastern Kazakhstan and the administrative center of the East Kazakhstan Region.

Name

The city has two official names. In the Kazakh language, its name is Oskemen (Өскемен). In Russian, it is known as Ust-Kamenogorsk (Усть-Каменогорск), derived from the words "mouth" (usta), "stone" (kamen), and "mountain" (gorsk). The word Oskemen is the Kazakh-language version of the Russian name. Both names appear on the seal of the city.

History

The city was founded in 1720 at the confluence of the Irtysh and Ulba rivers as a fort and trading post named Ust-Kamennaya. It was established according to the order of the Russian Emperor Peter the Great, who sent a military expedition headed by major Ivan Mihailovich Likharev in search of Yarkenda gold. Likharev's expedition traveled up the Irtysh River toward Zaysan Lake. The Ust-Kamennaya Fortress was laid at the junction of the Ulba and the Irtysh rivers. The fortress appeared on the map of the Russian Empire on the very southern end of the Irtysh line. In 1868, the city became the capital of the Semipalatinsk Oblast. It was the site of former USSR premier Georgy Malenkov's 30-year exile, during which he managed a local hydroelectric plant. …

Climate

Oskemen has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb). The coldest months are November through March. Record low temperatures range from −49 °C in January to 4 °C in July, and record highs range from 8 °C in January to 43 °C in July.

Culture

The city has several movie theaters and museums. It also houses the Zhambyl regional drama theater, which features Russian and Kazakh troupes. Boris Alexandrov Sports Palace serves as home arena to the ice hockey club HC Torpedo (officially Kazzinc-Torpedo, commonly referred to as Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk). Torpedo's men's representative team plays in the Supreme Hockey League (VHL), of which it was a founding member, and the women's representative team plays in the Kazakh Women's Ice Hockey League. The men's farm team, Altay-Torpedo, competes in the Kazakhstan Hockey Championship and the men's under-20 team, Altay, plays in the Eastern Conference of the Junior Hockey League (MHL). Torpedo is the alma mater of NHL players Nik Antropov, Vitali Kolesnik, Evgeni Nabokov, Alexander Perezhogin, and Konstantin Pushkaryov. …

Content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA. Read the full article →

Economy

The post-war industrial history of the city is closely intertwined with the Soviet nuclear bomb project; as such, the city was kept closed to outsiders. During the Soviet era, the city developed into a major mining, metallurgical, and construction center. The processing of non-ferrous metals, such as uranium, beryllium, tantalum, copper, lead, silver and zinc, as well as the production of manufactured housing and ferroconcrete articles, continue to remain central to the city's economy. The number of enterprises in Oskemen is relatively high compared to the number of inhabitants. According to data from 2002, there are about 169 firms. Most of them are industrial firms, specializing in the mining and processing of raw materials, mostly heavy metals. Kazzinc is a major fully integrated zinc producer with considerable copper, precious metals and lead credits. …

Transport

The city has an international airport, Oskemen Airport, as well as a tram system with 4 lines and an intercity bus service. The intercity bus service is available at two bus stations. The most extensive network, with more than 35 lines, is at the railway station, which is located by the Sports Palace on Novoshkolnaya Street. From this station, buses not only serve cities within Kazakhstan, but also Russian cities such as Krasnoyarsk. The route network at the second station covers a smaller area with 17 lines.