Astana
Commercial and industrial city in northern Kazakhstan, capital of Akmola oblast (region), and from 1998 the capital of Kazakhstan; population (2004) 510,500. Astana is situated on the River Ishim, 190 km/118 mi northwest of Qaraghandy, and stands at the centre of a major wheat-farming area of steppe. Agricultural machinery, textiles, and chemicals are produced here. Astana is also located at an important railway junction, and is the site of rolling-stock repair depots. The city replaced Almaty as the republic's capital in 1998.
Astana was founded as the fortress of Akmolinsk in 1824. It was renamed Tselinograd (‘Virgin Lands City’) in 1961, during the intensive programme of grain production established by Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev in northern Kazakhstan.
The city was favoured as the new capital because it is less susceptible to earthquakes and has a more central location than Almaty.
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