|
Baikonur| Officially known as Tyuratam until the mid-1990s, the town has been known by several names, including Zarya, Leninsk, and Zvezdograd, to add to the confusion of the location of the Baikonur Cosmodrome. However, it was renamed Baikonur by Russian president Boris Yeltsin in 1996, ending decades of confusion. |
Baikonur| Former mining town situated in central Kazakhstan, 250 km/155 mi northwest of Qyzylorda. Although situated 322 km/200 mi to the northeast, the town gave its name to the Baikonur Cosmodrome, the launch site of all Soviet and Russian manned space missions since the flight from here of the first human in space. The Soviets so named the cosmodrome in order to confuse the West of its true location. |
| Baikonur used to have lignite (brown coal) workings, but these have long been exhausted. |
How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
?Sign in  |
|---|
|
|
|