Qyzylorda

Town and capital of Qyzylorda oblast (region), in southern Kazakhstan, on the lower Syr Darya River 350 km/217 mi east of the Aral Sea; population (1995) 150,000. Factories located here produce cellulose and paper, building materials, and footwear. Rice and other crops are grown under irrigation in the surrounding region.

Qyzylorda was founded in 1820 by the Kokand Khanate as the fortress of Aq-Meshit. It was renamed Perovsk after the Russians captured it in 1853. After the 1917 Revolution it regained its original name, which was altered to Kzyl-Orda in 1925. The city's name has been a transliteration from the Kazakh rather than the Russian since Kazakh independence.