Air Astana (Эйр Астана) is a first airline and flag carrier of Republic of Kazakhstan, based in Almaty, Kazakhstan.^[1] It operates scheduled domestic and international services on 56 routes from its main hub, Almaty International Airport, and from its 2 secondary hubs, Astana International Airport and Atyrau Airport. It is a joint venture between Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna (51%), and BAE Systems PLC (49%). It was incorporated in October 2001 and started commercial flights on 15 May 2002.

History[link]

Air Astana was described by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation in January 2012 as having “performed better in its first decade than just about any other start-up carrier” (CAPA, Airline Analysis, 9 January 2012). Yet its origins represent one of the more intriguing and unlikely stories to have emerged from the airline industry in recent times. Originally conceived as a purely domestic airline, BAE Systems agreed in late 2000 to participate in the proposed start-up at the request of Kazakhstan’s head of state, President Nursultan Nazarbayev, in order to facilitate an air radar contract it was then negotiating with the Government of Kazakhstan. Sir Richard Evans, BAE Systems’ chairman at the time, was instrumental in and key to the deal. However, the radar contract never materialized, and subsequent senior management changes and strategic reviews at BAE Systems led to the closure of its offices in Kazakhstan. Additionally, notwithstanding the support of Nazarbayev and a number of close advisors, the start-up, initially seen as a foreign entity, was confronted with immediate and vocal opposition from many elements of Kazakhstan’s media and political establishment.

May 2002 – September 2005[link]

In spite of these gloomy auguries the airline took off on the charge. Under its first president, former British Airways executive Lloyd Paxton, it leased its first 3 Boeing 737s from International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC), followed by 4 Fokker 50s from Aircraft Finance Trading BV (AFT) and 3 Boeing 757s from Pegasus Leasing Corp. It declared a net profit in 2003, its first full year of operations, beginning a run of profitability unbroken since then (For 2010 it was listed in Airline Business as the 15th most profitable airline in the world in terms of net margin). Upon the bankruptcy of the previous flag carrier Air Kazakhstan in February 2004, it moved quickly to expand from its domestic network to key international routes to Dubai, Istanbul, Moscow and Beijing, followed by Frankfurt and London.

October 2005 – present[link]

Early growth pains and disagreements over fleet plans and hub strategy led to tensions between the shareholders and a management change in autumn 2005. Peter Foster, a former executive of Cathay Pacific Airways who had led the rehabilitation team at Philippine Airlines in 1999 before a spell as CEO at Royal Brunei Airlines, was appointed as the airline’s president on 1 October 2005. Long-term development plans and management structures were established that have remained largely unchanged since then.

Fleet[link]

The Boeing 737 fleet was progressively replaced by leased Airbus 320 family aircraft between 2006 and 2008, and its first wide-bodied aircraft, 2 Boeing 767-300ERs, were leased from ILFC in early 2007. 2 further Boeing 757s were leased from ILFC and MacQuarie Aviation Inc in 2008 and 2011. Its first purchase order, for 6 A319s, was placed in mid-2008 for delivery from late 2012. It introduced 3 leased Embraer 190 regional jets in 2011, 2 from Jetscape Inc and 1 from Aircraft Lease Corporation (ALC), and placed a firm order with Embraer in late 2011 for 2 purchases, in addition to a further leased aircraft from ALC, to be delivered in mid 2012. The Fokker 50 fleet, due for retirement in early 2012, has been partially retained to operate to the non jet-compliant airport at Uralsk, a key oil and gas mining city in northwestern Kazakhstan. In February 2012 the airline placed an order with Boeing for 4 B767-300ERs, for delivery from late 2013, and 3 B787-8s, for delivery from 2017, the largest single order of civil aircraft in the country’s history.

An Air Astana Boeing 757 taking off from Almaty International Airport, Kazakhstan. (2008)

An Air Astana Boeing 757-200 pushing back at Don Mueang Airport, Thailand. (2005)

An Air Astana Airbus A320 at Aktau Airport, Kazakhstan. (2008)

An Air Astana Airbus A320 at Atyrau Airport, Kazakhstan. (2011)

The Air Astana fleet consists of the following aircraft (at January March 2012):^[2]

Destinations[link]

Air Astana’s 56 destinations include most major cities in Kazakhstan and an increasing number of neighboring Central Asian and Russian cities. The latter is the result of a decision to implement what its managers refer to as a “surrogate-home market strategy”, to leverage its reputation for high standards of service and air safety compliance in the region’s growing air transport markets. Thus since 2009 it has launched services to Baku, Tashkent, Urumqi, Tbilisi, Dushanbe, Bishkek, Novosibirsk, Samara, Yekaterinburg, and Saint Petersburg, with Kazan and Ulan Bator planned for mid 2012. Its long haul growth has been towards south and east Asia, with flights to Delhi, Seoul (operated in code share with Asiana Airlines), Beijing, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, and planned flights to Hong Kong (2 July 2012) and Singapore (October 2012). It also flies to Abu Dhabi in code share with Etihad Airways (EY), and plans to fly from October 2012 to Amman, Jordan in code share with Royal Jordanian Airlines (RJ).

ICAO and the EU[link]

The airline’s international route development has been heavily influenced by regulatory factors beyond its control. In April 2009, an audit by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), found the Kazakhstan Civil Aviation Committee (CAC) to be non-compliant in key areas of regulatory oversight. This resulted in a blanket ban of all Kazakhstan-registered airlines from flying to, from or within the European Union by the EU’s Air Safety Committee (ASC). Air Astana was the sole exception, exempted from the ban on account of its unique (for its region) structure and regulatory framework, including its European EASA 145 aircraft engineering license, the registration of its aircraft with the Department of Civil Aviation of Aruba, a Netherlands dependent territory, and its IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) registration. However it was, and remains, included on the ASC’s Annex B, restricting its EU operations to the level of frequencies operated at the time of imposition of the ban in July 2009. Since then no follow-up ICAO audit of the CAC has taken place, resulting in subsequent meetings of the ASC electing to retain the status quo. Therefore the airline has been unable to add to its daily service to Frankfurt from Astana, its 6 weekly service to Amsterdam from Atyrau (operated in code share with KLM), and its twice weekly service to London from Almaty.

Service and Branding[link]

Air Astana operates a 2 class service, Business and Economy, on all aircraft other than its Fokker 50s, and has installed semi-flat “Sleeper Business Class” seats on its fleet of Boeing 757s and 767s. It offers hand-held personal entertainment systems (“KCTV”) in the business class of all flights longer than 3 hours. It offers hot meals and alcoholic beverages on all flights in both Business and Economy Class, other than those operated by its Fokker 50s. Its “Nomad” frequent flyer club consists of Gold, Silver and Standard membership tiers, and has a reciprocal agreement with Lufthansa’s “Miles & More” program. A new uniform for cabin and ground staff, designed by local Kazakh designers, will be introduced in May 2012 to coincide with the airline’s 10th anniversary.

Personnel[link]

At January 2012 Air Astana employed 3512 people, mostly in Kazakhstan, though it directly employs people at most of its overseas stations. It employs 320 pilots, about a third of whom are non-Kazakhstan nationals recruited principally in Europe. It operates a cadet pilot training program for Kazakhstan nationals at the Pilot Training College (PTC) on the campus of the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) in Melbourne, Florida. It operates an engineering training program at the Airline Technical Centre (ATC), Lasham, England, together with the University of Bristol. It plans to introduce a general management training program at Cranfield University, England, in mid 2012. It employs 900 mostly female cabin staff, all of whom are Kazakhstan nationals. Its management is a combination of Kazakhstan and foreign nationals, many of whom have been with the airline for the majority of its life, some of whom were present at the start of its operations in May 2002.

The Future[link]

In early 2011 the Government of Kazakhstan announced a program of “Peoples’ IPOs”, to list a portion of the shares of some of the country’s leading national companies through Initial Public Offerings on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE), in mid to late 2012. Air Astana was selected to be amongst the first to be listed on account of its consistent record of growth and profitability and because of its corporate governance standards (rated GAMMA 6 by Standard & Poor’s in 2011). As of February 2012 details remain to be defined, in particular changes to the shareholding structure, which has been in place since the birth of the airline, but which will have to change if a public listing is to take place.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Air Astana

• Official website

v t e Airlines of Kazakhstan Air Astana Almaty Aviation Asia Wings Berkut Air DETA Air Euro-Asia Air Irtysh Air Mega Aircompany SAPSAN SCAT Semeyavia Trans-Asia Zhetysu

Astana Астана
Bayterek
Flag Coat of arms
Astana Location in Kazakhstan
Coordinates: 51°10′0″N 71°26′0″E / 51.166667°N 71.433333°E / 51.166667; 71.433333
Country	Kazakhstan
Province
Founded	1998
Government
• Akim (mayor)	Imangali Tasmagambetov
Area
• Total	722 km2 (279 sq mi)
Elevation	347 m (1,138 ft)
Population (August 1, 2010)[1]
• Total	708,794
• Density	958/km2 (2,480/sq mi)
Time zone	BTT (UTC+6)
Postal code	010000–010015
Area code(s)	+7 7172[2]
ISO 3166-2	AST
License plate	Z
Website	http://www.astana.kz

Astana (Russian/Kazakh: Астана, formerly known as Akmola (Kazakh: Ақмола / Aqmola, until 1998), Целиноград / Tselinograd until 1992) and Akmolinsk (Russian: Акмолинск, until 1961), is the capital and second largest city (after Almaty) of Kazakhstan, with an officially estimated population of 708,794 as of 1 August 2010.^[1] It is located in the north-central portion of Kazakhstan, within Akmola Province, though administrated separately from the province as a federal city area.

The current mayor of Astana is Imangali Tasmagambetov. He was appointed on 4 April 2008.

Etymology[link]

The word Astana in Kazakh literally means Capital but the word itself originates from Persian Astane (Persian: آستانه‎ means "sublime threshold," "royal porte" implying a royal capital city or a holy shrine town, (from the Persian verb Istadan (آستان) 'to stand' (in respect)), and literally means "threshold" (royal or sacred, where people stand in respect or awe),^{[citation needed]} implying where the court is seated (the capital city) or the body of a sacred person is interred (a shrine town). The city of Turkistan in Kazakhstan that hosts the body of the saint Ahmad Yasavi is also called the "astana" as is the city of Mashhad in Iran that is the burial place of the 8th Shiite Imam Reza. In fact, long before becoming the new capital of Kazakhstan, the city was "an astana," a burial ground of a saint, hence the old name of the city, Ak Mola (Ақмола), "white mausoleum."

In June 2008, a parliamentary proposal was put forward to change the city's name to "Nursultan," in honor of President Nursultan Nazarbayev. The idea was rejected by Nazarbayev himself, who said the decision of renaming the city will be for future generations.^[3] Despite this,^[4] some commentators think that the generic name Astana was deliberately chosen so that it would be renamed in honour of Nazarbayev after his death.

History[link]

Russian and Soviet eras[link]

Imitation of Byzantine coin found in Astana, Central Asia, 6th century A.D.

A unit of Siberian cossacks from Omsk founded a huge fortress on the upper Ishim in 1824, which later became the town of "Akmolinsk". During the early 20th century, the town became a major railway junction, causing a major economic boom that lasted until the Russian Civil War.

In the Stalinist era, Kazakhstan hosted a series of Gulag-like labour camps; in total, 11 camps that housed up to hundreds of thousands of internees and their families. Outside Astana, there once stood the ALZHIR camp, a Russian acronym for the Akmolinskii Camp for Wives of Traitors of the Motherland, one of the most notorious in the Gulag archipelago, which was reserved for the spouses of those considered "enemies of the people" by the government under Joseph Stalin.^[5]

In 1961, it was renamed "Tselinograd" ("Virgin Lands City"^[6]) and made capital of the Soviet Virgin Lands Territory (Tselinny Krai). The city was at the centre of the Virgin Lands Campaign led by Nikita Khrushchev in the 1950s, in order to turn the state into a second grain producer for the Soviet Union. The high portion of Russian immigrants in this area, which later led to ethnic tension^{[citation needed]}, can be traced to the influx of agricultural workers at this time. Additionally, many Russian-Germans were resettled here after being deported under Joseph Stalin at the beginning of World War II, when Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union.

Radisson Hotel, Astana

Independent Kazakhstan[link]

After Kazakhstan gained its independence in 1991, the city and the region were renamed "Akmola", literally meaning "White Shrine".

In 1995, the city was designated as the future capital of the newly-independent country, and the capital was officially moved from Almaty on December 10, 1997.^[6] The new name, Astana, was bestowed in 1998.^[7]

Government officials cited several problems with keeping the capital in Almaty, such as the city's risk of seismic activity, insufficient room for expansion, and proximity to international borders.^[8] Additionally, parts of northern Kazakhstan are populated primarily by ethnic Russians, which raised fears of possible irredentist activity. Moving the capital to this area may have been an attempt to anchor it more closely with the rest of the country.^[8]

To some Kazakhs, the move remains controversial. Critics cite the city's isolated location in the center of the Kazakh steppe and the forbidding climate in winter.^[9] Financially, some resent the massive expenditure of public funds to build the new government complexes, as well as the continuing cost of airfare and hotel expenses for the many government workers who still live in Almaty.^[10]

Geography and climate[link]

Satellite view of Astana

Location[link]

Astana is located in central Kazakhstan on the Ishim River in a very flat, semi-arid steppe region which covers most of the country's territory. The elevation of Astana is at 347 metres (1,138 ft) above sea level. Astana is in a spacious steppe landscape, in the transitional area between the north of Kazakhstan and the extremely thinly settled national center, because of the river Ishim. The older boroughs lie north of the river, whilst the new boroughs are located south of the Ishim.

Climate[link]

Climatically, Astana is the second coldest capital in the world after Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, a position formerly held by Canada's capital, Ottawa, until Astana became the capital. Astana is also the coldest place ever recorded in the country of Kazakhstan. Temperatures of −35 °C (−31 °F) to −40 °C (−40 °F) are common in the early winter. The new city is also known to regularly freeze for around six months every year. Overall, Astana has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb),^[12] bordering on a semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSk), with exceptionally cold winters and warm summers.

The average annual temperature in Astana is 1.8 °C (35.2 °F). January is the coldest month with an average temperature of −17.3 °C (1 °F). July is the hottest month with an average temperature of 20.2 °C (68 °F).

Astana from space

Night Frost in Astana in January 2006

Population/Demographics[link]

New Parliament buildings

As of July 1, 2010, Astana has a population density of 958 people per square kilometre and a population of about 705,897,^[1][14] of which Kazakhs, Russians, Ukrainians, Tatars and Germans make up 65.2%, 23.8%, 2.9%, 1.7%, 1.5 % respectively. Other ethnic groups make up 4.9% of Astana's population^{[citation needed]}.

In 1999, Astana had a population of 281,000. The ethnic mix was about 30% Kazakh and 70% Russian, Ukrainian and German.^[15]

By 2007, Astana's population has more than doubled since the move, to over 600,000, and it is estimated to top 1 million by 2030. Migrant workers – legal and illegal – have been attracted from across Kazakhstan and neighboring states such as Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, and Astana is a magnet for young professionals seeking to build a career. This has changed the city's demographics, bringing more ethnic Kazakhs to a city that formerly had a Slav majority. Astana's ethnic Kazakh population has risen to some 60%, up from 17% in 1989.^[14]

Many^[who?] argue that a drive to attract ethnic Kazakhs northward was the key factor in shifting the capital, which was officially put down to lack of space for expansion in the former capital, Almaty, and its location in an earthquake zone.

According to preliminary figures, Astana had 700,000 inhabitants in late 2007.^[16] Kazakhstani official statistical service estimates city population 691,529 (1 March 2010^[17]). According to the 1999 Census, 40.5% of the population is Russian, 5.7% Ukrainian, 3.0% German, 2.6% Tatar, 1.8% Belorussian and 0.8% Polish. But at 41.8%, Kazakhs outnumbered Russians and were forming the largest ethnic group, while Ingush and Korean each accounted for 0.6%. Others, mostly Uzbeks, accounted for 3.8%.

Economy[link]

Saryarqa Street in 2009

Politics and government are the main economic activities in the capital, which also forms a Special Economic Zone. Since the move, Astana has seen one of the world's greatest building projects, as oil money has been spent on government buildings, a massive home for the president, a mosque, and numerous parks and monuments. The project is designed to make the town the centre of not only Kazakhstan, but all of Central Asia.

Cityscape[link]

Town planning[link]

Astana can be divided largely into a few different areas.

“Almaty” District[link]

District was created on May 6, 1998 by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Territory of “Almaty” District is 21,054 hectares (52 025 acres or 81.290 sq.miles). Population - 321.400 people. The district has five villages.

“Yesil” District[link]

District was created on Aug. 5, 2008 by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It occupies the territory of 31,179 hectares (77 045 acres or 120.382 sq.miles) Population - approx. 180,000 people.

“Saryarka” District[link]

District was created on May 6, 1998 by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan The territory of “Saryarka” district is 19,202 hectares (47 449 acres or 74.139 sq.miles). Population - 296,364 people.

Description[link]

North of the railway line, which crosses Astana in an east-west direction, are industrial and poorer residential areas. Between the railway line and the river Ishim is the city center, where at present intense building activity is occurring. To the west and east are more elevated residential areas with parks and the new area of government administration to the south of the Ishim. Here many large building projects are underway; for example, the construction of a diplomat quarter, and a variety of different government buildings. By 2030, these quarters are to be completed. The original plans for the new Astana were drawn up by the late Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa. Astana's current chief planner, Vladimir Laptev, wants to build a Berlin in a Eurasian style. He has stated that a purely administrative capital such as Canberra is not one of his goals.

Architecture[link]

The old buildings that remained from the Soviet era are now being removed and replaced with totally new structures resulting in significant construction work throughout the city. President Nazarbayev has paid particular attention to Astana's architecture; most of the recently completed structures had been accredited to internationally acclaimed architects and designers such as Kisho Kurokawa or Norman Foster.

2011 central Astana panorama: the domed building in the middle is the Ak Orda Presidential Palace. The wave-like building on the left is the Kazakhstan Central Concert Hall

Green water boulevard[link]

Green water boulevard seen from the president building

Green water boulevard (also called: Norzhol in Kazakh: "the shining Path") is the national Boulevard of Kazakhstan located in the Capital - "Astana". also construction of the pedestrian area in the new administrative and business center of Astana on the left bank of Ishim river.

Bayterek[link]

Bayterek

Bayterek is the most famous landmark in Astana. The legend behind this tower as a symbol is that it represents a poplar tree, where the magic bird Samuruk laid its egg. In the sphere on the top of Bayterek there is an imprint of president Nursultan Nazarbayev's hand.

In front of the Bayterek Tower in summer 2010, the largest open-air art exhibition ever in Kazakhstan took place: About 2.2 million people saw the international exhibition of United Buddy Bears.^[18]

New buildings[link]

Palace of Peace and Reconciliation (Pyramid of Peace)[link]

Palace of Peace and Reconciliation (Pyramid of Peace)

The pyramid has been conceived and designed by architect Sir Norman Foster and engineers Buro Happold and inaugurated in September 2006. It contains accommodations for different religions: Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism and other faiths. It also houses a 1,500- seat opera house, a national museum of culture, a new “university of civilization”, a library and a research center for Kazakhstan’s ethnic and geographical groups. This diversity is unified within the pure form of a pyramid, 62 meters high with a 62 x 62-meter base. The building is conceived as a global center for religious understanding, the renunciation of violence and the promotion of faith and human equality. The Pyramid of Peace expresses the spirit of Kazakhstan, where cultures, traditions and representatives of various nationalities coexist in peace, harmony and accord. Bathed in the golden and pale blue glow of the glass (colors taken from the Kazakhstan flag), 200 delegates from the world’s main religions and faiths will meet every three years in a circular chamber — based on the United Nations Security Council meeting room in New York. ; Height: 77 m (252.62 ft), total area: 25,500 sq.m.; Accommodates: Opera Hall for 1,500 seats, The Museum of National History, The Research Center of World Religions, Library of Spiritual Religious Literature, Exhibition and conference rooms ^[19]

Kazakhstan Central Concert Hall[link]

Kazakhstan Central Concert Hall.

The Concert Hall has been conceived and designed by Italian architect Manfredi Nicoletti as a result of an International Competition and inaugurated by president Nursultan Nazarbayev in December 2009. The building shape is reminiscent of the petals of a flower. These "petals" create an imposing envelope which encloses and protects all the functions from the extreme climatic conditions of Astana. It houses one of world’s biggest Concert Halls for classical music with a total of 3,500 seats in vineyard conformation, two small music, cinema and conference halls with 400 and 200 seats each, restaurants, bars and a lobby of about 3000sqm. The main music hall has been designed to adapt to all kind of performances such as classical, pop and traditional music concerts, theatre, ballet, conferences and cinema, by means of a special false ceiling design and a system of acoustic curtains. The building is approximately 200m long and rises up to 40m high for a total of 55.000sqm. The structure of the external wall (the “petals”) are reinforced concrete. The external cladding is done with blue back-painted transparent glass panels inspired by the colour of the Kazakhstan flag.

The Islamic Center[link]

The Islamic Center was built in 2005 and was sponsored by the Emir of Qatar. It consists of a mosque, madrasah, and a library. The mosque has 4 minarets, 63 meters each, and has a capacity of 5,000 people. The height of the mosque's dome is 43 meters.^[20]

Ak Orda Presidential Palace[link]

Ak Orda Presidential Palace

Ak Orda (Kazakh, "the white horde") is the official workplace of the President of Kazakhstan. Ak Orda Presidential Palace was built in 2004 of monolithic concrete as a five-story building. The lining was performed using 20–40 cm thick Italian marble. The height of the building is 80 meters and the total area is 36,720 square meters. Ak Orda includes a yurt-like hall designed of marble and granite, a marble hall for summits and official visits by foreign-country representatives, and a golden hall for negotiations and private discussions between the head of the state and the leaders of other countries.

Khan Shatyr[link]

Khan Shatyry Entertainment Center

In December 2006, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev unveiled plans to build Khan Shatyr, a "giant, transparent tent", over an area of the city. The project was completed in July 2010. The tent is 150 meters high, and like the pyramid was designed by the British team of Norman Foster and Buro Happold

Transport Tower[link]

Transport Tower is one of the tallest buildings in Kazakhstan, standing 150 meters high, its 34 stories completed in 2003. The building houses various governmental agencies and organizations, namely the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications.

Sightseeing[link]

In the centre of town, the Avenue of the Republic acts as the main hub of activity. It is bordered by many stores, coffee houses, restaurants, night clubs and some casinos. Notable among these are the:

• Modern governmental quarter
• Ishim River waterfront
• "Oceanarium"
• Astana Central National Mosque
• Islamic Center
• Roman Catholic Cathedral (see Roman Catholicism in Kazakhstan)
• Market hall
• Bayterek Tower
• [REVision Park] Cinema in English: Every Tuesday at 8pm, 24 Turan St. Sary Arka Shopping Mall (3d Floor).,^[21] Revision Park is a new project of Language Leader [2] and KinoPark Multiplex cinemas.^[22]

Museums[link]

• Presidential Center of Culture
• Kabanbay Batyr Mausoleum
• Atameken Ethnic Memorial Complex: dedicated to a map of Kazakhstan. Ata-meken means ‘fatherland’.
• The S. Seifullin Museum
• Museum of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Theatres[link]

• The Gorky Russian Drama Theatre
• The Kalibek Kuanyshbaev Kazakh Theatre: named after a Kazakh theatre actor
• The K. Bajseitova National Opera and Ballet Theatre

Monuments[link]

• Monument Otan Korgaushylar
• Memorial to the victims of political repressions
• Memorial to Kazakhstan People who Perished in the Afghan War
• Central Square with fountain and sculpture composition
• Monument to Kenesary Khan

Architectural monuments[link]

• Church of Constantine and Yelena
• 19th-century buildings
• Green Mosque Fence

Sport[link]

Astana is home to FC Astana and FC Astana-64, of which the latter won the national championship in 2000, 2001 and 2006. The city is also home to the Astana Tigers basketball team who successfully took the 2004/2005 season title, as well as Barys Astana of the Kontinental Hockey League. In addition, Astana has a professional cycling team. They participated in the 2007 Tour de France wearing uniforms in Kazakhstani national colors, but were excluded during the race after the failed test of Alexander Vinokourov for illegal doping practises, and was banned from the 2008 race.^[23] Astana returned to the Tour de France in 2009 and won the overall Team Classification, with Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong finishing first and third respectively. In 2010 Contador again won the Tour de France with the Astana team, but announced in August 2010 that he would be leaving the Astana team to join the Sunguard-SaxoBank team in 2011.

A bandy team by the name of Dynamo-Astana has been formed, and an indoor bandy arena is being built for Dynamo.^[24] The 2011 Asian Winter Games were partly held in the capital.

Transport[link]

Astana International Airport

Astana International Airport was, like the plan for the whole new city, designed by the late Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa. The Astana Metro is a planned underground construction in Astana.

Astana Train Station is an important hub for northern Kazakhstan, served by Qazaqstan Temir Zholy trains to most major cities in Kazakhstan, including Talgo expresses to Almaty. International trains leave for Russia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan, most of them with a once a week frequency. Since the summer of 2008, the schedule systems show also a direct weekly train to Urumqi (in China's Xinjiang).^[25]

Notable residents[link]

• Larisa Bergen, Olympic volleyball medalist
• Galina Voskoboeva, Tennis Player
• Yaroslava Shvedova, Tennis Player

International relations[link]

Twin towns / Sister cities[link]

Astana is twinned with:

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Astana

• List of renamed cities in Kazakhstan

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Schatz, Edward. Modern Clan Politics: The Power of "Blood" in Kazakhstan and Beyond. Seattle: University of Washington Press. 2004.

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• Astana travel guide from Wikitravel
• City of Astana Official website
• Astana International Airport (official site)
• Astana Research Project (German)

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