Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan (ⁱ/ˌkæzækˈstɑːn, ˌkɑː-, -zɑːk-, -ˈstæn/;Kazakh: Қазақстан, Qazaqstan), officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a country in Central Asia, with a minor part west of the Ural River and thus in Europe. Kazakhstan is the world's largest landlocked country by land area and the ninth largest country in the world. Its territory of 2,724,900 square kilometres (1,052,100 sq mi) is larger than all of Western Europe. By 2006, Kazakhstan had become the dominant nation of Central Asia economically, generating 60% of the region's GDP, primarily through its oil/gas industry. The country has vast mineral resources.

It has borders with (clockwise from the north) Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, and also adjoins a large part of the Caspian Sea. The terrain of Kazakhstan includes flatlands, steppe, taiga, rock canyons, hills, deltas, snow-capped mountains, and deserts. With an estimated 18 million people as of 2014, Kazakhstan is the 61st most populous country in the world. Given its large land area, its population density is among the lowest, at less than 6 people per square kilometre (15 people per sq. mi.). The capital is Astana, where it was moved in 1997 from Almaty.

Kazakh wine

Kazakh wine is wine made in Kazakhstan. The roots of the Kazakh wine industry can be traced to the 7th century AD when grapevines were brought to the region from neighboring Uzbekistan and China. While only around 4% of the land in Kazakhstan is ideally situated for viticulture, the country does manage to produce over 6.2 million gallons (236,000 hl) of wine annually from 32,120 acres (13,000 ha). Buoyed by its mineral wealth, the country is an enthusiastic consumer of wine but must import 80% of the 30 m bottles it drinks.

History

The earliest evidence of viticulture in Kazakhstan appear during the 7th century AD around Shymkent and in the foot hills of Tian Shan in Almaty Province near the Kazakh-Kyrgyzstan border. Vines were believed to have been introduced to the area by traders from the Xinjiang province of China and the Fergana and Samarqand regions of Uzbekistan. Throughout most of Kazakhstan's history, commercial winemaking was conducted on a small scale. In the early 20th century, state-run vineyards in Almaty, Shymkent and Taraz were the largest producers. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, there has been renewed interest in the Kazakhstan wine industry with Russia becoming a leading trading partner in Kazakh wine.

Kazakhstan (channel)

Kazakhstan is the Kazakh state television. It started broadcasting on March 8, 1958. It is a part of the RTRC JSC Kazakhstan. The station broadcasts around the clock in the Kazakh language.

The TV channel is broadcasting from Astana (from December 1, 2012 broadcasts have been moved into a new media center QazMedia Ortalygy in Astana ) and Alma-Ata and has a regional network of branches in all regions of Kazakhstan. Its program schedule consists of information, educational programs, films and TV series in the Kazakh language. In the regions, the channel has different names (Kazakhstan Taraz, Kazakhstan – Friendly, etc. ), as local broadcast network affiliates controlled by RTRC JSC Kazakhstan.

History

The first national television channel in Kazakhstan aired for the first time in 1958. At the time broadcasting was limited to 5 hours a day. By 1987 Kazakhstan was ranked fourth among all Soviet republics by the amount of broadcasting, and second by the number of feature films and documentaries produced.

Astana

Astana (/əsˈtɑːnə/,US /æsˈtɑːnə/;Kazakh: Астана [astaˈna]) is the capital of Kazakhstan. It is located on the Ishim River in the north portion of Kazakhstan, within Akmola Region, though administrated separately from the region as a city with special status. The 2014 census reported a population of 835,153 within the city, making it the second-largest city in Kazakhstan.

Founded in 1830 as the settlement of Akmoly (Kazakh: Ақмолы) or Akmolinsky prikaz (Russian: Акмолинский приказ), it served as a defensive fortification for the Siberian Cossacks. In 1832, the settlement was granted a town status and renamed Akmolinsk (Russian: Акмолинск). On 20 March 1961, the city was renamed to Tselinograd (Russian: Целиноград) to mark the city's evolution as a cultural and administrative centre of the Virgin Lands Campaign. In 1992, it was renamed Akmola (Kazakh: Ақмола), the modified original name meaning "a white grave". On 10 December 1997, Akmola replaced Almaty to become the capital of Kazakhstan. On 6 May 1998, it was renamed Astana, which means "the capital" in Kazakh.

Astana Pro Team

Astana Pro Team (UCI team code: AST) is a professional road bicycle racing team sponsored by the Samruk-Kazyna, a coalition of state-owned companies from Kazakhstan and named after its capital city Astana. Astana attained UCI ProTeam status in its inaugural year, 2007. Following a major doping scandal involving Kazakhstani rider Alexander Vinokourov, team management was terminated and new management brought in for the 2008 season. The team was then managed by Johan Bruyneel, former team manager of U.S. Postal/Discovery Channel team. Under Bruyneel the ethical nature of the team did not improve, although Astana in this period was very successful. With a lineup including Grand Tour winner Alberto Contador, as well as runner-up Andreas Klöden the results were there, however the team was on the verge of financial collapse in May 2009. A battle for control of the team led to the return of Vinokourov for the 2009 Vuelta a España caused Bruyneel and at least fourteen of its riders to leave at the end of the 2009 season, most for Team RadioShack. Only four Spanish riders, including Contador, and most of the Kazakhs remained with the rebuilt team for 2010. Those four Spaniards all left the team for Saxo Bank–SunGard in 2011.

Astana (disambiguation)

Astana is the capital of Kazakhstan.

Astana may also refer to: