Astana has the status of the capital city of Kazakhstan from December 10, 1997. The population of Astana is about 700,000, it is the second largest city in the country after former capital Almaty.

The main reason for moving the capital was the geographical location of the city – it is much more accessible to Russia and the chance of earthquake is much smaller. The following beautiful photos of Astana were taken by Stepanov Slava.

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Tags: Astana city

The Council of Heads of CIS governments proposed the chairman of the National Bank of Kazakhstan Grigory Marchenko to the position of Director of International Monetary Fund. It was announced by Kazakhstan Prime Minister Karim Masimov. “We consider him as a single candidate from all CIS countries and will submit an application to the IMF” – he said.

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Islam is the most common religion among the believers in the Republic of Kazakhstan. A lot of cities in the country have picturesque mosques like the following ones.

Mosque “Nur-Astana”, Astana

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Tags: Islam · mosques

The nature of Karaganda oblast is beautiful but this land also preserves the historical memory of the tragic events happened in its past. The following memorials are dedicated to the victims of Stalin’s repressions. The photos were captured by mishgun.

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Tags: Karaganda oblast · landscapes · memorials

Khodzha Akhmed Yasavi Mausoleum was built in Turkestan in 1396-1399 on the orders of emir Timur by Persian masters. The mausoleum is a masterpiece of Central Asian architecture representing the architectural heritage of past centuries. In June 2003, the Mausoleum received the status of UNESCO World Heritage Site. The photos were captured by Semyonova.

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Tags: Khodzha Akhmed Yasavi Mausoleum · Turkestan city

Karkaralinsk town is located about 220 kilometers to the east of Karaganda at an altitude of 815 meters above sea level. Pristine beauty of Karkaraly mountains and forests, lush vegetation of the valleys, clear lakes – all this is remembered for a long time by everyone who has visited this region at least once. Unique museum of nature is open near Karkaralinsk having thousands of exhibits that reveal the richness of flora and fauna of this mountain-forest area. The photos were captured by Kochmaryov.

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Tags: Karaganda oblast · Karkaraly

West Kazakhstan region is suffering from flooding now. More than a dozen of villages are flooded already affecting several thousand people, more than three thousand have already been evacuated. The water level in the Ural River in West Kazakhstan to the evening of April 13 was 647 centimeters. The water level in the night from 12 to 13 April rose by 48 centimeters. The water level in flooded areas continues to rise. According to weather forecasts the situation will soon get worse – heavy rains are expected in the region.

Tags: flooding · Uralsk city · West Kazakhstan oblast

The turnout in the early presidential elections in Kazakhstan at 16.00 has already surpassed the total turnout of citizens at the presidential elections of 2005 and amounts to 76,9%, said a member of the Central Election Commission Tatyana Okhlopkova. Morning of April 4 the CEC will announce the first preliminary results of the elections. The names of four candidates including today’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev are presented in the ballots. And there is no doubt that the winner will be the current leader of the country ruling for 20+ years already. It looks like the lesson of the recent revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt is not learned well.

And the latest news. One of the candidates (the leader of ecological organization “Tabigat” Mels Eleusizov) voted for his opponent – Nursultan Nazarbayev because as he says Nazarbayev will be the winner of the elections. What a great candidate!

Tags: Kazakhstan Presidential Elections · Nursultan Nazarbayev

Great photos of the plants located in Pavlodar city. The places are looking like real hell on earth. The photos were captured by Stepanov Slava.

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Tags: Pavlodar city · plants

Wait, something is wrong, isn’t it? :) (from Idioteka.ru)

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