Kazakhstan is usually associated with the endless steppes and semi-deserts but the south-eastern part of the country is bordered by Tien-Shan mountain range.

This region is known for its breathtaking landscapes, beautiful flora and fauna. Photos by Gregory Bedenko

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Tags: landscapes · Southern Kazakhstan

Almaty (Russian spelling – Alma-Ata) is Kazakhstan’s largest city. It is also known as the “Southern Capital” of the country. According to officials the population of Almaty is about 1.4 million people.

Unofficially (with the migrant workers) the population of the city is more than 2 million people (about 13% of the total population of Kazakhstan).

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Tags: Almaty city · night

The tram was opened in Almaty on November 7, 1937. At best times, the number of routes reached ten, but with the collapse of the Soviet Union trams as public transport became unprofitable and the number of routes was rapidly reduced.

Since 1999, there are only two routes that are served by one depot, which is the oldest one, located at the intersection of Ahmed Baitursynov Street (former Cosmonauts Street) and Gogol Street.

Tags: Almaty city · trams

The construction of subway (metro) in Almaty began back in 1988 and was conducted irregularly because of the finance problems. Finally, December 1, 2011 the first line of the subway was opened.

This is the first subway in Kazakhstan, the second in Central Asia (after Tashkent subway) and sixteenth in the former Soviet Union. Hours: daily from 06:30 to 23:30. The total length of the two lines will be about 45 km.

Tags: Almaty city

Taban-Karagai is an area of summer pastures, located south of the Assy plateau in Almaty region of Kazakhstan.

This area has majestic nature with almost no traces of human presence. The pastures are at altitude over 2,000 meters above sea level. Due to the fact that it rains here almost every day, the meadows are covered with succulent grasses. Photos by Constantine Kikvidze

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Tags: Almaty oblast · horses · landscapes

Three days ago, on July 1, landing vehicle of “Soyuz TMA-03M” spacecraft successfully landed in the steppes in Karaganda region of Kazakhstan.

The capsule was carrying three people: Russian Oleg Kononenko, Dutchman Andre Kuipers, and American Don Pettit. The crew spent over 6 months on orbit.

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Bektau-Ata is a picturesque mountainous area, located in the middle of the Kazakhstan steppe, about 70 kilometers north of the town of Balkhash (Karaganda region).

The area has a radius of about 5-7 km, and its flora is very different from the surrounding steppe. Photos by Ilia Afanasieff

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Tags: Balkhash city · Karaganda oblast · landscapes

The 151 General Assembly of the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE) was held on June 12. This offered Kazakhstan an opportunity to present its bid to host EXPO 2017 – the next scheduled International Exposition after Expo 2015.

The winning candidate will be decided by the BIE in December 2012 in Paris. Here is the presentation video of Astana at the assembly.

Tags: Astana city

Southern Kazakhstan is an economic-geographical region in the Republic of Kazakhstan, the most populated region of the country (about 6 million people on the territory of 711,500 sq. km.). The major cities of Kazakhstan – Almaty and Shymkent – are located here.

Landscapes of the southern region of the country are a combination of dry, rather cold in winter and hot in summer sparsely populated steppes and deserts, high snow-capped mountains. Special natural areas appeared along the banks of rivers and large lakes: Lake Balkhash and the Aral Sea. Photos by Gregory Bedenko

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Tags: landscapes · Southern Kazakhstan

Zhambyl region located in southern Kazakhstan is named after Kazakh poet Zhambyl Dzhabayev (1846-1945).

The southern part of the region includes the northern slopes of Kyrgyz and Karatau mountains and, in their foothills, a narrow strip of fertile irrigated land. The center of the oblast is the sandy Muyun-Kum Desert, which is separated by Chu River from the clay desert of Betpak-Dala in the northern part of the region.

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Tags: landscapes · Zhambyl oblast