Semey (former Semipalatinsk, renamed in 2007) is a city of East Kazakhstan oblast standing on Irtysh river banks. It is one the most ancient cities of Kazakhstan.

There are a lot of objects in the city which refer to architectural and historical monuments as well as a lot of statues to outstanding personalities linked with the city. But the following video is not about the monuments but about spring weather coming to the city.

Tags: East Kazakhstan oblast · Semey city · spring

March 25, 2012 the Proton Breeze M rocket successfully launched the Intelsat 22 satellite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome located in Kazakhstan. The satellite, weighing 6199 kg, was released into supersynchronous transfer orbit at 65,000 km apogee.

The Proton Breeze M vehicle is built by Khrunichev State Research and Space Production Center of Moscow. Proton has a heritage of 374 missions since its maiden flight in 1965.

Tags: Baikonur city · cosmodrome · launch · space rocket

The Palace of Peace and Accord because of its characteristic form is simply called the Pyramid. It is one of the most recognizable, interesting and controversial buildings of Astana – the new capital city of Kazakhstan.

The pyramid was built in 2006 (architect Sir Norman Foster). The dimensions of the palace: length – 62 meters, width – 62 meters, height – 62 meters. The concept of the palace is tolerance and unity of different religions. Photos by Pavel Kremnev.

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Tags: Astana city · pyramid

Kazakhstan is known for incredible diversity of natural landscapes that can be found on its vast territory.

The following beautiful photos were taken during trips to Karaganda and East Kazakhstan regions of the country at different times of the year by photographer Constantine Kikvidze for voxpopuli.kz

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Tags: East Kazakhstan oblast · Karaganda oblast · landscapes

Atyrau oblast is situated in southwestern Kazakhstan. The region is generally flat with Ural as main river. The mainly sandy terrain is interspersed with salt marshes.

The oblast is located in Pricaspian lowland, to the north and east of the Caspian Sea. The sea close to Atyrau oblast is less than 50 m deep.

Tags: Atyrau oblast

Akorda is the residence of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan located on the left bank of the River Ishim in Astana – the capital city of the country. Official presentation of the new palace of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan was held December 24, 2004.

Next to the residence the Parliament, the Government, the Supreme Court, and the House of the Ministries of Kazakhstan are located. The residence is depicted on the banknote of 10,000 tenge. Photos by Karla Nur for voxpopuli.kz

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Tags: Akorda · Astana city

Tamgaly Tas in Kazakh language means “stones with the signs”. Here on the rocks a large number of petroglyphs are preserved, among which the most famous image is the picture of the three Buddhist deities. Under the figures the sacred text is carved in Sanskrit, dating from the 12th century.

The rocks are located near the Ili River, 120 km north of Almaty. Today this place is popular with tourists, including rock-climbers, who gather here in spring and fall. Arid and semiarid landscape of the valley is one of the most picturesque places in Almaty region.

Tags: Almaty oblast · drawings · rocks · Tamgaly Tas

Kazakhstan is a vast territory, reaching the size of Western Europe, but with a population of sixteen million. This is a land of mountains, fast rivers and waterfalls, glaciers and mountain pastures.

Kazakhstan is a land of boundless steppes, hills and green meadows stretching to the horizon. In winter, temperatures reach minus forty degrees Celsius, and in summer, on the contrary, it is forty-degree heat.

The country occupies an area of historic Great Silk Road, at the junction of East and West, north and south, connecting the air and land routes of Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Tags: mountains · steppes

The tradition of hunting with tame hawks and falcons appeared very long ago. Today it is preserved only in a few countries including Kazakhstan. February 12, near the village of Nura (Almaty oblast), the 4th hunting tournament of the Republic of Kazakhstan was held.

There were competitions in several disciplines, starting with grades for the appearance and quality of equipment of a hunter, checking out how well the bird was trained, and finally the main event – hunting for hares and foxes. The winner was determined by the results of this last contest. Photos by Svyatoslav Antonov.

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Tags: Almaty oblast · falcons · hawks · hunt

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

Zhambyl oblast has good opportunities for developing tourism both inner and international. The territory of the region was crossed by the Great Silk way along which there are a lot of interesting monuments of history and culture.

The region is rich in great number of landscape and biological territories valuable for eco tourism, for example, Northern region of Western Tyan-Shan. Flora and fauna are unique there.

Tags: Zhambyl oblast