Karaganda

Karaganda (Russian: Караганда) or Qaraghandy (Kazak: Қарағанды) is the capital of the audany (Russian oblast) of the same name in Kazakhstan. It is located at {{coor dm|49|53|N|73|10|E|region:KZ_type:city(437,000)}}, with a population of 437,000 (1999). It is the third most populous city in Kazakhstan, behind Almaty and Astana.

Related Topics:
Russian - Kazak - Oblast - Kazakhstan - Almaty - Astana

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The name "Qaraghandy" approximately translates to "place rich in acacia". Karaganda is an industrial city, built to exploit nearby coal mines using the slave work of prisoners of labor camps. It was briefly considered as a candidate for the capital of the (then) recently independent Republic of Kazakhstan, but its bid was turned down in favor of Astana. In support of this bid, a large international airport was built, which today goes mostly unused.

Related Topics:
Acacia - Labor camps - Astana

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It is the birthplace of the late Chechen president Akhmad Kadyrov. It is also the home city of Kazakh World War II hero Nurken Abdirov. A statue in Abdirov's honor is located in the center of the city.

Related Topics:
Chechen - Akhmad Kadyrov - World War II - Nurken Abdirov

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The original site of Karaganda is now labeled on city maps as the "Old Town," but almost nothing remains on that site. In exploiting the rich coal deposits next door, the Soviets undermined the entire city, and the town had to be abandoned completely and moved several miles to the south. Only three or four buildings remain in the ghostly Old Town, of which one is the old (and once ornate) theatre, and another an old fire station mentioned in Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago.

Related Topics:
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn - The Gulag Archipelago

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~