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.

Trivia

Karaganda is often used as the punchline in a popular joke in the former USSR. The city is fairly isolated in a vast area of uninhabited steppe, and is thought by many to be "the middle of nowhere". When used in the locative case, the final syllable rhymes with the Russian word for "where", as well as with a Russian obscenity used to answer to an unwanted question "Where?". Thus the exchange: "Where is it?" "In Karaganda!" — has a rhyming and silly sound, and its nuance could be approximated in American English as: "Where are you going?" "To Kalamazoo!" or "Timbuktu!"

Related Topics:
USSR - Steppe - Locative case - Kalamazoo - Timbuktu

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A local legend tells of founding of the city: Many years ago, a group of nomadic Kazakhs were breaking down their campsite, and throwing rocks on the fire to extinguish it. A boy threw a rock onto the fire, and it burst into flame. Thus were the coal deposits found, and the city was built nearby.

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