Karaganda
Encyclopedia
Karagandy more commonly known by its Russian name Karaganda, , is the capital of Karagandy Province in Kazakhstan
. It is the fourth most populous city in Kazakhstan, behind Almaty
(Alma-Ata), Astana
and Shymkent
, with a population of 471,800 (as of 1 January 2010). In the 1940s up to 70% of the city's inhabitants were ethnic Germans
. Most of the ethnic Germans
are descendants of Soviet Volga Germans
who were collectively deported to Siberia
and Kazakhstan on Stalin's
order when Hitler invaded Poland. Until the 1950s, many were interned in labor camps, often only due to their heritage. The population of Karaganda fell by 14% from 1989-1999; it was once Kazakhstan's second largest city after Almaty. One hundred thousand people have since emigrated to Germany
. There is also a smaller concentration of ethnic Poles
.
It is 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.
" bushes (Caragana arborescens
, Caragana frutex) which are abundant in the area.
The original site of Karaganda is now labeled on city map
s as the "Old Town," but almost nothing remains on that site. In exploiting the rich coal deposits, the Soviets undermined the entire city, and the town had to be abandoned completely and moved several miles to the south.
Commercial extraction of coal continues to be an important activity in the region even today. In the early 1990s, 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
.
.
The city sent a bandy
team to the Spartakiade 2009.
. Karaganda 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
(Караганде), the final syllable rhymes with the Russian word for "where" (где), as well as with a Russian obscenity used to answer to an unwanted question "Where?". Thus the exchange: "Где?" — "В Караганде!" ("Where is it?" — "In Karaganda!")
effects ever observed when its electrical power plant was set on fire by currents induced in a 1000 km (621.4 mi) long shallow buried power cable
by Soviet Test ‘184’ on 22 October 1962. The test was part of ‘Operation K
’ (ABM System A
proof tests), and consisted of a 300-kiloton high-altitude nuclear explosion at an altitude of 290 km (180.2 mi) over Zhezkazgan. Prompt gamma ray
-produced EMP induced a current of 2,500 amps measured by spark gap
s in a 570 km (354.2 mi) stretch of overhead telephone line to Zharyq, blowing all the protective fuses
. The late-time MHD
-EMP was of low enough frequency to enable it to penetrate 90 cm (35.4 in) into the ground, overloading a shallow buried lead and steel tape-protected 1000 km (621.4 mi) long power cable between Aqmola
and Almaty
, firing circuit breaker
s and setting the Karaganda power plant on fire http://glasstone.blogspot.com/2006/03/emp-radiation-from-nuclear-space.html.
, South Korea
(since 1994) Dneprodzerzhinsk, Ukraine
Arak
, Iran
(since 2008)
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
. It is the fourth most populous city in Kazakhstan, behind Almaty
Almaty
Almaty , also known by its former names Verny and Alma-Ata , is the former capital of Kazakhstan and the nation's largest city, with a population of 1,348,500...
(Alma-Ata), Astana
Astana
Astana , formerly known as Akmola , Tselinograd and Akmolinsk , is the capital and second largest city of Kazakhstan, with an officially estimated population of 708,794 as of 1 August 2010...
and Shymkent
Shymkent
Shymkent , formerly known as Chimkent , is the capital city of South Kazakhstan Province, the most populated region in Kazakhstan. It is the third most populous city in Kazakhstan behind Almaty and Astana with a population of 629,600 . A major railroad junction on the Turkestan-Siberia Railway, the...
, with a population of 471,800 (as of 1 January 2010). In the 1940s up to 70% of the city's inhabitants were ethnic Germans
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
. Most of the ethnic Germans
Germans of Kazakhstan
The Germans of Kazakhstan are a minority in Kazakhstan, and make up a small percentage of the population. Today they live mostly in the northeastern part of the country between the cities of Astana and Oskemen, the majority being urban dwellers...
are descendants of Soviet Volga Germans
Volga German
The Volga Germans were ethnic Germans living along the River Volga in the region of southern European Russia around Saratov and to the south. Recruited as immigrants to Russia in the 18th century, they were allowed to maintain German culture, language, traditions and churches: Lutherans, Reformed,...
who were collectively deported to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
and Kazakhstan on Stalin's
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
order when Hitler invaded Poland. Until the 1950s, many were interned in labor camps, often only due to their heritage. The population of Karaganda fell by 14% from 1989-1999; it was once Kazakhstan's second largest city after Almaty. One hundred thousand people have since emigrated to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. There is also a smaller concentration of ethnic Poles
Poles in Kazakhstan
Poles in Kazakhstan form one portion of the Polish diaspora in the former Soviet Union. Slightly less than half of Kazakhstan's Poles live in the Karaganda region, with another 2,500 in Astana, 1,200 in Almaty, and the rest scattered throughout rural regions....
.
It is the home city of Kazakh World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
hero Nurken Abdirov
Nurken Abdirov
Nurken Abdirovich Abdirov was a Kazakh pilot who served for the Soviet Union in World War II, and was killed in the Battle of Stalingrad.Abdirov is a legendary figure in his hometown of Karaganda, Kazakhstan...
. A statue in Abdirov's honor is located in the center of the city.
History
The name "Karagandy" is derived from a "caraganaCaragana
Caragana is a genus of about 80 species of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, native to Asia and eastern Europe.They are shrubs or small trees growing 1-6 m tall...
" bushes (Caragana arborescens
Caragana arborescens
Caragana arborescens, or Caragana or Siberian peashrub, is a species of legume. It is a perennial shrub growing to heights of 12 feet or more. Typically, it has a moderate to fast growth rate, being able to grow one to three feet during the first year after trimming. The plant is native to Siberia...
, Caragana frutex) which are abundant in the area.
The original site of Karaganda is now labeled on city map
City map
A city map is a large-scale thematic map of a city created to enable the fastest possible orientation in an urban space. The graphic representation of objects on a city map is therefore usually greatly simplified, and reduced to generally understood symbology.Depending upon its target group or...
s as the "Old Town," but almost nothing remains on that site. In exploiting the rich coal deposits, the Soviets undermined the entire city, and the town had to be abandoned completely and moved several miles to the south.
Industry
Karaganda is an industrial city, built to exploit nearby coal mines using the slave work of prisoners of labor camps. Flora Leipman, a British citizen, spent several years unlawfully detained in a number of other nearby camps, and described her experiences in the book "The Long Journey Home" (published 1987).Commercial extraction of coal continues to be an important activity in the region even today. In the early 1990s, 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
Astana
Astana , formerly known as Akmola , Tselinograd and Akmolinsk , is the capital and second largest city of Kazakhstan, with an officially estimated population of 708,794 as of 1 August 2010...
.
Theater
The Miners Palace of Culture is a major landmark in Karagandy.Sports
FC Shakhter Karagandy is a football club based in Shakhtyor StadiumShakhtyor Stadium (Karagandy)
Shakhtyor Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Karagandy, Kazakhstan. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of FC Shakhter....
.
The city sent a bandy
Bandy
Bandy is a team winter sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal.The rules of the game have many similarities to those of association football: the game is played on a rectangle of ice the same size as a football field. Each team has 11 players,...
team to the Spartakiade 2009.
Other
Karaganda was often used as the punchline in a popular joke in the former Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Karaganda is fairly isolated in a vast area of uninhabited steppe
Steppe
In physical geography, steppe is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes...
, and is thought by many to be "the middle of nowhere". When used in the locative case
Locative case
Locative is a grammatical case which indicates a location. It corresponds vaguely to the English prepositions "in", "on", "at", and "by"...
(Караганде), the final syllable rhymes with the Russian word for "where" (где), as well as with a Russian obscenity used to answer to an unwanted question "Where?". Thus the exchange: "Где?" — "В Караганде!" ("Where is it?" — "In Karaganda!")
Notable residents
- Nurken AbdirovNurken AbdirovNurken Abdirovich Abdirov was a Kazakh pilot who served for the Soviet Union in World War II, and was killed in the Battle of Stalingrad.Abdirov is a legendary figure in his hometown of Karaganda, Kazakhstan...
, Soviet World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
pilot and Hero of the Soviet UnionHero of the Soviet UnionThe title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.-Overview:... - Anjelika AkbarAnjelika AkbarAnjelika Akbar is a Turkish pianist. She was born Anjelika Rosenbaum 1969 - Karaganda, Kazakhstan) to a family of a Jewish musician-philosopher father and an Uzbek musician mother. She could play the piano and read music at the age of 2,5 . Akbar began taking private piano lessons when she became 3...
, pianist - Toktar AubakirovToktar AubakirovToktar Ongarbayuly Aubakirov is a retired Kazakhstani Air Force officer and a former cosmonaut .-Early life:Toktar Aubakirov was born on July 27, 1946 in Karaganda, Kazakh SSR, which is now Kazakhstan...
, former cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-13Soyuz TM-13-Mission highlights:13th expedition to Mir. Included astronaut from Austria and cosmonaut from soon to be independent Kazakhstan.Soyuz-TM 13 carried Austrian cosmonaut-researcher Franz Viehböck and still Soviet-Kazakh cosmonaut-researcher Toktar Aubakirov. The flight was unusual for carrying no...
) and member of Kazakhstan parliament - Boris AvrukhBoris AvrukhBoris Leonidovich Avrukh is an Israeli chess grandmaster. He was the World Under-12 champion in 1990.He has played for Israel six times in Chess Olympiads.* In 1998, at second reserve board at the 33rd Chess Olympiad in Elista ;...
, chess grandmaster - Sahan DosovaSahan DosovaSahan Dosova was a Kazakhstani woman, also known as Sakhan Dosova, believed by many to have been the oldest person to have ever lived.-Longevity claim:...
, super-centenarian, reputed to have lived to age 130 (though disputed) - Konstantin EngelKonstantin EngelKonstantin Engel is a German footballer who plays for FC Energie Cottbus.- Career :Engel made his professional debut in the 2. Bundesliga for VfL Osnabrück on 15 August 2008 when he started a game against FC St. Pauli...
, professional football player - Akhmad KadyrovAkhmad KadyrovHajji Akhmad Abdulkhamidovich Kadyrov , also spelled Akhmat, was the Chief Mufti of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in the 1990s during and after the First Chechen War...
, former President of the Chechen Republic - Dimitri Kotschnew, professional ice hockey player
- Andrei KrukovAndrei KrukovAndrei Krukov is a pair skater who competed internationally for both Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. He competed through 1998 with Marina Khalturina for Kazakhstan. They placed 14th at the 1998 Winter Olympics...
, Olympic figure skater (1998 Winter Olympics1998 Winter OlympicsThe 1998 Winter Olympics, officially the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 7 to 22 February 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Seventy-two nations and 2,176 participans contested in seven sports and 72 events at 15 venues. The games saw the introduction of Women's ice...
) - Juri LitvinovJuri LitvinovJuri Litvinov is a Kazakhstani figure skater. He is a multiple national champion of Kazakhstan. He represented Kazakhstan at the 1998 Winter Olympics, where he placed 28th. His highest placement at an ISU Championship was 15th at the 1999 Four Continents Championships...
, Olympic figure skater (1998 Winter Olympics) and national champion - Aslan MaskhadovAslan MaskhadovAslan Aliyevich Maskhadov was a leader of the Chechen separatist movement and the third President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.He was credited by many with the Chechen victory in the First Chechen War, which allowed for the...
, third President, Chechen Republic of IchkeriaChechen Republic of IchkeriaThe Chechen Republic of Ichkeria is the unrecognized secessionist government of Chechnya. The republic was proclaimed in late 1991 by Dzokhar Dudayev, and fought two devastating wars between separatists and the Russian Federation which denounced secession... - Valery OisteanuValery OisteanuValery Oişteanu is a Soviet-born Romanian and American poet, art critic, essayist, photographer and performance artist, whose style reflects the influence of Dada and Surrealism. Oişteanu is the author of more than a dozen published books of poetry, a book of short fiction, and a book of essays...
, writer, photographer, and performance artist - Aleksandr ShustovAleksandr ShustovAleksandr Andreyevich Shustov , born 29 June 1984) is a male high jumper from Russia, best known for winning the gold medal in the men's high jump at the 2007 Summer Universiade in Bangkok, Thailand....
, gold medal-winning high jumper - Pavel VorobievPavel VorobievPavel Sergeevich Vorobiev is a professional ice hockey right winger who currently plays for MVD Balashikha of the Kontinental Hockey League.-Playing career:...
, professional ice hockey player - Joseph WerthJoseph WerthBishop Joseph Werth, SJ Иосиф Верт is Bishop of Transfiguration in Novosibirsk .Named as the Latin-rite Apostolic Administrator of Siberia - a see that encompassed 4.2 million square miles and extends through nine of the world's twenty four time zones - by Pope John Paul II on April 13, 1991, Werth...
, Bishop of Transfiguration, Novosibirsk, Russia
EMP
Karaganda suffered the most severe electromagnetic pulseElectromagnetic pulse
An electromagnetic pulse is a burst of electromagnetic radiation. The abrupt pulse of electromagnetic radiation usually results from certain types of high energy explosions, especially a nuclear explosion, or from a suddenly fluctuating magnetic field...
effects ever observed when its electrical power plant was set on fire by currents induced in a 1000 km (621.4 mi) long shallow buried power cable
Electric power transmission
Electric-power transmission is the bulk transfer of electrical energy, from generating power plants to Electrical substations located near demand centers...
by Soviet Test ‘184’ on 22 October 1962. The test was part of ‘Operation K
The K Project
The K Project, or also Operation K, was a series of five high altitude nuclear explosions, nuclear tests performed by the Soviet Union during the years 1961 and 1962. Their purpose was to test the performance of anti-ballistic missiles of the ABM System A and their resistance against nuclear blasts...
’ (ABM System A
Anti-ballistic missile
An anti-ballistic missile is a missile designed to counter ballistic missiles .A ballistic missile is used to deliver nuclear, chemical, biological or conventional warheads in a ballistic flight trajectory. The term "anti-ballistic missile" describes any antimissile system designed to counter...
proof tests), and consisted of a 300-kiloton high-altitude nuclear explosion at an altitude of 290 km (180.2 mi) over Zhezkazgan. Prompt gamma ray
Gamma ray
Gamma radiation, also known as gamma rays or hyphenated as gamma-rays and denoted as γ, is electromagnetic radiation of high frequency . Gamma rays are usually naturally produced on Earth by decay of high energy states in atomic nuclei...
-produced EMP induced a current of 2,500 amps measured by spark gap
Spark gap
A spark gap consists of an arrangement of two conducting electrodes separated by a gap usually filled with a gas such as air, designed to allow an electric spark to pass between the conductors. When the voltage difference between the conductors exceeds the gap's breakdown voltage, a spark forms,...
s in a 570 km (354.2 mi) stretch of overhead telephone line to Zharyq, blowing all the protective fuses
Fuse (electrical)
In electronics and electrical engineering, a fuse is a type of low resistance resistor that acts as a sacrificial device to provide overcurrent protection, of either the load or source circuit...
. The late-time MHD
Magnetohydrodynamics
Magnetohydrodynamics is an academic discipline which studies the dynamics of electrically conducting fluids. Examples of such fluids include plasmas, liquid metals, and salt water or electrolytes...
-EMP was of low enough frequency to enable it to penetrate 90 cm (35.4 in) into the ground, overloading a shallow buried lead and steel tape-protected 1000 km (621.4 mi) long power cable between Aqmola
Astana
Astana , formerly known as Akmola , Tselinograd and Akmolinsk , is the capital and second largest city of Kazakhstan, with an officially estimated population of 708,794 as of 1 August 2010...
and Almaty
Almaty
Almaty , also known by its former names Verny and Alma-Ata , is the former capital of Kazakhstan and the nation's largest city, with a population of 1,348,500...
, firing circuit breaker
Circuit breaker
A circuit breaker is an automatically operated electrical switch designed to protect an electrical circuit from damage caused by overload or short circuit. Its basic function is to detect a fault condition and, by interrupting continuity, to immediately discontinue electrical flow...
s and setting the Karaganda power plant on fire http://glasstone.blogspot.com/2006/03/emp-radiation-from-nuclear-space.html.
Sister cities
Songpa-guSongpa-gu
Songpa-gu is a district of Seoul, South Korea. Songpa is located at the southeastern part of Seoul, the capital of Korea, Songpa is a district with the largest population...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
(since 1994) Dneprodzerzhinsk, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
Arak
Arak
Arak may refer to:* Arak, Iran, a city in Markazi Province, Iran* Arak County, an administrative subdivision of Markazi Province Iran* Arak, Russia, a village in the Tabasaran rayon of Dagestan, Russia...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
(since 2008)
Further reading
Kate Brown, "Gridded Lives: Why Kazakhstan and Montana are Nearly the Same Place." American Historical Review 106, 1 (2001): 17-48.External links
- http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ahr/106.1/ah000017.html