Kostanay formerly known as Kustanay and Nikolayevsk (Russian: Николаевск, until 1895), is a city located in the northern part of Kazakhstan

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...

 at the Tobol River

Tobol River

Tobol is a river in Kurgan and Tyumen Oblasts in Russia and Kazakhstan, left tributary of the Irtysh. The length of the Tobol River is 1591 km. The area of its drainage basin is 426,000 km². Average discharge at mouth is 805 m³/s. The lower reaches of the river freeze up in late October -...

. The population living in Kostanay is 301,317 people. Kostanay is the capital of Kostanay Province

Kostanay Province

Kostanay Province is a province of Kazakhstan. Its capital is Kostanay City. The population of the province is 900,300. Population living in Kostanay is 207,000 that makes 23 % of the population of province...

.

Public institutions

In Kostanay there are 8 higher educational institutions. There are also 22 colleges in which over 12,200 pupils are taught. In 2002-2003 there were 723 schools open, with a total number of 155,500 students. The state network of culture totals 380 libraries, 201 club establishments, 8 museums and 2 theatres. There are numerous athletic facilities: two sports arenas, 26 stadiums, 10 sports complexes and 567 sports halls.

There are 15 functional institutions in Kostanay region, 5 of them are state and 10 are non state. One of the leading institutions of the region is Kostanay State University named after A. Buitursynov. There are also 23 colleges and 715 secondary schools in Kostanay region.

Sights

Kostanay is rich in objects with a historical-cultural heritage. The regional center includes the Sunni Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

 mosque

Mosque

A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...

, the Building of Regional Administration, Kostanay State University, Altynsarin Regional memorial museum, the Kazakh Drama Theatre, the Central Square, and the railway station. Historical monuments include: I. Altynsarin

Ibrahim Altynsarin

Ibrahim Altynsarin was a major figure in pre-Soviet Kazakh history...

 monument, the Bust to Two Heroes of Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 (I. F. Pavlov and L. I. Beda), the A. Baitursynov

Akhmet Baitursynov

Akhmet Baytursinuli was a Kazakh intellectual who worked in the fields of poetry, linguistics and education.Baytursinuli was born in what is today Kostanay Province, and was educated at the Orenburg Teachers' School...

 monument, the Memorial complex of memory of victims of the Second World War, A. Imanov bust, L.I. Taranu Bust and the B. Majlinu Monument. For details, see the city's interactive map.

Communications and transportation

The main transit roads connect the regional center with the following cities in Russia: Chelyabinsk

Chelyabinsk

Chelyabinsk is a city and the administrative center of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located in the northwestern side of the oblast, south of Yekaterinburg, just to the east of the Ural Mountains, on the Miass River. Population: -History:...

, Magnitogorsk

Magnitogorsk

Magnitogorsk is a mining and industrial city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located on the eastern side of the extreme southern extent of the Ural Mountains by the Ural River. Population: 418,545 ;...

, Troitsk

Troitsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast

Troitsk is a town in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located east of the southern Ural Mountains and approximately south of Chelyabinsk. It stands on the east-flowing Uy River, a branch of the Tobol River. Population: 83,862 ; -History:...

, Yekaterinburg

Yekaterinburg

Yekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...

, Kurgan

Kurgan

Kurgan is the Turkic term for a tumulus; mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves, originating with its use in Soviet archaeology, now widely used for tumuli in the context of Eastern European and Central Asian archaeology....

 and Tyumen

Tyumen

Tyumen is the largest city and the administrative center of Tyumen Oblast, Russia, located on the Tura River east of Moscow. Population: Tyumen is the oldest Russian settlement in Siberia. Founded in 16th century to support Russia's eastward expansion, the city has remained one of the most...

. They also connect to 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...

, 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...

, in Kazakhstan, and adjoining areas. The length of the railways is 1048 km. Fifty-three stations process cargo and passenger transportation. Oil is delivered from Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 and from oil refineries in Kazakhstan by rail.

Runways of the airport of Kostanay

Kostanay Airport

Kostanay Airport is an airport in Kostanay, Kazakhstan .Runways of the airport can accept the following types of airplanes: Tu-134, Tu-154,...

 can accept the following types of airplanes: Tu-134, Tu-154, An-22, Il-86 and some Boeing

Boeing

The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...

 airliners. From Kostanay International Airport

Kostanay Airport

Kostanay Airport is an airport in Kostanay, Kazakhstan .Runways of the airport can accept the following types of airplanes: Tu-134, Tu-154,...

, there are regular and charter flights to many cities in Kazakhstan, many former Soviet republics

Commonwealth of Independent States

The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union....

, 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...

 (Frankfurt

Frankfurt

Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...

 and Hanover

Hanover

Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...

), the United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...

, Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, and others. These are ports of entry and customs checkpoints.

The local telecommunications monopoly in the Kostanay region is the a branch of "Kazaktelekom". The big development was when Kostanay oblast gained Internet access, cellular communication and Internet telephony.

Sport

Kostanay is home to FC Tobol

FC Tobol

FC Tobol is a Kazakh football club based at the Central Stadium in Kostanay. They have been members of the Kazakhstan Premier League since its foundation in 1992, they won Kazakhstan Premier league on 2010, and ended up close in 2nd and 3rd positions in last seven seasons.- Name history :*1967 :...

, a football team in the Kazakhstan Super League

Kazakhstan Super League

The Kazakhstan Premier League is the top division of football in Kazakhstan. The League is controlled by the Football Union of Kazakhstan and was set up in 1992. The League is fed into by the First Division, starting spring and finishing in late fall, making each championship correspond to a...

. They are based at the Kostanay Central Stadium.

Kostanay also has a magnific ice stadium

External links

• http://www.kostanay.kz
• Photos Kostanay