Oral, Kazakhstan
Encyclopedia
Oral Uralsk in Russian, formerly known as Yaitsk (Russian: Яицк, until 1775), is a city in northwestern Kazakhstan
, at the confluence of the Ural
and Chogan Rivers close to the Russia
n border. As it is located on the western side of the Ural river, it is considered geographically in Europe. It has a population of 350,000. It is the capital of the West Kazakhstan Province
. Ethnic composition is dominated by Kazakhs (60%).
Oral is an agricultural and industrial center, and has been an important trade stop since its founding. Barge traffic has passed up and down the Ural River between the Caspian Sea
and the Ural Mountains
for centuries. Today it is one of the major entry points for rail traffic from Europe
to Siberia
, servicing the many new oil field
s in the Caspian basin and the industrial cities of the southern Urals. It is served by Oral Ak Zhol Airport
.
and Pugachev
, Empress Catherine II
declared on January 15, 1775 that the Yaik river would henceforth be renamed the Ural River and Yaitsk would be known as Uralsk.
The city was captured by Pugachev
, and its fortress besieged from December 30, 1773 to April 17, 1774. Czarist troops under Commander Mantsurov took the city after Golytsin had taken the city of Orenburg
from the rebel forces.
Pushkin visited the city with his friend Vladimir Dahl in September 1833 while doing research for his book The History of Pugachev and his novel The Captain's Daughter
.
The city was under siege imposed by Cossaks during the Russian Civil War
. Mikhail Frunze
, Vasily Chapaev and Georgy Zhukov
participated in the defence. Uralsk was renamed Oral (it is never officially renamed to Oral. Oral is a Kazakh translation of Uralsk) after the independence of Kazakhstan in 1991.
are a Kazakhstani football
club based in the P. Atoyan stadium in Oral.
Akzhayik also has a bandy
section which is the best team in the country and plays in the 2nd highest division of Russia. The only international bandy championships in Kazakhstan so far was held in the city, WCS for boys U15. The city sent a team to the Spartakiade 2009 and finished 2nd.
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 confluence of the Ural
Ural River
The Ural or Jayıq/Zhayyq , known as Yaik before 1775, is a river flowing through Russia and Kazakhstan. It arises in the southern Ural Mountains and ends at the Caspian Sea. Its total length is 1,511 mi making it the third longest river in Europe after the Volga and the Danube...
and Chogan Rivers close to the 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...
n border. As it is located on the western side of the Ural river, it is considered geographically in Europe. It has a population of 350,000. It is the capital of the West Kazakhstan Province
West Kazakhstan Province
West Kazakhstan Province is a province of Kazakhstan. Its capital is Oral , a city of about 200,000 inhabitants.-Geography:...
. Ethnic composition is dominated by Kazakhs (60%).
Oral is an agricultural and industrial center, and has been an important trade stop since its founding. Barge traffic has passed up and down the Ural River between the Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
and the Ural Mountains
Ural Mountains
The Ural Mountains , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the Ural River and northwestern Kazakhstan. Their eastern side is usually considered the natural boundary between Europe and Asia...
for centuries. Today it is one of the major entry points for rail traffic from Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
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...
, servicing the many new oil field
Oil field
An oil field is a region with an abundance of oil wells extracting petroleum from below ground. Because the oil reservoirs typically extend over a large area, possibly several hundred kilometres across, full exploitation entails multiple wells scattered across the area...
s in the Caspian basin and the industrial cities of the southern Urals. It is served by Oral Ak Zhol Airport
Oral Ak Zhol Airport
Oral Ak Zhol Airport is an airport in Kazakhstan located 12 km southeast of Oral, Kazakhstan. It is a small airport servicing medium-sized airliners. It has parking for 4 jets. This airport has two terminals - domestic and international...
.
History
Oral, founded in 1613 by Cossacks, was originally named Yaitsk, after the Yaik river, the name of the Ural river at the time. Because the Yaik Cossacks (Ural Cossacks) sided with the insurrectionists during the rebellions of Stenka RazinStenka Razin
Stepan Timofeyevich Razin Тимофеевич Разин, ; 1630 – ) was a Cossack leader who led a major uprising against the nobility and Tsar's bureaucracy in South Russia.-Early life:...
and Pugachev
Yemelyan Pugachev
Yemelyan Ivanovich Pugachov , was a pretender to the Russian throne who led a great Cossack insurrection during the reign of Catherine II...
, Empress Catherine II
Catherine II of Russia
Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...
declared on January 15, 1775 that the Yaik river would henceforth be renamed the Ural River and Yaitsk would be known as Uralsk.
The city was captured by Pugachev
Yemelyan Pugachev
Yemelyan Ivanovich Pugachov , was a pretender to the Russian throne who led a great Cossack insurrection during the reign of Catherine II...
, and its fortress besieged from December 30, 1773 to April 17, 1774. Czarist troops under Commander Mantsurov took the city after Golytsin had taken the city of Orenburg
Orenburg
Orenburg is a city on the Ural River and the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies southeast of Moscow, very close to the border with Kazakhstan. Population: 546,987 ; 549,361 ; Highest point: 154.4 m...
from the rebel forces.
Pushkin visited the city with his friend Vladimir Dahl in September 1833 while doing research for his book The History of Pugachev and his novel The Captain's Daughter
The Captain's Daughter
The Captain's Daughter is a historical novel by the Russian writer Alexander Pushkin. It was first published in 1836 in the fourth issue of the literary journal Sovremennik. The novel is a romanticized account of Pugachev's Rebellion in 1773-1774....
.
The city was under siege imposed by Cossaks during the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
. Mikhail Frunze
Mikhail Frunze
Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze was a Bolshevik leader during and just prior to the Russian Revolution of 1917.-Life and Political Activity:Frunze was born in Bishkek, then a small Imperial Russian garrison town in the Kyrgyz part of Turkestan, to a Moldovan medical practitioner and his Russian wife...
, Vasily Chapaev and Georgy Zhukov
Georgy Zhukov
Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov , was a Russian career officer in the Red Army who, in the course of World War II, played a pivotal role in leading the Red Army through much of Eastern Europe to liberate the Soviet Union and other nations from the Axis Powers' occupation...
participated in the defence. Uralsk was renamed Oral (it is never officially renamed to Oral. Oral is a Kazakh translation of Uralsk) after the independence of Kazakhstan in 1991.
Sport
FC AkzhayikFC Akzhayik
FC Akzhayik are a Kazakhstani football based in Oral, Kazakhstan. They are current members of the Kazakhstan Premier League.-Current Squad:- Name History :*1968 : Founded as Uralets...
are a Kazakhstani football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
club based in the P. Atoyan stadium in Oral.
Akzhayik also has 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,...
section which is the best team in the country and plays in the 2nd highest division of Russia. The only international bandy championships in Kazakhstan so far was held in the city, WCS for boys U15. The city sent a team to the Spartakiade 2009 and finished 2nd.