Baikonur ( kk, Байқоңыр, ; russian: Байконур, translit=Baykonur), formerly known as Leninsk, is a
city of republic significance in
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
on the northern bank of the
Syr Darya river. It is currently leased and administered by the
Russian Federation
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
as an
enclave until 2050. It was constructed to service the
Baikonur Cosmodrome and was officially renamed Baikonur by Russian president
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...
on December 20, 1995. During the Soviet period, it was sometimes referred to as Zvezdograd (), Russian for ''Star City''.
The rented area is an ellipse measuring east to west by north to south, with the cosmodrome situated at the area's centre.
Foreign visitors need pre-approval from the Russian authorities to visit both the town of Baikonur itself and the Cosmodrome. Foreign visitors need to obtain a written approval which is completely separate from having a regular Russian visa.
History
The original
Baikonur (Kazakh for "wealthy brown", i.e. "fertile land with many herbs") is a
mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...
town 320 kilometres northeast of the present location, near
Dzhezkazgan in Kazakhstan's
Karagandy Region
Karaganda Region ( kk, Qarağandy oblysy; russian: Карагандинская область, translit=Karagandinskaja oblast′), also spelled Qaraghandy Region, is a region of Kazakhstan. Its capital is Karaganda.
On 17 March 2022 it was an ...
. Starting with
Vostok 1
Vostok 1 (russian: link=no, Восток, ''East'' or ''Orient'' 1) was the first spaceflight of the Vostok programme and the first human orbital spaceflight in history. The Vostok 3KA space capsule was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome on Apr ...
in April 1961, the launch site was given this name to cause confusion and keep the location secret. (The original Baikonur's residents took advantage of the confusion by ordering and receiving many scarce materials before government officials discovered the deception.)
Baikonur's railway station predates the base and retains the old name of
Tyuratam
Töretam ( kk, link=no, Төретам, Töretam; russian: link=no, Тюратам, Tyuratam) is a station on the main Moscow to Tashkent railway, located in Kazakhstan. The name means "Töre's grave" in the Kazakh language. Töre, or more formal ...
. This was the original Soviet railway station (railhead) on the
Moscow to Tashkent Railway that the Cosmodrome was initially named after.
The fortunes of the city have varied according to those of the
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
or
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
n space program and its
Baikonur Cosmodrome.
Due to the city's military and scientific significance, it was
closed off by Soviet authorities. It did not appear on maps available to the general public during the Soviet period prior to
perestroika.
The Soviet government established the Nauchno-Issledovatel'skii Ispytatel'nyi Poligon N.5 (NIIIP-5), or Scientific-Research Test Range N.5 by its decree of 12 February 1955. The
U-2 high-altitude
reconnaissance plane
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities.
Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmishers, ...
found and photographed the Tyuratam missile test range (cosmodrome Baikonur) for the first time on 5 August 1957.
The town has unique ties with space, and hence the history of the rocket building and space binds all the sights in the area and the cosmodrome. However, there are only a few exceptions: old locomotive, an Orthodox Church and a new mosque.
Climate
Baikonur features a
cold desert climate
The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...
(''BWk''). Summers are hot with July highs averaging slightly over , while winters are cold, with longer periods of sustained below-freezing temperatures.
Places of interest
South of city center, near the Syr Darya River there is a large park with several sports and amusement facilities. Among these is a ferris wheel, which is no longer in use. The park is located at coordinates .
Gallery
file:Baikonur CIA U-2.gif, U-2 Photograph of R-7 Launch Pad in Tyura-Tam
file:Baikonur from top 2002.jpg, Baikonur and Syr Darya River
file:Baykonur city entry 2008.jpg, Entrance to the city
file:Kazakh boy with a small camel. Baikonur-city, march 2007.JPG, Kazakh boy wearing a national costume at the celebration of Nauryz
Nowruz ( fa, نوروز, ; ), zh, 诺鲁孜节, ug, نەۋروز, ka, ნოვრუზ, ku, Newroz, he, נורוז, kk, Наурыз, ky, Нооруз, mn, Наурыз, ur, نوروز, tg, Наврӯз, tr, Nevruz, tk, Nowruz, ...
event in Baikonur with a camel
See also
*
List of closed cities
A closed city or closed town is a settlement where travel or residency restrictions are applied so that specific authorization is required to visit or remain overnight. Such places may be sensitive military establishments or secret research ins ...
References
Further reading
* "Testing of rocket and space technology - the business of my life" Events and facts -
A.I. Ostashev,
Korolyov, 200
* "Baikonur. Korolev. Yangel." - M. I. Kuznetsk,
Voronezh
Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on ...
: IPF "Voronezh", 1997, ;
«At risk»– A. A. Toul,
Kaluga, "the Golden path", 2001.
* "Unknown Baikonur" - edited by B. I. Posysaeva, M.: "globe", 2001.
* "Rocket and space feat Baikonur" - Vladimir Порошков, the "Patriot" publishers 2007.
*
A.I. Ostashev, ''Sergey Pavlovich Korolyov - The Genius of the 20th Century'' — 2010 M. of Public Educational Institution of Higher Professional Training MGUL .
* "Bank of the Universe" - edited by Boltenko A. C.,
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe.
Kyi ...
, 2014., publishing house "Phoenix",
* "We grew hearts in Baikonur" - Author: Eliseev V. I. M: publisher OAO MPK in 2018,
External links
RussianSpaceWeb.com on Baikonur town
Launch of the manned spacecraft Soyuz from the Baikonur Cosmodrome*
{{Authority control
Cities and towns in Kazakhstan
Populated places established in 1955
Populated places in Kyzylorda Region
Closed cities
Regions of Kazakhstan
1955 establishments in the Soviet Union