Kostanay or Qostanai (, , rus, Костанай, p=kəstɐˈnaj) is a city located on the

Tobol River The Tobol (, ) is a river in Western Siberia (in Kazakhstan and Russia) and the main (left) tributary of the Irtysh. Its length is , and the area of its drainage basin is . History The Tobol River was one of the four important rivers of the ...

in northern

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

. It is the administrative center of the

Kostanay Region Kostanay Region (; ) is a region of Kazakhstan. Its administrative center is the city of Kostanay. The population of the region is 835,686. The population living in Kostanay is 207,000 which is equivalent to 23% of the region. Geography Kosta ...

. As of 24 March 2022, the city's governor is

Marat Zhundubayev Marat may refer to: People *Marat (given name) *Marat (surname) **Jean-Paul Marat (1743–1793), French political theorist, physician, and scientist Arts, entertainment, and media *''Marat/Sade'', a 1963 play by Peter Weiss * ''Marat/Sade'' ( ...

History

Kostanay was founded by Russian settlers in 1879 and named Nikolaevsk, in honor of

Tsar Nicholas II Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He married ...

. In 1888, the town had more than 3,000 inhabitants involved in the building of a mill and a brewery, which are still operational. In 1893, Kustanay was granted city status. The Red Army took control in 1918 and changed the city's name to Kustanay. The Kustanay Region was established in 1936 with its administrative center in Kustanay. Six years after fall of Soviet Union, Kazakhstan renamed it to Kostanay. In 2009, the city population was

Geographic location

The city is located in the steppe zone in the north of the Turgay plateau, in the south-eastern part of the West Siberian Plain, on the Tobol River, 571 km north-west of Astana city (704 km along the highway). The nearest city with at least a million inhabitants is

Chelyabinsk Chelyabinsk; , is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, seventh-largest city in Russia, with a population ...

in Russia, located 260 km north-west of Kostanay.

Public institutions

In Kostanay, there are five institutions of higher education. There are also 22 high schools, which educate over 12,200 students. The state network of culture lists 381 libraries, 201 club establishments, 8 museums, and 2 theatres. Athletic facilities include 2 sports arenas, 26 stadiums, 10 sports complexes and 567 sports halls.

Climate

Kostanay has a

warm-summer humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

: ''Dfb''), with very warm, dry summers and frigid, snowy winters. The average July temperature is and that in January , although sharp changes in temperature during the day are characteristic. Average wind speed is , mainly from the south in winter and from the north in summer. Precipitation averages around with a summer maximum. The average annual humidity is 71 percent and the growing season averages about 170 days.

Culture

Kostanay has a rich historical-cultural heritage. The regional center includes a

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

, the Regional Administration Building, Kostanay State University, the Kostanay Regional Memorial Museum of Altynsarin, the Kazakh Drama Theatre, Central Square and a railway station. Historical monuments include the Ybyrai Altynsarin monument, the

Akhmet Baitursynov Ahmet Baitursynuly (, , romanized: ''Ahmed Baitūrsynūly'', ; Russified: Ахмет Байтурсынов) ( 5 September 1872 — 8 December 1937) was a Kazakh intellectual who worked in the fields of politics, poetry, linguistics and educatio ...

monument, a memorial dedicated to victims of the Second World War, the "Execution wall" (where

Alexander Kolchak Admiral Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak (; – 7 February 1920) was a Russian navy officer and polar explorer who led the White movement in the Russian Civil War. As he assumed the title of Supreme Ruler of Russia in 1918, Kolchak headed a mili ...

's army officers were executed by

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

soldiers), and the

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is consid ...

monument. The city has 173 monuments of historical and cultural significance. Of these, 3 are of republican significance, 48 local, 25 obelisks and busts and 97 memorial plaque
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Transportation

Soyuz TMA-06M crew members are greeted at the Kustanay Airport

Kostanay is connected by road with the following cities in Russia:

, Magnitogorsk, Troitsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Troitsk, Yekaterinburg, Kurgan and Tyumen. It is also connected to Kokshetau, Astana and Almaty in Kazakhstan. Fifty-three railway stations carry passengers and cargo from the city. Oil is delivered by rail from

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

as well as oil refineries in Kazakhstan. Kostanay International Airport handles common and charter flights to many cities in Kazakhstan,

former Soviet republics The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union or the former Soviet republics, are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

(

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

and

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

), the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, and other countries. The airport also functions as a local port of entry and customs checkpoint.

Sport

Kostanay is home to the

FC Tobol FC Tobol () is a Kazakhstan, Kazakh professional association football, football club based at the Kostanay Central Stadium, Central Stadium in Kostanay. They have been members of the Kazakhstan Premier League since its foundation in 1992. In 20 ...

football club, based in the

Kostanay Central Stadium Kostanay Central Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Kostanay, Kazakhstan. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of FC Tobol. History The soccer arena has been in operation since 1964. The first match was p ...

, which participates in the

Kazakhstan Super League The Kazakhstan Professional Football League (, ''Qazaqstan Premier Ligasy''), commonly referred to as the Kazakh Premier League or simply the Premier League, is a professional association football league in Kazakhstan and the highest level of the ...

. Kostanay also has a basketball team, BK Tobol Kostanay, which participates in the

Kazakhstan Basketball Cup The Kazakhstan Basketball Cup () is the national men's professional basketball cup competition in the country of Kazakhstan. It is organised annually over a few days in a single location by the National Basketball Federation Kazakhstan. Its offic ...

. The city has an ice rink for winter sports, and in 2016, a team participated in the national

bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two team sport, teams wearing Ice skates#Bandy skates, ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The playin ...

championship in

Khromtau Khromtau (, ''Hromtau'') is a town in Aktobe Region of Kazakhstan, the administrative center of Khromtau District. It was formed in 1967. Population: Khromtau has important Chromium deposits, which are currently exploited in underground mine ...

for junior players born in 1999–2000.

Notable people

* Petr Kostenko, chess Grandmaster *

Syrbai Maulenov Syrbai Maulenov (; 17 September 1922 – 13 February 1993) was a Soviet and Kazakhstani poet and writer.

(1922–1993), Kazakhstan poet

Twin towns – sister cities

Kostanay is twinned with: *

Kirklees Kirklees is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. The borough comprises the ten towns of Batley, Birstall, West Yorkshire, Birstall, Cleckheaton, Dewsbury, Heckmondwike, Holmfirth, Huddersfield, Meltham, Mirfield and Slaithwaite. It ...

, England, United Kingdom

References

External links

Photos of Kostanay
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Kazakhstan Populated places established in 1879 Populated places in Kostanay Region Kustanaysky Uyezd