Ridder (), formerly known as Leninogorsk () is a city in the

East Kazakhstan Region East Kazakhstan Region (; ) is a region of Kazakhstan. It occupies the easternmost part of Kazakhstan, and includes parts of the Irtysh River, Lake Markakol, and Lake Zaysan. Its administrative center is Öskemen (also known as Ust'-Kamenogorsk ...

in north-eastern

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 ...

. Its population is approximately The city is situated in the south-western

Altai Mountains The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central Asia, Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob River, Ob have their headwaters. The ...

and north-east of the region's capital,

Oskemen Oskemen ( ) or Ust-Kamenogorsk ( rus, Усть-Каменогорск, p=ˌʊsʲtʲ kəmʲɪnɐˈgorsk) is the largest city in the east of Kazakhstan and the administrative center of East Kazakhstan Region of Kazakhstan. Name The city has two ...

, along the Ulba River, at an elevation higher than 700 metres. Ridder is the source of the E40 motorway.

History

The fact that

Altai Krai Altai Krai (, ) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai). It borders, clockwise from the west, Kazakhstan ( East Kazakhstan Region, Abai Region and Pavlodar Region), Novosibirsk and Kemerovo, and the Altai Republic. The krai's administrative ce ...

is rich in natural deposits was discovered during Empress

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

's reign. The history of Ridder started in 1786 when 9 troops of men were sent to the Altai region to search for natural resource deposits. One of these troops was headed by an officer,

Philip Ridder Filipp Filippovich Ridder (); born in 1759 in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire - died in 1838 in Riga) was a Russian explorer of German descent who discovered polymetallic ores in north-eastern Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic ...

. On May 31, 1786, he found a very rich deposit containing

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

and other metals. The same year, in summer, the settlement was founded there and it was named Riddersky pit. This was how the city was founded. The unique ores of the Riddersky deposit were noted by specialists of various levels and commissions. The deposit became known far beyond Russia. In 1850, Riddersky ores received the highest appreciation at

The Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition that took ...

in London. In 1879 the samples were included into the museum collection of the Stockholm Royal Technical Institute. During the early 20th century Ridder experienced a number of foreign concessions, revolution and Civil war. On February 10, 1934, the settlement of Ridder was designated a town. In 1941, just before Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, the town of Ridder was renamed to Leninogorsk (in honour of

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

). During the Soviet period, Leninogorsk saw significant industrial growth. Several plants were constructed - the lead plant was one of the first plants for the non-ferrous industry in

, while Leninogorsky cascade hydro power station was the only one in Kazakhstan and the second one in

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. Several other mines and factories, including the zinc plant, were built and the college of mining and metallurgy was opened in this period. During World War II Leninogorsk produced about 50% of the high-quality lead in the whole

. In 2002 the city received back its original name - Ridder.

Economy

Ridder is a center of mining operations and processing of nonferrous metals. Other branches of industry include wood and textile industry, food production, and mechanical engineering.

Transport

The

European route E40 European route E40 is the longest European route, more than long, connecting Calais in France via Belgium, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan, with Ridder in Kazakhstan near the border with ...

, originating in

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, has its eastern terminus in Ridder. Over long, it is the longest

European route The international E-road network is a numbering system for roads in Europe developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The network is numbered from E1 up and its roads cross national borders. It also reaches Central ...

Climate

Ridder 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 mild summers and very cold winters.

Ethnic Composition

At the beginning of 2025, the population of the city within the territory of the city akimat was 50,874 peopleDocument "Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan by selected ethnic groups"
/ref> *

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

— 37,395 (73.51%) *

Kazakhs The Kazakhs (Kazakh language, Kazakh: , , , ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia and Eastern Europe. They share a common Culture of Kazakhstan, culture, Kazakh language, language and History of Kazakhstan, history ...

— 10,606 (20.85%) *

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

— 821 (1.61%) *

Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...

— 506 (0.99%) *

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

— 482 (0.95%)

Points of interest

Points of interest include a local

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

and a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

Sports

In March 2013, Ridder hosted the

World Ski Orienteering Championships The World Ski Orienteering Championships (Ski-WOC) is the official event to award the titles of World Champions in ski orienteering. The World Championships is organized every odd year. The programme includes Sprint, Middle and Long Distance comp ...

Notable person

* Oleg Boltin, professional wrestler

References

External links

Statistical information
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Kazakhstan Populated places in East Kazakhstan Region Populated places established in 1786 Mining communities in Kazakhstan