Oral (, ), also known as Uralsk (, ), is a city in northwestern

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 ...

, at the confluence of the Ural and Chagan rivers close to the

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 ...

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

. As it is located on the western bank of the Ural river, it is considered geographically in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. It is the

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

of the

West Kazakhstan Region West Kazakhstan Region (; ) is a region of Kazakhstan. The region has a population of 695,000 as of July 1st, 2024. Its administrative centre is Oral (also known as Uralsk or Ural'sk), a city of about 250,000 inhabitants. The Region was created ...

. The ethnic composition is majority Kazakh (71%), followed by the second-largest ethnic group

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 ...

(25%). Population:

Sport

FC Akzhayik FC Akzhaiyk (, ) is a Kazakhstani professional association football, football club, based in Oral, Kazakhstan, Oral, current member of the Kazakhstan First Division. History Names *1968: Founded as ''Uralets'' *1993: The club was renamed ''Ura ...

are a Kazakhstani

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in

Petr Atoyan Stadium Petr Atoyan Stadium is a football stadium in Oral, Kazakhstan, Oral, Kazakhstan. It is the home stadium of FC Akzhayik of the Kazakhstan Premier League and was opened 1927. The stadium holds 8,320 spectators. In 1996 it was renamed Petr Atojan, a ...

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 ...

is the principal sport in the city. Akzhayik Sports Club, based in the Yunost Stadium, is the only professional team in the country and plays in the second highest division of Russia. In September 2017, the Kazakhstan Bandy Federation bought the club. The city sent a team to the

Spartakiade The Spartakiad (or Spartakiade) was an international sports event that was sponsored by the Soviet Union. Five international Spartakiades were held from 1928 to 1937. Later Spartakiads were organized as national sport events of the Eastern Bloc ...

2009 and the finished second. All the players of the Under-23 national team in the 2013–14 season came from Oral. After the

Kazakhstan national bandy team The Kazakh national bandy team has been representing Kazakhstan in the Bandy World Championships since 1995. Kazakhstan finished third in 2003, 2005, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015. In 2011 and 2012 they lost the semifinals after extra-time. In 20 ...

took the gold medal at the

2011 Asian Winter Games The 2011 Asian Winter Games (; ), also known as Astana-Almaty 2011 (), were a continental winter multi-sport event held from January 30 to February 6, 2011 in Astana and Almaty, Kazakhstan. It was the first time that Kazakhstan hosted such a larg ...

, the team came back to Oral in triumph.Video from the triumphant homecoming

Geography

Climate

The climate of Oral is

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 ...

: ''Dfa'', Trewartha ''Dcac'') with long cold winters and warm, often hot summers. Summers are extremely hot considering its position north of the 51st parallel, but winters are more reminiscent of continental climates further east than Europe.

Notable people

Arts, literature, and entertainment

* Bayan Maksatkyzy (1974), a Kazakh producer, television presenter, actress, and singer.

References

External links

* {{Authority control

Oral The word oral may refer to: Relating to the mouth * Relating to the mouth, the first portion of the alimentary canal that primarily receives food and liquid **Oral administration of medicines ** Oral examination (also known as an oral exam or ora ...

Cities and towns in Kazakhstan Populated places in West Kazakhstan Region Ural Oblast (Russian Empire) Populated places established in 1613 1613 establishments in Russia Transcontinental cities