Oskemen
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| Oskemen Өскемен |
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  Oskemen
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| Country |
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| Province | East Kazakhstan Province | ||
| Founded | 1720 | ||
| Incorporated (city) | 1868 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Akim (mayor) | Shakarim Buktugutov | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 540 km² (208.5 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2006) | |||
| - Total | 319,854 | ||
| Time zone | BTT (UTC+6) | ||
| Postal code | 070001 - 070019 | ||
| Area code(s) | +7 7232 | ||
| Website: http://www.oskemen.kz | |||
Oskemen (Kazakh: Өскемен,Öskemen; Russian: Усть-Каменогорск,Ust-Kamenogorsk), is the capital of the East Kazakhstan Province. It is served by Oskemen Airport.
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[edit] History
Founded in 1720 at the confluence of the Irtysh and Ulba rivers as a fort and trading post named Ust-Kamennaya.[1] The city was established in 1720 according to the order of the Russian Emperor Peter the Great, who sent a military expedition headed by major Ivan Vasilievich Likharev in the search of Yarkenda gold. Likharev’s expedition directed up the Irtysh river to Zaysan Lake. There, at the confluence of the Ulba and the Irtysh rivers the new fortress was laid – the Ust-Kamennaya Fortress. The Ust-Kamennaya Fortress appeared on the map of the Russian Empire, the very southern end of the Irtysh line.[2] In 1868 the city became the capital of the Semipalatinsk Oblast.
The city developed into a major mining and metallurgical center during the Soviet period. Mining of non-ferrous metals, especially copper, lead, silver and zinc remain important. It is a center for the construction industry producing manufactured housing and ferroconcrete articles.
[edit] Economy
Under the name of Ust-Kamenogorsk Lock, the highest lock in the world lies in Ablaketka at the end of the dam on the Irtysh river. It has a drop of more than 40m. Since the opening of the 3-Gorges locks, the upper lock of that 5-lock cascade is theoretically at par with this lock, but its full drop shall not be used except in extreme case, while the Ust-Kamenogorsk lock is designed for permanent use at this height.
[edit] Sports
- "Kazzinc-Torpedo" - an ice hockey team. Alma mater of NHL players: Nikolai Antropov, Vitaly Kolesnik, Konstantin Pushkarev and Alexander Perezhogin. In addition, both Evgeni Nabokov and Dimitri Patzold are goalkeepers for the San Jose Sharks.
Kazzinc-Torpedo is currently playing in russian Vysshaya Liga.
- FC Vostok - football club, currently playing in Kazakhstan Superleague
[edit] Religion
There are 32 religious unions, presenting 15 religious confessions including four Muslim, 29 Christian and three union professing non-traditional religions. There are 21 cultural buildings in the city: among them four mosques and six orthodox temples.[3]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] References
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