The capital of the Central Asian country of Kazakhstan is Astana. It lies along the Ishim River in the north-central part of the country. Its name means “capital” in the Kazakh language.
Astana is a railway hub with connections to the Trans-Siberian Railroad and the major cities of Kazakhstan. Copper, gold, and bauxite mines in the surrounding area supply the city's metal-finishing factories. Other industries include food processing and the manufacture of farm machinery.
The city was founded in 1824 as a Russian military outpost. Originally called Akmolinsk, it became an administrative center in 1868. By 1939 its population had reached 33,000. The city grew in the 1950s when the Soviet government chose it as the site of its Virgin and Idle Lands Campaign, an agricultural development project. In 1961 the Russians changed the name of the city to Tselinograd, meaning “Virgin Lands City.”
Kazakhstan achieved independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The next year the city's name was changed to Akmola. In 1997 the country transferred its capital from Almaty to Akmola. The name of the city was changed again, to Astana, the following year. Population (1999 census), 319,318.
