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Kostanai - General description

Policy and Governance Service - March 2008
international@kirklees.gov.uk

General description
See also: Introduction Local Authority

General description of the area :

Kostanai Town is the administrative, political, industrial and cultural centre of the Kostanai Oblast (Region). Kostanai lies on the river Tobol. Kazakh people were traditionally nomadic. Land around Kostanai, was settled for agriculture by Russian and Ukrainian pioneers at the turn of the century. With the construction of the railway in 1913, the role of the town as an important grain trans-shipment point strengthened. Collective farms were developed in the surrounding flat virgin steppes in the 1950's. Now Kostanai is at the centre of an important area for livestock and wheat production.

Although the town was only founded in 1879, it now has a population of 220,000. There are people of many different ethnic origins in Kostanai, including, Russian, Kazakh, Ukrainian, Armenian, German and Korean.

Although the town is predominantly Russian, it is becoming increasingly influenced by Kazakh culture. Most schools teach in Russian, but all schools teach Kazakh language and a few schools teach all subjects in Kazakh. There are 75 schools and pre-school institutions. There are also art schools, sport schools and music schools. Kostanai has 3 Higher Education Colleges including Kostanai State University and 8 Colleges of Further Education.

The Russian Orthodox Church in Kostanai has been rebuilt and a former mosque has been re-opened. There are also practising Baptists and Catholics in Kostanai.

Kostanai has a regional library and local libraries, a regional drama theatre, a puppet theatre, a Philharmonic Society, cinemas, sporting facilities and 2 museums.

The town consists mainly of 4 or 5 storey buildings set out along wide tree lined streets. Most people live in blocks of flats although there are some older single storey wooden houses. Most people also have plots of land on the outskirts of the town where they can grow fruit and vegetables, these are called dachas after the summerhouses built on the plots of land. Recently some private modern houses with gardens have also been built on the outskirts of Kostanai.

The climate in Kostanai is extreme. It can be as cold as -30°C in winter and as hot as +35°C in summer. Snow is on the ground until April. Some years there is insufficient rainfall for the crops to mature.

Main economic sectors:
The town has a number of industries including food processing, textiles, chemicals and a plant producing blocks for the construction industry. There is a very large opencast ore mine in the nearby town of Rudni. Kostanai has rail links with Moscow, other towns in Kazakhstan and most other major towns in the former Soviet Union.

Main employers:
Manufacturing industry:
Bayan Sulu Chocolate Factory, food processing, textiles, clothing, chemicals.
Blocks construction industry.

Main natural resources:
Iron ore mine at Rudny.

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