Kostanay is the administrative, economic, and cultural center of the Kostanay region. It is one of the largest rail, air, and road hubs in Kazakhstan.
Kostanay is located in the central part of the Kostanay Plain, which forms the southwestern edge of the West Siberian Lowland, occupying the steppe belt. The city is located on the banks of the Tobol River.
The district covers 8,991 hectares. The population is 205,500 (2003). Kostanay is one of the oldest settlements in the region. The city was founded in 1897 by decree of the Russian Tsar, in the village of "Kostanay."
The village was originally called "Nikolaevka." Later, Berevenya was renamed Kostanay and became the center of the Kostanay region. In 1912-1913, thanks to the construction of the Chelyabinsk-Troitsk-Kostanay South Siberian railway line, Kostanay was able to establish direct trade relations with the central regions of Russia, which are among the most industrially developed regions in Russia. As a result, Kostanay became one of the largest trading centers in Northern Kazakhstan.
Light and food industries, mills and diesel fuel, slippers, leather goods, and other products developed. From 1917 to 1919, Soviet power was established in Kostanay in 1920. At that time, the same name was used for the Aktobe region. In 1925, it became a province. In 1936, it became the center of the newly created Kostanay region.
To date, a joint venture has been established for the light industry, including Bolshevik's clothing and sewing factories, the meat, dairy, flour, and grain food industries, reinforced concrete plants for the building materials industry, and red and sand-lime brick materials, construction and assembly plants, a plant, a refining plant for mechanical engineering and metalworking, automotive and agricultural machinery repair plants, a chemical fiber plant for the chemical industry, a thermal power plant for the electric power industry, an auto repair plant, the furniture industry, a household waste disposal plant, and other activities.
Currently, 10 branches, 9 limited liability companies, and 4 small and medium-sized enterprises operate within the city's industrial enterprises. As of 2000, there were 30 large enterprises in Kostanay. The city is home to the North Kazakhstan Geological Department and its central laboratory, Baitursynov State Pedagogical University, an agricultural institute, state agricultural and agricultural design institutes, the Institute of Water Structural Design, cooperative, automobile, and construction colleges, two city vocational schools, a regional historical and geological museum, a hydrometeorology bureau, 59 schools, two community centers, a regional drama theater, a philharmonic society, and 13 libraries.
There are 12 hospitals (regional and city clinics, hospitals, railway clinics and children's clinics, regional and city clinics, oncology, tuberculosis, psychiatric, and venereal disease dispensaries, a bone marrow tuberculosis hospital, and a city trachoma hospital), six obstetric centers, 131 pharmacies, a regional radio and television studio, and a stadium serving the city's residents.
Photogallery:
