Kazakhstan

Some facts about Kazakhstan

• Size - 2,717,300 sq km (the size of Western Europe, or four times the size of Texas)
• Population - 15 Million
• Capital City - Astana
• President - Nursultan Nazarbayev
• Climate - continental, cold winters and hot summers
• Highest point - Khan Tangiri Shyngy (Pik Khan-Tengri) 6,995m
• Lowest point - Vpadina Kaundy 132 m
• Natural Resources - Major deposits of petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, manganese, chrome ore, nickel, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, bauxite, gold, uranium.

Brief History - Kazakhstan is the largest of the former Soviet republics, excluding Russia, possesses enormous fossil fuel reserves and has plentiful supplies of other minerals and metals. The native Kazakhs were a mix of Turkic and Mongol nomadic tribes who migrated into the region in the 13th century. The area was conquered by Russia in the 18th century, and Kazakhstan became a Soviet Republic in 1936. During the 1950s and 1960s agricultural "Virgin Lands" program, Soviet citizens were encouraged to help cultivate Kazakhstan's northern pastures. This influx of immigrants skewed the ethnic mixture and enabled non-Kazakhs to outnumber natives. Kazakhstan became in independent republic in 1991. Kazakhstan's economy is larger than those of all the other Central Asian states combined, largely due to the country's vast natural resources and a recent history of political stability.