Until 1961, this settlement of Kazakhstan, which at that time was a village, was called Churubai-Nura (in Kazakh, Sherubay-Nұra). And it arose in 1949 as a working village in connection with the beginning of the development of the western part of the Karaganda coal basin. Since the beginning of the XXI century (since 2002), it became the center of the Abay region of the region and was renamed Abai.
After reviewing the information in the article, you can find out more detailed information about the city of Abay, Karaganda region (photo is presented in the article).
General information about the area
Geographically, the territory is located in the central part of the Kazakh small hills. By area, the district occupies 6.5 thousand square meters. kilometers. The terrain is flat and shallow. The following mineral resources have been explored in the area: limestone, barite, coal and other building rocks. The area is located within the steppe zone. The largest settlements are the villages of Karabas, Topar and Yuzhny. The distance to the regional center is 30 kilometers. The district center is the city of Abay.
City location and general information
The city of Abay in the Karaganda region of Kazakhstan is located 8 kilometers from Karabas (railway station) and 30 kilometers from the city of Karaganda in a south-westerly direction. A highway was laid across Abai through the Karaganda - Zhezkazgan - Kyzylorda route, as well as landscaped roads leading to the cities of Shakhtinsk and Saran.
The city was named after Abay Kunanbaev, a Kazakh poet, writer, composer, public figure, founder of written Kazakh literature, a reformer of culture in the spirit of rapprochement of European and Russian culture on the basis of liberal Islam. It should be noted that his real name is Ibrahim, and Abay (“cautious”, “attentive”) is the nickname given by his mother.
Climate and nature
The climate is continental: light snowy and cold winters with an average temperature of 15-16 ° C (in January), as well as hot and dry summers with an average temperature of July 20 ° C. The total annual rainfall is approximately 350 mm.
The fauna of the environs of the city of Abay, Karaganda region is represented by wolves, foxes, corsacs, marmots, hamsters and muskrats. In the reservoirs there are crucians, tench, paws, rockers, ligatures, perches, pikes and other fish. Of the birds here you can find a gray partridge, as well as more rare species: curly pelican, argali, whooper swan, strep.
The following rivers flow through the territory of this region : Sherubay-Nura (tributaries of Sokyr, Yesen) and Nura. Lakes: Intimak, Sasykkol, Sarybulak, Sopaksor, Sherubaynura, Shubarkol and others. Steppes prevail here, where wormwood, fescue and feather grass grow. A pink feather grass grows between hills and in river valleys, and in the most elevated areas - meadowsweet, caragan, etc.
Population
Abay of the Karaganda region and the entire region are inhabited by a variety of nationalities. The total population is 54,725 people (according to 2010 data).
National composition:
- Russians - more than 25 thousand people (more than 45% of the total population);
- Kazakhs - more than 16 thousand people (almost 30%);
- Ukrainians - more than 4 thousand people (more than 7%);
- Tatars - almost 3 thousand people (5%);
- Germans - 1.8 thousand people (3.48%);
- Belarusians - a little more than 1 thousand people (2.5%);
- Chechens - about 500 people. (0.9%);
- Azerbaijanis - about 680 people (0.6%).
The rest of the population of the district and the city of Abay of the Karaganda region are Koreans, Chuvashs, Lithuanians, Moldavians, Mordovians, Uzbeks and other nationalities.
The population of the city by year (according to statistics and censuses):
- 1959 - about 18 thousand people;
- 1979 - a little over 39 thousand;
- 1989 - 46.5 thousand;
- 1999 - about 33 thousand;
- 2005 - almost 30 thousand people;
- 2010 - more than 25 thousand people;
- 2015 - 28.2 thousand people.
Economics and industry
Before perestroika, 4 coal mines functioned in the city, and limestone was mined. Today, there are house-building and woodworking combines, a garment factory, a municipal industrial complex, a bakery, a mechanical-repair factory and a factory of reinforced concrete products. In the work are the mine-building departments No. 3 and 8 of the Karagandauglestroy trust.
The following products are manufactured in the city of Abay, Karaganda Region: reinforced concrete, sewing and bakery products, coal and coal concentrate, agricultural machinery, hydraulic lifts for GUAR-15N vehicles. In the nearby village of Topar is a large Karaganda state district power station-2. Among educational institutions there are technical schools: Power Engineering and Mining.
Problems
Due to the difficult socio-economic situation, at the beginning of the 21st century, some mines and many city-forming industrial enterprises were closed, which served as the basis for the economic stability of the city. All this led to a reduction in the population (the dynamics are given above).
In connection with the problems that have arisen, the authorities took measures (2008-2009) to improve the places of recreation for the population of the city of Abay in the Karandin region (see photo in the article), courtyards, etc., in order to improve people's lives.
Some interesting facts
The Churubai-Nur settlement and the very first mine were built by Karlag prisoners, who were brought here daily from the Dolinka and Karabas camps. By 1950, one-story houses in the form of barracks in Churubai-Nur were built for civilian employees.
The district was formed in March 1973. Initially, it was called Michurinsky. Its administrative center was the village of Topar. The area was renamed Abai in 1997, and the city of Abai (formerly the village of Churubai Nura) became its administrative center.
Abay district is the epicenter of the earthquake (5.8 points) that occurred in June 2014. Despite the fact that this territory is relatively calm in seismic terms, the force of shocks at that time reached 4 points on the surface.