Qonayev (Kazakh: Қонаев, romanizedQonaev [qoˈnɑjɪf]), also known as Konaev (Russian: Конаев) and by other names, is a city in southeastern Kazakhstan. It is the seat of government for the Almaty Region. The population was 39,855 (2009 Census results)[2] and 33,428 (1999 Census results).[2]

Qonayev
Qonaev
Қонаев
Kapchagay • Қапчағай • Konaev
On Lake Kapshagai
On Lake Kapshagai
Flag of Qonayev
Qonayev is located in Kazakhstan
Qonayev
Qonayev
Location of Qonayev in Kazakhstan
Coordinates: 43°53′0″N 77°5′0″E / 43.88333°N 77.08333°E / 43.88333; 77.08333
CountryKazakhstan
RegionAlmaty Region
Government
 • AkimAskhat Berdikhanov[1]
Population
 (2021 census)
 • Total
54,245
Time zoneUTC+5 (Almaty Time)
Area code72772

Names

edit

Qonaev is the Latin form of the Kazakh name Қонаев; Konayev is the romanization of the Russian name Конаев. Both derive from Dinmukhamed Kunaev, a former first secretary of the Communist Party of the Kazakh SSR during Soviet rule. The city was renamed in his honor on 17 March 2022.

The first Russian settlement in the area was Fort Ili[3] or Iliysk (Russian: Илийск), named for the area's major river. During the construction of the Kapshagay (Russian: Капшагай), Kapchagay (Капчагай), or Qapşağai (Kazakh: Қапшағай, lit.'Narrow Gorge') dam during the 1960s, the town was moved and renamed Novoiliysk (Russian: Новоилийск, lit.'New Iliysk'). Following the dam's completion, Novoiliysk was renamed Kapshagay in its honor on 9 July 1970.

Geography

edit

Fort Ili was established by the Russians at the head of navigation on the Ili River for their river boats travelling upstream from Lake Balkhash. When the town of Iliysk that grew up around the fort was set to be flooded, the settlement was relocated to the planned western shore of the Kapshagay Reservoir. The present town is connected by railway with Almaty 76 km (47 mi) to its south.[4]

Climate

edit
Climate data for Qonayev (1991–2020)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) −2.1
(28.2)
1.1
(34.0)
10.2
(50.4)
19.3
(66.7)
25.2
(77.4)
30.6
(87.1)
32.7
(90.9)
31.9
(89.4)
26.1
(79.0)
17.6
(63.7)
8.1
(46.6)
0.7
(33.3)
16.8
(62.2)
Daily mean °C (°F) −7.2
(19.0)
−4.3
(24.3)
4.0
(39.2)
12.3
(54.1)
17.9
(64.2)
23.1
(73.6)
25.3
(77.5)
24.0
(75.2)
18.2
(64.8)
10.3
(50.5)
2.4
(36.3)
−3.9
(25.0)
10.2
(50.4)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −11.7
(10.9)
−8.8
(16.2)
−1.0
(30.2)
5.9
(42.6)
10.8
(51.4)
15.6
(60.1)
17.7
(63.9)
15.9
(60.6)
10.4
(50.7)
4.0
(39.2)
−2.1
(28.2)
−7.9
(17.8)
4.1
(39.4)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 18.5
(0.73)
18.1
(0.71)
24.3
(0.96)
36.3
(1.43)
39.1
(1.54)
32.4
(1.28)
34.1
(1.34)
14.8
(0.58)
12.8
(0.50)
24.9
(0.98)
29.1
(1.15)
21.2
(0.83)
305.6
(12.03)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 4.9 4.9 5.5 6.7 6.6 5.4 5.3 3.3 2.4 4.6 5.4 5.3 60.3
Source: NOAA[5]

History

edit

Fort Ili was established during the Russian Empire's conquest of Central Asia. It strengthened their control of the lower Ili, whose upstream valleys in present-day Xinjiang included the major settlement of Kulja (now Yining). The Ili Region was claimed by the Qing Empire but lost during the 1860s and 1870s Dungan Revolts, after which the entire area was occupied by the Russians until the 1881 Treaty of Saint Petersburg, which accepted Russian control of the area around Lake Balkhash.

Following the establishment of the Soviet Union, the area became part of the Kazakh SSR and was selected for a major hydroelectric project as part of Soviet industrialization and energy policy. The Kapchagay Dam was erected in the late 1960s, Iliysk's population being forced to relocate ahead of the creation of the Kapchagay Reservoir. The city was then renamed after the hydro project.

Many of Kapchagay's Russian inhabitants fled the city during the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, but its population saw a resurgence in the 2000s and has since returned to predissolution numbers.[6] The city was renamed Qonayev and made the capital of Almaty Region[7] on 17 March 2022 as part of Kazakh president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's reforms. The former Almaty capital Taldykorgan was made the capital of the newly established Zhetysu Region.[8]

Lake Kapchagay is now a popular weekend destination for tourists from Almaty.[9]

Administrative divisions

edit
  1. the city of Qonayev;
  2. Zarechny rural district;
  3. Shengeldinsky rural district.

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Назначен аким Конаева". tengrinews.kz (in Russian). 19 April 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Население Республики Казахстан" [Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan] (in Russian). Департамент социальной и демографической статистики. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  3. ^ "Ili", Encyclopaedia Britannica (9th ed.), 1881.
  4. ^ "Капчагай". tochka-na-karte.ru.
  5. ^ "World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020 — Qonayev". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Kapchagay". Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  7. ^ National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Geonames database entry. (search) Accessed 12 May 2011.
  8. ^ "В Казахстане появится четыре новых региона". Interfax.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  9. ^ "Kapchagay travel guide | Caravanistan". Caravanistan. Retrieved 6 August 2018.