Qonayev Qonaev Қонаев Kapchagay • Қапшағай • Konaev | |
|---|---|
 On Lake Kapshagai | |
 Flag | |
  Qonayev Location of Qonayev in Kazakhstan | |
| Coordinates:43°53′0″N77°5′0″E / 43.88333°N 77.08333°E /43.88333; 77.08333 | |
| Country | Kazakhstan |
| Region | Almaty Region |
| Government | |
| • Akim | Askhat Berdikhanov[1] |
| Population (2021 census) | |
• Total | 54,245 |
| Time zone | UTC+5 (Almaty Time) |
| Area code | 72772 |
Qonayev (Kazakh:Қонаев,romanized: Qonaev[qoˈnɑjɪf]), also known asKonaev (Russian:Конаев) and byother names, is acity in southeasternKazakhstan. It is the seat of government for theAlmaty Region. The population was 39,855 (2009 census results)[2] and 33,428 (1999 census results).[2]
Qonaev is theLatin form of theKazakh nameҚонаев;Konayev is theromanization of theRussian nameКонаев. Both derive fromDinmukhamed Kunaev, a formerfirst secretary of theCommunist Party of theKazakh SSR duringSoviet rule. The city was renamed in his honor on 17 March 2022.
The first Russian settlement in the area wasFort Ili[3] orIliysk (Russian:Илийск), named forthe area's major river. During the construction of theKapshagay (Russian:Капшагай),Kapchagay (Капчагай), orQapşağai (Kazakh:Қапшағай,lit. 'Narrow Gorge') dam during the 1960s, the town was moved and renamedNovoiliysk (Russian:Новоилийск,lit. 'New Iliysk'). Following the dam's completion, Novoiliysk was renamedKapshagay in its honor on 9 July 1970.
Fort Ili was established by the Russians at thehead of navigation on theIli River for their river boats travelling upstream fromLake 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 theKapshagay Reservoir. The present town is connected by railway withAlmaty 76 km (47 mi) to its south.[4]
| 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) |
| Averageprecipitation 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] | |||||||||||||
Fort Ili was established during theRussian Empire'sconquest of Central Asia. It strengthened their control of the lowerIli, whose upstream valleys in present-dayXinjiang included the major settlement ofKulja (nowYining). The Ili Region was claimed by theQing Empire but lost during the1860s and 1870s Dungan Revolts, after which the entire area was occupied by the Russians until the1881 Treaty of Saint Petersburg, which accepted Russian control of the area aroundLake Balkhash.
_-_panoramio.jpg)
Following theestablishment of theSoviet Union, the area became part of theKazakh SSR and was selected for a major hydroelectric project as part ofSoviet industrialization andenergy policy. TheKapchagay Dam was erected in the late 1960s, Iliysk's population being forced to relocate ahead of the creation of theKapchagay Reservoir. The city was then renamed after the hydro project.
Many of Kapchagay'sRussian inhabitants fled the city during thedissolution 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 ofAlmaty Region[7] on 17 March 2022 as part of Kazakh presidentKassym-Jomart Tokayev's reforms. The former Almaty capitalTaldykorgan was made the capital of the newly establishedZhetysu Region.[8]
Lake Kapchagay is now a popular weekend destination for tourists fromAlmaty.[9]
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