The city has two official names.[3] In the Kazakh language, its name is Өскемен/Oskemen and in the Russian language it is known as Усть-Каменогорск. Both names appear on the seal of the city.[4]
The city was founded in 1720 at the confluence of theIrtysh andUlba rivers as afort andtrading post namedUst-Kamennaya.[5] It was established according to the order of the Russian EmperorPeter the Great, who sent a military expedition headed by major Ivan Mihailovich Likharev in the search of Yarkenda gold. Likharev's expedition directed up the Irtysh River toZaysan Lake. There, at the confluence of the Ulba and the Irtysh rivers the new fortress was laid – the Ust-Kamennaya Fortress. The Ust-Kamennaya Fortress appeared on the map of the Russian Empire, the very southern end of the Irtysh line.[6] In 1868 the city became the capital of theSemipalatinsk Oblast. It was the site ofGeorgy Malenkov's 30-year internalexile, during which he managed a local hydroelectric plant.[7]
One of the main industrial enterprises, theUlba Metal Works (UMW) which produced and still produces uranium products, was kept entirely secret despite it employing thousands of workers. An explosion at the UMW'sberyllium production line in 1990 led to the diffusion of a highly toxic beryllium-containing "cloud" over the city. The health effects of this incident are not entirely known, partly because the incident was kept secret by the Soviet authorities.[8]
In 2017, the Ulba Metallurgical Plant was inaugurated by theInternational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as the home of theLow Enriched Uranium (LEU) bank - which serves as a supply mechanism of last resort for IAEA member states.[9] The LEU bank is a physical stock of 90 metric tons of LEU hexaflouride, enough uranium to power a large city for three years.[10] The facility was wholly funded by IAEA member states and other contributions for a total of $150 million. This is expected to cover costs for 20 years.[11] Responsibility for safety, security, and safeguarding falls under the responsibilities of local authorities in Osmeken.[12]
The number of enterprises in Oskemen is very high relative to the number of people living there. There are about 169 firms according to the data from 2002.[14] Most of them are industrial firms, working inmining and processing of raw materials, mostlyheavy metals.
Kazzinc is a major fully integrated zinc producer with considerable copper, precious metals and lead credits. The company was established in 1997 through the merger of Eastern Kazakhstan's three main non-ferrous metal companies - Ust-Kamenogorsk Lead and Zinc Combinate, Leninogorsk Polymetallic Combinate and Zyryanovsk Lead Combinate. The company continues to develop seeking to have its stable position among the world's five lowest costzinc producers. Apart from zinc it produces on a large-scalelead,silver,copper, and many more.[15]
Titanium-Magnesium plant specializes in production and selling nonferrous metals.[16]
Ulba metallurgical plant produces hi-techuranium,beryllium andtantalum products for the needs of atomic engineering, electronics, metallurgical and other spheres of operation. The company is among the leaders in production of their specific goods.[17]
Apart from the mining and processing companies, there are numerousthermoelectric power stations and about fivehydropower plants concentrated around the Ust-Kamenogorsk region of Eastern Kazakhstan.
The highestlock in the world is the Oskemen Lock[18] and lies at Ablaketka where it allows river traffic to pass around ahydroelectric dam on the Irtysh river. It has a drop of more than 40m.[19]
The city has three cinemas (although during the Soviet era, there were a lot more), three museums, and a drama theater with Russian and Kazakh (since 2000) troupes.
With ethnicRussians comprising the demographic majority of the population,Orthodox Christianity is the dominant religion of Oskemen. There are 32 religious unions, presenting 15 religious confessions, includingMuslim,Christian, and non-traditional religions. There are 21 cultural buildings in the city: among themOrthodox Christian churches andmosques.[22] However, in 2017 a court fined and banned Oskemen's New Life Protestant Church for singing religious songs at a summer camp.[23]
Intercity bus service is available at two bus stations. The most extensive network, with more than 35 lines, is at the railway station, which is located by the Sports Palace on Novoshkolnaya Street. From this station, buses not only serve cities within Kazakhstan, but also Russian cities such as Krasnoyarsk. The route network at the second station covers a smaller area with 17 lines.
Oskemen has ahumid continental climate (Köppen climate classificationDfb). The coldest months are November through March. Record low temperatures range from −49 °C in January to 4 °C in July, and record highs range from 8 °C in January to 43 °C in July.
Climate data for Oskemen (1991-2020, extremes 1895-present)
As expected in a city with a lot of heavy industry, the atmosphere of the city holds the by-products of the heavy metals production:nitrogen dioxide,sulfur dioxide, Zn, Cd, Cl, As, C, Be,phenol,benzol, NaOH, NH3,radioactivity etc. in general there are about 170 polluting components found in the city.[14]
There are 3 impact points that are influenced in Oskemen. The atmosphere is hit most. With a poor urban ventilation (the average percentage of calm 48%),[14] with a large number of vehicles and stationary sources relevance ofair pollution in Oskemen is not in doubt. The concentration of harmful substances in the air is increasing each year because of the nature of the companies which are looking for increases in the production and profits. As usual, the pollution is enhanced by the low quality of car fuels and an increase in the number of cars. As a result of all this, Oskemen is often recognized as one of the mostpolluted regional centers of Kazakhstan.
The most polluted rivers of the Republic are those flowing through the territory of the East Kazakhstan region, where the highest index of surface water pollution is observed in the mining areas and enrichment ofpolymetallic ores.[14] Mostly the water is affected through theindustrial wastes and the storages of waste.Contamination of the water with lead,selenium, cadmium,nitrates spreads on many kilometers as a consequence of which a fewdrinking water intakes in the Western part of the city are closed or to be closed.
Thesoil close to the industry territories holds thesolid wastes of the firms and becomes less suitable for planting. An increasing number of industrial waste requires a large area for the storage of waste.[14]
As a result of large production of uranium and presence of other radioactive elements such thorium, radon or radioactive dust the radioactive background of the city is remarkable with the zones of radioactive anomaly which are spread around the city.[14]
Oskemen is known to be the leader in Kazakhstan by the number of people having respiratory problems and the diseases of immune system. The statistics show that the most frequent diseases are respiratory diseases and urogenital system diseases. In the last years, the number of people having cancer has been also increasing.
