The Republic of Kazakhstan is located in the

The Republic of Kazakhstan is located in the south east central region of the former Soviet Union. Kazakhstan is bordered to the south from left to right by the Caspian Sea, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgystan (all formally part of the Soviet Union) and China. All information is provided by Compton's 3 D World Atlas (1998), unless noted otherwise.

Map Provided by Lonely Planet. Com

Kazakhstan Statistics Area: 1, 031, 000 sq. miles (2, 670, 000 sq. km) Population: 17, 110, 000 Exchange Rate: ruble 41. 19 = US$ 1 Capital: Astana City Languages: Kazakh, Russian Religion: 47% Sunni Muslim 44% Russian Orthodox 2% Protestant 7% Other

The Kazakhstan Flag The Kazakhstan flag is sky blue with gold embroidering down the left side. There is also a gold sun and eagle in the center.

Historical Introduction Kazak is the Turkish word for "peace. " The Kazakh people are descended from a mix of Mongol and Turkic tribes, and now comprise less than 40 percent of the population. The Kazakhs declared independence from Russia in 1991. President Nursulta Nazarbayev is extremely popular, but increasingly authoritarian: he dissolved Parliament, then won a popular mandate to rule until the end of the year 2000. Tensions between the Kazakh south and the Russian north have been cited as one reason for the president's decision to relocate the capital from southern Alma-Ata (Almaty) to northern, more ethnically mixed Akmola (formerly Tselinograd) in 1997. SPECIAL FACT In 1933 the Kazakhs slaughtered 24 million sheep and goats, 5 million cattle, and 3 million horses rather than have them put into collective farms as dictated by the Soviet leader Stalin.

Ethnicity In 1991, when Kazakhstan gained independence from the Soviet Union, Kazakhs were a minority in their own country, about 43 percent of the population. The combined population of non. Kazakhs, consisting of Russians, Ukrainians, Germans, Tartars, and Uzbeks, made up the majority. Most non-Kazakhs arrived in the 1920 s and 1930 s from Russian immigrants known as Virgin Landers came in the 1950 s under Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev's directive to grow wheat in Kazakhstan. The Kazakh government has taken steps to ensure that Kazakhs remain in the majority, and that Kazakh culture predominates. Kazakh-tili has been restored as the official language, and Kazakh schools have reopened. With the rise of Kazakh nationalism, ethnic tensions have also increased. Kazakh (Qazaq) 46%, Russian 34. 7%, Ukrainian 4. 9%, German 3. 1%, Uzbek 2. 3%, Tatar 1. 9%, other 7. 1% (1996) SPECIAL FACT Kazakhstan's Cossacks, who are descended from frontier soldiers loyal to the Russian czars, gained a reputation for their expert handling of horses and for fierceness on the battlefield.

Kazakhs Migrating

Geography & Agriculture Central Asia's largest country is more than one-third lowlands and almost one-half hilly plains and plateaus; the rest is mountainous. Deserts and semi-deserts cover more than 2/3 rds of the country. Temperatures range from more than 100 degrees F. in the summer to MINUS 50 degrees in the winter. Wheat and other crops are cultivated in the north; fruit, vegetables and rice grow in the south. However, most of the farmland is used for grazing. Several large lakes dot the country, which also borders the world's largest inland lake, the Caspian Sea. Kazakhstan is rich in mineral resources including copper, gold, lead, zinc, silver, iron ore, oil, and coal. SPECIAL FACT The name Alma-Ata is Kazakh for Father of Apples; the capital city is a major producer of the fruit.

A Vegetable Market In Kazakhstan

Economics & Industry In the 1990 s, when Kazakhstan's economy contracted after the breakup of the Soviet Union, a large percentage of the urban workforce was left without jobs. Kazakhstan's enormous, untapped fossil-fuel reserves are the key to a brighter economic future. Eventual revenues from the oil industry are expected to exceed $5 billion annually. Despite the potential profits, investors are discouraged by the fact that oil can reach Western markets only via pipelines through other former Soviet republics, some of which are politically unstable. Industrial technology is antiquated, and trade has not been established with markets outside the former Soviet bloc. The traditional occupations of agriculture and shepherding are still important in rural areas. About 30 percent of the workforce is agricultural. Before the Soviet breakup, Kazakhstan produced about a third of the U. S. S. R. 's wheat. SPECIAL FACT Kazakhstan was a major site for Soviet defense installations and for the Soviet space exploration program. The cosmonaut center was located at Baikonur.

A Mausoleum In Kazakhstan

Facts For The Traveler Things To Know Before A Work & Witness Trip If you're not a fan of endless semi-arid steppe and decaying industrial cities, Kazakhstan may seem bleak as a month old biscuit. And if it sometimes looks like the landscape has suffered from hundreds of nuclear explosions, well, parts of it have - ever since Russian rocket scientists started using Kazakhstan as a sandpit in the late 1940 s. But any country which uses a headless goat's carcass as a polo puck obviously has lots to offer. The chief exceptions to this relentless desolation are the cosmopolitan city of Almaty (you'll never believe how many ways there are to cook mutton) and the spectacular spurs of the Tian Shan and Altai mountains on the country's southern and eastern borders. Those who enjoy remoteness, wide open spaces, long hypnotic train rides and horse sausage will definitely be in their element. A proper Kazakh feast involves cooking a whole sheep. Guest are then given the parts of the head along with speeches and toasting. The one who receives the eyes will always have excellent vision. The one who receives the tongue will be given gifts of speech. The one who receives the ears will be better able to discern the words of others. Information provided by Lonely Planet. com Last Paragraph from MWMS Mission Book

The Church of the Nazarene In Kazakhstan Missionaries: (1) (2) Rev. & Mrs. Michael Park W/Children: Young-Min & Chan-Song Cinda Kammerman NAZKOM, the compassionate ministries center in Astana (Capitol City) has been important to outreach in Kazakhstan. They distribute food to the elderly, who are invited to see the Jesus film and get acquainted. Missionary Cinda Kammerman teaches English as a foreign language to reach people with the gospel.