Europe
Europe is a continent located in the Northern Hemisphere and in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Mediterranean Sea to the south, it comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia. Since around 1850, Europe is most considered to be separated from Asia by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas and the waterways of the Turkish Straits. Although the term "continent" implies physical geography, the land border is somewhat arbitrary and has been redefined several times since its first conception in classical antiquity; the division of Eurasia into two continents reflects East-West cultural and ethnic differences which vary on a spectrum rather than with a sharp dividing line. The geographic border does not follow political boundaries, with Turkey and Kazakhstan being transcontinental countries. A strict application of the Caucasus Mountains boundary places two comparatively small countries and Georgia, in both continents.
Europe covers 2 % of the Earth's surface. Politically, Europe is divided into about fifty sovereign states of which the Russian Federation is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had a total population of about 741 million as of 2016; the European climate is affected by warm Atlantic currents that temper winters and summers on much of the continent at latitudes along which the climate in Asia and North America is severe. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable than close to the coast. Europe, in particular ancient Greece, was the birthplace of Western civilization; the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD and the subsequent Migration Period marked the end of ancient history and the beginning of the Middle Ages. Renaissance humanism, exploration and science led to the modern era. Since the Age of Discovery started by Portugal and Spain, Europe played a predominant role in global affairs. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European powers controlled at various times the Americas all of Africa and Oceania and the majority of Asia.
The Age of Enlightenment, the subsequent French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars shaped the continent culturally and economically from the end of the 17th century until the first half of the 19th century. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century, gave rise to radical economic and social change in Western Europe and the wider world. Both world wars took place for the most part in Europe, contributing to a decline in Western European dominance in world affairs by the mid-20th century as the Soviet Union and the United States took prominence. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the West and the Warsaw Pact in the East, until the revolutions of 1989 and fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1949 the Council of Europe was founded, following a speech by Sir Winston Churchill, with the idea of unifying Europe to achieve common goals, it includes all European states except for Belarus and Vatican City. Further European integration by some states led to the formation of the European Union, a separate political entity that lies between a confederation and a federation.
The EU originated in Western Europe but has been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The currency of most countries of the European Union, the euro, is the most used among Europeans. In classical Greek mythology, Europa was a Phoenician princess; the word Europe is derived from her name. The name contains the elements εὐρύς, "wide, broad" and ὤψ "eye, countenance", hence their composite Eurṓpē would mean "wide-gazing" or "broad of aspect". Broad has been an epithet of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion and the poetry devoted to it. There have been attempts to connect Eurṓpē to a Semitic term for "west", this being either Akkadian erebu meaning "to go down, set" or Phoenician'ereb "evening, west", at the origin of Arabic Maghreb and Hebrew ma'arav. Michael A. Barry, professor in Princeton University's Near Eastern Studies Department, finds the mention of the word Ereb on an Assyrian stele with the meaning of "night, sunset", in opposition to Asu " sunrise", i.e. Asia.
The same naming motive according to "cartographic convention" appears in Greek Ἀνατολή. Martin Litchfield West stated that "phonologically, the match between Europa's name and any form of the Semitic word is poor." Next to these hypotheses there is a Proto-Indo-European root *h1regʷos, meaning "darkness", which produced Greek Erebus. Most major world languages use words derived from Europa to refer to the continent. Chinese, for example, uses the word Ōuzhōu. In some Turkic languages the Persian name Frangistan is used casually in referring to much of Europe, besides official names such as Avrupa or Evropa; the prevalent definition of Europe as a geographical term has been in use since the mid-19th century. Europe is taken to be bounded by large bodies of water
Almaty
Almaty known as Alma-Ata and Verniy, is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of 1,801,713 people, about 8% of the country's total population and more than 2 million in its built-up area that encompasses Talgar, Otegen Batyr and many others suburbs. It served as capital of the Kazakh state in its various forms from 1929 to 1997, under the influence of the Soviet Union and its appointees. In 1997, the government relocated the capital to Astana in the north of the country and about 12 hours away by train. Almaty continues as the major commercial and cultural centre of Kazakhstan, as well as its most populous and most cosmopolitan city; the city is located in the mountainous area of southern Kazakhstan in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau at an elevation of 700–900 m, where the Large and Small Almatinka rivers run into the plain. The city has been part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the area of music since November 2017; the city was the host for a 1978 international conference on Primary Health Care where the Alma Ata Declaration was adopted, marking a paradigm shift in global public health.
From 1929 to 1936, Almaty was the capital of Kazakh ASSR. From 1936 to 1991 it was the capital of Kazakh SSR. After Kazakhstan became independent in 1991, Almaty continued as the capital until 1997, when Astana was designated a return to the historic capital. Almaty remains the largest, most developed, most ethnically and culturally diverse city in Kazakhstan. Due to development by the Soviet Union and relocation of workers and industries from European areas of the Soviet Union during World War II, the city has a high proportion of ethnic Russians and Ukrainians; the city is in the foothills of Trans-Ili Alatau in the extreme south-east. It has a mild climate with warm summers and quite cold winters. Since the city is in a tectonically active area, it has an endemic risk of earthquakes. Although most do not cause any significant damage, Almaty has suffered some large destructive earthquakes. In 1997 the capital was moved to Astana in the north-central part of the country. Since Almaty has been referred to as the'southern capital' of Kazakhstan.
The name Almaty has its roots in the medieval settlement Almatu, that existed near the present-day city. A disputed theory holds that the name is derived from the Kazakh word for'apple', is translated as "full of apples", it was Almatau which means Apple Mountain. The Russian version of the name was Alma-Ata. Since gaining its independence from the Soviet Union, the use of the Kazakh Almaty is accepted. There is great genetic diversity among the wild apples in the region surrounding Almaty; the wild Malus sieversii is considered a candidate for the ancestor of the modern domestic apple. The city's name was written as آلماتی Ālmātī in Turkish and Persian written with the Perso-Arabic script. During 1000–900 BC in the Bronze Age, the first farmers and cattle-breeders established settlements in the territory of Almaty. During the Saka period, these lands were occupied by the Saka and Wusun tribes, who inhabited the territory north of the Tian Shan mountain range. Evidence of these times can be found in the numerous burial mounds and ancient settlements the giant burial mounds of the Saka tsars.
The most famous archaeological finds have been "The Golden Man" known as "The Golden Warrior", from the Issyk Kurgan. During the period of Saka and Wusun governance, Almaty became an early education centre. During the Middle Ages, a city culture developed in Almaty. There was a transition to a settled way of living, the development of farming and handicrafts, the emergence of a number of towns and cities in the territory of Zhetysu. In the 10–14th centuries, settlements in the territory of the so-called "Greater Almaty" became part of the trade routes of the Silk Road, which reached from China to western Asia and Europe. At that time, Almaty became one of the trade and agricultural centres on the Silk Road, it had an official mint. The city was first mentioned as Almatu in books from the 13th century. In the 15th–18th centuries, the city was in decline as trade activities were decreasing on this part of the Silk Road. European nations were conducting more trade by shipping; this period was one of crucial political transformations.
The Kazakh state and nation were founded here. The Dzungar invaded; the Kazakh fought to preserve independence. In 1730 the Kazakh defeated the Dzungar in the Anyrakay mountains, 70 kilometres north-west of Almaty. During the eighteenth century, the city and region was on the border between the Khanate of Kokand and Qing Empire, it was absorbed as part of the Russian Empire in the 1850s. To defend its empire, Russia built Fort Verniy near the Zailiysky Alatau mountain range between the Bolshaya and Malenkaya Almatinka rivers. Construction was nearly completed by the autumn of that year; the fort was a wooden palisade, shaped like a pentagon, with one side built along the Malaya Almatinka. The wood fence was replaced with a brick wall with embrasures; the main facilities were erected around the large square for parading. In 1855 Kazakhs displaced from their nomadic territor
Pavlodar
Pavlodar is a city in northeastern Kazakhstan and the capital of Pavlodar Region. It is located 450 km northeast of the national capital Astana, 405 km southeast of the Russian city of Omsk along the Irtysh River; as of 2010, the city has a population of 331,710. The population of Pavlodar is composed predominantly of ethnic Russians and Kazakhs with significant Ukrainian and Tatar minorities; the city is served by Pavlodar Airport. One of the oldest cities in northern Kazakhstan, Pavlodar was founded in 1720 as Koryakovsky, an Imperial Russian outpost; the settlement was created to establish control over the region's salt lakes, an important source of valuable salt. In 1861 the settlement was incorporated as a town. Pavlodar's significance was due in large measure to the substantial agricultural and salt-producing industries that had developed there despite the town's small population. Pavlodar's population numbered only about 8,000 in 1897; the name Pavlodar means The Gift of Paul, was chosen to commemorate the birth of the Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia.
After 1955, the Soviet Government's Virgin Lands Campaign provided the impetus for the rapid growth and development of modern Pavlodar. Under the program, large numbers of young men and women from throughout the Soviet Union were relocated to the city. Pavlodar has a warm-summer humid continental climate with hot summers; the average temperature in January is −15.8 °C with absolute observed lows reaching −45 to −47 °C. In July the temperature averages 21.5 °C. Yearly precipitation amounts to 303 mm; the city's population is 331,119, the extended urbanized area has 342,321 inhabitants. Ethnic groups are as follows: Kazakhs — 166 835 Russians — 152 032 Ukrainians — 15 184 Germans — 9 058 Tatars — 7 752 Belarusians — 2 852 Ingushetians — 1 279 Moldovans — 954 Azeris — 802 Chechens — 800 Koreans — 594 Polish — 574 Bulgarians — 475 Chuvash — 425 Bashkirs — 415 Others — 5 470 Total — 331 710 The largest local industries are aluminum, industrial chemicals, farm machinery. An oil refinery was completed in 1978.
In 2012 Polish rolling stock manufacturer Pesa Bydgoszcz announced its intentions to build a tram assembly plant in Pavlodar in conjunction with the city's plans to buy up to 100 new trams from the manufacturer to shore up its aging public transport infrastructure. FC Irtysh is a Kazakh football club based at the Tsentralny Stadium in Pavlodar. Another notable club based in Pavlodar, FC Energetik, has since relocated to Ekibastuz; the Chess Federation of Pavlodar organizes frequent citywide competitions such as «Pavlodar Open 2007» and «The Pavlodar Regional Cup», a fast chess competition. Several FIDE masters, grandmasters including Rinat Zhumabayev, Pavel Kotsur, Yuri Nikitin Vladimir Grebenshikov, Yelena Ankudinova, participate in the events. Ice hockey team Irtysh play in Astana Ice Palace. Pavlodar hockey players were the champions of Kazakhstan three times in the row in the seasons 2012/2013, 2013/2014 and 2014/2015. Pavlodar has an 86 km streetcar network, which began service in 1965 with, as of 2012, 20 regular and 3 special routes.
The network has a 60% share of the local public transport market. However, its fleet of 115 trams is due to be replaced by 100 new trams produced locally by Polish manufacturer PESA SA. In addition, Pavlodar has minibus service. Several universities are located in Pavlodar, among them: Pavlodar State University Pavlodar State Pedagogical University Innovative University of Eurasia Bydgoszcz, Poland Omsk, Russia Denizli, Turkey Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine Government portal
Rapid transit
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit known as heavy rail, subway, tube, U-Bahn or underground, is a type of high-capacity public transport found in urban areas. Unlike buses or trams, rapid transit systems are electric railways that operate on an exclusive right-of-way, which cannot be accessed by pedestrians or other vehicles of any sort, and, grade separated in tunnels or on elevated railways. Modern services on rapid transit systems are provided on designated lines between stations using electric multiple units on rail tracks, although some systems use guided rubber tires, magnetic levitation, or monorail; the stations have high platforms, without steps inside the trains, requiring custom-made trains in order to minimize gaps between train and platform. They are integrated with other public transport and operated by the same public transport authorities. However, some rapid transit systems have at-grade intersections between a rapid transit line and a road or between two rapid transit lines.
It is unchallenged in its ability to transport large numbers of people over short distances with little to no use of land. The world's first rapid transit system was the underground Metropolitan Railway which opened as a conventional railway in 1863, now forms part of the London Underground. In 1868, New York opened the elevated West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway a cable-hauled line using static steam engines. China has the largest number of rapid transit systems in the world at 31, with over 4,500 km of lines and is responsible for most of the world's rapid transit expansion in the past decade; the world's longest single-operator rapid transit system by route length is the Shanghai Metro. The world's largest single rapid transit service provider by number of stations is the New York City Subway; the busiest rapid transit systems in the world by annual ridership are the Tokyo subway system, the Seoul Metropolitan Subway, the Moscow Metro, the Beijing Subway, the Shanghai Metro, the Guangzhou Metro, the New York City Subway, the Mexico City Metro, the Paris Métro, the Hong Kong MTR.
Metro is the most common term for underground rapid transit systems used by non-native English speakers. Rapid transit systems may be named after the medium by which passengers travel in busy central business districts. One of these terms may apply to an entire system if a large part of the network runs at ground level. In most of Britain, a subway is a pedestrian underpass. In Scotland, the Glasgow Subway underground rapid transit system is known as the Subway. In most of North America, underground mass transit systems are known as subways; the term metro is a shortened reference to a metropolitan area. Chicago's commuter rail system that serves the entire metropolitan area is called Metra, while its rapid transit system that serves the city is called the "L". Rapid transit systems such as the Washington Metro, Los Angeles Metro Rail, the Miami Metrorail, the Montreal Metro are called the Metro; the opening of London's steam-hauled Metropolitan Railway in 1863 marked the beginning of rapid transit.
Initial experiences with steam engines, despite ventilation, were unpleasant. Experiments with pneumatic railways failed in their extended adoption by cities. Electric traction was more efficient and cleaner than steam and the natural choice for trains running in tunnels and proved superior for elevated services. In 1890 the City & South London Railway was the first electric-traction rapid transit railway, fully underground. Prior to opening the line was to be called the "City and South London Subway", thus introducing the term Subway into railway terminology. Both railways, alongside others, were merged into London Underground; the 1893 Liverpool Overhead Railway was designed to use electric traction from the outset. The technology spread to other cities in Europe, the United States and Canada, with some railways being converted from steam and others being designed to be electric from the outset. Budapest, Chicago and New York all converted or purpose-designed and built electric rail services.
Advancements in technology have allowed new automated services. Hybrid solutions have evolved, such as tram-train and premetro, which incorporate some of the features of rapid transit systems. In response to cost, engineering considerations and topological challenges some cities have opted to construct tram systems those in Australia, where density in cities was low and suburbs tended to spread out. Since the 1970s, the viability of underground train systems in Australian cities Sydney and Melbourne, has been reconsidered and proposed as a solution to over-capacity. Since the 1960s many new systems were introduced in Europe and Latin America. In the 21st century, most new expansions and systems are located in Asia, with China becoming the world's leader in metro expansion operating some of the largest systems and possessing 60 cities operating, constructing or planning a rapid transit system. Rapid transit is used in cities and metropolitan areas to transport large numbers of people short distances at high frequency.
The extent of the rapid transit system varies between cities, with se
Semey
Semey, until 2007 known as Semipalatinsk and in 1917–1920 as Alash-kala, is a city in Kazakhstan, in East Kazakhstan Region, in the Kazakhstani part of Siberia, near the border with Russia, around 1,000 kilometers north of Almaty, 700 kilometers southeast of the Russian city of Omsk, along the Irtysh River. Population: 299,264; the first Russian settlement in the area dates from 1718, when Russia built a fort beside the river Irtysh, near a ruined Buddhist monastery. The monastery's seven buildings lent the fort the name Semipalatinsk; the fort suffered from flooding caused by the snowmelt swelling the Irtysh, in 1778 the fort was relocated 18 kilometres upstream to less flood-prone ground. A small city grew around the fort servicing the river trade between the nomadic peoples of Central Asia and the growing Russian Empire; the construction of the Turkestan-Siberia Railway in the early 20th century added to the city's importance, making it a major point of transit between Central Asia and Siberia.
On 19 May 1854 Semipalatinsk became the capital of the Semipalatinsk Oblast within the Russian Empire. Between 1917 and 1920 the city operated as the capital of the unrecognized Alash Autonomy, a state after the outbreak of the October revolution in Russia; the city was called Alash-qala during the Alash Autonomy years. Red Army forces loyal to Petrograd took control of the area in 1920, it was the center of the Semipalatinsk Governorate until 17 January 1928 of the Eastern Kazakhstan Oblast between 17 January 1928 and 14 October 1939 and of the Semipalatinsk Oblast between 1939 and 1997. In 1949 the Soviet atomic bomb programme selected a site on the steppe 150 km west of the city as the location for its weapons testing. For decades, Kurchatov was home to many of the brightest stars of Soviet weapons science; the Soviet Union operated the Semipalatinsk Test Site from the first explosion in 1949 until 1989. Semey has suffered serious environmental and health effects from the time of its atomic prosperity: nuclear fallout from the atmospheric tests and uncontrolled exposure of the workers, most of whom lived in the city, have given Semey and neighboring villages high rates of cancer, childhood leukemia and birth defects.
Modern Semey, a bustling university town, has a population exceeding 300,000. Its proximity to the Kazakh border with the Russian Federation, the large expatriate scientific community attached to the university and to the STS labs gives Semey a more Russian character than other Kazakh cities. Semipalatinsk Oblast merged with the larger East Kazakhstan Region, whose capital city is Oskemen, on 23 May 1997; the Semey Bridge, a suspension bridge across the Irtish River, connects the two major parts of Semey. It has a total length of 1,086 metres. Construction began in 1998 and the bridge opened to traffic in November 2000. In 2007 the Semipalatinsk City Council voted unanimously in favour of changing the name of the city to Semey; the Chairman explained. Semey has a warm-summer humid continental climate with warm summers and cold winters. Precipitation is low for the whole year, except for July which has an average of 50 millimetres compared to less than 30 millimetres in other months. Snow is common, though light, in winter.
The lowest temperature on record is −48.6 °C, recorded in November 1938, the highest temperature is 42.5 °C, recorded in August 2002. Semey is situated at the Turkestan–Siberia Railway and offers connections to Alma-Ata and Novosibirsk, among others. Abay Qunanbayuli, father of modern Kazakh poetry, received his Russian schooling at Semey. Writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky, whose exile included five years military service as a corporal in the Seventh Line Battalion at the Semipalatinsk garrison, beginning in 1854. Residents claim the details of particular descriptive passages in Dostoyevsky's subsequent books, including his acclaimed The Brothers Karamazov, are recognizable as taken from his time in Semey. Writer Pavel Bazhov was a member of the Party Committee of the province of Semipalatinsk from 1920 to 1923. Stanislav Kurilov grew up in Semipalatinsk. An oceanographer and a good swimmer, he defected from the USSR in 1974 by means of jumping off a cruise liner in the open ocean and swimming to the Philippines.
The Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko, born there in 1976. The Russian saxophonist Sergey Letov was born there. ZaQ a member of the famous Kazakh boyband, Ninety One was born there in 1996; the city has a museum to commemorate Abay Qunanbayuli, has both a museum of and a street named after Dostoyevsky. Semey is famous for its intellectual medical community with leading Semey State Medical University which provides region and country with professional health specialists. Semey is twinned with: Ypres, Belgium Semipalatinsk Test SiteAnti-nuclear movement in Kazakhstan Official site Britannica.com
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan the Kyrgyz Republic, known as Kirghizia, is a country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked country with mountainous terrain, it is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west and southwest, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east. Its capital and largest city is Bishkek. Kyrgyzstan's recorded history spans over 2,000 years, encompassing a variety of cultures and empires. Although geographically isolated by its mountainous terrain, which has helped preserve its ancient culture, Kyrgyzstan has been at the crossroads of several great civilizations as part of the Silk Road and other commercial and cultural routes. Though long inhabited by a succession of independent tribes and clans, Kyrgyzstan has periodically fallen under foreign domination and attained sovereignty as a nation-state only after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. Since independence, the sovereign state has been a unitary parliamentary republic, although it continues to endure ethnic conflicts, economic troubles, transitional governments and political conflict.
Kyrgyzstan is a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Eurasian Economic Union, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Turkic Council, the Türksoy community and the United Nations. Ethnic Kyrgyz make up the majority of the country's 6 million people, followed by significant minorities of Uzbeks and Russians. Kyrgyz is related to other Turkic languages, although Russian remains spoken and is an official language, a legacy of a century of Russification; the majority of the population are non-denominational Muslims. In addition to its Turkic origins, Kyrgyz culture bears elements of Persian and Russian influence. "Kyrgyz" is believed to have been derived from the Turkic word for "forty", in reference to the forty clans of Manas, a legendary hero who united forty regional clans against the Uyghurs. Kyrgyz means We are forty. At the time, in the early 9th century AD, the Uyghurs dominated much of Central Asia and parts of Russia and China.
The 40-ray sun on the flag of Kyrgyzstan is a reference to those same forty tribes and the graphical element in the sun's center depicts the wooden crown, called tunduk, of a yurt—a portable dwelling traditionally used by nomads in the steppes of Central Asia. In terms of naming conventions, the country's official name is "Kyrgyz Republic" whenever it is used in some international arenas and foreign relations. However, in the English-speaking world, the spelling Kyrgyzstan is used while its former name Kirghizia is used as such. According to David C. King, Scythians were early settlers in present-day Kyrgyzstan; the Kyrgyz state reached its greatest expansion after defeating the Uyghur Khaganate in 840 A. D. From the 10th century the Kyrgyz migrated as far as the Tian Shan range and maintained their dominance over this territory for about 200 years. In the twelfth century the Kyrgyz dominion had shrunk to the Altay Range and Sayan Mountains as a result of the Mongol expansion. With the rise of the Mongol Empire in the thirteenth century, the Kyrgyz migrated south.
The Kyrgyz peacefully became a part of the Mongol Empire in 1207. The descent of the Kyrgyz from the indigenous Siberian population, on the other hand, is confirmed by recent genetic studies; because of the processes of migration, conquest and assimilation, many of the Kyrgyz peoples who now inhabit Central and Southwest Asia are of mixed origins stemming from fragments of many different tribes, though they now speak related languages. Issyk Kul Lake was a stopover on the Silk Road, a land route for traders and other travelers from the Far East to Europe. Kyrgyz tribes were overrun in the 17th century by the Mongols, in the mid-18th century by the Manchurian Qing Dynasty, in the early 19th century by the Uzbek Khanate of Kokand. In the late nineteenth century, the eastern part of what is today Kyrgyzstan the Issyk-Kul Region, was ceded to the Russian Empire by Qing China through the Treaty of Tarbagatai; the territory known in Russian as "Kirghizia", was formally incorporated into the Empire in 1876.
The Russian takeover was met with numerous revolts, many of the Kyrgyz opted to relocate to the Pamir Mountains and Afghanistan. In addition, the suppression of the 1916 rebellion against Russian rule in Central Asia caused many Kyrgyz to migrate to China. Since many ethnic groups in the region were split between neighboring states at a time when borders were more porous and less regulated, it was common to move back and forth over the mountains, depending on where life was perceived as better. Soviet power was established in the region in 1919, the Kara-Kyrgyz Autonomous Oblast was created within the Russian SFSR. On 5 December 1936, the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic was established as a constituent Union Republic of the Soviet Union. During the 1920s, Kyrgyzstan developed in cultural and social life. Literacy was improved, a standard literary language was introduced by imposing Russian on the populace. Economic and social development was notable. Many aspects of the Ky
Expo 2017
Expo 2017 Astana was an International Exposition which took place from June 10 to September 10, 2017 in Astana, Kazakhstan. The expo's theme was "Future Energy", aimed to create a global debate between countries, nongovernmental organizations and the general public on the crucial question: "How do we ensure safe and sustainable access to energy for all while reducing CO2 emissions?" The theme chosen for the Expo 2017 was "Future Energy". The theme was aimed to concentrate on the future of energy, on innovative and practical energy solutions and their impacts; the Expo 2017's subtitle was "Solutions for Tackling Humankind’s Greatest Challenge." Therefore, the Expo showcased future energy solutions tackling social and environmental challenges. On November 22, 2012, Astana was chosen by the Bureau International des Expositions as the venue to host Expo 2017, it was the first time that a major international exhibition of this kind was hosted in a country from the former Soviet Union. More than 100 countries and 10 international organizations were expected to participate.
Around 2-3 million people were expected to visit the international pavilions from June to September 2017.25 hectares was planned for the pavilions of Expo 2017. The site has a convenient access to Astana's city center, the international airport and the railway station; the Expo Site is linked with a network of Kazakhstan's inter-city roads to ensure a quick access from all the country. Construction of the pavilions began in April 2014 with 20 companies from Kazakhstan and 49 companies from around the globe. Designs were considered for the grounds of Expo 2017 from architects in the UK, USA, Austria and China, but the lead design contract was awarded to Chicago-based Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture. On April 24, 2014, the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev took part in a capsule-laying ceremony of the Astana Expo 2017 Exhibition Center construction in Astana, which will be located near the Nazarbayev University. Astana submitted its registration bid to the BIE in December 2013, as planned.
On June 13, 2015, the Chief Executive Officer of Astana Expo 2017 organization committee, Talgat Yermegiyaev, was indicted for corruption. The new CEO is Astana mayor Adilbek Zhaksybekov. Kazakhstan's largest airline, Air Astana, was named the "Official Air Carrier of Expo 2017”. In preparation for the Expo 2017 the administration of Astana launched several "smart city" projects; the projects imply introduction of digital technologies in such areas as payment and healthcare. The Energy Best Practices Area Pavilion at Expo 2017 showcased the 17 best energy-generating projects; these projects were selected from 136 submitted from more than 25 countries. Exhibition Expo 2017 would help develop intensively and contribute to Kazakhstan entry into the top 30 developed countries of the world. We can be certain. We need energy to light and heat our homes, to cook our food, to drive transport and provide power plant with energy and nowadays due to technological advances, we have so many gadgets to charge.
That is. The issue of resources of energy has become a concrete topic of modernity; as it is known and coal are limited. However, by the help of this fossil fuels we made the major routine things for life and it is hard to realize that we should halt that process of obtaining energy in this way. For the reason that, digging it intensively can harm core of Earth. Hence, only alternative sources of energy which can meet the energy requirements of the future. Without energy, humanity will be extinct. Day by day the population on Earth is going up and people’s demand on energy consumption is rising accordingly. Despite the world society, recognize the necessity and merits of using renewable energy sources, alternative energy still be contingent on the economy of the countries and their policies towards this matter. Our country is rich in mineral resources and fossil fuels we still depend on unpredictable actions in geopolitics and prices of oil. To make it more predictable and convenient, the proposal of replacing natural sources by renewables since they do not pollute an environment and are endless is considered by government.
Therefore in 2017 Kazakhstan is organizing exhibition “EXPO-2017”. Over 100 companies, including Zaha Hadid Architects, UNStudio, Snøhetta, HOK, Coop Himmelbau, participated in a competition to design the grounds of Expo 2017. Chicago firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture won the competition for the design idea; the main project, according to the design was realised by Swiss company IT-EngineeringSeveral national and international construction companies were awarded contracts to build the grounds. The main contractor Mabetex Group, Sembol, CC Bazis-A LLC, ABK Kurylys-1 LLC, Turquaz-YDA Stroy LLC, Sredazenergostry LLC have completed the construction part; the financing of project is done by the Kazakhstan Government and some private investor like Plast Invest Production LLP, Sonik Company LLP, PolimerMetal-T LLP and Alyugal LLP.. The number of countries that confirmed their participation in Expo 2017 by September 2016 reached 101, higher than anticipated. U. S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz and Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Biswal announced in November 2016 at the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Washington, D.
C. that APCO Worldwide, a global communications consultancy, was selected as the chief organizing partner for the U. S. Pavilion at EXPO 2017; the USA Pavilion in Astana was organized and operated by a U. S. private-sector company. However, traditionally it is m
Russia - same gauge (former Soviet Union railway system)
China - break of gauge 1,520 mm (4 ft 11 27⁄32 in)/1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in);
Kyrgyzstan - same gauge (former Soviet Union railway system)
Uzbekistan - same gauge (former Soviet Union railway system)
Turkmenistan - same gauge (former Soviet Union railway system) (railway link opened in 2013, presently for freight)
This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook website https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html.
