This is my first time visiting the capital city of Kazakhstan, Astana. The city is known for its cold temperatures. It is the second-coldest national capital in the world after Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, due to its position in the middle of the very flat, semi-arid steppe region. At 51 degrees north latitude, it would be equivalent to the north side of Lake Superior. Ottawa, Canada used to be number two before the capital of Kazakhstan was moved from Almaty to Astana. The city is in the path of the northwest Siberian winds, hence, the dry, cold, long winters.
It is also famous for its name changes. Named “Akmola” (white grave) in 1850, later it changed to Akmolinsk to Russianize it a bit. USSR President Nikita Khrushchev renamed it Tselinograd (City of Virgin Lands) in 1961 because it was in the center of a region the Soviets were developing for agriculture. After Kazakhstan’s independence, it went back to Akmola in 1991. In 1997 it was named “Astana” which means capital city in Kazakh because the president moved the capital from Almaty to Astana. In 2019 it changed again to Nur Sultan after the outgoing president, but in 2022, the new president reverted back to Astana. So that is 6 name changes in 150 years!
My daughter Ocean plays on the varsity girls basketball team and so it is nice to see her occasionally on the trip. The first two days, the boys and girls are at different schools.
My initial impressions of Astana is that it feels like my childhood growing up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan regarding the ice and snow. It is a little bit soulless with straight stress and highrise apartment buildings. It reminds me of the newer cities of China.
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