[edit]
Many centuries ago, the Bozok settlement was located on the territory of modern Astana. It was a military fortress of the Steppe section of the Silk Road. The etymology of the Turkic word "Boz" carries several meanings, such as 'untouched earth', 'virgin soil', and 'feather grass'. It was a large settlement of the 12th-14th centuries. At present, Astana is expanding into the territory of ancient Bozok.
Early years (1830–1918)[edit]
Remains of the fortress in 1911
The settlement of Akmoly was established on the Ishim river on 18 June 1830: 19  as the seat of an okrug by Fyodor Shubin. In 1832, the settlement was granted town status and named Akmolinsk. The advantages of the town's strategic position were clear as early as 1863. It describes how picket roads and lines[definition needed] connected this geographic center to Kargaly in the East, Aktau Fort in the South, and through Atbasar to Kokshetau in the West. In 1838, at the height of the great national and liberation movement headed by Kenesary Khan, the Akmolinsk Fortress was burned. After the repression of the liberation movement, the fortress was rebuilt. On 16 July 1863, Akmolinsk was officially declared an uyezd town. During the rapid development of the Russian capitalist market, the huge Saryarka areas were actively exploited by the colonial administration. To draft a Regulation governing the Kazakh steppe, the Government of the Russian Empire formed the Steppe Commission in 1865.
In 1869, Akmolinsk's external district and department were canceled, and Akmolinsk became the center of the newly established Akmolinsk Oblast. In 1879, Major General Dubelt proposed to build a railway between Tyumen and Akmolinsk to the Ministry of Communications of Russia. In the course of the first 30 years of its existence, the population of Akmola numbered a trifle more than 2,000 people. Over the next 30 years, the city's population increased by three times according to the volosts and settlements of Akmolinsk Oblast. In 1893, Akmolinsk was an uyezd with a population of 6,428 residents, three churches, five schools and colleges, and three factories.[citation needed]
Soviet era (1918–1991)[edit]
The regional historical museum and state archive were founded in 1923 and 1924, respectively.
During World War II, Akmolinsk served as a route for the transport of engineering tools and equipment from evacuated plants in the Ukrainian SSR, Byelorussian SSR, and Russian SFSR located in the oblasts of the Kazakh SSR. Local industries were appointed to respond to war needs, assisting the country to provide the battle and home fronts with all materials needed. Additionally, many Russian-Germans were resettled here after being deported under Joseph Stalin's rule. During World War II, in connection with the formation of the Polish Anders' Army, a Polish diplomatic post was located in the city from February to July 1942. In the post-war years, Akmolinsk became a beacon of economic revival in the west of the Soviet Union ruined by the war.
In 1954, Northern Kazakh SSR oblasts became a territory of the Virgin Lands Campaign, in order to turn the region into a second grain producer for the Soviet Union.
On August 2, 1959, a tragedy occurred and 143 people died in the collapse of the Yesil Bridge. The only police officer, Nurmukhambet Kozhakhmetov, saved 40 people.
In December 1960, the Central Committee made a resolution to create the Tselinniy Krai, which comprised five regions of the Northern Kazakh SSR oblasts. Akmolinsk Oblast ceased to exist as a separate administrative entity. Its districts were directly subordinated to the new krai administration, and Akmolinsk became the krai capital, as well as the administrative seat of the new Virgin Lands economic region. On 14 March 1961, Khrushchev suggested the city should have a name corresponding to its role in the Virgin Lands Campaign. On 20 March 1961, the Supreme Soviet of the Kazakh SSR renamed Akmolinsk to Tselinograd. On 24 April 1961, the region was reconstituted as Tselinograd Oblast.
In the 1960s, Tselinograd was completely transformed. In 1963, work on the first three new high-rise housing districts began. In addition, the city received a number of new monumental public buildings, including the Virgin Lands Palace, a Palace of Youth, a House of Soviets, a new airport, and several sports venues. In 1971, the Tselinniy Krai was abolished and Tselinograd became the oblast's new capital.[citation needed]
Contemporary era (1991–present)[edit]
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the consequent independence of Kazakhstan, the city's name was restored in the modified form Akmola. On 6 July 1994, the Supreme Council of Kazakhstan adopted the decree "On the transfer of the capital of Kazakhstan". After the capital of Kazakhstan was moved from Almaty to Akmola on 10 December 1997, the city was consequently renamed Astana in 1998. On 10 June 1998, Astana was presented as the capital internationally. Due to several determined advantages, Astana was chosen as the capital: large urban areas, favorable geographical position, proximity to the major economic centers of the region, considerable demographic capacity, good transportation facilities, and a relatively favorable climate. On 16 July 1999, Astana was awarded the medal and title of the City of Peace by UNESCO.
In March 2019, the Kazakhstani government renamed the city Nur-Sultan to honour the country's outgoing long-term authoritarian president, Nursultan Nazarbayev. In September 2022, after a number of controversies and unrest resulting in Nazarbayev's resignation from the Security Council of Kazakhstan, the name of the capital was changed back to Astana.
