Kazakhstan

Our Homeland Ð'- Kazakstan.

Republik of Kazakstan is situated in the very centre of the Eurasian continent.

Area: 2.720.000 sg. km (i.e. the country is the 9th largest in the world). Common border with Russia, China, Uzbekistan, Kyrghyzstan and Turkmenistan.

Climate is sharply continental. Average winter temperature in January from - 1Ð'oC - 5Ð'oC (south) to -20Ð'oC (North). In summer the temperature varies from +18Ð'oC to +30Ð'oC.

Natural zones: forest-steppes and steppes, deserts and semi-deserts.

Landscape: the overwhelming portion of the territory is occupied with plains, plateaus, low hills, low lands with only 10 % of its territory accounting for the mountains of Tien Shan, Tarbagatay and Altay.

Main waterways are Yertys, Syrdaria, Oral, Ishim, Tobol, Ili, Shu, Caspian and Aral Seas, lakes Balkhash, Alakol, Tenghiz and Sasykkol.

Mineral resources: Kazakstani entrails harbour over a half of world chromium reserves with lead, zink, copper, silver and gold into the bargain. Kazakstan ranks first in the world as to tungsten reserves, second Ð'- in phosphorus ores, third Ð'- in manganese, fourth Ð'- in lead and molybdenum and eighth Ð'- in iron ores.

The Constitution defines the state system as a form of presidential republic considering it the most flexible version in conditions of today. The President ensures coordinated performance of all the branches of state power and accountability of power bodies to the people. Parliament of the Republic is the supreme representative authority in the country: it performs legislative functions. Executive power is assumed by the Government of the country. The country recognizes ideological and political pluralism. All public associations enjoy equal rights in the fase of the Law. National currency of the Republic Ð'- tenghe.

Ethnically the more than 17-million strong population of Kazakstan is rather diverse. Along with the two major groups, Kazaks and Russians, there reside over 100 other nationalities. Among them are Ukrainians, Byelorussians, Germans, Uzbeks, Tatars, Uigurs, Azerbaijanians, and many others. The people of Kazakstan has every reason to be proud of political stability in the state and of traditionally friendly inter-ethnic relations.

State language of the Republic is Kazak. Russian enjoys the status of the official language.

Economically, Kazakstan is divided into five major regions: Central, North, South, West and East ones. Astana remains the capital of the country. Until then both Astana and Almaty are the seats of the President's residencies.

Industry Ð'- the Basis of the Economy.

Tremendous is the contribution made by industrial enterprises into building of the gross national product of the Republic of Kazakstan. Major industries in the Republic are production of mineral wealth, chemistry, power engineering and metallurgy. No less significant branches as machine-building, light-and food industries.

The produce of mining-and-smelting works enjoys fine demand abroad which makes it major source of hard currency influx. At present they have elaborated programmes of rarional development of mining basis, of reconstruction and updating of dressing and such other smelting works. Besides there have been launched new industries to put out produce of supreme commodity readiness.

East Kazakstan is to host a titanium-producing industry of its own which is expected to put out slags, sponge titanium, metallic titanium, rolled products, titanium white.

Export deliveries of industrial products manufactured in Kazakstan are effected to more than a hundred foreign countries.

Agriculture

Kazakstan Ð'- is one of the leading grain producers in the world. In grain-growing regions they cultivate mainly strong and durum varieties of wheat with high content of gluten. Worth noting is that these are the very grades which enjoy high demand in the world market.

Kazakstan is the country where they sow rice, buckwheat, rape, soy-beans, oats, cultivate cotton, sugar -beet, and a great many fruit and vegetables.

Cattle-breeding, one of the key branches of agriculture, provides the population with capital foods and the light industry Ð'- with valuable raw materials.

Predominant in northern regions is dairy cattle-rearing and swine-breeding while the economy of southern areas is dominated by beef cattle husbandry, sheep-breeding, horse-rearing and camel-breeding with beef cattle husbandry and horse-rearing in the West and East of the country.

In many regions of the Republic, particularly in desert and semi-desert ones, major branches of agricultural production that determine ways and living standards of the ethnic population are sheep-breeding, horse-rearing and camel-breeding. As to sheep-breeding it is practiced mostly along the following lines: fine-fleeced, semi-finefleeced, meat-and-fat and lamb-fur ones.