City in Abai Region, Kazakhstan
Place in Abai Region, Kazakhstan
Semey
(
Kazakh
:
Семей / Semei
,
pronounced
[s???m?ej]
(
listen
ⓘ
)
;
Russian
:
Семей
), until 2007 known as
Semipalatinsk
(
Russian
:
Семипала?тинск
) and between 1917 and 1920 as
Alash-Qala
(
Kazakh
:
Алаш-?ала / Ala?-qala
), is a city in eastern
Kazakhstan
, in the Kazakh part of
Siberia
. When
Abai Region
was created in 2022, Semey became its administrative centre. It lies along the
Irtysh River
near the border with
Russia
, 1,000 kilometers (620 mi) north of
Almaty
and 700 kilometers (430 mi) southeast of the Russian city of
Omsk
. Its population is 350,967 (2009 Census results).
[2]
History
[
edit
]
The first Russian settlement in the area dates from 1718, when
Russia
built a fort beside the river
Irtysh
, near the ruins of an ancient
Buddhist
monastery, where seven buildings could be seen. The fort (and later the city) was named
Semipalatinsk
(
Russian
for "Seven-Chambered City") after the monastery. The fort suffered frequent flooding caused by snowmelt swelling the Irtysh.
In 1778 the fort was relocated 18 kilometres (11 mi) upstream to less flood-prone ground.
[
citation needed
]
A small city developed around the fort, and largely served 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 was designated as the capital of the
Semipalatinsk Oblast
within the Russian Empire.
Between 1917 and 1920, the city operated as the capital of the largely unrecognized
Alash Autonomy
, a state (1917?1920) established 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
[
ru
]
until 17 January 1928, then of the
Eastern Kazakhstan Oblast
between 17 January 1928 and 14 October 1939 and finally of the
Semipalatinsk Oblast
between 1939 and 1997.
In 1949 the
Soviet atomic bomb programme
selected a site on the
steppe
180 km (110 mi) west of the city as the location for its weapons testing. For decades,
Kurchatov
(the secret city at the heart of the test range named for
Igor Kurchatov
, father of the Soviet atomic bomb) was home to many of the brightest stars of Soviet weapons science. The
Soviet Union
operated the
Semipalatinsk Test Site
(STS) from the first explosion in 1949 until 1989; 456 nuclear tests, including 340 underground and 116 atmospheric tests, took place there.
[3]
Some land around Semey has suffered environmental and health effects from the time of its atomic prosperity: nuclear fallout from the atmospheric tests and uncontrolled exposure of the workers, some of whom lived in the area close to the testsite, have resulted in high rates of
cancer
, childhood
leukemia
, and
birth defects
among the residents of neighbouring villages.
[4]
Modern Semey, a bustling university town, has a population exceeding 350,000. Because of its proximity to the Kazakh border with the Russian Federation, and the large scientific community attached to the STS labs and the university, which includes many Russians, Semey is said to have a more Russian character than other cities in Kazakhstan.
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 main span of 750 metres (2,460 ft) and a total length of 1,086 metres (3,563 ft).
[5]
Construction began in 1998 and the bridge opened to traffic in November 2000.
[6]
In 2007 the Semipalatinsk City Council voted unanimously in favour of changing the name of the city to
Semey
. The Chairman said that existing name had negative associations because of the extensive atomic testing there.
[7]
In March 2022, Semey was selected by
President
Tokayev
as the prospective capital of the new
Abai Region
. This came into force on 8 June 2022 when Abai Region became an official
Region of Kazakhstan
.
[8]
Climate
[
edit
]
Semey has a
warm-summer humid continental climate
(
Koppen climate classification
Dfb
) with warm summers and very cold winters. Precipitation is low for the whole year, except for July which has an average of 50 millimetres (2.0 in) compared to less than 30 millimetres (1.2 in) in other months. Snow is common, though light, in winter. The lowest temperature on record is ?48.6 °C (?55.5 °F), recorded in November 1910, and the highest temperature is 42.5 °C (108.5 °F), recorded in August 2002.
[9]
Climate data for Semey (1991?2020, extremes 1854?present)
|
Month
|
Jan
|
Feb
|
Mar
|
Apr
|
May
|
Jun
|
Jul
|
Aug
|
Sep
|
Oct
|
Nov
|
Dec
|
Year
|
Record high °C (°F)
|
7.2
(45.0)
|
7.2
(45.0)
|
24.5
(76.1)
|
33.9
(93.0)
|
37.5
(99.5)
|
39.5
(103.1)
|
42.1
(107.8)
|
42.5
(108.5)
|
38.9
(102.0)
|
30.0
(86.0)
|
21.0
(69.8)
|
7.8
(46.0)
|
42.5
(108.5)
|
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)
|
?10.3
(13.5)
|
?7.6
(18.3)
|
0.4
(32.7)
|
14.3
(57.7)
|
22.1
(71.8)
|
27.4
(81.3)
|
28.5
(83.3)
|
27.0
(80.6)
|
20.5
(68.9)
|
12.1
(53.8)
|
0.3
(32.5)
|
?7.1
(19.2)
|
10.6
(51.1)
|
Daily mean °C (°F)
|
?15.1
(4.8)
|
?13.2
(8.2)
|
?5.0
(23.0)
|
7.5
(45.5)
|
14.8
(58.6)
|
20.5
(68.9)
|
21.7
(71.1)
|
19.6
(67.3)
|
12.7
(54.9)
|
5.4
(41.7)
|
?4.5
(23.9)
|
?11.5
(11.3)
|
4.4
(39.9)
|
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)
|
?20.2
(?4.4)
|
?19.1
(?2.4)
|
?10.4
(13.3)
|
0.6
(33.1)
|
6.8
(44.2)
|
12.8
(55.0)
|
14.7
(58.5)
|
11.9
(53.4)
|
5.0
(41.0)
|
?0.5
(31.1)
|
?8.9
(16.0)
|
?16.2
(2.8)
|
?2.0
(28.4)
|
Record low °C (°F)
|
?47.2
(?53.0)
|
?45.3
(?49.5)
|
?38.9
(?38.0)
|
?26.1
(?15.0)
|
?9.9
(14.2)
|
?1.1
(30.0)
|
3.9
(39.0)
|
?1.0
(30.2)
|
?8.2
(17.2)
|
?20.8
(?5.4)
|
?48.6
(?55.5)
|
?45.8
(?50.4)
|
?48.6
(?55.5)
|
Average
precipitation
mm (inches)
|
16
(0.6)
|
18
(0.7)
|
20
(0.8)
|
20
(0.8)
|
27
(1.1)
|
33
(1.3)
|
50
(2.0)
|
27
(1.1)
|
17
(0.7)
|
23
(0.9)
|
28
(1.1)
|
25
(1.0)
|
302
(11.9)
|
Average extreme snow depth cm (inches)
|
17
(6.7)
|
21
(8.3)
|
12
(4.7)
|
0
(0)
|
0
(0)
|
0
(0)
|
0
(0)
|
0
(0)
|
0
(0)
|
0
(0)
|
3
(1.2)
|
11
(4.3)
|
21
(8.3)
|
Average rainy days
|
1
|
1
|
3
|
9
|
13
|
12
|
15
|
12
|
10
|
11
|
6
|
1
|
94
|
Average snowy days
|
18
|
18
|
14
|
4
|
0.4
|
0
|
0
|
0.03
|
0.1
|
5
|
14
|
19
|
93
|
Average
relative humidity
(%)
|
75
|
75
|
76
|
59
|
53
|
53
|
60
|
59
|
60
|
67
|
74
|
75
|
66
|
Mean monthly
sunshine hours
|
108
|
139
|
199
|
243
|
303
|
335
|
342
|
307
|
242
|
144
|
111
|
94
|
2,567
|
Source 1: Pogoda.ru.net
[9]
|
Source 2:
NOAA
(sun, 1961?1990)
[10]
|
Transportation
[
edit
]
Semey is situated at the
Turkestan?Siberia Railway
and offers connections to
Almaty
(former
Alma-Ata
),
Barnaul
, and
Novosibirsk
, among others.
The city has a museum to commemorate
Abay Qunanbayuli
.
Both a museum and a street are named after Dostoyevsky. The Museum of F. M. Dostoevsky in Semey was opened on 7 May 1971. It was established by the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the
Kazakh SSR
N 261. Of the seven museums devoted to Dostoevsky, this is the only one located outside Russia.
Population
[
edit
]
Year
|
Population
|
1881
|
17,820
|
1897
|
26,353
|
1910
|
34,400
|
1926
|
56,100
|
1939
|
109,700
|
1959
|
149,800
|
1979
|
270,400
|
1989
|
317,100
|
1999
|
269,600
|
2009
|
299,264
|
2022
|
350 967
|
Higher education
[
edit
]
Semey is famous for its intellectual medical community with leading
Semey Medical University
which provides the region and the country with highly professional health specialists.
Notable residents
[
edit
]
- Pavel Bazhov
(1879?1950), writer and publicist
- Fyodor Dostoevsky
(1821?1881), novelist
- Wladimir Klitschko
(born 1976), Ukrainian boxer
- Stanislav Kurilov
(1936?1998), oceanographer
- Sergey Letov
(born 1956), Russian musician
- Vladimir Lisitsin
(1938?1971), footballer
- Abai Qunanbaiuly
(1845?1904), poet, composer, and philosopher
- Zaq
(born 1996), singer and a member of Kazakhstani boyband
Ninety One
International relations
[
edit
]
Twin towns and sister cities
[
edit
]
Semey is
twinned
with:
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
The New bridge in Semey on Wikimapia
- ^
"Население Республики Казахстан"
[Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan] (in Russian). Департамент социальной и демографической статистики
. Retrieved
8 December
2013
.
- ^
Vakulchuk, R., Gjerde, K., Belikhina, T. and Apsalikov, K. 2014. Semipalatinsk nuclear testing: the humanitarian consequences. Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, Oslo.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323116670
- ^
"Inside the nuclear underworld: Deformity and fear"
,
CNN
, retrieved 2007-08-31
- ^
"Semipatalinsk Irtysh River Bridge (2002)"
.
en.structurae.de
. Retrieved
16 August
2011
.
- ^
"Irtysh River Bridge Construction Project / Field Survey"
(PDF)
. Japan International Cooperation Agency. September 2006
. Retrieved
8 January
2016
.
- ^
"Семипалатинск исчезнет с карты Казахстана [Semipalatinsk disappears from the map of Kazakhstan]"
. Byvshiy SSSR [The former USSR].
Lenta.ru
. 19 June 2007
. Retrieved
10 September
2015
.
Депутаты городского собрания Семипалатинска единогласно проголосовали за переименование города в Семей. [...] 'Прежнее название немного отпугивало инвесторов, так как ассоциировалось с полигоном. [...]', - пояснил решение депутатов председатель сессии горсовета Куат Мирашев. [The representatives of the city corporation of Semipalatinsk voted unanimously for renaming the city as Cemey. 'The former name rather discouraged investors, since it was associated with the [atomic] test-site. [...]', said the chairman of the session of the city council, Kuat Mirashev, in explaining the decision.]
- ^
"В Казахстане появится четыре новых региона"
.
Interfax.ru
(in Russian)
. Retrieved
20 April
2022
.
- ^
a
b
"Weather and Climate - The Climate of Semipalatinsk (Semey)"
(in Russian). Weather and Climate (Погода и климат). Archived from
the original
on 25 November 2016
. Retrieved
4 January
2022
.
- ^
"Semipalatinsk Climate Normals 1961?1990"
.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
. Retrieved
25 November
2016
.
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Semey
.
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