And if it sometimes looks like the landscape has suffered from hundreds of nuclear explosions, well, parts of it have - ever since Russian rocket scientists started using Kazakhstan as a sandpit in the late 1940 s. The cosmonaut center was located at Baikonur.įacts For The Traveler Things To Know Before A Work & Witness Trip If you're not a fan of endless semi-arid steppe and decaying industrial cities, Kazakhstan may seem bleak as a month old biscuit.
SPECIAL FACT Kazakhstan was a major site for Soviet defense installations and for the Soviet space exploration program. Before the Soviet breakup, Kazakhstan produced about a third of the U. About 30 percent of the workforce is agricultural. The traditional occupations of agriculture and shepherding are still important in rural areas. Industrial technology is antiquated, and trade has not been established with markets outside the former Soviet bloc. Despite the potential profits, investors are discouraged by the fact that oil can reach Western markets only via pipelines through other former Soviet republics, some of which are politically unstable. Eventual revenues from the oil industry are expected to exceed $5 billion annually. Kazakhstan's enormous, untapped fossil-fuel reserves are the key to a brighter economic future. 1% (1996) SPECIAL FACT Kazakhstan's Cossacks, who are descended from frontier soldiers loyal to the Russian czars, gained a reputation for their expert handling of horses and for fierceness on the battlefield.Įconomics & Industry In the 1990 s, when Kazakhstan's economy contracted after the breakup of the Soviet Union, a large percentage of the urban workforce was left without jobs. With the rise of Kazakh nationalism, ethnic tensions have also increased. Kazakh-tili has been restored as the official language, and Kazakh schools have reopened. The Kazakh government has taken steps to ensure that Kazakhs remain in the majority, and that Kazakh culture predominates. Most non-Kazakhs arrived in the 1920 s and 1930 s from Russian immigrants known as Virgin Landers came in the 1950 s under Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev's directive to grow wheat in Kazakhstan. Kazakhs, consisting of Russians, Ukrainians, Germans, Tartars, and Uzbeks, made up the majority. Ethnicity In 1991, when Kazakhstan gained independence from the Soviet Union, Kazakhs were a minority in their own country, about 43 percent of the population.
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