Almaty (Алматы; formerly known as Alma-Ata, also Vernyj, Vyernyi (Верный) in Imperial Russia) is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of 2,000,900 (2006) (8.21% of the population of Kazakhstan) citizens.
Name
The name 'Almaty' means 'apple'; the older version of its name, Alma-Ata, literally means 'father-apple'. In the surrounding region, there is an unrivalled genetic diversity among the wild apples.
History
A troop of Siberian Cossacks from Omsk founded the fort Zailiysky in 1854 at the foot of the Tian Shan mountain range, and renamed it one year later to Vernyj, a name that remained until 1921. In 1921, the name Alma-Ata ('father-apple') was created by the Bolsheviks. In a devastating earthquake in 1911, almost the only large building that remained standing was the Russian Orthodox cathedral. In the 1920s, after the completion of the Turkestan-Siberia Railway, Alma-Ata, as it was then known, became a major stopping point along the track. In 1929, Almaty became the capital of the Kazakh SSR.
In late 1991, Almaty became the capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan, a designation it kept until 1998, when the capital was moved to Astana. Almaty, however, remains the largest city in Kazakhstan and the country's major commercial center. In 2005, the city launched a failed bid to host the XXII Olympic Winter Games in the year 2014, but was successful in its bid to host the 2011 Winter Asian Games.
The world's largest apple is located in Almaty. A short bus ride into the Tian Shan Mountains brings one to Medeo, a popular tourist destination, with several hotels and an Olympic-size skating rink.
On 21 December 1991, the Charter that ended the Soviet Union creating the Commonwealth of Independent States was signed there.
Universities of Almaty
- Almaty Institute of Power Engineering and Telecommunications
- Kazakh-British Technical University
- Kazakh National Technical University (KazNTU)
- Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazUU)
- Suleyman Demirel University (SDU)
- Kazakh Economic University (KazEU)
- International Academy of Business (IAB)
- University of International Business(UIB)
- Kimep (Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics, and Strategic Research)
- Kazakh-American University (KAU)
- Kazakh Academy of Sciences
Olympic aspirations
Almaty was an official candidate to host the 2014 Olympic games, but was eliminated from consideration after it failed to be included in the 'short list' of candidate cities.
