Oskemen (; ) is the capital of the
East Kazakhstan Province. It is served by
Oskemen Airport.
History
Founded in 1720 at the confluence of the
Irtysh and
Ulba rivers as a
fort and
trading post named
Ust-Kamennaya. The city was established in 1720 according to the order of the Russian Emperor Peter the Great, who sent a military expedition headed by major Ivan Vasilievich Likharev in the search of Yarkenda gold. Likharev’s expedition directed up the Irtysh river to Zaysan Lake. There, at the confluence of the Ulba and the Irtysh rivers the new fortress was laid – the Ust-Kamennaya Fortress. The Ust-Kamennaya Fortress appeared on the map of the Russian Empire, the very southern end of the Irtysh line. In 1868 the city became the capital of the Semipalatinsk Oblast.
The city developed into a major
mining and
metallurgical center during the
Soviet period. Mining of
non-ferrous metals, especially uranium, beryllium, tantalum,
copper,
lead,
silver and
zinc remain important. It is a center for the construction industry producing manufactured housing and ferroconcrete articles. The post-war industrial history of the city is very closely intertwined with the Soviet nuclear bomb project, and the city was therefore kept closed to outsiders. One of the main industrial enterprises, the Ulba Metal Works (UMW) which produced and still produce uranium products, was kept entirely secret despite it employing thousands of workers. An explosion at the UMW's beryllium production line in 1990 led to the diffusion of a highly toxic beryllium-containing "cloud" over the city. The health effects of this incident are not entirely known, partly due to the fact that the incident was kept secret by the Soviet authorities.
Economy
Under the name of Ust-Kamenogorsk Lock, the highest lock in the world lies in Ablaketka at the end of the dam on the Irtysh river.
It has a drop of more than 40m.
Since the opening of the 3-Gorges locks, the upper lock of that 5-lock cascade is theoretically at par with this lock, but its full drop shall not be used except in extreme case, while the Ust-Kamenogorsk lock is designed for permanent use at this height.
Sports
Kazzinc-Torpedo is currently playing in Russian
Vysshaya Liga.
Religion
There are 32 religious unions, presenting 15 religious confessions including four Muslim, 29 Christian and three union professing non-traditional religions. There are 21 cultural buildings in the city: among them four mosques and six
Orthodox Christian churches.
Transport
See also
Oskemen has been discussed in a number of journal articles by Michael Gentile.
