Mangystau Region

Mangystau Region (Kazakh: Маңғыстау облысы, romanized: Mańǵystaý oblysy, ماڭعىستاۋ وبلىسى) is a region of Kazakhstan. Its capital is Aktau (a seaport), which has a population of 183,350 (2017)[3]; the entire Mangystau Region has a population of 674,963 (2018).[4]

Mangystau Region Маңғыстау облысы Мангистауская область ماڭعىستاۋ وبلىسى
Region
Sherkala
Coat of arms
Map of Kazakhstan, location of Mangystau Province highlighted
Coordinates: 43°52′N 052°00′E
Country	Kazakhstan
Capital	Aktau
Government
• Akim	Serikbay Trumov
Area [1]
• Total	165,642 km^2 (63,955 sq mi)
Highest elevation	556 m (1,824 ft)
Lowest elevation	-132 m (−433 ft)
Population  (2013-02-01)[2]
• Total	596,706
• Density	3.6/km^2 (9.3/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+5 (West)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+5 (not observed)
Postal codes	130000
Area codes	+7 (729)
ISO 3166 code	KZ-MAN
Vehicle registration	12, R
Districts	5
Cities	3
Townships	6
Villages	30
Website	mangystau.gov.kz

Geography

The region is located in the southwest of the country, and includes Mangyshlak Peninsula. It has much of Kazakhstan's Caspian Shore. It also borders neighboring countries Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Mangystau also borders two other Kazakh regions (counter-clockwise), Aktobe Region and Atyrau Region. The area of the region is 165,600 square kilometers. Engineers discovered petroleum in the area in the days of the Soviet Union, drilling commenced, and much of the area was built up around the industry.

The territory of Mangystau includes lots of different landscapes and desert lands: Caspian lowland, plateaus (Usturt, Mangyshlak, Kendirli-Kayasan), mountains (Aktau, Karatau), cavities, desert, mountains and mountain ridges. That kind of landscape forms an original multigraded labyrinth, painted with green, yellow, pink and red sediment of loam. The highest point is Otpan mountain at 556 metres (1,824 ft). The lowest point is the bottom of Karagie cavity, 132 metres (433 ft) below sea level.

Climate

The region has a wide variety of climate conditions. North Mangystau is cold in winter due to the Ustyurt Plateau, the location of the plateau being mainly above sea level. On the whole, the climate is continental with cold winters and mild summers. The average temperature is −3 °C (27 °F) in January and +26 °C (79 °F) in July. The average annual rainfall is 150 millimetres (5.9 in).

History

The first written sources on Mangystau Region date back to the 9th century AD. According to Arabic geographers, it was uninhabited until the tenth century when groups opposing the Turkmen Oghuz settled and found sources of water and grassland. The mountain called Binkishlah (unidentified) would have marked the border between Khwarezm and the Khanate of the Khazars. These Turkmen were vassals of the Khazars, at the beginning of the thirteenth century when Yaqut al-Hamawi and Ibn al-Athir mention the name of Mankashlagh. Ibn al-Athir tells of a Turkish principality with a medina with the same name as the territory that existed from the late eleventh century. In 1097 a struggle between Kutb al-Din Muhammad, Khwarezm governor of Seljuks and Tugrul Tehghin occurred. In 1127, Atsiz occupied the whole peninsula. During Khwarezmshah rule, it was part of firstly Gorgan province, later Mazandaran Province.

In 1221, the Mongols occupied it. It was later passed to successively Golden Horde, Nogai Horde, Uzbek Khanate and Kazakh Khanate, but its population decreased after gradual drying of the steppe and Kalmyk raids began in 1620. Some Salur and Ersari Turkmens left the region and migrated to Russia.

In 1670, Anusha Khan who was the khan of Khiva asked the Russian government to build a fortress to protect the peninsula for securing trade between Russia and Khwarezm. Puntsuk Monchak and Ayuka (1670-1724) deported most of the Cawdor and Igdir groups of Turkmenistan to the Volga basin. For protecting trade, Anusha Khan annexed it to his territories in 1676 and built a fort at the port of Karagan in 1687.

The Russians under Peter the Great sent an expedition led by the unfortunate Bekovich-Cherkassky, who established three forts on the coast of the Caspian Sea, but they were abandoned after one year. Then there were several Russian scientific expeditions. In 1834 they founded on the south coast of the Bay of Mertviy Kultuk a permanent garrison at Novo-Petrovskoye. This caused a conflict with the Khan of Khiva and an abortive military campaign between 1839 and 1840. During this period, the Bayuli tribe of the Kazakhs settled and the remaining Turkmens left it in 1840 except a group of families of the Cawdor tribe.

The peninsula was subject to conflict between Khiva and Russia; each party wanted to have the Kazakhs. In 1846, the Russians built a fort in Karagan named Novo-Petrovskoye that in 1859 was renamed Fort Alexandrovskiy. Russian domination of it began with the occupation of Krasnovodsk, located in the southern part of it in 1869. At the same time, Russians established Mangyshlak district which was subordinated to the Viceroyality of Caucasus. The Khanate of Khiva renounced possession of this peninsula in favor of the Russians in 1873. It was attached to Russia as an uyezd of Transcaspian Oblast in 1881.

The fate of the government following the 1917 revolution was in the hands of the Mensheviks. After the October Revolution the Bolsheviks prevailed but were eliminated by British intervention in June 1918. In July 12, 1918 an Interim Executive Committee, which sought to restore Alexander Kerensky, was established in Ashgabat. Bolsheviks took the region in February 1920. On August 26, 1920 the peninsula was included in the Kyrgyz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the Russian Soviet Socialist Federative Republic. On June 15, 1925 it was renamed the Kazakh Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, all within the Russian RFSS. On December 5, 1936 it was elevated to Kazakh SSR. But a narrow strip of the southern coastal bay fronting Kara Boghaz was ceded to Turkmen SSR at the same time.

In 1937, this peninsula became part of West Kazakhstan Region with the Kazakh part of Ustyurt Plateau, and a new department was formed with its capital Fort-Shevchenko. Its current capital was founded as Shevchenko in 1964. After the independence of Kazakhstan, the region and its capital were renamed.

Administrative divisions

The region is administratively divided into five districts and two cities of regional significance: Aktau and Zhanaozen. The districts [5] with their populations[6] are:

District	Population 1999 Census	Population 2009 Census	Population 2018 Estimate	Administrative centre
Aktau[7]	144,798	169,809	186,353
Zhanaozen[8]	63,337	113,014	147,962
Beyneu	26,548	46,937	68,285	the auyl of Beyneu
Mangystau	29,024	31,215	38,553	the auyl of Shetpe
Munaily	13,300	74,294	152,666	the auyl of Mangistau
Karakiya	23,437	29,579	37,183	the auyl of Kuryk
Tupkaragan	14,225	20,544	29,260	the town of Fort-Shevchenko

Three localities in the region - Aktau, Fort-Shevchenko, and Zhanaozen - have city or town status.

Demographics

Mangystau Region in winter time

As of 2020, the Mangystau Region has a population of 698,796.[9]

Ethnic groups (2020):[10]

• Kazakh: 91.22%
• Russian: 5.21%
• Azerbaijani: 0.90%
• Others: 2.67%

References

1. Official site – Climate and Geography Archived 2007-12-30 at the Wayback Machine
2. Agency of statistics of the Republic of Kazakhstan: Численность населения Республики Казахстан по областям с начала 2013 года до 1 февраля 2013 года (russisch; Excel-Datei; 55 kB).
3. "Об изменении численности населения Мангистауской области с начала 2017 года до 1 июля 2017 года" (doc). Департамент статистики Мангистауской области. 2017-08-10. Retrieved 2018-01-03.
4. "Об изменении численности населения Республики Казахстан с начала 2018 года до 1 ноября 2018 года". Комитет по статистике Министерства национальной экономики Республики Казахстан. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
5. Список телефонов акимов городов и районов Мангистауской области и их заместителей (in Russian). Акимат Мангистауской области. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
6. Agency of Statistics of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
7. city, including environs.
8. city, including environs.
9. "Численность населения Республики Казахстан по отдельным этносам на начало 2020 года". Stat.kz. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
10. "Численность населения Республики Казахстан по отдельным этносам на начало 2020 года". Stat.kz. Retrieved 2020-08-06.

External links

Media related to Mangystau Province at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website