Almaty - General Information

The city is situated in the centre of the Eurasian continent, in the south-east of the Republic of Kazakhstan, at a longitude of 77 degrees east and a latitude of 43 degrees north, at the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau Mountains, the northernmost ridge of the Tien Shan. Almaty can vie with the mountain cities of Dushanbe, Karakol, or Erevan. It is on the same parallel with the well-known cities of Gagry and Vladivostok.

The city occupies an area of over 170 square kilometres. It stands on old and young deposit driftovers from the rivers Boishaya and Malaya Almatinka and their tributaries running down from the Trans-Ili Alatau glaciers and ravines to the Ili Valley (Balkhash Lake Basin). Mountain rivers and lakes are the main source of water supply to the city. In the mountain gorges, there are a lot of waterfalls, and thermal radon and sulphuric sources used as the basis for balneological spas.

On the outskirts of the city, they constructed mountain scientific stations designed to study the Sun and cosmic rays at Bolshoi Almaty Lake and the Zhusaly-Kezen Pass, astrophysical observatories at the Kamenski Plateau and the Assy Pass, sports complexes at the skating stadium Medeu and the mountain-skiing station Shymbulak, mountaineering and tourist camps, health resorts, holiday homes, and campings.

Talgar (5017 m), Komsomol (today's Nursultan. 4376 m). and Bolshoi Almatinski (3684 m) peaks prevail over the range of picturesque summits surrounding the city from the south. Some summits rising beyond the clouds are as high as European Mont Blanc, Caucasian Kazbek, and American Tajumulco.

The climate in the city is markedly continental, with considerable fluctuations in temperature not only between different seasons but also between day and night. From a height of 500 metres, the streets lead to the north, to the steppe and semi-desert, coming close to the hot Kaskelen Moyunkuins. In the southern residential areas, at an altitude of 1520-1750 metres above sea level, in the Medeu Tract and the Kamenski Plateau, you can feel the breath of glaciers of the "mountain Arctic".

Average annual wind speed is twice as little as in Moscow. Average temperature of July is the same as on the islands of Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Kalimantan (Borneo), or Java. Average temperature of January can be compared with that in the north of Norway.

The period of sunshine is long, up to 1596 hours a year; there are up to 151 frost-free days. Considerable is the level of air temperature fluctuation at different heights: at the ascent of over 1400 meters above sea level, the average annual air temperature drops by 0.66° every 100 meters. These and other favourable natural and climatic factors provide unique opportunities for promotion of sport and tourism.

Rich and diverse is the animal and vegetable kingdom of the Trans-Ili Alatau. The environs of Almaty are part of the Ili-Alatau National Park in the territory of which nature reserves and wildlife are arranged. They are the habitat of many rare birds and animals now entered in the Red Data Book of Kazakhstan. Among them is the snow leopard which at present embellishes the emblem of Almaty.

At the foothills of the mountains, grain, melon and gourd, and tobacco plantations and vineyards give place to orchards and berry fields. It was here that the celebrated Almaty aporto apple was first cultivated. Once this very apple was the symbol of the old town which gave it its name ("alma" is the Kazakh for "apple").

Higher in the foothills (locally known as "counters"), wild apples, hawthorn, and apricots grow. In the mid-mountains, deciduous trees and shrubs give place to the shapely Tien Shan firs. Still higher, the mountains are covered with sub-alpine and alpine meadows, splendid summer pastures ("jailau") turning into mountain tundra and finally into the realm of rocks and eternal ice.

Gardens and parks, public gardens and boulevards occupy over 8 hectares of the city territory. Among the green tracts, you can see exotic plants brought from North America, Crimea, Caucasus, Siberia, and the Far East. The environs of Almaty can boast rare representatives of the local endemic flora, such as juno, anemone, hawthorn, and oxitropis. Long forgotten names of our countrymen, pioneers, and modernises of this land sound in the names of many Almaty plants: Kolpakovski Xiphion. Nedzvetski apple-tree, Fetisov onion, Kushakevich pink. Dublitski hieracium. Schrenk fir-tree. Regel Eremurus, Korolkov saffron etc. Many names of honorary citizens have been preserved in the names of mountains and valleys of the Trans-Ili Alatau: Palgov. Bryzgalov, Dmitriev. Poyarkov, Shnitnikov. and Wojcehowski glaciers; Ryskul Valley: Kolokolnikovs. Zimin. and Kuderin summits; the city lexicon still has Baum Grove, Verigin Mount. Pugasov Bridge. Moiseyev Orchards etc. At present, however, the majority of the old names has been considerably changed and distorted.

Early in the 20 th century, the writer P.X. Krasnov wrote: "in her witty stories, Teffi noted not without humour that every city is famous for something. Dresden is famous for Madonna, New York for the Liberty Statue, and Verny for its apples and earthquakes." It was also famous for its picturesque "counters'" one of which was named after the distinguished town-dweller Verigin.

One of the brilliant projects by the architect A.P. Sokolov-Zeman. which was left unmaterialised, provided for construction of terraces of public buildings on the slopes of the famous Verigin Mount (the now Koktyube) and erection of a monumental House of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic on its top. The project was only implemented in one respect: they built the Palace of the Republic on Abai Square. There is a powerful radio and television transmission station with a 372-metre television tower constructed on the top of the mountain. Together with the mountain, the total height of the structure comes to 1402 metres above sea level. The mountain slopes are a favourite rest place for Almaty dwellers attracted by sledge and ski routes in winter, and green flowering lawns in summer. You can easily go up to the top of Koktyube Mount by a cable car. Walking around this picturesque place which provides a panoramic view of the "southern capital", you can observe the life of the big city. In small cafes, they will offer you to taste aromatic dishes of the Kazakh national cuisine. From this place, you can also go on excursions around the neighbouring mountains and vales.

Perching themselves at sweetly smelling easels amidst different varieties of grasses, red and bluish poppies, local snowdrops, crimson peonies, which Almaty dwellers call Marja Korevna, local artists would create their small masterpieces. They were Nikolai Khludov ("On the Summit", 1886), Abylkhan Kasteyev ("View of Malaya Stanitsa", 1937), Aubakir Ismailov ("Alatau Valley", 1942), Yevgeni Sodorkin ("Queue at the Cable Railway", 1970), Dmitri Kalachev ("New TV Tower", 1982).

Verigin Mount and its environs were represented in the first films about our city. Well remembered are the films "Our Dear Doctor" (1957) produced by Sh.K. Aimanov, "Welcome to Alma-Ata" (1975) by A.G. Nugmanov, "Mountains and the City" (1976) by Ya.B. Sika, "Lights of the Evening Alma-Ata", "City of Apple-tree Dawns", "Alma-Ata" (1978-1981) by V.P. Tatenko.

It was here that, charmed by the view of the Trans- Ш Mountains and the steppe mirages of the Apple-tree Valley, the composers B. Yerzakovich and S. Shabelski in association with the poets D. Abilev and A. Lukashenko wrote wonderful songs "Alma-Ata" and "My City" in 1948. It was here that Aset Beiseuov created his first waltz "Ahnaly Almatym". Poetic feelings would overwhelm the poets Dmitri Snegin in his poems "My City" (1939) and Tair Zharokov in his poem "The Torrent" (1937). Gifted Lines about .Alma-Ata would also occur to Yuri Platonov and Alexei Bragin. Dmitri Furmanov and Yuri Dombrovski as they cast a bird's view glance at the city from the top of the mountain.

Almaty's unique natural and climatic conditions influenced courageous scientific ideas, engineering concepts, and projects of the century. Here the ideas of the scientist V.N. Buchman relating to utilisation of solar eneigy were materialised. The hehotherapeutic reflector which he invented and presented at the exhibition held to mark the 15 :h anniversary of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist RepubUc would boil water and put into action a small steam machine before the very eyes of the amazed public. The Buchman sun-dial embellished the square before the Cathedral. As regards Buchman's reflector, its salutary effect has been experienced since 1959 by patients of the first ever helioclinic in the Republic.

It was under the conditions of Almaty that Academician G.A. Tikhov originated astrobotany, a specific scientific trend concerned with studying spectrophotometric properties of the surface of Mars and terrestrial vegetation. On this occasion, poets would assert that "there will be apple-trees blooming on Mars" and not any other but Almaty aporto.

In 1906, Verny saw publication of the heritage of the Utopian thinker N.F. Fyodorov under the general title "Philosophy of the Common Cause". The book had been prepared by Fyodorov's disciple, the Verny lawyer N.P. Peterson. This work by the representative of the Russian cosmism Nikolai Fyodorov has been internationally recognised as a monument of philosophic thought. The philosopher foretold that there would come the time of immorality and a utilitarian approach to the memorable places of the human civilisation. Something similar has happened unfortunately in our city where the past failed to live in harmony with the present and many monuments and historic places have not been preserved.

Studying of the Verny earthquakes initiated formation and development of a new science of seismology and practices of earthquake-proof engineering in Kazakhstan. Two geological catastrophes are known that took place on 28 May 1887 and 22 December 1910 (old style), as well as a destructive mud-and-rock flow which fell upon the city on the night of 8 to 9 July 1921. These events had a considerable effect on development of the city planning and architectural appearance of the "southern capital".

In order to protect the city against possible mud-and-rock flows and floods, protective structures were erected on the rivers Bolshaya and Malaya Almatinka and their tributaries; in 1973, Kazglavselzashchita Construction and Operational Agency was established.