Semey

關於Semey

Semey, formerly known as Semipalatinsk until 2007 and as Alash-Qala from 1917 to 1920, is a city in north-eastern Kazakhstan, in the Kazakh part of Siberia. When Abai Region was created in 2022, Semey became its administrative centre. It lies along the Irtysh River near the border with Russia, 1,000 kilometers (620 mi) north of Almaty and 700 kilometers (430 mi) southeast of the Russian city of Omsk. Its population is 312,764 (stat.gov.kz).

The first Russian settlement in the area dates from 1718, when Russia built a fort beside the river Irtysh, near the ruins of an ancient Buddhist monastery, where seven buildings could be seen. The fort (and later the city) was named Semipalatinsk (Russian for "Seven-Chambered City") after the monastery. The fort suffered frequent flooding caused by snowmelt swelling the Irtysh.

In 1778 the fort was relocated 18 kilometres (11 mi) upstream to less flood-prone ground. A small city developed around the fort, and largely served the river trade between the nomadic peoples of Central Asia and the growing Russian...

Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.