Atyrau, formerly known as Guryev until 1991, is a city in Kazakhstan, and the capital of Atyrau Region. It is located at the mouth of the Ural River on the Caspian Sea, west of Almaty and east of the Russian city ofAstrakhan. Modern Atyrau is famous for its oil and gas industries. It has 154,100 inhabitants, up from 142,500, 90% ethnic Kazakhs, the rest being mostly Russians and other ethnic groups such as Tatars and Ukrainians.
History
The wooden fort at the mouth of the Yaik River was founded in 1645 as Nizhny Yaitzky gorodok by the Russian trader Gury Nazarov, a native of Yaroslavl, who specialized in trade with Khiva and Bukhara. The fort was plundered by the Yaik Cossacks, leading the Guriev family to rebuild it in stone. Tsar Alexis sent a garrison of Streltsy to protect the fort from Cossack incursions. Despite these efforts, the Cossack rebel Stepan Razin held the town in 1667 and 1668. The fort gradually lost its strategic significance and was demolished in 1810. Between 1708 and 1992 the city was known as Guriev. The Kazakh name Atyraý means 'river delta'.
Murzaev E. Dictionary of popular geographical terms states: A. Nurmaganbetov and M. Khobdabayev states: Ecological Kazakh-Russian dictionary states:
Climate
Atyrau's climate is semi-arid, just shy of being classified as arid, with hot summers and cold winters. Precipitation is low throughout the year. Snow is common, though light in winter. The lowest temperature on record is, recorded in 1909, and the highest temperature is, recorded in 1984. It is much more continental than areas further west on the European continent, with summers characterized by temperatures averaging and lack of precipitation, resembling continental hot-summer mediterranean climates, and subarctic winters with little snow but with chilling temperatures. These vast temperature swings are more comparable to Siberia and the North American plains.
Industry
Oil industry
The third biggest refinery in Kazakhstan is located in Atyrau. Atyrau Refinery is operated by KazMunayGas and has a capacity of 16,600 m³/day. A deep oil refining complex is under construction which is the final stage of complete reconstruction of Atyrau Oil Refinery. This project is designed to process 2.4 million tons/year of raw materials. The project will increase the depth of the oil processing at the refinery by 2016 to 85%. The volume of oil refining will reach 5.5 million tons per year. Atyrau is located near Tengiz field, which is operated in part by Chevron. Most families of Chevron employees live in Dostyk village, a compound that includes housing, recreational facilities, and an international school. Atyrau also has expatriate populations working for Agip, ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, and ConocoPhillips.
On August 28, 1965, the first real reinforced concrete bridge in the city, passing through the Ural River, was built and put into operation. The bridge is 259 meters long and 10 meters high. The bridge connects Satpayev Avenue and Abay Street. On the right European coast on Satpayev Avenue, the akimat of the city and akimat of the Atyrau region adjoin the bridge. In 2001, a unique pedestrian suspension bridge was built. The 551-meter -long bridge is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest pedestrian bridge in the world. From the middle of the bridge over the Urals there are views of Azattyk Avenue and its surroundings. In 2009, the Sultan Beibars was opened - a four-lane bridge with a throughput capacity of 5–7 thousand cars a day, 800 meters long with access roads, 380.74 meters long and 22 meters wide. The width of the roadway is 16 meters, plus two walking paths of 2.5 meters each.
