Baikonur, formerly known as Leninsk, is a city of republic significance in Kazakhstan on the northern bank of the Syr Darya river, rented and administered by the Russian Federation. It was constructed to service the Baikonur Cosmodrome and was officially renamed Baikonur by Russian president Boris Yeltsin on December 20, 1995. During the Soviet period, it was sometimes referred to as Звездоград, Russian for 'Star City'. In 2009, the population of Baikonur was while in 1999, it was The rented area is an ellipse measuring east to west by north to south, with the cosmodrome situated at the area's centre.
History
The original Baikonur is a mining town 320 kilometres northeast of the present location, near Dzhezkazgan in Kazakhstan's Karagandy Region. Starting with Vostok 1 in April 1961, the launch site was given this name to cause confusion and keep the location secret. Baikonur's railway station predates the base and retains the old name of Tyuratam. This was the original Soviet railway station on the Moscow to Tashkent Railway that the Cosmodrome was initially named after. The fortunes of the city have varied according to those of the Soviet or Russian space program and its Baikonur Cosmodrome. Foreign visitors need pre-approval from the Russian authorities to visit both the town of Baikonur itself and the Cosmodrome. Foreign visitors need to obtain a written approval which is completely separate from having a regular Russian Visa. The Soviet government established the Nauchno-Issledovatel'skii Ispytatel'nyi Poligon N.5, or Scientific-Research Test Range N.5 by its decree of 12 February 1955. The U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance plane found and photographed the Tyuratam missile test rangefor the first time on 5 August 1957. See right for a composite satellite image of the early Tyuratam launch complex, the cosmodrome.
Climate
Baikonur features a cold desert climate. Summers are hot with July highs averaging slightly over, while winters are cold, with longer periods of sustained below-freezing temperatures.
Places of interest
South of city center, near the Syr Darya River there is a large park with several sports and amusement facilities. Among these is a ferris wheel, which is no longer in use. The park is located at coordinates.
