Kazakhstan: Kostanay
Kostanay lies in the north of Kazakhstan, just a couple hundred km from the Russian border (the Russian Siberian city of Chelyabinsk is only 260 km to the north). The city itself was established during the Russian empire times in 1888 as Nikolaevsk in honor of the tsar Nicholas II, and renamed into Kustanay in 1918 when the Red Army took control. Once Kazakhstan became independent in the 1990s, the city was renamed into Kostanay. The city looks and feels like a typical Soviet/Russian provincial town – plenty of old Soviet buildings, monuments, sculptures (actually a total of 184 monuments), large squares, and grand-looking administrative buildings. Don’t miss the spectacular Kostanay Drama Theater and the nearby Monument to the Conquerers of Virgin Lands.
