Guryev
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Atyrau Атырау |
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Clockwise from top: Central Bridge which connects Europe and Asia during the evening; Stand marking the European side of the city; Orthodox Church; Isatay and Makhambet Monument; Manjali Mosque; Ural River at night; Pedestrian Bridge over the Ural River.
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 Atyrau
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| Coordinates: 47°07′0″N 51°53′0″E / 47.11667°N 51.88333°E | ||
| Country | Kazakhstan | |
| Region | Atyrau Region | |
| Founded | 1640 | |
| City status | 1885 | |
| Government | ||
| • Akim (mayor) | (Нұрлыбек Ожаев) | |
| Elevation | -20 m (−70 ft) | |
| Population (2012) | ||
| • City | 163,221 | |
| • Metro | 221,585 | |
| Time zone | UTC+5 (UTC+5) | |
| Postal code | 060001 - 060011 | |
| Area code(s) | (+7) 7122 | |
| Vehicle registration | E, 06 | |
| Website | atyrau |
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Atyrau (Kazakh: Атырау, Atıraw, اتىراۋ, pronounced [ɑtərɑ́w]; Russian: Атырау [ɐtɨˈraʊ]), known as Guryev (Russian: Гурьев [ˈɡurʲjɪf]) 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, 2,700 kilometres (1,700 miles) west of Almaty and 351 kilometres (218 miles) east of the Russian city of Astrakhan.
Modern Atyrau is famous for its oil and fish industries. It has 154,100 inhabitants (2007), up from 142,500 (1999 census), 90% ethnic Kazakhs (up from 80%), the rest being mostly Russians and other ethnic groups such as Tatars and Ukrainians.
The wooden fort at the mouth of the Yaik River was founded in 1645 as Nizhny Yaitzky gorodok (literally, Lower Yaik Fort) 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 (1647–62). 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 Atıraw means 'river delta'.
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Wikipedia