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Akkol, Lenger, Aralsk, Konaev, Emba, and Beyond: Life in Kazakhstan’s Small Towns. Part 1
Kazakhstan’s Small Towns & Monotowns: A Guide to the Hinterland
In Kazakhstan’s settlement system, third-tier cities are classified as "small towns" and "company towns" (single-industry towns). Small towns in Kazakhstan are defined as settlements with a city-forming enterprise and a population of no more than 50,000 people. A company town is a city with a population between 10,000 and 200,000 people, where the majority of production and the working-age population are concentrated around one or a few key city-forming enterprises. Currently, Kazakhstan has 27 company towns and 41 small towns.
Attention from the news and incidents in these settlements often quickly shifts to larger cities, and visits to them are usually tied to urgent matters or visiting relatives.
The Voice Media takes on the mission to show that these small towns and company towns are crucial points on Kazakhstan's map that are being ignored by the authorities.
Attention from the news and incidents in these settlements often quickly shifts to larger cities, and visits to them are usually tied to urgent matters or visiting relatives.
The Voice Media takes on the mission to show that these small towns and company towns are crucial points on Kazakhstan's map that are being ignored by the authorities.
ФОТО ИИ Midjorney
How small towns came to be
Different countries use different criteria to define small towns. Among the primary factors are a town's size (population) and the scope and scale of its urban functions (the main activity of the majority of residents). At the same time, national legislations set vastly different population thresholds for a settlement to be considered a town or city—ranging from 250 people in Denmark to 30,000 in Japan.
The emergence of small towns in Kazakhstan was tied to the development of the industrial sector. As industrial sites appeared, settlements and small towns were formed, with populations reaching up to 20,000 residents. In 1959, there were 43 small towns; by the late 1980s, that number had grown to 84. In 1990, the population of small towns plummeted by 50%.
At one point, it seemed these towns would vanish like so many others built during the Soviet era around single city-forming enterprises. The collapse scenarios were strikingly similar: the fall of the Soviet Union coincided with the depletion of natural deposits, factories shut down, residents left, public transport was canceled, and impoverished locals stripped abandoned homes of everything from old plumbing to window frames.
Today, small towns have mostly become administrative centers for rural districts. A prime example is Akkol, a small town a hundred kilometers from Astana. In Soviet times, it housed a backup communications hub in case of a massive bombardment of the USSR. In 2005, a spacecraft control center was built here, and at the initiative of former President Nazarbayev, Akkol was dubbed the country's "first smart city." Today, the phrase "smart city" brings little more than a smirk to locals' faces: during the summer, the town suffers from water shortages, and waste is dumped directly into the forest.
The emergence of small towns in Kazakhstan was tied to the development of the industrial sector. As industrial sites appeared, settlements and small towns were formed, with populations reaching up to 20,000 residents. In 1959, there were 43 small towns; by the late 1980s, that number had grown to 84. In 1990, the population of small towns plummeted by 50%.
At one point, it seemed these towns would vanish like so many others built during the Soviet era around single city-forming enterprises. The collapse scenarios were strikingly similar: the fall of the Soviet Union coincided with the depletion of natural deposits, factories shut down, residents left, public transport was canceled, and impoverished locals stripped abandoned homes of everything from old plumbing to window frames.
Today, small towns have mostly become administrative centers for rural districts. A prime example is Akkol, a small town a hundred kilometers from Astana. In Soviet times, it housed a backup communications hub in case of a massive bombardment of the USSR. In 2005, a spacecraft control center was built here, and at the initiative of former President Nazarbayev, Akkol was dubbed the country's "first smart city." Today, the phrase "smart city" brings little more than a smirk to locals' faces: during the summer, the town suffers from water shortages, and waste is dumped directly into the forest.
What's wrong with small towns
In 2003, the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan adopted a resolution "On Approval of the Development Program for Small Towns for 2004–2006." Spoiler: over two decades later, the economic problems of small towns remain unsolved.
The main issues facing almost all small towns in the country are high unemployment, population outflow, a lack of budget funds and investment, difficulty maintaining social infrastructure, weak transport links, and inadequate power and heat supplies.
Lenger is a town in the Turkestan region, formed after the end of World War II. Today, dirty, orange-tinted water flows from the taps in Lenger. Locals say it is completely undrinkable. Year after year, crime rates fail to drop, and fraud cases are frequently featured in the media.
To this day, maintaining essential life-support systems remains a critical issue: boiler houses, heating, sewage, water supply networks, and electricity, as well as housing stock and socio-cultural facilities. Water and sewage systems along with treatment facilities have fallen into disrepair, becoming sources of environmental pollution and public health issues. Utilities in small towns operate mostly at a loss.
Small towns can be divided into two groups: those situated along railway lines and those located far from them. Consequently, transport isolation and the poor condition of highways are particularly acute. Many settlements lack access to safe drinking water, forcing residents to rely on open reservoirs or hauled water.
The town of Aralsk is located in the Kyzylorda region. Historically a vital port on the Aral Sea, the sea began to dry up in the 1980s and receded. The 1990s marked one of the most difficult chapters in Aralsk's history: the climate shifted, and residents faced severe health and drinking water crisis. Today, the port of Aralsk is a landscape of decaying factory frames, rusty cranes, thick silt, and marshland. At its peak, the Aralsk area was home to up to 200,000 residents. Today, only about 80,000 people remain in the entire district, with just 34,000 living in the town of Aralsk itself.
The main issues facing almost all small towns in the country are high unemployment, population outflow, a lack of budget funds and investment, difficulty maintaining social infrastructure, weak transport links, and inadequate power and heat supplies.
Lenger is a town in the Turkestan region, formed after the end of World War II. Today, dirty, orange-tinted water flows from the taps in Lenger. Locals say it is completely undrinkable. Year after year, crime rates fail to drop, and fraud cases are frequently featured in the media.
To this day, maintaining essential life-support systems remains a critical issue: boiler houses, heating, sewage, water supply networks, and electricity, as well as housing stock and socio-cultural facilities. Water and sewage systems along with treatment facilities have fallen into disrepair, becoming sources of environmental pollution and public health issues. Utilities in small towns operate mostly at a loss.
Small towns can be divided into two groups: those situated along railway lines and those located far from them. Consequently, transport isolation and the poor condition of highways are particularly acute. Many settlements lack access to safe drinking water, forcing residents to rely on open reservoirs or hauled water.
The town of Aralsk is located in the Kyzylorda region. Historically a vital port on the Aral Sea, the sea began to dry up in the 1980s and receded. The 1990s marked one of the most difficult chapters in Aralsk's history: the climate shifted, and residents faced severe health and drinking water crisis. Today, the port of Aralsk is a landscape of decaying factory frames, rusty cranes, thick silt, and marshland. At its peak, the Aralsk area was home to up to 200,000 residents. Today, only about 80,000 people remain in the entire district, with just 34,000 living in the town of Aralsk itself.
Developing small towns
In March 2022, residents of Emba in the Aktobe region became the first among small towns to elect their mayor (akim). The election was won by self-nominated candidate Raimbek Musagali, a local school principal. He was the exact person Emba residents had asked to be appointed mayor during the January events, noted for not forcing teachers to subscribe to newspapers or clean the streets, and for refusing bribes.
In the autumn, during a working visit to the Aktobe region by Minister of Transport Marat Karabayev, local residents raised numerous complaints regarding the condition of the highway between Kandagash and Emba. A medium repair of a 30-kilometer stretch was planned for 2024, requiring approximately 4 billion tenge. The minister announced he would help facilitate the allocation of the necessary funds.
The local budget of small towns consists of their own revenue and transfers. In the autumn, President Tokayev instructed in his address to increase the level of budget autonomy for the regions. He noted that key reforms had already been implemented in regional policy, including the direct election of akims and administrative reform.
On May 3, 2022, the city of Kapshagay was renamed Konaev, and on June 8, 2022, it became the administrative center of the Almaty region within its new boundaries following the separation of the newly formed Zhetysu region. Following the renaming, the city continued to face issues with violence, corruption among officials and judges, and underutilized transport and logistics potential. Konaev is the smallest regional center in Kazakhstan, with a population of only about 60,000 residents, a little over 10% of whom work in the gambling industry. Over 4 trillion tenge is planned to be spent on the development of Konaev by 2027. The motivation behind allocating these funds is tied to its industrial and tourism potential, as well as positive demographic dynamics.
The country's regional development remains uneven, despite efforts to improve inter-budgetary relations and transfer tax revenues to regional budgets. Regional development in Kazakhstan remains the most pressing and complex issue among all the reforms conducted over the 30 years since gaining independence.
In the autumn, during a working visit to the Aktobe region by Minister of Transport Marat Karabayev, local residents raised numerous complaints regarding the condition of the highway between Kandagash and Emba. A medium repair of a 30-kilometer stretch was planned for 2024, requiring approximately 4 billion tenge. The minister announced he would help facilitate the allocation of the necessary funds.
The local budget of small towns consists of their own revenue and transfers. In the autumn, President Tokayev instructed in his address to increase the level of budget autonomy for the regions. He noted that key reforms had already been implemented in regional policy, including the direct election of akims and administrative reform.
On May 3, 2022, the city of Kapshagay was renamed Konaev, and on June 8, 2022, it became the administrative center of the Almaty region within its new boundaries following the separation of the newly formed Zhetysu region. Following the renaming, the city continued to face issues with violence, corruption among officials and judges, and underutilized transport and logistics potential. Konaev is the smallest regional center in Kazakhstan, with a population of only about 60,000 residents, a little over 10% of whom work in the gambling industry. Over 4 trillion tenge is planned to be spent on the development of Konaev by 2027. The motivation behind allocating these funds is tied to its industrial and tourism potential, as well as positive demographic dynamics.
The country's regional development remains uneven, despite efforts to improve inter-budgetary relations and transfer tax revenues to regional budgets. Regional development in Kazakhstan remains the most pressing and complex issue among all the reforms conducted over the 30 years since gaining independence.