Zhezkazgan

Zhezkazgan - a city of Central Kazakhstan which has rich industrial infrastructure, with numerous cultural-educational and sport institutions.
More than 1500 monuments of history and culture were discovered on the territory of region Zhezkazgan. There are many of them particularly on the banks of the rivers Sarysu, Sary-Kengir, Kara-Kengir.
The Great kazakh scientist-metalworker, miner and geologist, academician K.I, Satpaev, figuratively expressed, was a godfather of Zhezkazgan mining-metallurgical plant, he dreamed of opening a university in Zhezkazgan. And his cherished dream came true. Young Zhezkazgan University of the name O. Baykonurov, Zhezkazgan music and medical colleges train specialists of high rank, mastering new educational technology.
In Zhezkazgan orthodox Temple of St. Andrew was built on voluntary donation of the corporation "Kazahmys". A new Moslem mosque is being built. In the city of metalworkers are popular the shows of Zhezkazgan Kazakh music-dramatic theatre of the name S.- Kozhamkulova and the theatre of the young spectator of corporation "Kazahmys".
The History of astronautics is closely connected with Zhezkazgan. The newspaper "Pravda" in August on the18th. 1958 informed the whole world that the third artificial satellite of the Earth, which started from cosmodrome Baikonur, could be observed in cosmos from Zhezkazgan at 18 o'clock and 17 minutes.
In 1973 spaceship "Soyuz-12" landed in picturesque area of Zhezkazgan, directed by Commander V.G. Lazarev and by board engineer O.G. Makarov. The citizens of Zhezkazgan gave honours to the heroes of cosmos for their feats in the sky and for successful performing the program of the flight. The spacemen V.G. Lazarev and O.G. Makarov were assigned rank "Honourable person of Zhezkazgan".
In the number of honourable persons of Zhezkazgan there are 39 spacemen, 7 of them come from distant abroad. Zhezkazgan was visited by Tohtar Aubakirov - the first Kazakh spaceman. He became a Hero of the SOVIET UNION who opened on October 20th. 1991 cosmic chronicle ofindependent Kazakhstan. Talgat Musabaev was the next who went to cosmos after Tohtar Aubakirov.