Astana, formerly known as Akmola, Tselinograd and Akmolinsk, is the capital and second largest city (after Almaty) of Kazakhstan, with a population of more than half a million. It is located in the north-central portion of Kazakhstan, within Akmola Province.
Astana is located in central Kazakhstan on the Ishim River in a very flat, semi-desert steppe region which covers most of the country's territory. Astana is in a spacious steppe landscape, in the transient area between the north of Kazakhstan and the extremely thinly settled national center, because of the river Ishim.
The word Astana in Kazakh literally means Capital. A unit of Siberian cossacks from Omsk founded a huge fortress on the upper Ishim in 1824, which later became the town of "Akmolinsk". During the early 20th century, the town became a major railway junction, causing a major economic boom that lasted until the Russian Civil War.
In 1995, the city was designated as the future capital of the newly-independent country, and the capital was officially moved from Almaty in 1997. The new name, Astana, was bestowed in 1998.
Government officials cited several problems with keeping the capital in Almaty, such as the city's risk of seismic activity, insufficient room for expansion, and proximity to international borders. Additionally, parts of northern Kazakhstan are populated primarily by ethnic Russians, which raised fears of possible irredentist activity. Moving the capital to this area may have been an attempt to anchor it more closely with the rest of the country.
To some Kazakhs, the move remains controversial. Critics cite the city's isolated location in the center of the Kazakh steppe and the forbidding climate in winter. Financially, some resent the massive expenditure of public funds to build the new government complexes, as well as the continuing cost of airfare and hotel expenses for the many government workers who still live in Almaty.