Батыс Қазақстан облысы: Тарих, мәдениет және географиясы

Region of Kazakhstan

West Kazakhstan Region (; Западно Казахстанская область) is a region of Kazakhstan. The region has a population of 683,327 as of 2022. Its administrative centre is Oral (also known as Uralsk and Ural'sk), a city of about 200,000 inhabitants. The Region was created as West Kazakhstan Oblast in Kazakh SSR of Soviet Union. Between 1962 and 1992 it was named Ural’sk Oblast and was renamed in 1993 to the old name following the independence of Kazakhstan from the Soviet Union.

The region borders Russia and is near the Ural Mountains. The Ural River is the border between Asia and Europe and flows from Russia to the Caspian Sea through the region, meaning the extreme west of Kazakhstan is in Eastern Europe. West Kazakhstan region borders Aktobe Region to the east and Atyrau Region to the south, in addition to the following Russian Oblasts: Astrakhan Oblast to the south west, Volgograd Oblast to the west, Saratov Oblast to the north west, Samara Oblast to the north and Orenburg Oblast to the north east. It is traversed by the northeasterly line of equal latitude and longitude. There are numerous lakes in the region, including Shalkar, Balykty Sarkyl, Botkul and Aralsor.

The West Kazakhstan Region has a rich historical and cultural heritage. In the region, there are more than 6,000 historical and archaeological sites of different eras and more than 500 historical, architectural and art monuments, 14 of which are monuments of national significance. In the field of culture and art of the region there are 717 state run organizations. In order to study, preserve and popularize the historical and cultural heritage in the region there are 24 museums in the region, including 2 private ones, and 13 in rural areas. At the end of 2019, the region was home to 364 libraries, of which, 340 were in rural areas, hosting 1,303,352 visitors and 5,819,524 works. and in the variety rink bandy, a national title was obtained in 2014.