Караганда: история, промышленность и экологические проблемы

City in Karagandy Region, Kazakhstan

Karaganda, also known as Qaraghandy or Karagandy, (, ; Караганда, ) is the capital of Karaganda Region in the Republic of Kazakhstan. It is the fifth most populous city in Kazakhstan, behind Almaty (Alma Ata), Astana, Shymkent and Aktobe. Population: 497,777 (2020 Estimate); Karaganda is approximately south east of Kazakhstan's capital Astana. The city has been a major center for coal mining throughout much of its modern history, and experienced major growth during the Soviet Union as its coal industry developed. Coal mining remains a significant part of the city's economy.

The name "Karaganda" is derived from "caragana" bushes (Caragana arborescens, Caragana frutex), which are abundant in the area.

Modern day Karaganda dates back to 1833, when local shepherd Appak Baizhanov [ru] allegedly found coal on the site of the city, prompting a coal mining boom. By the late 19th century, the local mines had attracted workers from nearby villages, Russian merchants, and entrepreneurs from France and England.

Karaganda suffered the most severe electromagnetic pulse effects ever observed when its electrical power plant was set on fire by currents induced in a long shallow buried power cable by Soviet Test ‘184’ on 22 October 1962. The test was part of the Soviet Project K nuclear tests (ABM System A proof tests), and consisted of a 300 kiloton high altitude nuclear explosion at an altitude of over Zhezkazgan. Prompt gamma ray produced EMP induced a current of 2,500 amps measured by spark gaps in a stretch of overhead telephone line to Zharyq, blowing all the protective fuses. The late time MHD EMP was of low enough frequency to enable it to penetrate into the ground, overloading a shallow buried lead and steel tape protected long power cable between Aqmola (now called Astana) and Almaty. It fired circuit breakers and set the Karaganda power plant on fire.

Kuznetsov's master plan for the city was intended to accommodate 300,000 inhabitants, which was surpassed by the late 1960s.

On October 28, 2023, the Kostenko mine, a coal mine in Karaganda run by ArcelorMittal Temirtau, the local unit of ArcelorMittal, caught on fire, and killed at least 32 people. In weeks prior to the fire, the Kazakhstani government announced it was in talks to take over part of ArcelorMittal Temirtau's operations, in part due to its dissatisfaction by ArcelorMittal's failure to invest more in its operations, including equipment upgrades and safety precautions.

Due to the prominence of heavy industry in Karaganda, the city experiences a high level of air pollution. Air pollution tracking company IQAir found it to have Kazakhstan's highest level of PM2.5 concentration among cities measured from 2017 to 2022, and the 23rd highest in the world among cities measured.

Karaganda is a largely industrial city, and coal mining is a major component of its economy. As of 2023, the city hosts 8 coal mines, and during the times of the Soviet Union, hosted as many as 26. On May 31, 2022, on the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repressions in the Karaganda Ethnopark, a new monument to the victims of the Holodomor was opened. The monument is located near the mosque on the territory of the Ethnopark, created from granite by Zharmukhamed Tlegenuly. The height of the monument on the pedestal is 1.2 m.

The Central Park serves as Karaganda's main park. The labor camp described in One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich where the author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn had served some time was located near Karaganda.