* December 10 – The capital of Kazakhstan is moved from Almaty to Astana.

Currently ( 2008 ), the line is used by direct passenger service from Urumqi in China's Xinjiang to Almaty and Astana in Kazakhstan ..

Astana ( Russian /, formerly known as Akmola ( Kazakh: Ақмола / Aqmola, until 1998 ), Целиноград / Tselinograd until 1992 ) and Akmolinsk ( Russian: Акмолинск, until 1961 ), has been the capital of Kazakhstan since 1997, and is the country's second largest city ( after Almaty, the former capital ) with an officially estimated population of 708, 794 as of 1 August 2010.

The current mayor of Astana is Imangali Tasmagambetov.

The word Astana in Kazakh literally means Capital but the word itself originates from Persian Astane ( means " sublime threshold ," " royal porte " implying a royal capital city or a holy shrine town, ( from the Persian verb Istadan ( آستان ) ' to stand ' ( in respect )), and literally means " threshold " ( royal or sacred, where people stand in respect or awe ), implying where the court is seated ( the capital city ) or the body of a sacred person is interred ( a shrine town ).

Astana is located in central Kazakhstan on the Ishim River in a very flat, semi-arid steppe region which covers most of the country's territory.

The elevation of Astana is at above sea level.

Astana is in a spacious steppe landscape, in the transitional area between the north of Kazakhstan and the extremely thinly settled national center, because of the river Ishim.

Climatically, Astana is the second coldest capital in the world after Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, a position formerly held by Canada's capital, Ottawa, until Astana became the capital.

The average annual temperature in Astana is.

The Astana Metro is a planned underground construction in Astana.

Astana Train Station is an important hub for northern Kazakhstan, served by Qazaqstan Temir Zholy trains to most major cities in Kazakhstan, including Talgo expresses to Almaty.

Astana is twinned with:

* Aqmola Province, the Province of Kazakhstan where Astana is located.

It is dammed downstream of central Astana, keeping its level higher than it otherwise would be most of the time, while the river bottom has been made deeper, in order to let flood waters through faster.

In central Astana, near the city park, there is now a public beach and pedalo boat rental ; meanwhile, if the river had not been dammed, " citizens would have been able to walk across it ".

Air Astana is headquartered in the Air Astana Centre 1 in Almaty.

Khan Shatyry Entertainment Center | Khan Shatryry (" Royal Marquee ") in Astana, Kazakhstan is the highest tensile structure in the World

The enterprise's head office is in Tokyo with branch offices in Osaka, Nagoya, Astana, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing and Los Angeles.

Astana () is a professional road bicycle racing team sponsored by the Astana group, a coalition of state-owned companies from Kazakhstan and named after its capital city Astana.

Following confirmation that Vinokourov's B-sample had also tested positive, the Astana Team announced that he had been sacked with immediate effect.

They also connect to Astana, Almaty, in Kazakhstan, and adjoining areas.

The station also hosts several international trains, and the most distant cities reached are Novosibirsk ( Russia ) and Astana ( Kazakhstan ), with an express named " Sibirjak ".

However, winters here are noticeably warmer than in cities such as Almaty and Astana, with the mean monthly temperature during the city ’ s coldest month ( January ) averaging around-1 C. Shymkent averages just under 600 mm of precipitation annually.

Ballot boxes, Kazakh flag and state seal in an Astana polling place before the 2007 legislative elections.

Wu Zhen, who worked on the Astana site asserted that, despite the fact that individual slaves were common among silk route houses, from early Niya documents an increase in the selling of slaves was recorded in Turpan documents.

The cities Almaty and Astana are the former and current capitals of the country respectively and have special status equal to the regions.

It has a population of 330, 100 ( 1999 census ), up 9 % from 1989, making it one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, after Astana and Türkistan.

Along with all other commercial Kazakh airlines with the exception of Air Astana, it was banned from entering EU airspace in April 2009, due to the poor maintenance standards in the country.

* 2006, Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, Astana, Kazakhstan

* Khan Shatyry in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Palace of Peace and Reconciliation in Astana, Kazakhstan

* Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.

* The 51st IMO was held in Astana, Kazakhstan, July 2 – 15, 2010.

On 4 July 2011, Sting cancelled a concert appearance scheduled for the Astana Day Festival in Astana, Kazakhstan.

The upper course of the Ishim passes through Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.

According to the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, Astana was chosen as the capital in part due to the presence of the river.

Despite losing its status as the capital to Astana in 1997, Almaty remains the major commercial and cultural centre of Kazakhstan.

In 1997 the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev approved the Decree to transfer the capital from Almaty to Astana.

Several of the world's capital cities are planned cities, including Washington, D. C., in the United States, Canberra in Australia, Brasília in Brazil, Belmopan in Belize, New Delhi in India, Abuja in Nigeria, Astana in Kazakhstan, Naypyidaw in Burma, and Islamabad in Pakistan.

Streets in Yerevan, Moscow (: ru: Улица Хачатуряна ( Москва ) ), Simferopol, Ukraine and Astana, Kazakhstan are named after Khachaturian.

Following the successful foundation of Haileybury Almaty, a similar school under the auspices of Haileybury was planned to be built in Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan.

The Nur-Astana Mosque in Astana, Kazakhstan.