Shymkent is a city in southern Kazakhstan, close to the border with Uzbekistan. Shymkent is the third-largest city in Kazakhstan, and serves as a regional cultural and economic center. Administratively, it is one of three cities of republican significance in Kazakhstan, the others being Almaty and Astana. Geographically, Shymkent lies approximately west of Almaty, south of Astana, and north of Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Historically, Shymkent dates back to at least the twelfth century, although some archeological finds date back to over 2000 BCE, and it sat along the caravan route of the Silk Road, connecting Central Asia to China, and now functions as a major railway junction for the region. The city also hosts Shymkent International Airport, which connects to various domestic and international destinations.
Shymkent is home to several major historic and cultural sites, and, as of 2024, was among one of the top tourist destinations in Kazakhstan. Shymkent hosts several universities and cultural institutions. Ethnically, the city has sizable Uzbek and Russian communities alongside its majority Kazakh population, reflecting its proximity to Uzbekistan and Soviet past.
Etymology The name Chimkent comes from the Turkic wordSergei Starostin, Anna Dybo, and Oleg Mudrak (2003), Etymological Dictionary of the Altaic Languages, p. 447Lazar Budagov, Comparative Dictionary of Turko-Tatar Dialects (1869), p. 487a
"Inherited from Proto-Turkic *čïm ('sod, turf; meadow') ..."Oʻzbek tilining etimologik lugʻati, p. 886Yaşar Çağbayır, Ötüken Türkçe Sözlük, 2007, volume 1, p. 997Sevortyan, Etimologičeskij slovarʹ tjurkskix jazykov, Vol. III (1980), "чим" categoryWilhelm Radloff, Versuch eines Wörterbuches der Türk-Dialecte ("Attempt at a Dictionary of the Turkic Dialects"), Vol. III, chim (meaning 'turf') and the Sogdian wordW. B. Henning, "The Date of the Sogdian Ancient Letters," Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies 10 (1940): 601–615. kent (or kand) (meaning 'city') (also found in the name of nearby Toshkent); thus, it literally means "the city in the grass/turf." After Kazakhstan gained independence, the spelling was changed to Shymkent in 1993 as part of the government's campaign to apply Kazakh names to cities.
History Chimkent was founded in the twelfth centuryPeoples of central Asia. By Lawrence Krader. Published by Indiana University, 1971 as a caravanserai to protect a nearby Silk Road trade town, Sayram, to the east. Chimkent grew as a market center for trade between Turkic nomads and the settled Sogdians. It was destroyed several times: by the Mongols led by Genghis Khan, by soldiers from the southern Khanates, and by nomad attacks. In the early 19th century, it became part of the khanate of Kokand before it was captured by the Russians in 1864. It was renamed Chernyaev in 1914 and renamed Chimkent in 1924. Following the Russian conquest, Chimkent was a city of trade between nomadic Turks and sedentary Turks, and was famous for its kumis.Through Russian central Asia. By Stephen Graham. Published by The Macmillan Company, 1916 Chimkent was founded as a hub for economic development in South Kazakhstan in the 20th century, and rapid growth was evolving in the second half of the century. To date, there are about 70 factories, plants and other manufacturing companies in the area. A settlement on the territory of modern Chimkent already existed at the turn of the 11th – 12th centuries and it belonged to Uzbeks. At the same time, there is a hypothesis about its earlier establishment based on the burials found during archaeological excavations that, according to experts, date back to the 5th – 6th centuries. In the sources that have reached our time, the Central Asian historian Sharaf ad-din Yazdi (1425) first mentioned Chimkent in the book Zafar Name (Book of Victories), when describing the military campaigns of Timur. Chimkent (Shymkent), as a city-settlement already existed in the 6th century AD. Its name links to the famous traveler Xuan Jiang, who mentioned it in his notes about Isfijab - Sairam. It is widely believed that the city existed in the 12th century. This information is taken from the book of A. Dobrosmyslov "Cities of the Syr-Darya region", where he reports the following: "The name of the city of Chimkent comes from the words chim - sod and kent - city. Indigenous people of Chimkent relate the time of its establishment to the 12th century, referring to the grave of St. Baba Dervish, a contemporary of Khoja Ahmet Yasawi."
In 1914, in honour of the 50th anniversary of Chimkent becoming part of the Russian Empire, the city was named Chernyaev, but in 1924 the Soviet authorities returned to the city its former name. A lead plant was built in Chimkent in the 1930s. It accounted for 70% of the total lead produced in the Soviet Union. An oil and fat plant, a hosiery and a mirror factory were commissioned. In 1932, an agricultural aviation base was created, which led to the creation and development of the city airport. During the Second World War, a number of Soviet industrial enterprises were evacuated in Chimkent. From the front line, 17 plants and factories were relocated here. The city produced spare parts for tanks, shells, metal, lead for bullets, optical instruments and other products. Seven Chimkent residents were awarded the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union. There was a gulag near Chimkent, and as a result, many Russian-speaking people came to the area through imprisonment in that gulag.The Gulag Archipelago, 1918–1956: an experiment in literary investigation. By Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn, H. T. Willetts, Thomas P. Whitney. Published by Westview Press, 1997 During World War II, in connection with the formation of the Polish Anders' Army, a Polish diplomatic post was established in the city in January 1942, however it was closed in July 1942 when the Soviets arrested four of its staff members (all of whom were released in October 1942).
In January 2015, Shymkent officials sent a request to UNESCO to be recognized as an ancient city.
Until 2018, Shymkent was the administrative center of South Kazakhstan Region. On 19 June 2018 it was taken out of South Kazakhstan Region and subordinated directly to the government of Kazakhstan. As a result, the administrative center of the region is moved to Turkistan, and the region was renamed as Turkistan Region.
Geography
Climate Shymkent features a humid continental climate (Köppen Dsa) bordering on a mediterranean climate (Csa). Shymkent features hot, dry summers and cold winters. Winters here are noticeably warmer than in more northerly cities like Almaty and Astana, with the mean monthly temperature during the city's coldest month (January) averaging around . Winter snowfalls are common, although rainfall during that season occurs mixed in with that. Shymkent averages just over of precipitation annually.
ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫЙ КЛИМАТИЧЕСКИЙ КАДАСТР
Vegetation
The vegetation of the city is known for its extreme diversity. Trees like oak, elm, poplar, karagach, cannan maple, willow, chestnut, acacia, ailanthus, thuja, pine, spruce grow in the city. Farm horticultural аpple trees, mulberry, crops cherry, apricot, dried apricot, peaches and nectarines, plum, pomegranate, walnut, quince, and grape varieties are widespread, strawberry, and a wide variety of watermelons and melons. A rich variety of tomatoes, peppers and other vegetable crops.
Demographics
According to a government estimate in 2012, the city had 669,326 inhabitants. In 2009, the population of Shymkent was in 1999, it was By the beginning of 2015, Shymkent was joined by the areas of adjacent districts. In this connection, the city population has increased up to 858,147 people within the new boundaries by the beginning of 2015. By that time, 711,783 people resided in the former area of Shymkent.Численность населения Республики Казахстан по областям, городам и районам на 1 января 2015 года According to regional and city officials, the millionth resident of Shymkent was born on 17 May 2018. By 1 June 2018, the population of Shymkent was 1,002,291.
The following tables are the total population of Shymkent since 1897:
Ethnic groups (2020): Kazakh: 67.47% Uzbek: 17.69% Russian: 8.91% Azerbaijani: 1.74% Tatar: 1.01% Others: 3.18%
Region and development
On 19 June 2018 by the decree of the President of Kazakhstan, Shymkent was recognized as one of Kazakhstan's cities with a population of over a million people, along with the capital, Astana, and Almaty. Shymkent was given the status of a city of republican significance. It was removed from the South Kazakhstan region, which was renamed Turkestan by the same decree. The city of Shymkent became an independent administrative-territorial unit, and the 17th region in Kazakhstan.
In 2016, construction began on Shymkent City, a new district comprising residential and administrative areas, in the northern part of the city. This construction is part of then-President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev's promotion of the development of Shymkent as the "third Kazakhstani megalopolis".
Economy Shymkent is a major economic center within Kazakhstan. Major industries in Shymkent include metallurgy, mechanical engineering, chemicals, petroleum refining, and the food industry. Industrial production increased by 15% compared to 2018. Agricultural production increased by 6.3%, housing construction by 19.2%, retail trade by 7.1%. In the last 3 years, as part of the Industrial and Innovative Development Programme, 24 enterprises were opened in Shymkent, and 1,300 permanent jobs were created. There are 2 industrial zones in the city. To date investments worth 64 billion tenge have been attracted, 72 projects have been launched, more than 4,000 people have been employed. In February 2021, it was announced that authorities in Shymkent are planning for 123 investment projects worth over 1.36 trillion tenge (US$3.3 billion) to be launched over the next 5 years. These projects are expected to create approximately 11,500 jobs for the region.
Metallurgy Formerly dominated by lead mining, industrial growth began in the 1930s. A lead smelter was opened in Shymkent in 1934People & Power (TV programme), Al Jazeera English, Robin Forestier, 20 February 2014 or 1938.The USSR. By John C. Dewdney. Published by Dawson, 1976 It supplied a major part of the USSR's metals needs, copper as well as lead and others, including three-quarters of all bullets fired by the Red Army. Smelting continued until 2008, causing extreme levels of pollution (lead, cadmium, etc.) in the surrounding ground, and then controversially restarted in 2010, briefly, under a major UK-listed company, Kazakhmys. Lead smelting continued until 2012, with the closure of Yuzhpolymetal JSC. The city also has industries producing refined zinc. A 2026 study found that the resulting slag from lead and zinc production in Shymkent ranked "among the most severely contaminated metallurgical legacy sites documented in Central Asia and globally".
Petroleum Shymkent Oil Refinery, one of Kazakhstan's three largest oil refineries, is located in Shymkent. The refinery, which belongs to PetroKazakhstan, was built in 1985, making it the newest oil refinery in Kazakhstan, and the only one located in the southern part of the country.
Pharmaceuticals The city's pharmaceutical industry dates back to 1882, when two merchants founded an enterprise which used Artemisia cina to make santonin. During the time of the Soviet Union, the SANTO plant that evolved from this business became a major national producer of pharmaceutical substances and narcotic agents. The business was reorganized as Chimpharm JSC in 1993, and merged into Polpharma Group in 2011.
Other industry