BelarusBelarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Covering an area of and with a population of 9.2 million, Belarus is the 13th-largest and the 20th-most populous country in Europe. The country has a hemiboreal climate and is administratively divided into six regions. Minsk is the capital and largest city; it is administered separately as a city with special status.
ShymkentShymkent (ʃɯmˈkjent; Шымкент, Şymkent, شىمكەنت), known until 1993 as Chimkent, is a city in Kazakhstan, near the border with Uzbekistan. It is one of three Kazakh cities that have the status of a city of republican significance that of a region. It is the third-most populous city in Kazakhstan, behind Almaty and Astana, with an estimated population of 1,002,291 . According to regional and city officials, the millionth resident of Shymkent was born on 17 May 2018. It is a regional cultural centre.
OrenburgOrenburg (Оренбу́рг, ɐrjɪnˈburk; Орынбор), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies on the banks of the Ural River and is southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is also very close to the border with Kazakhstan. Several historians have tried to explain the origins of the city's name. It was traditionally accepted that the word "orenburg" means a fortress on the River Or. In all probability, the word combination "orenburg" was proposed by ru, the founder of the city.
Lake BalkhashLake Balkhash (Балқаш көлі, Balqaş kölı, bɑlqɑɕ kwʏlɪ; ozero Balkhash) is a lake in southeastern Kazakhstan, one of the largest lakes in Asia and the 15th largest in the world. It is located in the eastern part of Central Asia and sits in the Balkhash-Alakol Basin, an endorheic (closed) basin. The basin drains seven rivers, the primary of which is the Ili, bringing most of the riparian inflow; others, such as the Karatal, bring surface and subsurface flow. The Ili is fed by precipitation, largely vernal snowmelt, from the mountains of China's Xinjiang region.
KaragandaKaraganda or Qaraghandy (Қарағанды/Qarağandy, qɑɾɑˈʁɑndə; Караганда, kərəɡɐnˈda) 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. In the 1940s, up to 70% of the city's inhabitants were ethnic Germans.
LukoilThe PJSC Lukoil Oil Company (Лукойл stylized as LUKOIL or ЛУКОЙЛ in Cyrillic script) is a Russian multinational energy corporation headquartered in Moscow, specializing in the business of extraction, production, transport, and sale of petroleum, natural gas, petroleum products, and electricity. It was formed in 1991 when three state-run, western Siberian companies named after the respective town in Khanty–Mansi Autonomous Okrug that each was based in, Langepasneftegaz, Urayneftegaz, and Kogalymneftegaz, merged.
PetropavlPetropavl (Petropavl , Petropavlovsk) is a city on the Ishim River in northern Kazakhstan close to the border with Russia. It is the capital of the North Kazakhstan Region. Population: 218,956. The city is also known colloquially in Kazakh as Qyzyljar (). Petropavlovsk is about from Kokshetau, northwest of the national capital Astana along the A1, from Omsk. Petropavl is located in the southwestern part of the West Siberian Plain, on the right bank of the Ishim river, the longest tributary of the Irtysh river.
KarakalpakstanKarakalpakstan, officially the Republic of Karakalpakstan, is an autonomous republic of Uzbekistan. It occupies the whole northwestern part of Uzbekistan. The capital is Nukus (Nókis / Нөкис). The Republic of Karakalpakstan has an area of , and a population of about two million. Its territory covers the classical land of Khwarezm, which in classical Persian literature was known as Kāt (کات). From about 500 BC to 500 AD, the region of what is now Karakalpakstan was a thriving agricultural area supported by extensive irrigation.
