Ust-Kamenogorsk History

In the second half of the fifteenth century, East Kazakhstan was conquered by Dzhungars (Tatar-Mongolian tribes). They tried to settle in this region and built fortresses.

In 1664, Taisha Ablay built a fortification with a temple of religious library in it. It existed for twenty years and was destroyed later. The settlement and the river near it were called Ablaketka after him. During the seventeenth century, the Russian government made several attempts to advance to the Upper Irtysh, but it confronted the obstacle of military-feudal state Dzhungaria.

Dwelling on the history of our city, we start since the time, when all the territory of the Altai and the Upper Irtysh, depended upon western Mongols and Irats, who later began to call themselves Dzungars. This tribe union comprised Torgauts, Hoshouts, Derbets, Choroses, and other tribes. The first inhabitants of the settlements extracted salt from Lake Yamysh; later on the boundaries stretched to the south of Upper Irtish. The pretext for it was a rumour about gold-placer near Dzungarian town Yarkend.

According to the legend about the Altai, in distant Holland, in 1691, burgomaster N.K. Vitsen received a parcel from Moscow. It contained samples of ores from the Upper Irtysh and the Charysh. After a chemical analysis a conclusion was made that those ores contained little silver, but within the depth it might increase.

Peter the Great demanded from the Amsterdam representative to send him to the Siberian governor-boyarin M.Gagarin and ordered to found a chain of fortresses along the Upper Ob and the Irtysh. By this order, in 1715, a detachment of soldiers was sent from Tobolsk. It consisted of 30,000 men, brigadier Ivan Buhgolz was the leader. He built the Yamysh, Omsk, and Semipalatinsk fortresses. The mission was continued by general-mayor Ivan Likharev. In 1720, where the Irish escapes from the narrow stone mountains into the broad steppes, where the Ulba waters flow into the Irtysh, there was laid a foundation for the Ust-Kamennaya fortress. It was meant for protection from Dzungarian raids and later it became a strong site of commerce and culture.

Siberian Cossacks became the first inhabitants of the Ust-Kamennaya fortress. They worked, developed their traditions and customs. They were generous and hospitable. The service was difficult, but thousands of kilogrammes of famous silver of golden colour were delivered annually to distant St. Petersburg. In 1786, several expeditions from Ust-Kamenogorsk fortress were equipped to go to the Altai Mountains. They were searching for precious stones and minerals. The groups under the leadership P.I. Shangin, a future corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Science, and F.F. Ridder, whose discovery – a great polymetal field – got the name of its founder, were the most successful.

Tsar mines and plants were developing, the provision of foodstuff was improving, people got used to the new place. They began to plough land and develop bee keeping. In 1868 the Cossack settlement of Ust-Kamenogorsk fortress got the status of a town. The town with wooden houses and a peculiar way of life lived quietly as hundreds of towns of the Tsar Empire outskirts. But this monotonous life was interrupted by some remarkable events: the opening of the Mariinsky female secondary specialized school, the Narodny House, a male primary school, a female gymnasium, the cinema “Echo”, teacher training and political-instructive colleges, the construction of the first radio station and a town library.

Gradually, Ust-Kamenogorsk turned into a large economic region center, to become an oblast center in 1939.

Ø Put the points of the outline in a correct order:

1. The expeditions to the Altai Mountains.

2. The Dzhungars.

3. The status of a town.

4. The legend about the Altai.

5. Attempts to conquer East Kazakhstan in the 15-17^th centuries.

6. The mission to the Irtish.

Ø Answer the questions:

1. Why did the Russian government’s attempts to advance to the Upper Irtysh fail?

2. When did Ust-Kamenogorsk start dwelling on the history of our city?

3. What did the correspondence from Moscow contain?

4. What did Peter the Great demand to build along the Upper Ob and the Irtysh?

5. Who were the inhabitants of the Ust-Kamennaya fortress?

6. Where were several expeditions equipped to go to in 1786?

7. What remarkable events interrupted the monotonous life in Ust-Kamenogorsk?

Ø Work in pairs. Ask questions to which these are answers:

1. In the second half of the 15^th century.

2. They began to call themselves Dzungars.

3. It consisted of 30,000 men.

4. It was built for protection from Dzhungarian raids.

5. They were generous and hospitable.

6. They became to plough land and develop bee-keeping.

7. It became an oblast center in 1939.

Ø Explain why:

1. … Peter the Great sent his people to the Upper Ob and the Irtysh.

2. … several expeditions were equipped to go from Ust-Kamenogorsk fortress to the Altai Mountains in 1786.

Date: 2015-01-12; view: 1217