Kökşetau

Historically, several names in various languages have identified Kökşetau.

• Stanitsa Kokchetavskaya (1827–1868; which is a romanized back-transliteration from Russian name in Cyrillic: стани́ца Кокчетавская; Kazakh: Көкшетау бекінісі, lit. 'The village of Kökşetau')
• Kokchetav (1868–1993; in publications dating from the Soviet period, the city name was occasionally spelled in English as "Kokchetav", which is a back-transliteration from post-revolution Russian name in Cyrillic: Кокчета́в, Russian name in Cyrillic script (1868-1918): Кокчѣтавъ; Kazakh name in Yañalif script (1929-1940): Kɵkşetau, Kazakh name in Cyrillic script (after 1940): Көкшетау)
• Kökşetau (since 1993; which is a romanized back-transliteration from Russian name in Cyrillic: Кокшета́у; Kazakh name in Cyrillic script: Көкшетау, Kazakh name in Latin script (new version before 2021): Kókshetaý, Kazakh name in Latin script (latest version of the Kazakh Latin alphabet after 2021): Kökşetau)

Kökşetau is located in the country of Kazakhstan and lies in the northern portion of Aqmola Region. The city is located on the border of the West Siberian Plain, on the southeastern shore of Lake Kopa, at an altitude of 234 meters above sea level, in the Kokshetau Mountains, north part of the Kokshetau Hills, the foothills of which surround the city from the south and west. It covers an area of 234 km² (90 sq mi). It is located about 300 kilometres (190 mi) north-west of the national capital of Astana.

The city lay along low hills and by a kidney-shaped lake. There are numerous hills in the vicinity of the city (Bukpa Hill). The city is located in the flat part of the interfluve of the Kylshakty river, flowing in the eastern part of the city, and the Shagalaly river, flowing from the western side of the city. The city has several parks and gardens. Also, within the city limits can be found small forests, mostly consisting of birches and pine plantations. The Kökşetau area is known for its two national parks, Burabay and Kökşetau.

Nearby places

The village of Krasny Yar lies adjoined directly to the west of Kökşetau, on the bank of the River Shagalaly. Also contiguous with Kökşetau, directly to the east, with no natural border, is the smaller village of Stantsyonny.

Nearby cities

Nearby towns

Nearby villages

The time offset from the UTC used by Kökşetau is 6 hours after UTC, or UTC+6:00 (ALMT). This is also used by most of Kazakhstan. This time apply throughout the year as Kazakhstan does not observe Daylight saving time (DST).

According to the Köppen climate classification, Kökşetau lies in a cold semi-arid climate zone (Köppen climate classification: BSk) with extreme continental influences. The city has an extreme continental climate with long, very cold, frigid, snowy, dry winters and warm, dry, sunny summers (featuring occasional brief rain showers). Winter is frosty and long (more than 5 months). In spring, prevails clear and dry weather, with a large number of sunny days. Autumn begins in August or September, and the weather is observed from clear at the beginning of the season, to cloudy in October–November. The average annual temperature in Kökşetau is 3.6 °C (38.5 °F). Summer temperatures occasionally reach 35 °C (95 °F) while −30 to −35 °C (−22 to −31 °F) is not unusual between mid-December and early March.[11]

The warmest month is July with daily mean temperature near 20.5 °C (68.9 °F), and the coldest month is January, with a daily mean of −14 °C (7 °F). Snow and ice are dominant during the winter season. July is the wettest month (averaging 68.5 mm (2.7 in) of precipitation) while March is the driest (averaging 10.5 mm (0.4 in) of precipitation). Yearly precipitation amounts to 313 mm (12.3 in). Typically, the city's Lake Kopa and rivers of Kylshakty and Shagalaly are frozen over between the second week of November and the beginning of April.

• Average January temperature: −14 °C (7 °F)
• Average July temperature: +20.5 °C (68.9 °F)
• Average annual precipitation: 176 mm (7 in) to 512.5 mm (20 in)

A map of Zerendi District of Aqmola Region. The white area in the middle indicates Kökşetau City Administration territorial unit.

Kökşetau is divided into seven administrative districts (Kazakh: аудандар).

Listed alphabetically

• Aul
• Beybitshilik
• Bostandyk
• Bukpa
• Kokshe
• Sary-Arka
• Zhaylau

Traditionally, Kökşetau was divided into seventeen administrative microdistricts (Kazakh: шағын аудандар) that today have no administrative function. These are administrative units that possess no independent governance structures. They are used for management of utilities and publicly owned housing.

Kökşetau includes the following microdistricts:

English name	Kazakh name	Russian name
City Centre	Қала орталығы	Центр города
Barmashino	Бармашино	Бармашино
Abylai Khan Avenue	Абылай хан даңғылы	Проспект Абылай-хана
Regional hospital	Облыстық аурухана	Областная больница
Birlik	Бірлік	Бирлик
Saryarka	Сарыарқа	Сарыарка
Sunkar	Сұнқар	Сункар
Koktem	Көктем	Коктем
Vasilkov	Васильков	Васильковский
Town of builders	Құрылысшылар қаласы	Городок строителей
Railway Station	Вокзал	Вокзал
Jubilee	Юбилейный	Юбилейный
Khassenov Market	Хасен базары	Хасеновский рынок
Central	Орталық	Центральный
Zhaylau	Жайлау	Жайлау
Shanghai	Шанхай	Шанхай

The city administration and Kökşetau City Mäslihat is in the Kökşetau Akimat building on Mukhtar Auezov Street. Kökşetau City Mäslihat is a representative body of the city, elected every four years and holds its sessions in Kökşetau Akimat. The Mayor of Kökşetau is Amanat Party member Bauyrzhan Gaisa.

Local government

The bodies of local self-government of Kökşetau are:

• Kokshetau City Mäslihat, a representative body. Consisting of 17 deputies for four years.
• Mayor of Kokshetau, head of the Kökşetau City Administration manages the administration on the principles of unity of command.

Most key buildings of the regional government are along Abai Street and Mukhtar Auezov Street. Abai Street is named after a Kazakh poet, composer and Hanafi Maturidi theologian philosopher Abai Qunanbaiuly. On the eastern side of Abai Street on Abylai Khan Square sits the Aqmola Regional Akimat, in a modern cream and brown-toned building.

Local government

The bodies of local self-government of Aqmola region are:

• Akmola Regional Mäslihat (parliament of Aqmola Region), a representative body. Consisting of 32 deputies for five years.

The Akim (Kazakh: әкім, äkım) of Kökşetau is the chief authority in the city of Kökşetau. The position was established in 1992. The mayor is responsible for the administration of government services, the composition of councils and committees overseeing Kökşetau City Administration departments and serves as the chairperson for the meeting of the Kökşetau City Mäslihat. The mayor also functions to help devise long-term development plans in consultation with other stakeholders and bodies to improve the condition, livability, and sustainability of the city.

The city council (Kökşetau City Mäslihat) of Kökşetau is made up of 17 representatives that are elected every four years. The Kökşetau City Mäslihat governs the city alongside the Akim (Mayor). The 2023 local government elections for Kökşetau City Mäslihat in Kökşetau yielded the following results:

Kökşetau past incorporates all the main stages and turning points of the history of Kazakhstan. For many centuries, nomadic Kazakh tribes lived on the territory of the former Kökşetau Region. The territory of Kökşetau was part of the Middle Horde, the clans of the tribal union of the Argyns that occupied vast regions of Northern and Central Kazakhstan.[14] In the 18th – 19th centuries, the headquarters of famous khans, such as Abylai Khan, Kasym Khan, Kenesary Khan, were located on the land of Kökşetau Region.

As Russia's hand stretched southwards, Kökşetau was initially founded on 29 April 1824 as an administrative outpost at the foot of the southern side of Mount Kokshe on the shores of Lake Ulken Shabakty.[15][16] The Middle Horde signed treaties of protection with Russia. The local population strongly opposed the fact that the new settlement was placed in the chosen place. In the summer of 1827, the district order was transferred to the new place where the city of Kökşetau is now located. The settlement began to be called Kokchetav. The construction of the settlement began at the foot of Bukpa Hill, on the southern shores of Lake Kopa, and a picket was set up to protect the district order.[17]

By the middle of 19th-century, the population of the settlement was significantly increasing due to the migration of the peasants from Russia (Povolzhye) and Ukraine who were driven to migrate by starvation and poverty to farm the steppe. In 1868, when the Akmolinsk Oblast was formed, Kökşetau became a district city in this region, which further developed as a center of agricultural and animal husbandry and as a resort town. In 1876, the city lost its military significance. The line and fortress were abolished. In 1895, Kökşetau was granted city status.[18] By that time the population in the town was above 5 thousand people.[19]

In 1928, Kökşetau District was divided into several boroughs and until 1944 Kökşetau's territory was part of Karaganda Region and later part of North Kazakhstan Region. On 16 March 1944, according to the Decree of the Presidium of Supreme Soviet of Kazakh SSR, Kökşetau became the administrative center of the newly created Kokchetav Oblast. Relatively rapid growth and development of Kökşetau took place during the years of development of virgin lands, especially in the second half of the 1950s.[20]

On 3 May 1997, Kökşetau Oblast was abolished, the city was deprived of the status of a regional center.[21] On 8 April 1999, after Aqmola and North Kazakhstan regions were reorganized, Kökşetau became the center of Aqmola Region.[22]

• 
  A 19th-century panorama view looking into the city of Kokshetau before rebuilding as seen from the Bukpa Hill Lookout. The Lake Kopa is visible to the left, and the St George's Church to the right.
• 
  General plan of Kokchetav stanitsa, 19th century
• 
  Map of Kokchetav uezd in the late 19th century
• 
  A 19th-century view of the city
• 
  An 1880 image of Bukpa Hill in the background
• 
  Market Square (modern-day Abylai Khan Square) in the late 19th early 20th century
• 
  1916: Military hospital in Kokchetav

Kökşetau is the eighteenth-largest city in Kazakhstan. Kökşetau ranks fourth in terms of population in Northern Kazakhstan, ranking after Pavlodar, Kostanay and Petropavl. Residents of Kökşetau are referred to as "көкшетаулықтар" (kökşetaulyqtar) in Kazakh and "кокшета́уцы" (kokshetautsy) in Russian.

Histogram of population evolution of Kökşetau from 1959.

Note: 2020 and 2018 are population estimates; 1897 is the Russian Imperial Census; 1959, 1970, 1979 and 1989 are the Soviet Census.

Throughout its history Kökşetau has been a city of many languages. The state and official language in Kökşetau, as in all Kazakhstan, is the Kazakh language. Kazakh is one of the Turkic languages and the mother tongue of Kazakhs living in Kökşetau. Despite Kökşetau's Kazakh majority, Russian language is the most-widely spoken native language in the city, although Kazakh is understood as well. Russian language is used as official language and as one of mediums of instruction and media administration. Russian is used in theaters and newspapers from Kökşetau.

It is also common to find the Kazakh being spoken in the city, mainly by Kazakhs and other Turkic people, while many elderly people speak Kazakh or Russian, depending on their upbringing. Russians, Ukrainians, some Tatars, Germans, Poles, Ingush, Belarusians, Koreans, Azerbaijanis, Armenians, Bashkirs, Moldovans, Mari in Kökşetau speak Russian.[24]

Substantial numbers of people also use Shala Kazakh (a Russo-Kazakh mixed language) in their everyday lives.

Kökşetau is an ethnically and culturally diverse city. It has changed its demographics, nowadays having more ethnic Kazakhs in a city that formerly had a Slavic majority. It is the only regional center in Northern Kazakhstan where Kazakhs make up the majority.

As of January 2022, the population of Kökşetau is 150,649, and the extended urbanized area has 165,153 inhabitants.

Historically, Kökşetau was ethnically diverse. As of the 2020 Census, ethnic Kazakhs made up (~58%) of the city population, representing an increase from 36% in 1999. The ethnic makeup of the city's population as of year 2020 was:[25]

In 1989, Kökşetau had a population of 136,757. The ethnic mix was about 18.5% Kazakh, 54.5% Russian and 27.0% other ethnic groups.

Kazakh and Russian are both the main spoken languages.

Kökşetau is one of the most religiously diverse cities of Kazakhstan with more than 56.65 per cent of its population adhering to Islam.[27] Religious buildings are scattered around the city.

Islam (primarily Sunni Islam) is the predominant religion within Kökşetau, with 56.65% of residents identifying as Muslims in the 2009 Census. There were 83,436 Muslims reported in the 2009 census. Kökşetau's first Mosque was established by Ablay (Abilkhair) Gabbas in 1846. Kökşetau has a mosque constructed in the beginning of the 20th century. A new mosque for 1,200 people named after Nauan Hazrat opened in 2015.

Mosques:

• Nauan Hazrat Mosque (capacity 1,200—1,400), located at the corner of Momishuly and Auelbekov streets. It is the largest mosque in Aqmola Region.[28]
• Zhakiya Kazhi Mosque, located on the Aulbekova Street.[29]

Church of the Resurrection, Kokshetau

Presbyterian Worship Centre

Kökşetau has a Russian Orthodox Church temple of Archangel Michael. The Kökşetau and Aqmola diocese is located in the Church of the Resurrection in the city.[30]

Russian Orthodox churches:

• Church of the Resurrection, Kokshetau (capacity 1,500), (ROC). It is located on the new embankment of Lake Kopa. The church was built in the traditions of Russian church architecture of the mid-XIX century.[31]
• Church of the Holy Archangel Michael, Kokshetau, (ROC)
• St George's Church, Kokshetau. Kökşetau's first Christian Church.

Other religions practiced are Christianity (primarily Roman Catholicism, and Protestantism).[32] Christianity is Kökşetau's second largest religion. There were 60,168 Christians reported in the 2009 census. Much of Kökşetau's civic life and civil society is secular in the sense that it has no religious character.

In 1997, a Roman Catholic Church was built in neo-Gothic style using red bricks.

Roman Catholic churches:

• Church of St. Anthony of Padua, Kokshetau

Kökşetau has a strong theater culture. Kökşetau is home to many theatre groups, mainly operating under the support of the ministry of culture. Theatre halls in the city organize several shows and performances throughout the year. Kökşetau's major theaters are:

• From the central Abylai Khan Square, pedestrianised Kanysh Satbayev Street runs south a couple of blocks to the Palace of Culture (Kazakh: Mädeniet Saraiy; opened in 1977), which also incorporates Aqmola Regional Russian Drama Theater,[33] and it is quite popular among locals.
• Aqmola Regional Kazakh Music and Drama Theatre named after Shahhmet Kussainov (opened in 1996) is the biggest theatre in Kökşetau and is popular among Kazakh speaking people.
• Children's puppet theater "Altyn Saka" (opened in 2022)

The city organises many public celebrations that greatly attract the locals as well as the visitors.

• "Dombra Fest"[34]
• "Sabantuy"[35] (annual)
• "Festival of Kazakh culture"[36] (annual). It is the most widely celebrated festival among Kazakhs.
• "Bir shanyrak astynda"[37]
• "Russian (Russkaya) Pesnya"[38]

• Aqmola Regional Philharmonic named after Ükılı Ybyrai was founded in 1956.[39]

Kökşetau is home to several of Aqmola Region's most important museums. Kökşetau has several museums dedicated to Akmola Region's history and culture. Museums in the city include:

• Akmola Regional Museum of History and Local Lore (opened in 1920) offers a display of minerals and semi-precious stones in the foyer, and rooms on the ground floor devoted to palaeontology and to World War II, the latter focused on displays related to local war heroes.[40][41][42] It is the largest museum in Kökşetau.
• Kökşetau City History Museum (KCHM; opened as Valerian Kuybyshev’s Memorial Museum in 1949),[43] located at the a street on a hillside. The wooden house of the museum is where Valerian Kuybyshev, one of the Revolution’s most famous heroes, had grown up. The house is surrounded by trees, with a stable or coach-house at the back and a particular memorial tree planted by his mother in 1903 in memory of Valerian’s brother, accidentally shot and killed by a friend. This little museum initially was dedicated to a really tough revolutionary. As a boy Valerian Kuybyshev had started taking part in the anti-tsarist movement and then in the days of the Bolshevik struggle had led troops against the White Guards in the Civil War, he was one of those revolutionaries in the true spirit of the Revolution. There were also Amankeldı İmanov and Alibi Dzhangildin who are national heroes of the Central Asian uprising in 1916. The city's museum offers a view of Kökşetau's history through old maps and photos.
• Museum of Mercy and Courage (opened in 1982)

Biographical museums:

• Museum of the Hero of the Soviet Union Malik Gabdullin (opened in 1993), located at the corner of Auelbekov and Nazarbayev streets, on the eastern side of the town centre, the modern-looking two-storey wooden building. Malik Gabdullin was born in 1915, in a village 30 km away from Kökşetau. When he was made a Hero of the Soviet Union in 1943, the authorities constructed for his family a larger and nicer wooden house adjacent to this, but his pious father donated the wood from this building to efforts to reconstruct the Kökşetau Mosque, when the latter was damaged by fire in 1956.

Literature museums:

• Museum of Literature and Art (opened in 1989)

The first film screening in the city of Kokchetav (now Kökşetau) took place in 1910.

• Cinema Alem (formerly known as the Druzhba Cinema; it was built in 1963, and as of 2023 was still being used as a cinema). It is located in Independence Square and is currently the largest cinema in the city.

The city has 12 libraries.[44] In addition to the libraries affiliated with the various universities and schools, the Aqmola Regional Universal Scientific Library is a major research library. There are several archives in Kökşetau.

• Aqmola Regional Universal Scientific Library (ARUSL) named after Magzhan Zhumabayev. ARUSL was inaugurated in 1946. It is Aqmola Region's main academic library and scientific information centre.

The Kökşetau State University library contains over 735,000 units of educational and scientific literature and a rare fund, which consists of 104 copies of printed works published in the 19th century in Kazakh, Russian, German and English languages, making it one of the largest libraries in all of Aqmola Region.[45]

Kökşetau was selected as a Kazakhstan Capital of Culture for 2021.[46][47]

• Kökşetau Palace of Culture[48]
• Palace of Culture «Dostar»
• Palace of Childhood and Youth «Bolashak Sarayi»
• Kökşetau Wedding Palace, a civil registry building.

• Nauan Hazrat Mausoleum. The construction of the mausoleum began in 2020.[49] It was built around the grave of the famous religious figure Nauryzbay Talasuly. It is located near the old Muslim cemetery. This site was added to the list of objects of historical and cultural heritage of Aqmola Region, as well as the list of 100 sacred places of Kazakhstan.

There are 5 cemeteries in Kökşetau.

• Old Cossack cemetery. It is located at the area of Barmashino where a monument to a Soviet soldier is situated. The mass grave of Soviet officers and soldiers who died in local hospitals is also located there.[50]
• Old Orthodox cemetery. The cemetery was closed to new burials in the 1969.
• Old Muslim cemetery
• Muslim cemetery (Second Cemetery)
• Christian cemetery (Third Cemetery)

Major industrial employers of Kökşetau include:[54]

• Altyntau Kokshetau – gold mining enterprise. The site comprises a gold deposit and the Gold Recovery Plant commissioned in 2009. The innovative high-tech equipment manufactured in Canada, Australia, USA, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Italy and Russia is installed at the plant. Over the last eight years of operation, the output increased 2.5 times and metal recovery increased by one fifth hitting 75% in 2019.

• Tynys – the production of medical products, weighing equipment, water meters, aircraft units and assemblies, polyethylene pipes.

• KamAZ-Engineering – machine-building plant.[55]

• Kokshetau Mineral Waters – TURAN water is bottled at Kökşetau Mineral Waters plant using KHS equipment. TURAN water is produced from Kuskol water deposit located in an ecologically pristine area near Kökşetau. The deposit is subject to constant government control, and the water well is guarded 24/7.

Food factories supply Kökşetau and Aqmola Region with sausages, semi-finished meat products, bread, dairy products, and confectionery. The city also has a new ceramic brick factory.

Kökşetau has an extensive network of municipal and regional health facilities. Kökşetau is a major healthcare and medical service centre in Aqmola Region. During the war five evacuated hospitals were places on the territory of North-Kazakhstan region, including 3 hospitals in Kökşetau.[58] Several hospitals of Kökşetau, refurbished with modern technologies, provide healthcare and conduct medical research.

Local hospitals include the Avicenna Medical Centre, Viamedis Rehabilitation Centre among many others.[59] Temporary hospitals were established and vaccines were available in all major hospitals during the 2020-2021 COVID-19 pandemic.[60] Private medical institutions also operate in the city.

Kökşetau's first newspaper was the weekly Tselinnyy kray, established in 1920, which would change its name to the Akmolinskaya Pravda in 1992. In the city, there are some popular urban newspapers. Akmolinskaya Pravda, Stepnoy mayak and Kokshetau are Russian-language media headquartered in the city.[61] Akmolinskaya Pravda is the oldest newspaper of the city.

• Regional socio-political newspaper "Akmolinskaya Pravda" is a long-running daily local paper, with local and regional coverage.
• Republican newspaper "Bukpa"
• Regional newspaper "Arka Azhary"
• Regional newspaper "Stepnoy mayak"

Kökşetau television networks:

• Local television news is covered by TV channel Kazakhstan–Kokshetau. It is main city channel. The channel tells about the events of social, cultural, economic life, the activities of scientific and educational institutions of the city.
• Balapan
• Cartoon Network
• Channel One Eurasia
• Channel 31
• Disney Channel
• Euronews
• Gakku TV
• Khabar 24
• MTV
• Nickelodeon
• Qazsport

Kökşetau radio stations:

• "Kazakh Radio": 101.0 FM
• "Russian Radio Asia": 102.0 FM
• "Autoradio Kazakhstan": 102.5 FM
• "Shalkar Radio": 103.7 FM
• "Europe Plus Kazakhstan": 104.2 FM
• "Energy FM": 104.8 FM
• "Radio NS": 105.7 FM
• "Zhuldyz FM": 106.1 FM
• "Radio Dacha": 106.5 FM
• "People's Radio": 107.0 FM
• "Tengri FM": 107.6 FM

• Kökşetau City Administration[62] (in English) (in Kazakh) (in Russian)
• Kökşetau - Kazakhstan[63] (in Kazakh) (in Russian)
• Aqmola News[64] (in Kazakh) (in Russian)
• Akmolinskaya Pravda[65] (in Russian)

The city transport in Kökşetau consists of a network of buses, minibuses (marshrutka; which are GAZelle light commercial vehicles) and taxis that are available 24 hours a day. Public transport in Kökşetau is heavily privatized and mostly handled by private operators.

The first bus services in Kökşetau were introduced in 1939. Bus timetables and detailed schematic map of the route are at every stop. Distances between stops are about 300–500 meters. Buses in the city cost ₸80-₸120. Buses, mostly Yutong, LiAZ and MAZ buses, are the most common and popular mode of transport in the city.

In the square between the bus and railway stations gather a range of taxis and minibuses offering to take you to Astana or Petropavl.

In Kökşetau taxis are available at any time of the day or night. Ride-sharing services such as Yandex Taxi and inDrive are available in the city via mobile apps. Taxi fare is from 400 to 2500 tenge, depending on the distance from the city center and the results of negotiations with the driver.

The city is an important railroad hub in the northern part of Kazakhstan. Kökşetau Railway station is served by the Kazakhstan Railways, which links Petropavl to Almaty. The first train pulled into the Kökşetau Railway station on 2 June 1922. Railways are Kökşetau's one of the main modes of intracity and suburban transportation. Kazakhstan Railways (who manage the station) provide freight and passenger traffic to and from Kökşetau.

There are two railway stations in the city: Kökşetau-1 and Kökşetau-2. The main railway station Kokshetau-1 station is located 1.3 km (0.81 mi) north-east from the centre of Kokshetau and includes a main building (built in 1981) and some other technical buildings. Kokshetau-1 station is the city's main station and a major stop for numerous passenger trains traveling between Petropavl and the other regions of Kazakhstan each day.[66] The popular Tulpar-Talgo service to Almaty takes sixteen hours. It sits at the eastern end of the long Abai Qunanbaiuly Street, Kökşetau's central thoroughfare. A tall concrete clock tower guides you to it.

Among the trains passing Kokshetau-1 station are the daily services between Almaty and Petropavl, Kyzylorda and Petropavl, and Karaganda and Kostanay.[67] There are also less frequent trains passing northwards on to various Russian destinations, including Moscow, Yekaterinburg and Omsk, and local electric train services to Ereymentau and Astana.

Kokshetau Central Bus Terminal (Kökşetau avtobeketı), which opened in 1981, serves the city of Kökşetau. The bus station is on the Vernadsky Street 8 across the road from Kökşetau Railway Station. It links the city with the villages in Aqmola Region and other cities in Kazakhstan and the neighboring countries. Frequent schedules of bus routes connect Kökşetau to Astana, Petropavl,[68] Zerenda, Burabay, Karaganda, Pavlodar, Kostanay, Omsk, Yekaterinburg, Tobolsk, Tyumen and Kurgan. Many of these are cross-country services operating from north to south, for which Kökşetau provides interchange facilities.

Kökşetau and surrounding communities are served by one commercial international airport: Kökşetau International Airport (IATA: KOV, ICAO: UACK), which is the seventeenth-busiest airport (2019) by passenger traffic in Kazakhstan. It is located 12.5 km (7.8 mi) north-east from the centre of city, on the route to Omsk, and used to be the headquarters of now-defunct Air Kokshetau.[69][70] The airport has a capacity of handling 200 passengers per hour. The Kökşetau International Airport, which opened in 1945, was significantly upgraded in 2013 with a new 2850-metre runway capable of accommodating all aircraft types without any restrictions.[71][72] In 2013, the airport received its first scheduled flight after the renovation to Moscow, Russia. The airport can be reached by car, public transport, or taxi. Seasonal flights to Frankfurt am Main, were available in 2004 but have been cancelled since. It serves mostly domestic flights. SCAT Airlines fly to and from Aktau and Shymkent as well as Qazaq Air operates two weekly flights to Almaty.[73][74] The former largest carrier of the Kökşetau Airport — Air Kokshetau — is not serving any regular destinations as of 2021.

There are a number of municipal, regional and republican roads that serve Kokshetau. The main roads to/from Kökşetau are:

• Republican roads (National Highways)
  • The city is served by the A1, which begins in Petropavl (189 km [117 mi]) and leads to Astana (292 km [181 mi]) passing Kökşetau, Shchuchinsk and Makinsk.[75][76] European route intersect in Kokshetau;
  • The A13 (Omsk–Kökşetau road), which connects Kökşetau to Omsk (Russia). Kökşetau is located a couple of hours' drive south of Russia's Siberian border;

Other major roads passing through Kökşetau include:

• Regional roads (Regional Highways)
  • The R11 highway connects Kökşetau to Saumalkol and Kostanay (via the M36);[77]
  • The R12 highway connects Kökşetau to Zerendi and Atbasar

There are seven Kylshakty bridges and dozens of grade-separated intersections in the city.

• The city centres on a large and bare Abylai Khan Square, at the intersection of Abai Qunanbaiuly and Kanysh Satbayev streets.
• Independence Square. It is the center of Kökşetau.

West of the centre many attractive single-storey log-built houses survive, usually featuring painted wooden shutters. A couple of particularly fine examples, both enjoying official recognition as historical monuments, are the whitewashed wooden cottage at 22 Kenesary Khan Kasymuly Street, at the corner of Abai Qunanbaiuly Street, with intricate carving at the base of the roof, and the cottage at 33 Felix Dzerzhinsky Street. The latter sits opposite a small Kökşetau City History Museum (32 Kanay-bi Street), itself housed in a single-storey wooden building.

The city is full of numerous buildings and monuments that reflect its rich and diverse history. The architecture of Kökşetau has been shaped through its history by the progression of historical eras. Many buildings of Kökşetau are ranged from a different number of architectural styles.

The architecture of the city dates back to 19th century, the city had numerous wooden buildings with elaborate decor. Kökşetau is the home of a unique architectural tradition and community with number of historical buildings in city. There are a number of two-story wooden houses in the city built mostly in the middle of the 20th century as temporary habitations. Among other notable buildings are the mansions of the merchant Andrei Vasilievich Sokolov (late of the 19th century - beginning of the 20th century), the Akmola Regional Museum of History and Local Lore (beginning of the 20th century).[78]

Industrialization in Kökşetau started in the late 1920s. The city's 3,000-worker Soviet construction trust built some of the large, gray, faceless apartment buildings that were so typical of Soviet society and still stand, often in disrepair, today. The apartments housed the trust's own construction workers, among others, in units of one to three rooms. The city’s apartment houses are called “Khrushchyovka” and “Stalinka” due to the peculiarities of architectural approaches in their construction.

When the Iron Curtain was falling, but the Soviet Union still was intact, five citizens from the city paid a visit to Waukesha. Among them was then mayor of the city, Askar Khassen, who took the idea of building more single homes in Kökşetau, as comfortable as the homes in the US. On the hilly outskirts of Kökşetau, someone may find the fingerprint of Waukesha County. There are big, expensive, single-family homes. They're inching up the hills. In Kökşetau, the locals have a name for this high-priced neighborhood of single-family homes, "Small America" or "Khassen's Cottages". Prominently located at the opening of this housing development are tall brick pillars, a sign outlining location of lots, and a decorative brick wall, all reminiscent of the gated entries seen in some Waukesha County subdivisions.

When the Soviet Union crumbled and Kazakhstan became an independent country in 1991, the city's construction trust-turned-business began to put a face on their buildings.

Primary and secondary education system of Kökşetau includes:

• 48 nurseries, 27 of which are municipal, 4 mini-centers - 3 state and 1 private, 17 private kindergartens
• 24 (secondary education) schools, including 6 lyceums and 6 gymnasiums
• 16 colleges
• 1 center for the correctional development of children "Meyirim"
• 5 institutions of additional education for children (the Center for extracurricular activities "Aulet", the State Enterprise "Children's Music School", the State Enterprise "Children's Art School" founded in 1979, the educational enterprise of labor training, the center for the development of gifted children "Kökşetau Daryny")

Additionally, there are evening schools for adults and specialist technical schools.

Some of the top high schools are:

• Kökşetau Nazarbayev Intellectual School of Physics and Mathematics (NIS Kökşetau PhM) was established in 2009, as a branch of the Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools (NIS), a network of schools in Kazakhstan.[79][80]
• Kökşetau Bilim-Innovation Public Lyceum (former “Kazakh-Turkish Lyceum”) for gifted children.[81][82]

• Kökşetau higher medical college trains intermediate level specialists in eight specialisations.

Kökşetau is home to most of Aqmola Region's major universities. The city is currently home to the following state higher educational institutions that are accredited and licensed to operate in the Republic of Kazakhstan, with more than 12,000 students:

• Kokshetau State University (which is named after Shokan Ualikhanov), established 1962 — offers opportunities to study undergraduate, graduate and PhD programs in most fields. It is the biggest university in Kökşetau with 499 academic staff.[83] The university has over 7,400 students, who have a choice of eight faculties. The main university building located in the city center. Since 2018, a medical faculty has been opened at Kökşetau State University with 740 students, 200 of whom receive grants from the akim (50 grants are allocated annually).[84]

• The Kökşetau University (named after Abay Myrzakhmet). It was founded in 2000. The largest private higher educational institution in Kökşetau.
• Kökşetau Technical Institute of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Kazakhstan
• Kökşetau Academy of Economics and Management

A number of other non-state-funded institutions for further education operate in the city.

Football and ice hockey are by far the most popular sports in the city. Kökşetau has many parks that provide excellent pitches for impromptu games. The city is home to the FC Okzhetpes football club, based in the Okzhetpes Stadium, and which has a capacity of 4,500, which participates in the Kazakhstan Premier League, the top division of football in Kazakhstan. In 2015 and 2018, they finished first place in the Kazakhstan First Division.

Burabay Sports Complex serves as home arena to the ice hockey club Arlan Kokshetau, which competes in the Kazakhstan Hockey Championship.[85] Arlan Kokshetau hockey players were the champions of Kazakhstan in the season 2017/2018. Arlan Kokshetau players also became the first team from Kazakhstan to win IIHF Continental Cup in the season 2018/2019.[86][87] The city has an ice rink for winter sports. Several sports clubs are active in the city:

The BC Sinegorie of the Kazakhstan Basketball League is the only professional basketball team in Kökşetau. It was founded in 2014 and its home arena is the Triatlon Sport Complex.

• Okzhetpes Stadium – stadium with capacity 4,500, home ground for FC Okzhetpes
• Burabay Sport Complex – sport complex, capacity 3,000. Home to Arlan Kokshetau
• Ice arena for winter sports – indoor sporting arena.[88]

Professional sports teams based in Kökşetau include:

Kökşetau is home to Aqmola Region's largest shopping mall, RIO, opened in 2009, which is a major regional shopping destination within a radius of 150 kilometers from Kökşetau and with a floorspace of 252,952 sq ft (23,500.0 m²).[90] Many renowned brands have a presence at the centre including LC Waikiki, Beeline Kazakhstan, Miniso, Koton and Detsky Mir.[91] Attracting over 800,000 visitors a year, the centre's retail areas contain shops (including eateries) from chain stores up to high-end boutiques. The centre has over 900 parking spaces.

Local residents also tend to shop at traditional bazaars: Ortalyk Bazaar, Zhibek Zholy Bazaar, and Eastern Bazaar. Modern shopping areas are found mostly in central streets of the city.

Kökşetau is home to a large number of parks, recreation areas and open spaces, mainly established in the early years of the Independence and well maintained and expanded thereafter.

• Central Park, the city's largest and oldest park, established in 1957. It is the oldest city park. It features a few run-down fairground rides, and discos on summer weekend evenings. From the park, the pedestrianised Bauyrzhan Momyshuly Street runs south. It covers a territory of approximately 3,5 hectares.
• Revolution Fighters Park.[92] The park is located in east-southern part of Kökşetau.

As of 2021 the city had 10 fountains.

Elikti is a ski resort near Kökşetau, located on the slopes of Mount Elikti, at the elevation of 500 metres above sea level. The resort area is about 25 kilometres (16 mi) of Kökşetau city by the P11 road on the way from Kökşetau to Ruzayevka. It is popular for its mild climate, a large quantity of sunny days and a great amount of snow through the winter. Visitors can buy or rent any necessary skiing and snowboarding equipment.[93]

Around Kökşetau, there are numerous nearby freshwater lakes such as Lake Burabay, Lake Ulken Shabakty, Lake Kishi Shabakty, Lake Aiyrtau and the Lake Zerendi, which are popular among Kökşetau residents for recreation, swimming and watersports and can be quickly reached by car.

• 
  Lake Burabay
• 
  Lake Ulken Shabakty
• 
  Lake Kishi Shabakty
• 
  Lake Aiyrtau
• 
  Lake Zerendi

Kökşetau is twinned with:

In addition to its sister city, Kökşetau has an official co-operation agreements (yntymaqtastyq turaly kelısım) with:

• Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation (since August 2022)[95]

One road in Kokshetau has been named after its sister city; a road in Beybitshilik district is named Waukesha (Waukeshskaya) Street.