KOKCHETAV

Kazak Kkshetau, also spelled Kokcetav city, northern Kazakstan. It lies along the southern edge of the Esil (Ishim) Steppe. Kokchetav was founded in 1824 as an administrative outpost when the Russians extended their control over the Kazaks. It became a district administrative centre in 1868 and an oblast (province) centre in 1944, but its greatest expansion occurred in the 1960s following the campaign to open virgin lands in Kazakstan to agriculture and the construction of important new factories in the region. It is now a substantial industrial centre and the junction of the Trans-Kazakstan and Middle Siberian railways and has a teacher-training institute and several museums. Pop. (1995 est.) 141,400.