Province of Qazaqstan

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Qazaqstan
The Province of Qazaqstan, not to be confused with the Russian Republic of the same name, is the largest Province of Turkestan in terms of area, and second largest in terms of population.  It comprises roughly half of the original territory of the Qazaqs, who lived in what is now the Province of Qazaqstan and the Republic of Qazaqstan.  The territory of the Qazaqs was partitioned in 1922 at the settlement of the Basmaçi Revolt that recognised Turkestanas independent, and the question of the two Qazaqstans is one that is very current in regional politics.
Turkestani Qazaqstan's population was swollen in the 1920s and 1930s by an influx of northern Qazaqs fleeing discrimination at the hands of the SNOR regime of Russia.  Russian Qazaqstan's population, meanwhile, was swollen by large numbers of Russian and other Slavic settlers introduced into the area by St. Petersburg.   Today, almost 65% of the global Qazaq population lives in the Province of Qazaqstan, even though the total populations of both the Province and the Republic are approximately equal.
Economically, Qazaqstan is a centre of wind generation, with mining, tourism, native crafts like leatherwork, and petrochemical industries.  Many families still maintain traditional felt tents ("yurts") as summer houses, and the ancient annual ritual of moving the yurt from the wintering grounds to the jaylau (summer pasture) has been modified by the use of 4x4 vehicles to transport the yurt, and by in most cases packing the yurt away for the winter.  The design and construction of the yurt remain in the traditional manner, which most view as optimal for comfort, sturdiness and ease of use, though no modern yurt is without its portable wind turbine and several radio and tv antennas.

Factfile

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Provincial Capital:              Almalıq
Other important cities:      Taraz, Aq-Meşit, Şımqand, Bayqoņır, Şu, Taldıqorğan