Current Time in Pavlodar, Kazakhstan

Pavlodar is a city in the north-east of Kazakhstan, standing on the right bank of the Irtysh River in the middle of the open steppe. It is the administrative centre of Pavlodar Region and lies within reach of the Russian border, roughly 450 kilometres north-east of the capital Astana. The river, wide and slow, dominates the town, and its embankment is the favourite place to walk on summer evenings.

The city has a population of about three hundred and sixty thousand and is one of the most industrial places in the country. Aluminium production, an oil refinery, chemical works, tractor and machinery plants and large thermal power stations fed by coal from nearby Ekibastuz make the region a mainstay of the Kazakh economy. Electricity generated here is transmitted across much of northern Kazakhstan.

Pavlodar traces its origins to 1720, when a Russian outpost called Koryakovsky was built on the Irtysh as part of a chain of fortifications. Salt extracted from the nearby lakes gave the settlement its first purpose, and it grew into a river port shipping grain, hides and salt. It was renamed Pavlodar in 1861. The great changes came in the twentieth century, first with the Virgin Lands campaign of the 1950s, which brought hundreds of thousands of settlers to plough the northern steppe, and then with the construction of heavy industry, which drew workers from across the Soviet Union and left the city with a mixed Kazakh, Russian, Ukrainian and German population.

The riverside is the centre of civic life, with a long promenade, beaches and boat trips. Landmarks include the Blagoveshchensky Cathedral, a substantial Orthodox church with golden domes, and the Mashkhur Zhusup Central Mosque, whose unusual design combines a blue dome with four slender minarets and has become the emblem of the city. The regional history museum, an art museum and a house museum devoted to the writer Pavel Vasilyev provide a good introduction to the area. Bayanaul National Park, a few hours to the south-west, offers granite outcrops, pine woods and clear lakes in the middle of the steppe and is the most popular excursion in the region.

Cultural life includes Kazakh and Russian drama theatres, a philharmonic hall, and festivals that reflect the mixed heritage of the population. Traditional horse sports, winter skating and fishing on the Irtysh are all part of local routine, and the cuisine draws on both steppe and Slavic traditions.

Transport is well developed. Pavlodar has an airport with domestic and regional flights, a station on the railway between Astana and Siberia, a river port that operates in the ice-free months, and highways towards Semey and Omsk. Trams once ran through the city, and buses now provide local services.

Toraighyrov University, a pedagogical university and several technical institutes make Pavlodar a regional centre of education. The city is important as a demonstration of what industry built on the Kazakh steppe, and its river setting gives it an unexpectedly relaxed character.