Konaev, Almaty Region, Kazakhstan
🇰🇿 Konaev, previously known as Kapshagay (Қапшағай) is a city with the Almaty Region of Kazakhstan. It is located on the Ili River, and has been built along with the construction of Kapshagay Dam on that river in the 1960s. The dam has formed Kapchagay Reservoir (a.k.a. Lake Kapshagai), a popular weekend destination for beach-goers from Almaty.
Many of the inhabitants fled the city and came back to the homeland after the dissolution of Soviet Union and Konayev was empty for a couple of years. But people have come back since 2000 and life in the city has become normal.
After President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's reforms of 17 March 2022, Kapshagay was renamed to Konaev (after Dinmukhamed Kunaev) and became the prospective capital of the Zhetysu Region.
Asia/Almaty/Almaty
Konaev has a population of over 39,855 people. Konaev also forms part of the wider Almaty Region which has a population of over 2,700,000 people.