Fort-Shevchenko

This article is about the town of Fort-Shevchenko. For the nearby city of Aktau, formerly Shevchenko, see Aktau.

Fort-Shevchenko
Fort-Shevchenko from the air
Coat of arms
Fort-Shevchenko Location in Kazakhstan
Coordinates: 44°31′N 50°16′E
Country	Kazakhstan
Province	Mangystau Province
District
Population (2008)
• Total	4,700
Time zone	+5 (UTC+5)

Fort Shevchenko (Russian: Форт-Шевченко) is a military-base town and administrative center of Tupkaragan District in Mangystau Province, Kazakhstan on the Caspian Sea (Pop. 4,700 in 2008). Primary industries include fishing and the extraction of stone.

History

The city was founded as a military stronghold by the Imperial Russian Navy. Until 1857 it was known as Novopetrovskoye (Новопетровское) and from 1857-1939 as Fort Alexandrovsky (Форт-Александровский). It was named for Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko, who passed here a military service as a punishment. Today the town is used by the Kazakhstan Navy as a base.

The coat of arms of Fort Alexandrovsky was approved October 22, 1908, along with other arms of the Transcaspian field: It is black and silver depicting the fortress and two fish.

There are several landmarks of significance; Shevchenko Memorial Museum, National History, and ethnographic museums. The Shevchenko Memorial Museum opened in 1932 near where he had been hiding. There are also some remnants of the fortress, a monument to Shevchenko and a state grave of Civil War heroes.

31 km from the city is the necropolis Beysenbay and up the coast the site Bautino.

External links

Media related to Fort-Shevchenko at Wikimedia Commons