Aktobe (Kazakh: Ақтөбе, romanized: Aqtöbe, pronounced [ɑqtɵbʲe] ⓘ; Russian: Актобе) is a major city located on the Ilek River in western Kazakhstan.

[1] It covers an expansive area of approximately 428,469 km² and is strategically located to serve as a regional center for trade and commerce.

The agglomeration of Aktobe, which includes surrounding settlements, is expected to grow significantly in the coming years, with a projected population of around 1.3 million people.

It hosts a variety of cultural events, and its educational institutions, including universities and technical schools, contribute to the city’s development as a center for higher learning and innovation.

With its expanding population, diverse economy, and increasing infrastructure, Aktobe is poised to continue its growth and development in the years ahead.

In March 1869, a Russian military fort with a garrison of 300 was built at the confluence of the Kargala and Ilek rivers, along the Orenburg - Kazalinsk caravan route.

With its location on the Trans-Aral Railway, Aktyubinsk was a strategic point, much contested between the Red Army and their White opponents during the Russian Civil War.

Dutov, commanding approximately 10,000 rifles, 5,000 sabres, and 500 jigits (warriors) of the Alash Orda movement's newly formed Second Kazakh Mounted Regiment, attacked the city in October, 1918.

White pressure on Aktyubinsk was relieved by Frunze's capture of Uralsk, Orenburg and Orsk in early 1919, but by April Dutov and Admiral Kolchak were able to launch a combined counteroffensive.

[8] In this offensive, the Whites also managed to capture and execute Amankeldı İmanov, a Kazakh military leader who had been operating in the Aktyubinsk region with the support of Bolsheviks in Moscow.

In 1999, the official name was changed from Aktyubinsk to Aktobe by presidential decree, as part of a nationwide effort to support the Kazakh language.

[10] On May 17, 2011 Aktobe was the site of one of Kazakhstan's first terrorist attacks, when a suicide bomber blew himself up in the headquarters of the local national security services, injuring two people.

In the southern part of the city are the lower reaches of the left tributary of Ilek - the Tamda River, but in the low-water period this channel dries up, forming several stretches.

To the west of the Kirpichny district, separating it from the village of Akzhar, the Butak River flows through the lower part of the right tributary of the Kargaly.

At the end of the 19th century, the region in which Aktobe was located was described as practically devoid of forest flora, but at the same time very rich in steppe vegetation.

For comparison, the population of the cities of Turkestan, Zhanaozen and Kaskelen, which showed the most impressive growth rates, grew by 78% over the indicated period.

Region headquarters for the Kazakh National Security Committee (KNB), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and for the Registry of the Republic of Kazakhstan are located in Aktobe.

Many of today's fastest-growing industries in Aktobe are related to food production (such as the company "Ramazan"), construction ("Dastan") or vodka distilling ("Wimpex" and "Ayazhan").

The Chinese National Petroleum Company (CNPC) owns a 60% stake in AktobeMunaiGaz, and is investing heavily in oil and natural gas extraction from Aktobe Region oilfields.

At the end of 2014, 319 agricultural enterprises were registered on the territory of the Aktobe city administration, which produced goods worth 11,998.7 million tenge.

In 2001–2008, under the leadership of the frontman of the Adaptation group Ermen Erzhanov, the city hosted the "Sukhovei "festival of independent music, which was attended by many guests from the CIS countries.

In the 2010s, as part of the general reconstruction of Aktobe Central Park, which was renamed in honor of Nursultan Nazarbayev, outdated attractions, including the Ferris wheel, were dismantled.

Instead, the" Captain Brig" entertainment center was built, worth $10 million, on the territory of which carousels and roller coasters were installed, and in the main pavilion with an area of 1150 m2 there were children's game attractions.

"Captain Brig" is distinguished by the relative high cost of tickets for paid attractions and a small amount of free entertainment.

After the territories of modern Kazakhstan were annexed to the Russian Empire, due to the need for strong points and retail outlets, many cities appeared, one of which was Aktobe.

There is a real cult of the famous sniper Alia Moldagulova - a memorial complex and a monument were built, one of the central avenues was named in her honor, a personal museum was opened.

Lenin was unveiled on the main square of the city (because of this, the obelisk was moved to another place), which then gave way to the monument to the khan of the Small Zhuz Abulkhair, sculptor E. Sergebaev.

The planetarium building with a domed hall was built by Moscow specialists in Pioneer Park at the intersection of Nekrasov and Frunze Streets.

The "Star Hall" of the planetarium with a 10-meter dome allows visitors to demonstrate various astronomical phenomena: solar and lunar eclipses, meteor showers, halo, sunrise and sunset, panorama of Baikonur.

[22] The 400 km (250 mi) Keniyak-Orsk pipeline, with an annual capacity of 7.5 million tons, carries oil from the Aktobe fields to a refinery in Orsk, Russia.