[8] Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains in southern Kazakhstan, near the border with Kyrgyzstan, Almaty stands as a pivotal center of culture, commerce, finance and innovation.

Additionally, the city's close proximity to Medeu, the highest-altitude ice rink in the world, and Shymbulak ski resort, contributes to Almaty’s reputation as a major tourism hub for adventure and outdoor activities.

[11][12] Almaty is celebrated for its green spaces, with numerous urban parks, tree-lined streets, and fountains, contributing to its reputation as one of the greenest cities in the region.

The city’s skyline blends historical Soviet-era buildings with modern skyscrapers, symbolizing its ongoing economic development and evolving identity.

Key landmarks and attractions in Almaty include the Central State Museum of Kazakhstan, Ascension Cathedral, Green Bazaar, Arbat, and Kök Töbe, a hilltop destination offering panoramic views of the city and the surrounding mountains.

[citation needed] To establish its control of the region, Russia built Fort Zailiyskoe (Russian: Заилийское) between the Bolshaya and Malenkaya Almatinka rivers.

[25] On 5 February 1921, Verny was renamed Alma-Ata, one of the city's ancient names, by a joint consultation of regional government representatives, professional trade associations, and local faith-based groups.

[26] In 1926, the Council of Labor and Defence approved the construction of the Turkestan–Siberia Railway that was a crucial element of the future growth of Kazakhstan, especially in the east and southeast of the region.

[25] On 29 April 1927, the government decided to transfer the capital of the Kazakh Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic from Kyzyl-Orda to Alma-Ata, within the RFSFR.

[citation needed] On 31 January 1928, Leon Trotsky, leader of the 1917 October Revolution, accompanied by his wife Natalia Sedova and his son Lev Sedov, was exiled to Alma-Ata by Joseph Stalin, then head of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) in Moscow.

During this period, many schools, hospitals, cultural, and entertainment facilities were constructed, including Lenin's Palace, the Kazakhstan Hotel, and the Medeo Sports Complex.

It proposes continued multi-storied and single-housing development, reorganization of industrial districts or territories, improving transport infrastructure, and expanding the Almaty Metro.

[38][39] The area of the city has been expanded during recent years with the annexation of the suburban settlements of Kalkaman, Kok Tobe, Gorniy Gigant District (Mountain Giant).

[40] Almaty was the site of a notorious terrorist attack in July 2016, when Jihadist Ruslan Kulikbayev killed eight police officers and two civilians in a shootout and car chase.

The region is also home to the Mynjylky mountain plateau, an elevated plain located at the source of the Malaya Almaatinka river at an altitude of 3000 meters above sea level.

In average years frost starts on about 14 October and ends on about 18 April, with sustained extreme cold from about 19 December to about 23 February, a period of about 67 days.

Industrially developed and densely populated areas in the south and southeast of Kazakhstan are situated in the zones where the maximum magnitudes of expected earthquakes are from 6.0 to 8.3 (the intensity of I0=8–10).

The following are the dates of occurrence and extracts from the historical chronicles of the times: Within the past 125 years, three more strong destructive earthquakes occurred here, with centres not more than 20–130 kilometres (10–80 mi) from the current city location.

[55] The Abai Kazakh State Opera and Ballet Theatre has anchored the city's theater scene since 1934 and was founded around a community of local performance artists.

By the end of the 1950s, the gallery's funds numbered over 5,000 exhibits, including paintings, reproductions of works by pre-revolutionary and Soviet artists, Western European and Eastern masters of art.

In January 1911, the building of the first private cinema "Twentieth Century" was opened at the intersection of Pushkin and Gogol streets, which belonged to the entrepreneur A. R. Seifullin.

[66] To mitigate the rapidly increasing electricity demand caused by this growth, the Kazakh authorities decided to upgrade the power system by building the new transmission line and modernizing the substations.

With their arrival, the area of Almaty began to develop rapidly, and a few prominent buildings were constructed during this time including the Little Stanitsa and the Tatar Slobodka.

Fountains, together with an extensive irrigation ditch network, play a big role in Alma-Ata – together they create a single complex of reservoirs and watercourses of the city.

Previously, the highest fountain in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) gushed from this lake – a stream of water 10 cm in diameter reached a height of 50 meters.

Şymbūlaq is a ski resort near Almaty, located in the upper part of the Medeu Valley in the Zailiisky Alatau mountain range, at the elevation of 2,200 metres (7,200 ft) above sea level.

An aerial tramway line connects Almaty with a popular recreation area at the top of Kök Töbe (Kazakh: Көк-төбе, which means 'Blue Hill'), a mountain just to the southeast.

The barrel of the tower is a metal stepped hexahedron with a diameter of 18 m at the base, 13 and 9 m at the locations of maintenance services at heights of 146 and 252 m. The structure was built taking into account the seismic mountainous terrain and can withstand an earthquake of up to 10 points.

It is dedicated to and named after the Panfilov Heroes, 28 soldiers of an Almaty infantry unit who died fighting Nazi German invaders outside of Moscow in World War II.

[87][88] The fictional espionage novel Performance Anomalies[89] takes place in Almaty, Kazakhstan and many of the city's landmarks make an appearance, including Panfilov Park,[90] Zenkov Cathedral, The Kazakh Museum of Folk Musical Instruments, Kok-Tob (Kök Töbe), Shymbulak, Zelyony Bazaar, and several well-known avenues.