Botakara (Kazakh: Ботақара), known as "Ulyanovsk" until 1997, is a settlement in Karaganda Region, Kazakhstan.

[2][3] Founded in 1901 as the village of Sannikovskoye by Ukrainian settlers from Kherson, Chernihiv and Tauride provinces.

In 1961, the village was given the status of a workers' settlement and the name Ulyanovsky, which it bore until 1997.

[6] The Botakara Bronze Age burial ground is an archaeological site located 14 km (8.7 mi) west of the town.

[7] Botakara lies in the Kazakh Uplands by the banks of the Nura river.