Oskemen - city

East Kazakhstan on line
Official Oskemen

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280 years in August of the year of 1720 major of the Yuards Ivan Likharev who was sent
by the tsar Peter the I'st to the Upper Irtysh river for search of gold, arrived to the mouth of rocky mountains.

At the junction of the Ulba and the Irtysh rivers he set up a fort Ustkamennaya. That was a beginning of our city.

Ust- Kamenogorsk Fortress became a forward outpost in the system of the Irtysh fortresses. It marked the start of Russian geodesists work from Omsk to the upper reaches of the "Black Irtysh, exploration and development of natural resourses of enormous area and its precise geographic description.
With mining and metallurgical industry development in the region and especially with openning mines in Ridder and Zyrjanovsk, Ust-Kamenogorsk fortress began playing role of transshipping base. Ores were transported via the fortress to Altay plants by cartage and water ways. Trade routes went to Mongolia and China.
In the beginning of the 20th century Ust-Kamenogorsk became a shelter for gold-diggers. The industry was represented by tiny tannaries, soap-works, creameries, brick-works and tallow-melting-works.

The town began to be built on with brick houses, merchant's stores, corn-chandler's , shops and public buildings. A.N. Fedorov, O.F. Kosturin, I.V. emelyantsev Political deportees E.P. Mehaelis who lived in Ust-Kamenogorsk and made a valuable contribution to the economic and cultural development of the town.
The first Public Library (1896) was opened and the buildings of parish school (1897), primary school (1912), Mariinskoye school (1901), girls school (1914), people's house (1902) were built.

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