# History of Temirtau

Temirtau (Kazakh: Теміртау, romanized: Temırtau) is a city in Kazakhstan located in the Karaganda Region. Founded in the early 20th century, the city’s growth became closely tied to the establishment of the Karaganda Metallurgical Plant, known as Magnitka, in the 1950s, where Kazakhstan’s future first president Nursultan Nazarbayev worked in Blast Furnace No. 1.

## Founding of the Settlement

On June 15, 1905, the first 40 settler families, following the Stolypin reform, traveled from Samara and settled on the left bank of the Nura River in Akmolinsk Uyezd, Akmolinsk Oblast. The settlement was named Zhaur after a nearby hill across the river.
In 1909, the settlement was named Samarkantsky, and by 1911, it had its first school and hospital. In 1921, the settlement, now called Samarkandsky, became part of the Akmolinsk Governorate within the Kyrgyz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, an autonomous republic established in 1920 as part of the RSFSR (renamed the Kazak ASSR in 1925).

## Industrial Development

In 1942, the first turbine of the Karaganda Power Plant was launched, followed by the start of operations at a synthetic rubber plant in 1943. In 1944, the under-construction Kazakh Metallurgical Plant produced its first steel using an open-hearth furnace.
On October 1, 1945, the Samarkand workers’ settlement was separated from the Kirov District of Karaganda, awarded city status, and renamed Temirtau.
From 1945 to 1949, Japanese prisoners of war were held in a camp built near the city.
In the 1950s, the Soviet government approved the construction of the Karaganda Metallurgical Plant, designating it a Komsomol construction project. This initiative attracted youth volunteer brigades from across the Soviet Union and even allied countries, especially Bulgaria. Over 8,000 young people arrived on Komsomol assignments to contribute to the project, including Nursultan Nazarbayev, the future first president of Kazakhstan, who started his career there as a casting machine operator and later as a blast furnace worker.
In 1959, unrest and riots broke out among workers deeply dissatisfied with poor working conditions and frequent shortages of water, food, and goods, largely due to administrative mismanagement. Tensions escalated when workers discovered that a large supply of meat, dumplings, and fruit had spoiled at a warehouse and was then buried. On July 29, thousands of workers gathered in the town square outside the trust building to confront the administration. When it became clear that negotiations wouldn’t happen, they began breaking into food and other stores. Troops were deployed to the city, and a curfew was imposed. Official reports indicated that in the ensuing clashes, 16 workers were killed, 27 injured, and approximately 70 arrested and sentenced, with six receiving the death penalty.
On July 3, 1960, a milestone event took place in Temirtau when Kazakhstan’s only blast furnace at the time, Blast Furnace No. 1 at Kazakhstan’s Magnitka, produced its first pig iron.
In February 1962, the plant’s youth elected Nursultan Nazarbayev as a delegate to the 10th Congress of the Komsomol of Kazakhstan. At the congress, he spoke on pressing issues facing Temirtau:
   The Temirtau plant has issues; some we handle ourselves, but others we cannot resolve alone. For example, we lack a community center where young people can relax and engage in creative activities. There are plenty of talented people and skilled specialists, but no stadium. On behalf of our city’s Komsomol members, I ask for help with this difficult issue. Many young people want to learn and develop, but our city offers limited opportunities. Although the government decided to establish an institute of technology here, after two years, we have only seen paperwork, and the issue remains unresolved. Many large plants have such institutes. The Ministry of Higher Education, the State Planning Committee, and the Komsomol Central Committee of the republic have yet to take the necessary steps to expedite this construction. We need this institute. The Komsomol and youth of Temirtau have long hoped for a factory-affiliated institute of technology in our city and look to the organizations responsible for making this decision with great hope.
In 1963, a factory-affiliated institute of technology was established in partnership with the Karaganda Polytechnic Institute and the Karaganda Metallurgical Plant.
In January 1971, the city of Temirtau was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.
Throughout the 1970s, the city expanded its infrastructure, adding the Palace of Metallurgists’ Culture and a new sports complex, which included the Dolphin swimming pool (now Zhastar), a stadium, and an indoor ice rink. In April 1974, a monument to the Soldier (sculpted by S. B. Nazaryan) was unveiled at the Eternal Flame, commemorating the sacrifice of Temirtau’s soldiers during World War II. In 1978, the Vostok Cultural and Leisure Park was opened.
In 1984, a new residential complex, Zenica District (now the 70th Quarter), was completed, named after the Yugoslav sister city of Zenica.

## Years of Independence

On December 28, 1992, Alexander Svichinsky, the general director of the Karaganda Metallurgical Plant, was assassinated on the plant’s premises. The murder caused a major public outcry, and the perpetrators were sentenced to capital punishment.
In January 1993, a Winter Garden was opened in Vostok Park.
In 1995, the Karaganda Metallurgical Plant was transferred to Ispat International, renamed Ispat-KarMet, then Mittal Steel Temirtau, and from 2007, ArcelorMittal Temirtau.
In 2010, President Nazarbayev attended the 50th anniversary celebration of Kazakhstan’s Magnitka. In his speech, he highlighted that the production of the first pig iron marked the foundation not only of the Karaganda plant but of Kazakhstan’s entire iron and steel industry. The president awarded a Golden Star, honoring the veteran steelworker Arghyn Zhunyssov as a Hero of Labor of Kazakhstan.
In 2011, Temirtau inaugurated the First President’s Museum. The structure is a three-level building with a 48-meter diameter, 15.59 meters in height, and a total area of 4,526 square meters.