Taskala
Taskala (, "Tasqala"; ), previously Kamenka, is a small town in north-western Kazakhstan on the border with Russia. It is the administrative center of Taskala District in West Kazakhstan Region. Population: Geography. The town is located in north-western part of West Kazakhstan region on the Derkul (tributary of the Chagan) at a distance of 80 km from the city of Oral (Uralsk). Surrounding villages includes Kuznetsova (5 km), and Aktau. The climate is sharply continental with dry, hot summers and snowy, cold winters. The town is situated on the Pontic-Caspian Steppe with mostly flat grassland and rolling hills . History. In 1925, archaeologist Pavel Rykov (1884–1942) lead an excavation in the town and discovered burial grounds with gold ornaments. Based on the evidence from this excavation, it seems likely that the area has been inhabited since the second to fourth century BCE. In the 19th century the town was populated by Cossacks. Economy. In the town there are a number of companies. There is a notable asphalt plant and mill and other facilities in the area. Public institutions include the KGKP District Hospital, TB hospital, two Kazakh schools and one Russian school, music school, nursery school, technical college, and  a district library and cultural and sports complex. Computerization of schools is at 100%, with access to the Internet in all four schools. The computers subscribe to JSC run by Kazakh Telecom with access to high-speed Internet Megaline. Some homes have cable television installed, operating from a base station operator, Beeline. Transport. The town is centered on the railway, built in 1894. The railway station is located in the center of the town, and trains regularly transport passengers along a line that connects the old capital of Kazakhstan, the city of Almaty, the capital of Russia, Moscow, and the  capital of Ukraine, Kyiv. In 2004, the building of the railway station was destroyed by fire and rebuilt in a year.