Oral

Oral (Kazakh: Орал Oral, Russian: Уральск Uralsk) is a city in West Kazakhstan.

Understand

Oral is a city in northwestern Kazakhstan, at the confluence of the Ural and Chagan Rivers close to the Russian border. As it is located on the western side of the Ural river, it is considered geographically in Europe. It has a population of 330,000 (2019). It is the capital of the West Kazakhstan Province. While the majority of the population is made up of ethnic Kazakhs, ethnic Russians also make up a large percent of the populations, and many other ethnic groups such as Tatars, Bashkirs, and Azaris are also represented. Because of its geographic proximity to Russia and its history, the city has been greatly influenced by Russian culture.

It wad founded in 1613 by Cossacks as part of the Russian Empire. The Russian influence is still present, having strongly influenced the architecture and culture of the city and its people. The city played a small part in Russian history as the center of the Pugachev serf rebellion in the 18th century. The father of Russian literature, Alexander Pushkin, visited the city with his friend Vladimir Dahl in September 1833 while doing research for his book The History of Pugachev and his novel The Captain's Daughter.

Get in

By plane

• 1 Uralsk Ak-Zhol airport (URA  ^IATA). SCAT offers daily flights from Aktau and Atyrau. Air Astana offers flights from Almaty, Frankfurt, Astana. Direct flights from Moscow-Domodedovo with S7 Airlines. If you have a Russian visa, you can use the nearby airport of Samara with direct flights from Moscow (up to 12 a day), Frankfurt Airport (Lufthansa) and Prague (Czech Airlines).  

By train

Train services calling at the Uralsk train station include Moscow-Almaty and Moscow-Aktobe direct services that run every other day. The only railway route through Uralsk stretches west to east and passes through Russia in both directions; going from Uralsk to other major cities in Kazakhstan requires entering Russia with all the associated visa requirements.

By bus

There are bus services connecting Uralsk with Samara (4 daily), Saratov and Orenburg as well as Atyrau (4 daily), Aktobe and Aksai.

Get around

The city has a functioning transportation network including buses and marshrutkas (mini-vans that drive along a set route). However, getting a map of the transportation network may be difficult for travelers to the city. Taxis services are also available. As in many countries of the former Soviet Union, gypsy cabs can be easily hailed from the street.

Like in many other cities in Kazakhstan, many streets have been renamed in the 2010s and early 2020s. Older guides or advice might still point to old names; Google Maps also often shows outdated names. Here are some significant changes:

Current street name	previous street name	comment
Nursultan Nazarbayev Проспект Нурсултана Назарбаева	Dostyk-Druzhby Достык Дружбы	The main north-south street of the western, older part of the city. XIX-century architecture is centered around it, as are Orthodox churches, historical administrative and educational institutions.
Dina Nurpeisova Улица Дины Нурпеисовой	Teatralnaya	Perpendicular to Nazarbayev St, pedestrian-only in the central section, connects to shopping centers and the main street market area.
Qaĭrat Zhūmaghaliev Улица Кайрата Жумагалиева	Frunze

See

Traditional Russian architecture dating back to the 17th century can be seen throughout the center of the city. The main pedestrian street of Dina Nurpeisova (previously Teatralnaya) is like a mini version of Moscow's Arbat. Kazakhstan's first drama theatre, 150 years old, is located in this street. This theatre is now known as the Russian drama theatre. A larger, modern drama theatre, known as the Kazakh drama theatre, is located nearby on the main boulevard, Nazarbayev Avenue (previously Dostyk). Beautiful architecture, including two Russian Orthodox churches (one which is quite old), can also be found along Nazarbayev Avenue.

Museums

• 1 Museum of Yemelyan Pugachev (музей им. Емельяна Пугачева), Nursultan Nazarbayev Avenue 168, ☏ +7 7112 50 56 75. Tu-Su 10:00-18:00, closed M. this museum is located in a house built in 18th century. This house, which was built as a residence for Pyotr Kuznetsov, an Ural Cossack, once happened to be the very center of Pugachev inspired Russian serf rebellion, which took place between 1773-1775. It was once also a home for a library until it was transferred to a regional historical museum. It houses an extensive display of Ural Cossacks' artifacts such as cannons, banners and luxurious presents from Tzars. This is a very exciting exhibition that represents the life of Ural Cossacks. (updated Feb 2021)
• 2 Natural History Museum (Тарихи-өлкетану музейі), Nursultan Nazarbayev Avenue 184. Tu-Su 10:00-18:00, closed M. Here you'll see mostly natural stuff, then in the building towards the back, the Center for History and Archaeology, don't miss the vestments, rugs, and pottery. (updated Feb 2021)
• 3 Museum Of Manshuk Mametova (Мәншүк Мәметованың мұражай үйі), Srayshyk Street 51, ☏ +7 7112 50 46 93. Where you can learn about a WWII hero, who died while continuing to repel the German forces after her crew was killed by shelling. (updated Feb 2021)
• 4 WW II Memorial Complex (ҰОС мемориалды кешені), Lyndovskaya Street. Solemn site with a stele and flame, plus tanks and artillery. (updated Feb 2021)
• 5 Karev House, Alexandr Karev Street 47. Historical building housing exhibits about Uralsk. (updated Feb 2021)
• 6 Old Uralsk Museum (Музей Старый Уральскъ), Qaĭrat Zhūmaghaliev St 49 (previously called Frunze St) (old residential house next to a green square on Nursultan Nazarbayev St, very close to Karev House). A small, informal museum full of artifacts of daily life dating from 18th to 20th centuries. The personnel is extremely enthusiastic and eager to talk about any item on display (in Russian). There is a guided tour every Tuesday and Friday at 11:00 and 14:00. Free of charge. (updated Oct 2023)

Churches

• 7 Church of Christ the Saviour (Храм Христа Спасителя), Nursultan Nazarbayev Avenue, 202. (updated Oct 2023)
• 8 Church of Archangel Michael (Собор Архангела Михаила), Nursultan Nazarbayev St, 70/1. Located in the oldest part of the city, on the way from the center towards the Museum of Yemelyan Pugachev. (updated Oct 2023)

Do

• 1 Station of Young Naturalists (Жас натуралисттер станциясы), Kairat Ryskulbekov St 49, ☏ +7 7112 50 47 97. M-F 09ː00-18ː00. A small zoo with small enclosures. Bears and cats and fowl. (updated Feb 2021)

Eat

Budget

• 1 Sim-Sim (сим сим), Nursultan Nazarbayev Avenue 187, ☏ +7 705 514 5127. daily 10ː00-22ː00. This restaurant is the most renowned in Uralsk for it's 'Meat-on-a-stick', kebabs, or 'Shashleek' as the local Kazakhs call it. Check out the back room where there is an excellent picture of some 3D cats. Superb toilet facilities. 
• 2 Beer Restaurant "Prazhskiye Nochi" (Пивной ресторан "Пражские ночи"), Evrazia Avenue 61/1. Tu-Su 12ː00-00ː00, M 14ː00-00ː00. Kind of like the name says, a purveyor of beer and lunch and dinner. (updated Feb 2021)
• 3 Summer Restaurant "Na Vysote" (Летний ресторан "На высоте"), Evrazia Avenue 61/1. Here you can dine on the rooftop patio (in summer). (updated Feb 2021)

Drink

• 1 The Golden Cat (opposite Sim-Sim), Nursultan Nazarbayev Avenue 190. daily 12ː00-02ː00. This bar cum restaurant is a favorite haunt for locals and ex-pats alike. You will often find people from the UK and US gathered here. The food is excellent and the beer is better. If you attend on a weekend evening, you can enjoy the sweet, chilled pleasure of saxophone jazz. Check out the che-chill and the excellent toilet facilities. 
• 2 El Divino, Srayshyk Street 40. daily 10ː00-04ː00. A night club/karaoke place that serves food and drinks. (updated Feb 2021)

Sleep

Budget

Aidana is a new hotel complex which offers quality accommodation at a low price. Located in front of city's indoor skating ring.

Sayakhat Hotel is in the very center close to the Rai (The Heaven) night club.

• 1 Apartments Galactika, Pobeda St 105, ☏ +7 7017 57 56 47. Very refined and purposeful apartment rooms. 10786 tenge. (updated Feb 2021)
• 2 Hotel Oral (Ural), Kurmangazy Street 80/2, ☏ +7 7112 50 79 32. is quite cheap and services are seeing some improvement lately. Close to Atrium shopping center and many bars and cafes. (updated Feb 2021)

Mid-range

• 3 Pushkin Hotel, Nursultan Nazarbayev Avenue 148B (in the historical building close to Ural River bank and Uralsk University main building), ☏ +7 7112 50 77 33. Good restaurant and very cozy rooms. 27795 tenge. (updated Feb 2021)
• 4 Chagala Hotel Uralsk, Temira Masina St 67/1, ☏ +7 7112 50 60 17. Good food, in-house bar and comfortable accommodation. (updated Feb 2021)

Connect

As of September 2024, Oral has 4G from all Kazakh carriers, with a patchy signal on the approach highways.

Consulates:

• Russian Federation, Mukhit Street 78, ☏ +7 7112 51-16-26, fax: +7 7112 54-54-04, rusconsuralsk@gmail.com. Monday to Thursday: 09:00 - 13:00 and 14:00 - 18:00. 
• Italy, Honorary Vice-Consulate, AB2 Building, Czech Camp, Aksai 418440, ☏ +7 71133 36071, fax: +7 71133 30094, aksai.onorario@esteri.it. 

Cope

• 1 Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church (Римско-Католический Приход «Пресвятой Богородицы Неустанной Помощи»), Mikroraion Zhenis 28 (Микрорайон Женис, 28), uralsk@katolikkz.org. The only Catholic church in Uralsk, located in the modern north-eastern part of the city, close to the new administrative area. (updated Oct 2023)