Baikonur (Kazakh: Байқоңыр; Russian: Байконур), formerly known as Leninsk, is a city in Kazakhstan rented and administered by Russia. It was constructed to service the Baikonur Cosmodrome and was officially renamed Baikonur by Boris Yeltsin on December 20, 1995.

The original Baikonur is a mining town a few hundred kilometres northeast. The launch site was given this name to cause confusion and keep the location secret. The name Baikonur is Kazakh for "wealthy brown", i.e. "fertile land with many herbs". Another possible contributing factor is that the old name of the area, Tyuratam (or Turatam) means "broken arrow," which could be seen as inappropriate for a space base. The railway station there, however, predates the base, and keeps the old name.

The fortunes of the city have varied according to those of the Soviet/Russian space program and its Baikonur Cosmodrome.

External link

• RussianSpaceWeb.com on Baikonur town

Cities in Kazakhstan | Cities named for Lenin

Bajkonur | Baiqongyr | Baikonur | Bajkonur | Baïkonour | Baikonur | Baykonur | Baikonur | בייקונור | Baikonoer | Байконур (город) | Bajkonur | Baykonour