Migrations and the evolution of the visual space in Uust-Kamenogorsk

Over a long period of time, an ethnically differentiated settlement system has formed in Kazakhstan. In the late 20 century the Kazakh people were still rural inhabitants whereas the Russians dominated the Kazakh urban space. This trend was clearer in the north-east of the Republic. The collapse of the USSR led to the intensification of migration flows that had started in the 1970s - 1980s, i.e. the emigration of the «European» urban population and the movement of Kazakh rural inhabitants to cities. The article aims to find out, through the example of Ust-Kamenogorsk, whether the change of ethnic composition has an impact on the visual space of the city. Do the sovereignty-related ambitions get reflected in the visual evolution of the urban space (architecture, onomastics, names of public catering places, shops, etc.)? Or the based on the «European» urban space is capable of «dissolving» these ethno-sovereignty-driven ambitions? To reveal the problem»s essence, it is of great importance to refer to the history of Ust-Kamenogorsk. The article illustrates the main historical periods of the development of the city (the pre-Soviet, Soviet, and the sovereign one). The ethno-demographic, socio-economic, and socio-cultural basis of the city has formed during a long time, from the 18 to the 20 centuries. Therefore, the rapid change of the eth-no-demographic composition of the population here in the late 20 to the early 21 centuries did not alter the socio-economic and socio-cultural development path. The migration flow from rural areas has, to a great extent, adapted to the existing urban environment. The formation and preservation of this «environment» largely depends on the sustainability of city»s main functions (the industrial ones) that have developed over centuries. Importantly, the city»s functions remained the same despite the political state of affairs (the pre-Soviet, Soviet, and the sovereign one). Thus, one can speak of the presence of some specific urban environment here, independent, to a degree, of political changes. As a result, the urban space is still capable of defining new city dwellers» behaviour. This can also be traced, to a great extent, in the visual space of Ust-Kamenogorsk. Architecture and design, onomastic and other components of the city»s visual space have undergone minor changes. The vast majority of the names of streets continue to reflect the impact of the Soviet era (Orjoni-kidze, Kirov, Voroshilov, Gorky, Stakhanov, Karl Marx, Liebknecht, Burov, Bazhov, Karbyshev, etc.) The names of public places (restaurants, cafes, shops, etc.) reflect the dynamics of the ethno-demographic change of the last decades only to a small degree. Thus, the author concludes that the Russianized visual space of Ust-Kamenogorsk is becoming more westernized rather than Kazakh. The emerging new ethnic basis of the city continues to exist in the previously formed visual space.

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