Romanization of Kazakh in the context of "Marshrutka"

The Kazakh Steppe (Kazakh: Қазақ даласы, romanized: Qazaq dalasy [qɑˈzɑq dɑɫɑˈsə]), also known as the Great Steppe or Great Dala (Kazakh: Ұлы дала, romanized: Ūly dala [ʊˈɫɤ dɑˈɫɑ]), is a vast region of open grassland in Central Asia, covering areas in northern Kazakhstan and adjacent areas of Russia. It lies east of the Pontic–Caspian steppe and west of the Emin Valley steppe, with which it forms the central and western part of the Eurasian steppe. The Kazakh Steppe is an ecoregion of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome in the Palearctic realm. Before the mid-19th century, it was called the Kirghiz steppe, 'Kirghiz' being an old Russian word for the Kazakhs.

European Kazakhstan (Kazakh: Еуропалық Қазақстан, romanized: Europalyq Qazaqstan, Қазақстанның еуропалық бөлігі, Qazaqstannyñ europalyq bölıgı, Russian: Европейская часть Казахстана) is the western part of the territory of Kazakhstan. It is geographically situated in Europe, as opposed to the country's sparsely populated and vastly larger eastern part, which is situated in Central Asia. The Ural River divides Kazakhstan into two parts, bisecting the Eurasian supercontinent. Two capitals of Kazakh regions are located in the European part of Kazakhstan—Oral and Atyrau.

The China–Kazakhstan border (Kazakh: Қазақстан–Қытай мемлекеттiк шекарасы, romanized: Qazaqstan–Qytai memlekettık şekarasy; Chinese: 中哈边界; pinyin: Zhōnghā biānjiè; Dungan: Җунгуй–Хазахстан бянҗе), also known as the Sino-Kazakh border, is the international border between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The border line between the two countries has been largely inherited from the border existing between the Soviet Union and the PRC and, earlier, between the Russian Empire and the Qing Empire; however, it has been fully demarcated only in the late 20th and early 21st century. According to the international boundary commissions that have carried out the border demarcation, the border is 1,782.75 km (1,107.75 mi) long.

The Kazakh Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic (Russian: Казахская Автономная Социалистическая Советская Республика; Kazakh: Қазақ Автономиялы Социалистік Кеңестік Республикасы, romanized: Qazaq Avtonomiialy Sotsialistık Keñestık Respublikasy), abbreviated as Kazak ASSR (Russian: Казакская АССР; Kazakh: Qazaq ASSR) and simply Kazakhstan (Russian: Казахстан; Kazakh: Qazaƣьstan), was an autonomous republic of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) within the Soviet Union (from 1922) which existed from 1920 until 1936.

The Shagan (Kazakh: Шаған, romanized: Şağan [ʃɑˈʁɑn]; Russian: Шаган, IPA: [ʂɐˈgan]) is a river in the West Kazakhstan Region, Kazakhstan, and in Orenburg Oblast, Russia.

It is a tributary of the Ural. The river is 264 kilometres (164 mi) long, and has a drainage basin of 7,530 square kilometres (2,910 sq mi).

West Kazakhstan Region (Kazakh: Батыс Қазақстан облысы, romanized: Batys Qazaqstan oblysy; Russian: Западно-Казахстанская область) is a region of Kazakhstan. As of 1 August 2025, it had a population of 695,900. Its administrative centre is Oral (also known as Uralsk), a city of about 250,000 inhabitants.

The region was created as West Kazakhstan Oblast in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic during the Soviet-era. Between 1962 and 1992, it was named Uralsk Oblast. It was renamed in 1993 following the independence of Kazakhstan from the Soviet Union.

Atyrau Region (Kazakh: Атырау облысы, romanized: Atyrau oblysy; Russian: Атырауская область), formerly known as Guryev Region (Russian: Гурьевская область) until 1991, is one of the regions of Kazakhstan, in the western part of the country around the northeast of the Caspian Sea. Its capital is the city of Atyrau, with a population of 355,117; the region itself has a population of 681,241, of which Kazakhs make up more than 90%.

The Khongirad (/ˈkɒŋɡɪræd/; Mongolian: ᠬᠣᠩᠭᠢᠷᠠᠳ Хонгирад; Kazakh: Қоңырат, romanized: Qoñyrat; Chinese: 弘吉剌; pinyin: Hóngjílá) was one of the major divisions of the Mongol tribes. Their homeland was located in the vicinity of Lake Hulun in Inner Mongolia and Khalkha River in Mongolia, where they maintained close ties with the ruling dynasties of northern China. Because the various Hongirad clans never united under a single leader, the tribe never rose to great military glory. Their greatest fame comes from being the primary consort clan of the ruling house of Genghis Khan's Mongol Empire. Genghis Khan's mother (Hoelun), great grandmother, and first wife were all Khongirads, as were many subsequent Mongol Empress and princesses.

During the Yuan dynasty they were given the title Lu Wang ("Prince of Lu"; Chinese: 鲁王), and a few Khongirads migrated west into the territory of modern Uzbekistan and Turkistan Region where they became governors of Khwarazm and were known as the Sufi dynasty. After a brief period as independent rulers, they were subjected by Timur.