Petropavlovsk is a city in northern Kazakhstan, located on the banks of the Ishim River, the largest tributary of the Irtysh.
Today the city is the administrative center of the North Kazakhstan region. In terms of area the city is small (only 224.91 km² / 86,84 sq mi), but despite this, it is a very cozy, clean, and welcoming city. It was named Petropavlovsk in honor of the holy apostles' Peter and Paul.
In Petropavlovsk there lived and created prominent figures of the Kazakh people: Sabit Mukanov (writer), Magzhan Zhumabaev (poet, writer), Gabit Musrepov (writer, translator), and many others. The author of the world-famous fairy tale “The Little Humpbacked Horse” Pyotr Yershov spent his childhood in Petropavlovsk.
Petropavlovsk is only 40 kilometers from the border with Russia, which largely accounts for the fact that the percentage of Russians living here is higher than that of Kazakhs and other nationalities. But they all live in peace, harmony, and respect for each other. In total, according to 2020 data, more than 219 thousand people live in Petropavlovsk.