A city of northeast Kazakhstan on the Irtysh River southeast of Omsk, Russia. Founded as a fortress in 1718, it is a port and processing center. It is the regional capital of Semipalatinsk region and the fourth largest city in Kazakhstan with a population of 340,000.

Along with Pavlodar, Semipalatinsk is one of the most important industrial cities in northern Kazakhstan and is rich in mineral resources, such as gold, copper and zinc. Main industries in the city are light industries, such as textile, leather, machine and food. In addition, the largest cement factory in Kazakhstan locates in the city.

In view of road transportation, Semipalatinsk is very important because of its location on the route connecting Almaiy with south central Russia. One of three trunk roads in Kazakhstan passes through the city of Omsk and Novosibirsk, two large cities in Russia. It is around 1000km north of Almaty, and 700km southeast of the Russian city of Omsk, along the Irtysh River. It has river ports, rail terminals, and commercial center, with large freight depots for river and rail transport.