Karaganda

Karaganda (Russian: Караганда, and also spelt as "Karagandy" or "Qaraghandy") is a large city in the Central Highlands of Kazakhstan. It's a coal mining city and in Soviet times its population was much greater: Stalin deported ethnic Germans from the Volga region to use as forced labour here as well as in Siberia. The survivors relocated to Germany when the Soviet Union collapsed. The city itself had already collapsed, undermined by coal workings, and was rebuilt further south on its present site. The name "Karaganda" derives from Caragana bushes but became a wry pun in Russian for "where the hell?", ie the middle of nowhere. The main reasons to come are to see KarLag forced labour camp, to access Karkaraly National Park, or to break up a journey across vast Kazakhstan.