Petropavl (Kazakh: Петропавл/Petropavl), also known as Petropavlovsk (Russian: Петропавловск, Petropavlovsk, not to be confused with Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky), is a city on the Ishim River in northern Kazakhstan close to the border with Russia, about 261 km west of Omsk along the Trans-Siberian Railway. It is the capital of the North Kazakhstan Province. Population: 201,446 (2009 Census results); 203,523 (1999 Census results).
Petropavl was founded in 1752 as a Russian fort extending Russian settlement and influence into the nomadic Kazakh territories to the south. The fort got its name after two Christian saints, apostles Peter and Paul. It was granted the status of city in 1807. Petropavl was an important trading center for silk and carpets until the Russian Revolution of 1917.
