Among the fifteen regional volumes in the series Natural Conditions and Natural Resources of the USSR, this is the only volume devoted entirely to a single Union Republic, namely Kazakhstan. In the past, Kazakhstan was inhabited primarily by nomadic peoples whose lives were harsh and entirely dependent on the caprices of nature. A single zhut (for example, the loss of forage caused by an ice crust covering the pastures) could result in the death of millions of sheep and leave hundreds of thousands of people facing hunger and death. The vast territory of Kazakhstan remained insufficiently explored for a long time, since crossing these roadless and waterless regions on horseback required several months. The situation began to change only after the first Five-Year Plans, when major railway lines, including the Turkestan-Siberian Railway and the Petropavlovsk-Balkhash line, linked the republic, and new industrial centers such as Karaganda, Balkhash, Zhezkazgan, and many other cities were established. The country was transformed beyond recognition; not only its appearance changed, but its people as well. In a land where literacy had once been below three percent, a large national intelligentsia emerged. In this republic, once considered poor in mineral-resource prospects, nearly all elements of Mendeleev's periodic table are now being extracted, and many of them occur in deposits of exceptional richness and reserves. Nature itself remains as unpredictable and enigmatic as ever, but humanity's understanding of it has changed, enabling us under modern conditions both to combat its adverse effects and to utilize its resources in new ways. Up to the present, only two comprehensive scientific works on the nature of Kazakhstan have been published. The first is Kazakhstan, issued in 1950 by the Institute of Geography of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, a comprehensive physical-geographical survey. The second is An Outline of the Physical Geography of Kazakhstan, published in 1952 by the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic. Nearly twenty years have passed since these works appeared. During this period, Kazakhstan's economy, its people, and scientific knowledge about the republic have developed tremendously and have confronted new challenges. Earlier monographs described only natural conditions and did not address natural resources or the prospects for economic development. This volume was prepared collectively by researchers from Moscow, Alma-Ata, and other regions of Kazakhstan. The overall supervision and editorial direction of the volume were carried out by B. A. Fedorovich. The section on resources and development prospects was edited by O. R. Nazarevsky. The executive secretary of the volume was S. L. Kushev. Most of the maps were prepared by B. A. Fedorovich. The cartographic drafting was completed by E. M. Guriani, T. P. Gryaznova, and S. L. Kushev, while the finishing and graphic design of the maps were undertaken by A. A. Potulovich of the Institute of Geography of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. In the editorial work on the volume, important assistance was provided by members of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, particularly Academician N. N. Pavlov and Corresponding Member G. Ts. Madoyev. The Kazakhstan-based contributors to this volume came from the Institutes of Botany, Geology, Zoology, Soil Science, Economics, and Energy; the Department of Geography; the Hydrogeology Department; and the Paleolimnology Laboratory of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic. Contributors also represented the Institute of Economics and Agricultural Organization under the Ministry of Agriculture of the Kazakh SSR, the Hydrometeorological Institute of the Main Hydrometeorological Administration, Kazakh State University, and the Kazakh Pedagogical Institute. Among the Moscow-based institutions represented in the authorship, in addition to the Institute of Geography of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, were Moscow State University named after M. V. Lomonosov, the Soil Science Institute named after V. V. Dokuchaev, the Ministry of Agriculture of the USSR, and the Ministry of Geology of the USSR. Authors from Leningrad included staff members of the Botanical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. All of these individuals demonstrated great goodwill and understanding toward participation in the preparation of this volume and toward its objectives. The editorial board expresses its sincere gratitude to them. Unfortunately, owing to limitations of space, it was impossible to include all of the manuscripts originally submitted or to discuss with the necessary completeness every urgent issue concerning the further development of the region and of its mineral and other resources, as well as the protection and transformation of its natural environment. Nevertheless, it is our hope that, even in concise form, this volume succeeds in presenting the fundamental issues.