Almaty

Almaty (Алматы; formerly known as Alma-Ata, also Vernyj, Vyernyi (Верный) in Imperial Russia) is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of 2,000,900 (2006) (8.21% of the population of Kazakhstan) citizens.
The name "Almaty" means "rich with apple" or by other opinions "strongest mountain"; the older Russian version of its name, Alma-Ata, origines from mistake (literally means "father-apple"). In the surrounding region, there is an unrivalled genetic diversity among the wild apples.