Baikonur (formerly Leninsk) is a city in Kazakhstan administered by Russia. It was constructed to service the Baikonur Cosmodrome and was officially renamed Baikonur by the President of Kazakhstan on December 20, 1995.
The original Baikonur is a mining town a few hundred kilometres northeast. The launch site was given this name to cause confusion and keep the location secret.
The fortunes of the city have varied according to those of the Soviet/Russian space program.
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