Petropavl, formerly Petropavlovsk (and Kyzldzhar?), is a city in Northern Kazakhstan close to the border with Russia, about 350km west of Omsk. Its population (1999 estimate) is 203,400. It was founded in 1752 as a Russian fort etending Russian settlement and influence into the the nomadic Kazakh territories to the south. Petropavl was an important trading center for silk and carpets until the Russian Revolution of 1917.