Kirov Park is the main green space in the city centre, a pleasant place for an afternoon stroll along the Irtysh riverbank. The park has the feel of many former Soviet city parks — orderly paths, fountains, benches, and an assortment of monuments. What makes it worth a visit is the collection of balbals near its eastern corner.
Balbals are ancient Turkic stone stelae, carved human figures that once stood over burial mounds on the Central Asian steppe. The Ust-Kamenogorsk collection has been relocated here from the surrounding region and displayed as an open-air exhibit. Several of the stones retain clear facial features — round, wide-eyed expressions that give them a distinctive look quite different from European grave markers. They are believed to date from the 6th to 10th centuries.
The park also connects to the Irtysh embankment, where you can walk along the river and see the Boris Alexandrov Sports Palace, the city's main ice hockey arena, from the outside.