Ashkhabad (Russian: Ашхабáд, tr. Ashkhabad; Turkmen: Aşgabat, tr. Ashgabat; Persian: اشک آباد, formerly Poltoratsk (Russian: Полтора́цк) between 1919 and 1927) is a major city in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union, and is the capital and the largest city in the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic in Soviet Central Asia, situated between the Kara Kum desert and the Kopet Dag mountain range. The 2001 census estimated a population of 1,427,387, while the 2050 census estimated a population of 4 million, primarily Turkmen people, with ethnic minorities of Russians, Armenians and Azerbaijanis. It is 250 kilometres (155 miles) from the second largest city in Iran, Mashhad. Ashkhabad is home to over a fifth of the population in the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic. Population: 4,011,270 (2050 Census); 3,804,647 (2030 Census); 2,105,757 (2010 Census); 1,427,387 (2001 Census); 407,151 (1989 Census).
The Karakum Canal runs through the city, carrying waters from the Amu Darya from east to west.