The region of Krasnodar (Krasnodar Krai) or “the Kuban”, located 1,500 kilometers south of Moscow and one of Russia’s southernmost regions, is home to over 5 million people, of which 54.2 percent live in urban areas. Krasnodar city, capital of the region, is located on the Kuban River and was founded in 1793 as a settlement of Kuban Cossacks.
The region extends to 75,500 square kilometers and contains transportation infrastructure vital to Russian and Caspian Basin energy exports. The Krasnodar area is above average for European Russian regions and represents in fact over 1.5% of the portion of national landmass considered most suitable for human habitation.
The neighboring countries and regions are Turkey (across the Black Sea) to the South and Rostov Oblast in the North, Ukraine (across the Azov Sea) to the West, Stavropol Krai to the East and Georgia to the Southeast.
Except the capital Krasnodar, other well-known cities are Novorossiysk, Sochi and Anapa.
Some Attractions Of Krasnodar City
Attractions of Krasnodar include St. Catherine’s Cathedral, the State Arts Museum, a park and theater named after the known writer and political activist Maxim Gorky, the concert hall of the Krasnodar Philharmonic Society, which is considered to have some of the best acoustics in Russia, the famous Kuban Cossack Chorus and the Krasnodar circus.
Wikipedia: Semyon Kirlian was a Russian inventor and researcher born in Krasnodar, who along with his wife Valentina Kirlian discovered and developed Kirlian photography.
One interesting place is Krasnaya Street, because of the vivid street life. In the beginning of Krasnaya street you can see the Central Concert Hall and at the other end the Avrora cinemacenter. And apart from all that, Krasnodar also offers an extensive Night Life.
The Political Structure Of Krasnodar Governance
The highest executive body is the Administration of Krasnodar Krai (the word Krai can be translated into “region”). The Administration of Krasnodar Krai is formed to support the Governor as the highest official and to exercise the state powers he entrusts to it.
Admin Krai: The governor of Krasnodar krai is Alexander Nikolayevich Tkachev, elected on March 14 2004. The Mayor of Krasnodar Town is Vladimir Lazarevich Yevlanov.
The Legislative Assembly is the highest legislative body and adopts the Laws of Krasnodar Region obligatory for execution in the territory. The Administration of Krasnodar Krai and the Legislative Assembly is elected for the term of 5 years.
The Economic Structure
The economic base has been founded on agriculture and transport. Krasnodar krai is the “breadbasket” of the nation and it is also a southern gateway to the world, based on its strategically located and ice-free ports.
Transportation routes crossing the Krasnodar region connect Russia and Central Asia to the Mediterranean Sea, Western and Central Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Wikipedia: The 2014 Winter Olympics will be held from February 7 to February 23, 2014 in Sochi and surroundings. Sochi is located on the black Sea coast of Krasnodar krai.
Taman Peninsula is a promising area for oil and gas extraction and the region also has several natural mineral springs and enjoys a near Mediterranean climate, which make the area interesting in terms of tourism industry.
The Population Of Krasnodar Krai
The population of Krasnodar region are Russians (85.1%), Armenians (5%), and some other groups are Ukrainians, Greeks, Meskhetian Turks, Crimean Tatars, Germans.
A sizeable group of people in Krasnodar are the Adyges, one of the oldest inhabitants of the Northwest Caucasus. Adyghe is the name this people apply to themselves, in the West they are often known as the Circassians. Their language is Adyghe or Adygeyan.
Wikipedia: The Republic of Adygea is a federal subject of Russia (a republic) enclaved within Krasnodar Krai. Its size is 7,600 km² with a population of around 450,000.
Kuban Cossacks make up an estimated one-fifth of the general population and live mainly in Bryukhovetsky, Slavyansky and Kushchevsky, districts and in the direct vicinity of Novorossiysk and Krasnodar. Most of the Kuban Cossacks are descendants of the Black Sea Cossack Host (originally Zaporozhian Cossacks) and the Caucasus Line Cossack Host.
In terms of population the Krasnodar region is the fourth largest region in the Russian Federation, after Moscow city, Moscow Oblast and Saint Petersburg.
The History Of Krasnodar Area
The first settlement appeared here very early. Krasnodar lands has been knowned for millenniums and these lands were always of uttermost interest - many of the legendary and almost mythological tribes and kingdoms have exist here. The mysterious and tough Amazons is said to have lived here - the Amazons are a nation of all-female warriors in Classical and Greek mythology.
The Scythians, the Taman dolmens, the Sarmatians, the Petroglyphs of Dzhubga Valley, the catacomb culture of the Caucasian hills, have roots in this region. The ancient Greeks and Sinds built the Bosporus kingdom here during the 6th and 5th centuries B.C.
Wikipedia: Anapa was settled in antiquity. It was the capital of Sindica and later Gorgippia was built on the site of Sinda in the sixth century BCE by Pontic Greeks.
The Bosporus state was later followed by the old Russian principality of Tmutarakan and the Khazar Kaganate - a Jewish state in Europe thousand years before modern Israel. In the Middle Ages the Republic of Genoa established colonies in Krasnodar region and during the Mongol-Tatar era the territory was invaded by the Golden Horde.
In 1735 the construction of the Caucasian fortification line began. The relations between the people of the Kuban and the Ottoman Empire became very strained, leading to a war between Russia and Turkey for control of the Black Sea regions.
Wikipedia: In the antiquity, the shores of the Tsemess Bay were the site of Bata (nowadays Novorossiysk), an ancient Greek colony that specialized in the grain trade.
Field Marshal Aleksandr Suvorov arrived in the Kuban on January 1778, and under his leadership 5 large fortresses and 20 redoubts were built on the bank of the Kuban River.
A Cossack delegation led by Anton Golovaty went to St. Petersburg on February 1792 to request permission to resettle in the Kuban. After obtaining a charter, the Head Ataman Zachar Chepiga sent a Black Sea detachment of 3847 men from Bug to Taman.
In the year of 1793, began the construction of the city of Ekaterinodar (later Krasnodar) as the administrative center of the Black Sea Cossack forces near the fortification.
The Climate Of Krasnodar
Geographically, the area is split by the Kuban River into two distinct parts. The northern two-thirds of Krasnodar region lies in Russia’s fertile Black Earth zone with continental climate patterns and is well known for its rich and diversified agricultural production.
Wikipedia: The Crimean Submediterranean forest complex is a temperate mixed forest ecoregion. It consists of two coastal enclaves on northern coast of the Black Sea.
The southern, seaward third is the western extremity of the Caucasus range, lying within the European-Mediterranean Montane Mixed Forests ecoregion. The climate in this part is Mediterranean or, in the south-east, subtropical.
The climate of the Krasnodar area is one major reason to it’s good reputation as a goal for tourism and health travels. During the last decade it has been a significant expansion of tourism and health resort industry funded by local entrepreneurs and foreign capital.
Krasnodar Related Links:
- Kuban State University
- Kavkazsky Biosphere Zapovednik
- Scythian And Sarmatian Treasures
- The Scythians - Virtual Museum
- Krasnodar Branch IRTC “Eye Microsurgery”
- Khazars - Biology Daily
- Sochi 2014 - Official Site Of XXII Olympic Winter Games
- GoToRussia Services Online
- Krasnodar EXPO - The Exhibition Center
