Krasnodar Krai

KC

KB

Oss

In

Ch

Krasnodar Krai

Adygea

Stavropol Krai

Rostov Oblast

Volgograd Oblast

Astrakhan Oblast

Kalmykia

Dage-
stan

Federal subjects in the Black Sea-Caspian area.
*Smaller areas along the north Caucasus are the republics: Karachay-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia-Alania, Ingushetia, and Chechnya
*Yellow is the Southern Federal District and below it is the North Caucasian Federal District (light grey)

Krasnodar Krai is located in the southwestern part of the North Caucasus and borders with Rostov Oblast in the northeast, Stavropol Krai and Karachay-Cherkessia in the east, and with the Abkhazia region (internationally recognized as part of Georgia) in the south.[14] The Republic of Adygea is completely encircled by the krai territory. The krai's Taman Peninsula is situated between the Sea of Azov in the north and the Black Sea in the south.[15] In the west, the Kerch Strait separates the krai from the contested Crimean Peninsula, internationally recognised as part of Ukraine but under de facto Russian control.[15] At its widest extent, the krai stretches for 327 kilometers (203 mi) from north to south and for 360 kilometers (220 mi) from east to west.[14]

The krai is split into two distinct parts by the Kuban River, which gave its name to this entire geographic region.[15] The southern, seaward part is the western extremity of the Caucasus range, lying within the Crimean Submediterranean forest complex ecoregion;[16] the climate is Mediterranean or, in the southeast, subtropical.[15] Historically it is known as Circassia. The northern part is a steppe zone which shares continental climate patterns.[15] It is also known as Kuban region.

The height of the mountains exceeds 3,000 meters (9,800 ft), with Mount Tsakhvoa being the highest at 3,346 meters (10,978 ft).[15] Mount Fisht, at 2,867 meters (9,406 ft), is the Great Caucasus' westernmost peak with a glacier.[15]

The Black Sea coast stretches from the Kerch Strait to Adler and is shielded by Caucasus Mountains from the cold northern winds.[15] Numerous small mountain rivers flow in the coastal areas, often creating picturesque waterfalls.[15]

Lake Abrau, located in the wine-making region of Abrau-Dyurso, is the largest lake in the northeastern Caucasus region.[15] Lake Ritsa is considered to be one of the most picturesque lakes in the region and "the diamond of Caucasus"; it is located in an intermountain basin at the height of 884 meters (2,900 ft) above sea level.[15]

• 
  A hilly landscape near Goryachy Klyuch
• 
  Mount Tsakhvoa is the highest peak in Krasnodar Krai
• 
  Pshadskiye Waterfalls
• 
  Lake Abrau
• 
  On a beach in Sochi
• 
  Apsheronsky District

The region's earliest known inhabitants are referred to, generically, as the Maiōtai (after the Greek name for the Sea of Azov). During the 6th century BC, Pontic Greeks founded the area's first cities, such as Phanagoria (near modern Sennoy) and Hermonassa (on the Taman Peninsula), who traded with nomadic tribes including the Skuthai (Scythians) and Sindi.

From the 8th to the 10th centuries, the area was dominated by the Khazars, a Turkic people who had earlier migrated from the east onto the Pontic-Caspian Steppe, where they reputedly converted to Judaism. After the defeat of the Khazar Khanate in 965 Kievan prince Svyatoslav conquered the area, it came under the rule of Kievan Rus', and it then formed the Tmutarakan principality. Later, due to the increasing claims of Byzantium at the end of the 11th century, the Tmutarakan principality came under the authority of the Byzantine emperors (until 1204).

In that period of history, the Circassians were first mentioned, under the ethnonym Kasogs. For example, Rededi Prince Kasozhsky was mentioned in The Tale of Igor's Campaign.

In 1243–1438 the current territory of the Kuban was part of the Golden Horde. After the collapse of the latter, parts of Kuban were held under the Crimean Khanate, Circassia, and the Ottoman Empire, which dominated the region. The Tsardom of Russia began to challenge the protectorate of the Ottoman Empire in the area during the Russian-Turkish wars.

Krasnodar Krai

In April 1783, after the liquidation of the Crimean Khanate, right-bank Kuban and Taman Peninsula were annexed to the Russian Empire by decree of Catherine II. In 1792–1794 Cossacks moved there from Zaporizhzhia, now located in Ukraine, and formed the Black Sea Area troops, with the creation of a solid cordon line for the Kuban River and the marginalization of the neighboring Circassians. The administrative region was accorded the status of "Land of Black Sea Cossack Army".

During the campaign for control of the North Caucasus (Caucasian war 1763–1864) Russia pushed away the Ottoman Empire from the region, followed by a genocide of the local population (Circassians) as well. For this see Russian conquest of the Western Caucasus.

In 1860, most of the occupied area of the territory of the modern Kuban-Krasnodar region was formed of, and controlled by, remnants of the Black Sea Cossack Host and the western part of the Caucasus Line Cossack Host, who were to become the Kuban Cossack Army.

In 1900, the region's population numbered around two million people. In 1913, the gross grain harvest Kuban region entered the 2nd place in Russia, for the production of marketable grain – in the 1st place. Krasnodar Krai was founded on 13 September 1937, when Azov-Black Sea Krai of the Russian SFSR was split up in Krasnodar Krai and Rostov Oblast. On 30 January 1996 Krasnodar Krai signed a power-sharing agreement with the federal government, granting it autonomy.[17] This agreement would be abolished on 12 April 2002.[18]

Krai Administration building in Krasnodar

During the Soviet period, the high authority in the krai was shared between three persons: The first secretary of the Krasnodar CPSU Committee (who in reality had the greatest authority), the chairman of the Krai Soviet (legislative power), and the chairman of the Krai Executive Committee (executive power). Since 1991, CPSU lost all the power, and the head of the krai administration, and eventually the governor was appointed/elected alongside elected regional parliament.

The Charter of Krasnodar Krai is the fundamental law of the region. The Legislative Assembly of Krasnodar Krai is the province's standing legislative (representative) body. The assembly exercises its authority by passing laws, resolutions, and other legal acts and by supervising the implementation and observance of the laws and other legal acts passed by it. The highest executive body is the krai government, which includes territorial executive bodies such as district administrations, committees, and commissions that facilitate development and run the day to day matters of the province. The krai administration supports the activities of the governor who is the highest official and acts as guarantor of the observance of the Krai Charter in accordance with the Constitution of Russia.

Krasnodar Krai is administratively divided into thirty-eight districts (raions) and fifteen cities of district equivalence. The districts and cities are further subdivided into eleven towns, plus urban-type settlements, and rural okrugs and stanitsa okrugs.

As a result of 2014 Winter Olympics, Krasnodar Krai has seen significant infrastructure spending.[19] Over $50 billion has been spend on various infrastructure projects including a bullet train.

Large companies in the region include Tander, Novorossmetal, Autonomous Heat Energy Company, Gazprom gas distribution Krasnodar, Evrokhim Chemical Fertilizers.[20]

Population: 5,404,300 (2014 est.);[21] 5,226,647 (2010 Census);[10] 5,125,221 (2002 Census);[22] 5,113,148 (1989 Census).[23]

On July 7, 2012, at least 171 people died in Krasnodar Krai, after torrential rains overnight caused the worst flooding and landslides in more than seventy years.[28][29] Over 280 millimeters (11 in) of rain – the typical amount for a four- or five-month period – was reported to have fallen within forty-eight hours.[30] A local police spokesman stated that most of the dead were in Krymsky District, where at least 159 died when a wave of water 5 meters (16 ft) high swept through the town of Krymsk in the middle of the night.[29][30] Ten more deaths occurred in Gelendzhik, including five electrocuted when a transformer fell into the floodwater, and two in Novorossiysk.[28][30] Authorities stated that 17 people had been officially reported missing, and there were fears the death toll would rise further, while medics had hospitalized 210 people, including 16 children.

The regional government claimed that over 24,000 people were affected by the floods, with more than 3,000 evacuated, and that more than 10,000 rescuers and 140 helicopters were searching for victims and evacuating survivors.[28][30] In Krymsk, 14 temporary shelters were set up to house around 2,000 evacuees. The transport system in the region was said to have collapsed, while oil shipments from Novorossiysk were halted when the port, located in the lower part of the city, was threatened by landslides.[28][30][31] Russia's President Vladimir Putin flew to the area to hold emergency talks with officials in Krymsk, while authorities in Perm Krai dispatched a rescue team to evacuate dozens of children from the region, who had been staying at summer camps on the Black Sea coast.[28][31]

Residents of Krymsk claimed the wave of water that hit the town resulted from the sluice gates of a nearby reservoir being opened, although this was denied by the prosecutor general's investigative committee. Local prosecutors had earlier confirmed that the gates were opened, but stated that it was too early to determine whether this was the cause of the flooding.[29]

• Music in Krasnodar Krai

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Krasnodar Krai.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Krasnodar Krai.

• Official website of Krasnodar Krai (in Russian)