Krasnodar

Krasnodar (Russian: Краснода́р) is a city in Southern Russia on the Kuban River, around 148 kilometers (92 mi) northeast of the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk.

Krasnodar (English)
Краснодар (Russian)
-  City  -
Краснодар.png
Top: View of Rosneft Building and Kubanonaberezhnaya Street,
Middle upper left: Krasnodar Splash Fountain,
Middle lower left: Krasnodar Railway-1 Station,
Middle right: Catherine the Great Monument,
Bottom: Krasnodar Theater Square
Missing map.svg
Coat of Arms of Krasnodar (Krasnodar krai).png
Flag of Krasnodar (Krasnodar krai) (2006).png
Coat of arms
Flag
City DayLast non-working day of September
Administrative status
CountryRussia
Federal subjectKrasnodar Krai[1]
Administratively subordinated toCity of Krasnodar
Municipal status
Urban okrugKrasnodar Urban Okrug
Head[3]Evgeny Pervyshov[2]
Representative bodyCity Duma[3]
Statistics
Population (2010 Census,
preliminary)
744,995 inhabitants[4]
Rank in 201017th
Population (2018 est.)1,000,007 inhabitants[5]
Time zoneMSK (UTC+04:00)
FoundedJanuary 12, 1794
City status since1867
Postal code(s)
Dialing code(s)+7 861
Official website
Krasnodar population
2010 Census744,995[4]
2002 Census646,175[6]
1989 Census620,516[7]
1979 Census560,438[8]
A 19th century photo depicting Kuban Cossacks obelisk in Yekaterinodar.
A tram in Krasnodar.

It is the administrative center of Krasnodar Krai (also known as Kuban). It had a population of 744,900 in 2010, 646,175 in 2002 and 620,516 in 1989.

Name

The city was founded on January 12, 1794 (Gregorian calendar) as Yekaterinodar (Екатеринода́р). The original name meant "Catherine's Gift", both in recognition of Catherine the Great's grant of land in the Kuban region to the Black Sea Cossacks (later the Kuban Cossacks), and also in recognition of Saint Catherine, the Martyr, who is considered to be the patron of the city. After the October Revolution, Yekaterinodar was renamed Krasnodar (December 1920). There are two potential meanings for the new name of the city: Krasno- (Красно-), meaning either 'beautiful' (an older root) or 'red' (especially relevant considering the political atmosphere of the time); and -dar (-дар), meaning 'gift'. Thus, the city's name means either beautiful gift or red gift (i.e. 'gift of the reds')..

History

 
Yekaterinodar in the early 20th century

The origin of the city starts with a fortress built by the Cossacks in order to defend imperial borders and claim Russian ownership over Circassia, which was contested by Ottoman Turkey. In the first half of the 19th century Yekaterinodar grew into a busy center of the Kuban Cossacks. It was granted town status in 1867. By 1888 about 45,000 people lived in the city and it became a vital trade center of southern Russia. In 1897, an obelisk commemorating 200 year old history of Kuban Cossack Host was built in Yekaterinodar.

During the Russian Civil War the city changed hands several times between the Red Army and Volunteer Army, many Kuban Cossacks were committed anti-Bolsheviks who supported the White Movement.

During the Great Patriotic War (World War II), Krasnodar was occupied by the German Army between August 12, 1942 and February 12, 1943. The city sustained heavy damage in the fighting but was rebuilt and renovated after the war.

In the summer of 1943, the Soviets began trials, including of their own citizens, for collusion with the Nazis and participation in war crimes. The first such trial was held at Krasnodar on July 14–17, 1943. This was the first public trial of the mass murder of Jews during the Holocaust. The Krasnodar tribunal pronounced eight death sentences, which were summarily conducted in the city square in front of a crowd of about thirty thousand people.

Famous Russian soprano Anna Netrebko, soprano Evgenia Kononova, cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, counterrevolutionary Andrei Shkuro and rhythmic gymnast Inna Zhukova were born in Krasnodar. Another notable native of Krasnodar is Greece basketball international Lazaros Papadopoulos, who emigrated to Greece with his Pontic Greek parents when he was 10 years old.

 
Krasnaya Street

Main sights

Krasnodar is home to the steel lattice hyperboloid tower built by the Russian engineer and scientist Vladimir Grigorievich Shukhov in 1928; it is near Krasnodar Circus.

Other attractions include St. Catherine's Cathedral, the State Arts Museum, a park and theatre named after Maxim Gorky, the beautiful concert hall of the Krasnodar Philharmonic Society, which is considered to have some of the best acoustics in southern Russia, State Cossack Choir and the Krasnodar circus

The most interesting place of Krasnodar is Krasnaya Street (which translates as "Red, Beautiful Street"). There are many sights there. In the beginning of this street one can see the Central Concert Hall; at the other end one can see the Avrora cinemacenter. A "Triumphal Arch" is in the middle of Krasnaya Street.

Transportation

 
Krasnodar and vicinities, Sentinel-2 satellite image, 2018-09-18

The main airline is Kuban Airlines (at Krasnodar International Airport), and the largest hotels in the city include the Intourist, Hotel Moskva, and Hotel Platan. Krasnodar uses a 220 V/50 Hz power supply with two round-pin outlets, like most European countries.

Public transportation within Krasnodar consists of city buses, trolleybuses, trams, and marshrutkas. Trolleybuses and trams, both powered by overhead electric wires, are the main form of transportation in Krasnodar. Unlike Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Krasnodar does not have a metro system.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of Yekaterinodar was introduced in 1841 by the Cossack yesaul Ivan Chernik. The royal letter "E" in the middle is for Ekaterina II (Russian for Catherine II). It also depicts the date city was founded, the Imperial double headed eagle (symbolizing Tsar's patronage of Black Sea Cossacks), a bulawa of a Cossack ataman, Yekaterinodar fortress, and flags with letters "E", "P", "A", and "N" standing for Catherine II, Paul I, Alexander I and Nicholas I. Yellow stars around the shield symbolized 59 Black Sea stanitsas around the city.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Krasnodar has five sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):

Famous people

Krasnodar Media

References

  1. Charter of Krasnodar Krai, Article 13
  2. Official website of Krasnodar. Evgeny Alekseevich Pervyshov Archived 2012-09-23 at the Wayback Machine, Head of the Municipal Formation of the City of Krasnodar (in Russian)
  3. 3.0 3.1 Charter of Krasnodar, Article 23
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года. Том 1[[Category:Articles containing Russian language text]]". Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года (2010 All-Russia Population Census) (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service. 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); no-break space character in |accessdate= at position 9 (help); Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help); URL–wikilink conflict (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  5. Краснодар официально признан городом-миллионником
  6. "Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек[[Category:Articles containing Russian language text]]". Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года (All-Russia Population Census of 2002) (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service. May 21, 2004. Retrieved February 9, 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); no-break space character in |accessdate= at position 9 (help); Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help); URL–wikilink conflict (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  7. Demoscope Weekly (1989). "Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность наличного населения союзных и автономных республик, автономных областей и округов, краёв, областей, районов, городских поселений и сёл-райцентров.[[Category:Articles containing Russian language text]]". Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года (All-Union Population Census of 1989) (in Russian). Institute of Demographics of the State University—Higher School of Economics. Retrieved February 9, 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); no-break space character in |accessdate= at position 9 (help); Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help); URL–wikilink conflict (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  8. 1979Census

Other websites