VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
The city was founded in 1793 by Cossacks on the bank of the Kuban River. Initially, there was a military camp on this site, which soon developed into a fortress. In 1867, Yekaterinodar was given city status. Yekaterinodar means a "gift from Catherine": it was thus named in honour of Empress Catherine the Great who gave this land in Kuban to Cossacks as a gift. After the construction of a railway in the 1880s the city began to evolve into the region's economic centre. In 1920, it was renamed Krasnodar.
The city covers an area of 840,000 sq km and has a population of 836,000.
Due to its favourable economic and geographical location the city is a major transport hub in the south of Russia. Railways cross it in four directions, as well as two federal motorways; it also has an airport and a river cargo port. The airport handles flights to 32 cities in Russia, five CIS country capitals and other non-CIS countries.
Today Krasnodar is a major industrial centre in the south of Russia. Some 120,500 people, or 30% of the working population, are engaged in manufacturing. The main sectors include instrument engineering and metal working, production of construction materials, garments, knitwear, furniture, tobacco, foodstuffs and agricultural commodities.
Agribusiness is represented by 22 big agricultural enterprises and more than 1,200 farms. Farmland covers an area of about 50,000 hectares.
Krasnodar is Russia's major cultural centre. It has the Krasnodar State Academic Drama Theatre, the Krasnodar Regional Puppet Theater, the Krasnodar State Circus, the Kovalenko Krasnodar Regional Museum of Art, the Felitsin Krasnodar State History and Archaeology Preserve, the Krasnodar Regional Philharmonic Society, numerous parks and public gardens, the Botanic Garden and a water park.
The number of educational institutions in the city tops 100, including 29 public and private institutes of higher education where 230 doctors of science and professors, and 1,300 candidates of science (equivalent to a PhD) teach over 70,000 students. The major higher educational institutions are Kuban State University, Kuban State Agricultural University, the University of Culture and Arts and the Kuban State Medical Academy.
The city has launched a municipal healthcare improvement programme. By some indicators, healthcare in Krasnodar is unrivalled in Russia. There is a Chest Surgery Centre there and a network of centres based on the Krasnodar municipal patient-care and diagnostic association where outpatients can undergo special treatment.
Krasnodar is among Russian cities which have general city development plans until 2025. Work on the ambitious project to renovate the central part of the city is underway.
