Krasnodar

Infobox Russian city
EnglishName=Krasnodar
RussianName=Краснодар
Skyline
SkylineLegend
LatDeg=45
LatMin=02
LatSec
LonDeg=38
LonMin=58
LonSec
LocatorMap
LocatorMapLegend


Flag
CityDay=Last non-working day of September
FederalSubject=Krasnodar Krai
MunStatus=Urban okrug
InJurisdictionOf=Krasnodar Krai
AdmCtrOf=Krasnodar Krai
SelfGovAsOf=December 2007
LeaderType=Head
LeaderName=Vladimir Yevlanov
Legislature=City Duma
Charter=Charter of Krasnodar
Area_km2=841.36
Population=646175
PopulationRank=18th
FoundationDate=January 12, 1794
Event1=Town status
Event1Date=1867
Event2=Renamed "Krasnodar"
Event2Date=1920
PostalCode=350000..350090
DialingCode=861
Website=http://www.krd.ru/

Krasnodar ( _ru. Краснода́р) is a city in Southern Russia on the Kuban River. It is the administrative center of Krasnodar Krai (also known as "Kuban").

Name

It was founded on January 12, 1794 (Gregorian calendar) as Yekaterinodar ( _ru. Екатеринода́р). The original name meant "Catherine's Gift" simultaneously in recognition of Catherine the Great's grant of land in the Kuban region to the Black Sea Cossacks (later the Kuban Cossacks) and 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

The origin of the city starts with a fortress built by 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. 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.

Famous Russian soprano Anna Netrebko, cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, counterrevolutionary Andrei Shkuro and rhythmic gymnast Inna Zhukova were born in Krasnodar.

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 Czar patronage of Black Sea Cossacks), a bulava 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.

Architecture

The unique architectural steel lattice hyperboloid tower built by the Great Russian engineer and scientist Vladimir Grigorievich Shukhov in 1928—is located near Krasnodars Circus.

Travel information

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

The major tourist 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.

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.

ister cities

Krasnodar has four sister cities, as designated by [http://www.sister-cities.org/icrc/directory/NIS/Russia Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI)] :
*flagicon|USA Tallahassee, Florida, United States
*flagicon|Germany Karlsruhe, Germany
*flagicon|Bulgaria Burgas, Bulgaria
*flagicon|China Harbin, China
*flagicon|Italy Ferrara, Italy

Famous people

*Anna Netrebko (b. 1971), opera singer
*Alexander Tamanian (1878–1936), Armenian neoclassical architect
*Gennady Padalka (b. 1958), cosmonaut
*Alexandre Bondar (b. 1972), writer and novelist
*Sergei Tiviakov (b. 1973), chess Grandmaster
*Eduard Kokcharov (b. 1975), handball player
*Natalia Chernova (b. 1976), gymnast
*Lazaros Papadopoulos (b. 1980), Greek basketball player

External links

* [http://www.krd.ru/ Official website of Krasnodar City Administration and City Duma]
* [http://www.russiakrasnodar.com/ Krasnodar photographs]
* [http://www.timothypost.com/ Inside Krasnodar blog]