KRASNODAR TERRITORY

administrative division (1995 pop. 5,004,200), 32,317 sq mi (83,701 sq km), SE European Russia, extending E from the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea into the Kuban steppe and straddling the northwestern end of the Greater Caucasus. Krasnodar is the capital. The territory includes the Adygey Republic. The main agricultural section is in the Kuban steppe and along the lower Kuban River. Most of the area has high quality black soil. The territory is one of Russia's principal tobacco-growing regions. The subtropical Black Sea littoral produces fruit, tea, and wine and is dotted with health resorts, of which Sochi is the best known. There are petroleum, gas, machinery, cement, and lumber industries. Krasnodar, Maykop, and Armavir are the chief industrial centers; Tuapse is the main port. More than 90% of the population is Russian and Ukrainian; their dialect is a mixture of the two languages. The rest of the population is Adygey or Circassian. The area N of the Kuban belonged to the Crimean Khanate and was annexed by Russia in 1783. The Kuban Cossacks, who settled there, gradually displaced the native nomadic Nogay Tatars. The Black Sea littoral was ceded to Russia by Turkey in the Treaty of Adrianople (1829). The remainder, known as Circassia, was annexed in 1864. Krasnodar Territory was formed in 1937.

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