KRASNODAR KRAI

'Krasnodar Krai' (, ''Krasnodarsky kray'') is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the Southern Federal District.

Contents

Geography

Time zone

Administrative divisions

Demographics

See also

External links

Geography

Krasnodar Krai encompasses the western part of the Forecaucasus and a part of the northern slopes of Caucasus Major. Krasnodar Krai borders, clockwise from the west, Ukraine—from which it is separated by the Strait of Kerch and the Sea of Azov—Russia's Rostov Oblast, Stavropol Krai, and the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, and Georgia's breakaway republic of Abkhazia. The krai territory encompasses the Republic of Adygea. Krasnodar Krai's southern border is formed by what is left of Russia's Black Sea coast, with the most important port (Novorossiysk) and resort (Sochi) in this part of the country.
Geographically, the area is split by the Kuban River into two distinct parts. The southern, seaward third (historically known as Circassia) is the western extremity of the Caucasus range, lying within the Crimean Submediterranean forest complex ecoregion; the climate is Mediterranean or, in the south-east, subtropical. The northern two-thirds lies on the Pontic Steppe and shares continental climate patterns. The largest lake is Abrau in the wine-making region of Abrau-Dyurso.

Time zone

Krasnodar Krai is located in the Moscow Time Zone (MSK/MSD). UTC offset is +0300 (MSK)/+0400 (MSD).

Administrative divisions

Main articles: Administrative divisions of Krasnodar Krai

Demographics

''Population'': 5,125,221 (2002 Census); 5,113,148 (1989 Census). The population of Krasnodar Krai is concentrated in the Kuban River drainage basin, which used to be traditional Cossack land (see'' History of Cossacks''). The Kuban Cossacks are now generally considered to be ethnic Russians, even though they are still an important minority in their own right in this area. Other notable ethnic groups include the Armenians (''mostly Christian Hamsheni'') who have been settling here since at least the 18th century.
''Ethnic groups'': The 2002 Census counted thirty-three ethnic groups of more than two thousand persons each, making this federal subject one of the most multicultural in Russia. The inhabitants identified themselves as belonging to more than 140 different ethnic groups, as shown in the following table:

Population	Ethnicity	Percentage of total population
4,418,715	Russians	86.2%
274,566	Armenians	5.36%
131,774	Ukrainians	2.57%
26,540	Greeks	0.52%
26,260	Belarusians	0.51%
25,575	Tatars	0.50%
20,225	Georgians	0.40%
18,469	Germans	0.36%
17,542	Cossacks	0.34%
15,821	Adyghe	0.31%
13,496	Turks	0.26%
11,944	Azeris	0.23%
10,873	Roma	0.21%
6,537	Moldovans	0.13%
5,022	Kurds	0.10%
4,835	Mordovians	0.10%
4,446	Cherkes	0.09%
4,441	Ezids	0.09%
4,141	Chuvash	0.08%
4,133	Ossetians	0.08%
3,764	Assyrians	0.07%
3,752	Lezgins	0.07%
3,425	Udmurts	0.07%
3,289	Koreans	0.06%
3,213	Shapsugs	0.06%
3,138	Bulgarians	0.06%
2,958	Poles	0.06%
2,945	Jews	0.06%
2,857	Chechens	0.06%
2,723	Mari	0.05%
2,609	Crimean Tatars	0.05%
2,210	Uzbeks	0.04%
2,061	Bashkirs	0.04%

A further 0.26% of the inhabitants declined to state their nationality on the census questionnaire.^[1]

See also

★ Music of Krasnodar

★ Governors of Krasnodar Krai

External links

★ News and events of Krasnodar Krai

★ Krasnodar Photographs

★ Inside Krasnodar Blog