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The general data about region
Geographical Location
The region is located in the south-west part of the Northern Caucasus, and the 45-th parallel splits it up in
approximately two equal parts. In the northeast, the region borders on the Rostov Oblast, on the east —
with the Stavropol Region, in the south — on Georgia. In the northwest and southwest the territory is
washed by the Azov and the Black Seas. The general extent of borders of edge — 1 540 km, overland —
800 km and 740 km — on the sea.
The greatest extent of edge from the North on the South — 327 km and from the West on the East — 360
km.
Krasnodar Region occupies an area of 76,000 square kilometers and is the southernmost region of
Russia. In the region, there live over five million people, about 53 % — in the cities and 47 % — in the
rural area inclusive. Average population density — 66,6 persons on 1 square kilometre.
The territory itself has been formed from a part of the territories, which before the revolution were
occupied by the Kuban Oblast and Chernomorskaya Province. The two administrative units have been
united into the Kubansko-Chernomorskaya Oblast, which in 1920 covered a territory of 105.5 thousand
square kilometers. In 1924 the North-Caucasian Region was established with a center in Rostov-on-Don,
in 1934 it was divided into Azovo-Chernomorsky (the center — Rostov-on-Don) and the North-Caucasian
(the center — Stavropol) Regions.
On September 13, 1937 the Azovo-Chernomorsky Region was divided into Rostov Oblast and the
Krasnodar Region, including the Adygeyan Autonomous Oblast. In 1991 the Adygeyan Autonomous
Oblast abandoned the region’s structure and was reorganized into the Adygeyan Republic.
The Natural Conditions and Climate
The territory is divided into two extremely different parts: the northern plain and the southern mountainous
ones. The plain zone — the Prikubanskaya lowland — covers two third of the territory and is the most
developed part in terms of economics. The southern zone is formed by the systems of ridges of the
Western Caucasus, a stripe of foothills, adjacent to it and a narrow line of the Black Sea coast.
Being situated at the border of moderate and subtropical latitudes, at the junction of plains and
mountains, the region differs with a variety and inconstancy of weather conditions. The climate of the
most part of the territory is a moderate-continental one, at the Black Sea cost (south of Tuapse) — a
subtropical one. The average temperature in January on the plain is minus 3-5 degrees Celsius, in July —
plus 22-24 degrees Celsius.
The annual amount of the precipitation varies from 350 mm on Tamansky Peninsula, 500 mm on the right
coast of Kuban up to 2,500 mm and above on the south-western slopes of the Caucasian Ridge.
There are over 500 rivers in the region, and its main water artery — Kuban — is one of the main rivers of
the North Caucasus. In order to control the drainage and expansion of the rice systems there had been
constructed Kryukovskoye reservoir, Varnavinskoye reservoir, and Krasnodarskoye reservoir — the
largest one in the South of Russia.
Soils
Almost the whole Prikubanskaya lowland lies in the zone of steppes. The main part of its soil cover is
composed of the Predkavkazsky carbonate and leached black soils. The Taman Peninsula is comprised
of the chestnut soils, Western-Predkavkazsky and marshy soils. The total land area of the Krasnodar
Region makes up 7.5 million hectares, out of which the arable lands — 3.9 million hectares. It is its main
arable fund, known for its high fertility. Rather narrow strip in a left bank of Kuban, the Prikubansky
inclined plain and a part of foothills are suitable for gardening and cultivation yellow tobacco.
Minerals
The bowls of Kuban contain over 60 kinds of minerals. In general, they lie in the foothills and the
mountainous areas. There are deposits of oil, natural gas, marl, iodide-bromine water, marble, limestone,
sandstone, gravel, quartz sand, ferrous and apatite ores, rock salt.
Krasnodar territory — the oldest oil-extracting area of Russia. The oil recovery is begun since 1864.
There is the largest in Europe Azovo-Kubansky basin of fresh underground waters, having significant
reserves of thermal and mineral water, located at the territory of the region.
Among the riches of Kuban, forest takes the most importance place, since it has a huge nature
preservation significance and is the main source of valuable kinds of wood of Russia. The total area of
woods of the Krasnodar Region makes up over 1,800 thousand hectares. The oak and beech woods,
having an industrial value, occupy, accordingly, 49 and 19 % of the area of all forests available here.
Economical Potential
The basis of the industrial structure of the Krasnodar Region is made of the industrial, construction, fuel
and energy complexes, the area of the information and communication technologies, as well as the
agroindustrial, transport, resort-recreational and tourist complexes. The last three directions of activity
(agroindustrial, transport, sanatorium-resort, and tourist complexes) correspond to the priorities of social
and economic development of Russia and determine a special status of the Krasnodar Region in the
country’s economics.
A dynamic development of the agroindustrial complex (hereinafter: AIC) of the Krasnodar Region
provides a food security of the country:
The region possesses the richest resources of the agricultural lands, including the black soils, the
area of which makes up 4,805,000 hectares (that is over 4 per cent of the Russian and about 2 per cent
of the world reserves);
The region holds the first place among the entities of the Russian Federation by the volume of
production of grain, sugar beet, fruit and berries, the second place — in production of sunflower seeds
and honey;
The region holds the second place among the entities of the Russian Federation in production of
eggs, meat of cattle, and poultry (in live weight), and the third place in production of milk.
The transport complex provides implementation of the foreign policy and economic interests of Russia in
the zone of the Black Sea and Mediterranean economic cooperation, making a significant input in the
increase of "coherency" of the country’s territory.
The seaports of the region provide a direct access through the Azov and the Black Seas to the
international foreign-trade routes and process over 35 per cent of the foreign-trade Russian and transit
cargoes of the seaports of Russia, that of about one-third oil exported by Russian.
Over the territory of the region, pass the most important railroad routes of federal significance, which are
oriented toward the international seaports of the region and the resorts of the Black and Azov Seas.
The pipeline transport is represented by the international oil pipeline of Tengiz — Novorossiysk and gas
pipeline of Russia — Turkey (The Blue Stream). The air transportation of the Krasnodar Region is
represented by the four airports, two of which are the international ones (Krasnodar, Sochi).
The unique for Russia natural and climatic conditions of the region, availability of the leading medical
establishments and technologies, historical places of interest create a potential for development of a
highly effective, competitive tourist and recreational complex of an international level, building a positive
image of the country at the international arena and providing the growing needs of the population in the
services connected with rest, treatment and tourism:
The climate in the region is one of the most favorable in Russia for residing and working of a
man. The Krasnodar Region is the warmest region of Russia, where the average time duration, when,
during the daylight one can enjoy a sunny weather, makes up to 2,300 hours a year;
Owing to a combination of favorable climatic conditions and availability of the therapeutic muds
the Krasnodar Region is the most popular resort and a tourist region of Russia and, in fact, the only
place in Russia being a balneological and a resort-recreational center;
In the maximum expansion the daily capacity of resorts of edge reaches 450-480 thousand
places;
The potential of the sanatorium and resort complex of the region is being implemented due to
creation at its territory of a special economic zone of a tourist and recreational type.
The leading sectors in attracting the investments are transport and communication, agroindustrial,
sanatorium and resort complexes, determining the priorities of the regional economics.
The rating of the Krasnodar Region in the world business community is rather high: the Standard & Poor's
agency had granted the region with an international investment rating of the "BB" class (a "positive"
prognosis). Moreover, the region enters the top seven Russian regions with the lowest investment risks
and holds the second place in the rating of Russian regions classified by a legislative activity in the
sphere of investments.
The region is holding the 10th place in the country by a number of specialists, issued by the institutions of
higher education, and the 4th place by a number of specialists, issued by the institutions of secondary
education.
Thus, the region has a powerful potential of a preceding development, determining the possibilities of
growth of its input into implementation of tasks of the government of the Russian Federation.
Education
A particular place in the sphere of education, science, and culture of the region belongs to the institutions
of higher education — the major educational and scientific institutions, providing a preparation of
specialists, practically in all branches of knowledge. There are 12 state institutions of higher education
operating in the region. These are the state Agrarian and Technological universities, the universities of
culture and arts, the Medical Academy, the Academy of Physical Education and Sports, the Armavir’s
Pedagogical Institute, the Novorossiysk’s Marine Academy, the Sochi’s Institute of Resort Business and
others. Besides, the leading universities of the country such as the Russian Academy of Economy named
after Plekhanov (in Krasnodar City), the Moscow State University of Commerce (in Krasnodar City), the
Russian University of the People’s Friendship (in Sochi City) have opened their affiliates in the Kuban.
From the Kuban History
Kuban begins from a field — a free and a boundless one. From the Don’s steppes to the ridges of the
Caucasus, like a bowl slightly tilted toward the moist winds of the Black Sea, there lie the spaces of a
grain land.
From the dawn of time the wide grain fields, stretching along the fast and willful river, which has given its
name to this region, were attracting the people here. The Kuban land has heard the clatter oh hooves of
the Samaratians’ and Polovtsians’ cavalries, the ringing of gold coins in the leather belts of the Greek
colonists and Genoa’s merchants, a mighty step of the Russian armed forces of Tmutarakan, wild feasts
of the Tartar hordes and the Ottoman Turks.
Being tormented by different colonizers, for many years the bloody and unequal struggle was undertaken
by the natives of Kuban — the Adygeyan tribes. The foreign invaders, especially the Tartars and Turks
robbed the land, ravaged the Adygeyanauls (villages), captured, and traded the rebellious highlanders,
taking the Cherkessian women to all oriental harems. Exhausted by robberies and violence, the Adygs, or
as they were called then, the Cherkessians, sought protection and help from their powerful northern
brother — the Russian people.
In 1552 the Cherkessian ambassadors came to Moscow to Ivan IV with a request of annexing Adygea to
Russia. Upon receiving the Adygs under its jurisdiction, Russia helped evict the Turks from Priazovye.
The Cherkessian prince Temryuk married off his daughter to Ivan Grozny, and established his "capital"
town of Temryuk in the place of the Tartar-Turkish fortress of Tumnev. However, as soon as the dust
behind the Russian regiments, leaving Kuban, settled down, the Tartars and Turks came back and,
having pushed away the lands of Cherkessians further east, destroyed the town of Temryuk, and erected
there the fortress of Adis, from which their hordes were making the devastating raids to the territory of the
Russian state. In 1720 the Russian army returned to Kuban, in order to punish the "infidels" in an
exemplary way and to disincline them to plunder on the Russian lands. However, the separate, even
successful operations were not able to put the axe in the helve. A long war with Turkey was begun.
A regular occupation of Kuban with the Russian subjects began after two Russia-Turkish wars of the 18th
century. In 1778 commander of the Caucasian corps А.V. Suvorov, upon arrival to Kuban, started to
strengthen the southern borders of the state.
On June 30, 1792 Ekaterina II bestowed the Black Sea Army (ex-Zaporozhian) upon the lands of the
Taman peninsula and the surroundings with a purpose of protecting the new southern borders of Russia,
for their glorious fight against the Turks. The first detachment of the combatant Cossacks, headed by S.
Bely, arrived here by the sea and on August 25,1792 landed in Taman. Dozens of years later — upon the
abolishment of the serfdom — thousands of peasants from the central provinces moved to Kuban...