Krasnodar is a city located in South of Russia, the capital of Krasnodar Kray. It is also known as the southern capital of Russia. The city stands on the right bank of the Kuban River, about 120-150 km from the Black and Azov Seas, 1,340 km South of Moscow. The population of Krasnodar is about 829,700 (2015), the area – 339 sq. km.

The town was founded in the year of 1794, and was named Yekaterinodar meaning “Catherine’s Gift” (the Russian Empress Catherine the Great gave the Kuban region lands to the Cossacks). From 1794 to 1920, the town was called Yekaterinodar (Ekaterinodar). Yekaterinodar became an important center of the Kuban Cossacks in the first half of the 19th century. It received town status in 1867. The town became a major trade and transport center of the North-Caucasian region after the construction of the railway Tikhoretsk – Yekaterinodar – Novorossiysk in 1870-1880s. The population of the town was about 45,000 in 1888.

Krasnodar is a large economic and cultural center of the North Caucasus and Southern Federal Districts. Today, it is one of the few Russian cities in which the population is growing. Krasnodar celebrates the City Day on the last Saturday of September.

The city is located in the temperate climate zone. The average temperature in January is plus 0.6 degrees Celsius, in July – plus 24.1 degrees Celsius.

Krasnodar is a major industrial center in Southern Russia. The main directions of industrial activity: instrumentation and metalworking, production of construction materials, sewing and knitting, furniture, tobacco products, food and agricultural products.

Krasnodar has an international airport “Pashkovsky”, located in the eastern part of the city. The airport offers flights to Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Tyumen, Belgorod, Samara, Sochi, Vienna (Austria), Istanbul (Turkey), and a number of other cities.

In Krasnodar, there is a unique architectural monument – an open-worked hyperboloid construction made of steel – a water tower built by the design of the scientist and engineer Vladimir Grigoryevich Shukhov in 1928. The construction is located near the circus building at the crossroads of V.Golovaty and Rashpilevskaya streets. Besides, the following monuments of Krasnodar are of federal importance: the building of Krasnodar Philharmonic Society; M.S.Kuznetsov’s house (1888-1900), where a conservatory is located The monument “Zaporizhzhia Cossacks Writing a Letter to the Turkish Sultan” was opened in the city in 2008. It is located at the crossroads of Krasnaya and Gorky streets. In 2009, at the intersection of Krasnaya and Babushkina streets, near the reconstructed fountain, Alexander Triumphal Arch was opened. Originally it was erected in honor of the visit of Emperor Alexander III.