Krasnodar is one of the largest cities in southern Russia. Its history started as a military camp in 1793, where Cossacks established themselves to protect Russia’s territorial borders and as a defense against Turkish claims to the territory of Cherkessia. The city was named Yekaterinodar, and it grew as the center of the Kuban Cossacks in the region. 

Ekaterinodar formally became a city in 1867, and it had grown to 45,000 inhabitants by 1888. The population grew steadily throughout the 20th century, with the city changing hands several times during the Russian Civil War. Yekaterinodar changed its name to Krasnodar in 1920, and the population reached 200,000 before World War II, when Krasnodar was occupied by German troops in 1942-1943. During the war, parts of the city were destroyed, and a reconstruction was started after 1945.

Today, Krasnodar is a modern metropolis in a pleasant climate and with several interesting sights. The street ulitsa Krasnaya/улица Красная forms the central axis running in the north-south direction through Krasnodar. And on a trip to the city, you can take a stroll along the street starting from the square Skver Zhukov/Сквер им. Г.К. Жукова in the southern part. The square is named after Marshal Georgy Zhukov, who led the Red Army to victory over Germany in the Battle of Berlin in 1945. On the square you can see a monument to Zhukov in the green area, and to the west is the regional administration building, which was listed as Dom Sovetov in Soviet times.

If you go south from Skver Zhukov, you come to a fine ensemble around the end of the street, which is laid out as a pedestrian area. You first encounter the beautiful old corner building that houses the Krasnodar Regional Art Museum/Краснодарский краевой художественный музей, and opposite the museum is the Krasnodar Scientific Library in a modern building and an old house where there is a statue of Alexander Pushkin On the opposite side of the street seen from Pushkin is Tsentralniy Kontsertniy Zal/Центральный Концертный Зал, which is Krasnodar’s largest concert hall.

If you cross the street to the south, you will come to the seat of Krasnodar’s parliament, Zakonodatelnoye Sobraniye Krasnodarskogo kray/Законодательное Собрание Краснодского край. In the green area opposite the parliament, there is a statue of Empress Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great. Catherine II was the empress who won Krasnodar and other large territories for Russia. South of this is Aleksander Nevsky Cathedral/Александро-Невский собор as the southern view point on ulitsa Krasnaya. The church was originally built in 1853-1872, destroyed in 1932 and rebuilt in 2003-2006.

The newer part of Krasnodar’s center is located in the area north of Skver Shukova. One can follow ulitsa Krasnaya to Teatralnaya Ploshad/Театральная площадь, which has a beautiful pavement and a large fountain. In the square, you can visit Krasnodar’s Drama Theater/Театр Драмы and see an obelisk commemorating the region’s historic Cossack army, and if you walk one street to the west, you can see Krasnodar’s Great Market Hall and the city’s circus building. From Teatralnaya Ploshad, ulitsa Krasnaya becomes a wide avenue to the north. Here you can walk through the city to a large installation with dancing fountains and the statue and cinema building Aurora/Аврора. The cinema was built in modern architecture 1963-1967 and stands as a style monument for its time.

You can also choose to go east from Skver Zhukov along ulitsa Lenina/улица Ленина. In that direction, you can visit the impressive Svyato-Ekaterininsky Kafedralnyj Sobor/Свято-Екатерининский Кафедральный Собор, which is a cathedral from the beginning of the 20th century. In 1888, the Tsar’s family survived a train accident in which 21 people lost their lives. The following year, the tsar visited what was then Ekaterinodar, where it was decided to build the large church as a memorial to the tsar’s survival. The church was realized in the years 1900-1914 as one of the country’s great cathedrals with a beautiful interior. If you continue east, you will come to a Lenin monument and the city’s railway station, which was built in Stalinist architecture.

Further east on the outskirts of Krasnodar is the modern area called Park Krasnodar/Парк Краснодар. The park opened in 2017 with plantings of many different trees, installations and buildings. The park is an inlet and divided into many zones such as flower areas, playgrounds and an amphitheater. One can also visit a beautiful Japanese garden as one of the facilities, and one can also enjoy water art, music art, fountains, avenues and much more on a tour around Park Krasnodar. The dominant structure is the Krasnodar Stadium, which was opened in 2016 and is home to the city’s football team.