Krasnodar

Krasnodar, Russia

The Gorky Drama Theatre on Theatre Square in Krasnodar glows amber at sunset, framed by a bench and a lime tree in the foreground.

Krasnodar is a lively southern Russian city of theatres, Cossack history and park walks, and a sensible base before the Black Sea coast.

The place

Krasnodar sits beside the Kuban River in southern Russia, about 25 metres above sea level, and is the capital of Krasnodar Krai. Around 1.15 million people live in the city, which makes it a working regional capital rather than a preserved old town. The land is flat and fertile, so the streets run long and straight, shaded by tall trees that matter a great deal once summer arrives. Krasnaya Street, the main thoroughfare, is where city life gathers: cafés, benches, street musicians in good weather and families out in numbers at weekends. Much of the centre was rebuilt after the Second World War, so nineteenth-century façades stand among Soviet blocks and glassy new towers. The mix feels lived in rather than curated. Trade and farming built the city, and the money still shows in new parks, a football stadium that has become a local landmark, and a steady flow of students and office workers. Krasnodar is also a practical base. The Black Sea resorts, including Anapa and Sochi, are a long bus ride away, and the port of Novorossiysk can be reached by train or road. Most visitors treat the city as a stopover on the way to the coast, which undersells it. A couple of days suit anyone who likes walking, galleries, theatre and long café afternoons. Expect few world-famous monuments and plenty of everyday southern Russian life. Summers are hot, winters are damp and grey, and the pleasant weather comes in between.

Its story

Krasnodar began in 1793 as a military camp and then a fortress, planted on the Kuban by the Black Sea Cossacks to guard the empire's frontier and press Russian claims over lands that the Ottomans also wanted. For more than a century it was called Yekaterinodar, after Catherine the Great, and it took its present name only in 1920. Through the early nineteenth century it grew into the main town of the Kuban Cossacks, and it received official town status in 1867, by which time grain and trade were making it prosperous. In 1897 the Kuban Cossacks marked two hundred years of their history with a tall obelisk in the city. The Soviet authorities removed it in 1920 and it was rebuilt in 1999, so the monument now carries two stories: the Cossack past, and the argument over how to remember it. The Civil War hit the city hard. Between 1917 and 1922 it passed between Reds and Whites more than once. In April 1918 the White general Lavr Kornilov besieged Yekaterinodar and did not live to see the outcome: a Bolshevik shell hit the farmhouse serving as his headquarters and killed him within the week. The Second World War brought heavy damage, and the postwar rebuilding gave the centre much of its Soviet character. Since then Krasnodar has grown fast, helped by its position as a commercial hub for southern Russia and a 2012 Forbes ranking as the best city for business in the country.

What to see

Culture

Krasnodar is a theatre-going city. The centre holds the Gorky Drama Theatre, a ballet theatre, a musical theatre, a puppet theatre, a youth theatre, a circus and the Ponomarenko Philharmonic, a wide range for a city of its size. Performances are generally in Russian, but ballet, circus and the Kuban Cossack Choir need little translation. The choir carries the region's Cossack song tradition, with strong harmonies and sometimes dance and costume. Cossack identity runs through the city, from the obelisk to folk festivals, and it is worn with real pride rather than as a tourist theme. The historic centre has been restored over recent decades, so a walk past nineteenth-century buildings, small museums and cafés gives a feel for the older town. Religion matters too: the Orthodox churches, some of them rebuilt, are active places of worship rather than museums. Social life is warm and centred on food, with long sittings at cafés and a habit of looking after guests. Football has a devoted following, and match days pull the whole city towards the stadium. Politics is a topic best left to a local who raises it first. Inside an Orthodox church, cover shoulders and knees, let women put on a headscarf, men take off hats, and ask before photographing worshippers or services.

What to wear

Traditional Kuban Cossack dress is military in origin. Men wore the cherkeska, a long wool coat with rows of cartridge holders sewn across the chest, over a fitted tunic called a beshmet, with a tall papakha hat of sheepskin or fur, a felt burka cloak against rain and cold, a belt with a dagger, and leather boots. Women's festive dress used long skirts, fitted jackets and embroidered blouses, with ribbons and headscarves. These outfits now appear on stage with the Kuban Cossack Choir, at folk festivals and at Cossack gatherings rather than on the street. Everyday dress in Krasnodar is smart-casual and fairly fashion-aware: neat jeans, trainers, light dresses in summer, dark coats and boots in winter, with people dressing up for theatre and restaurants. Visitors should pack for the climate: light cotton, a hat and sunglasses for the hot summer, and a warm waterproof coat and shoes with grip for damp winters. Comfortable shoes matter for long walks on flat, paved streets. For churches, carry a scarf to cover hair and wear clothes that cover shoulders and knees. Beachwear belongs on the coast, not in the city centre.

What to eat

Plan it

Best time. Late May–June and September–October, when it is warm without the full heat of July and August. Winters are damp and grey, and spring and autumn rain can arrive in spells.

How long. 2–3

Getting there. Fly to Krasnodar International Airport, then take a trolleybus or minibus to the main railway station, a city bus to the centre, or a taxi; confirm routes locally. Trains link the city with Rostov-on-Don, Novorossiysk and Volgograd, and buses run to Novorossiysk, Anapa, Rostov-on-Don and Sochi.

Budget. low

Tips

Etiquette

Nearby

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