Kuban (

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

and

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

: Кубань; ady, Пшызэ) is a historical and geographical region of Southern

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

surrounding the

Kuban River The Kuban; Circassian: Псыжъ, ''Psyẑ'' or Псыжь, ''Psyź'' ; abq, Къвбина, ''Q̇vbina'' ; Karachay–Balkar: Къобан, ''Qoban''; Nogai: Кобан, ''Qoban'') is a river in Russia that flows through the Western Cauca ...

, on the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

between the

Don Steppe Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON * Don (river), a river in European Russia * Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name * Don, Benin, a town in Benin * Don, Dang, a ...

, the

Volga Delta The Volga Delta is the largest river delta in Europe, and occurs where Europe's largest river system, the Volga River, drains into the Caspian Sea in Russia's Astrakhan Oblast, north-east of the republic of Kalmykia. The delta is located in the ...

and the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

, and separated from the

Crimean Peninsula Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

to the west by the

Kerch Strait The Kerch Strait, uk, Керченська протока, crh, Keriç boğazı, ady, Хы ТӀуалэ is a strait in Eastern Europe. It connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, separating the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea in the west f ...

Krasnodar Krai Krasnodar Krai (russian: Краснода́рский край, r=Krasnodarsky kray, p=krəsnɐˈdarskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and administratively a part of ...

is often referred to as ''Kuban'', both officially and unofficially, although the term is not exclusive to the krai and accommodates the republics of Adygea,

Karachay-Cherkessia The Karachay-Cherkess Republic (russian: Карача́ево-Черке́сская Респу́блика, ''Karachayevo-Cherkesskaya Respublika''; krc, Къарачай-Черкес Республика, ''Qaraçay-Çerkes Respublika''; Cir ...

, and parts of Stavropol Krai.

Cossack settlement

The Cossack settlement of Kuban and of the adjacent Black Sea region occurred gradually for over a century, and was heavily influenced by the outcomes of the conflicts between Russia and

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

.Azarenkova et al., pp. 8ff. In the mid-18th century, the area was predominantly settled by the mountainous Adyghe tribes. After the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774, the population of the area started to show more pro-Russian tendencies. In order to stop Turkish ambitions to use Kuban region to facilitate the return of the

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

, Russia started to establish a network of fortifications along the Kuban River in the 1770s. After the Russian annexation of the Crimea, right-bank Kuban, and Taman in 1783, the Kuban River became the border of the Russian Empire. New fortresses were built on the Kuban in the 1780s–1790s. Until the 1790s, these fortresses and the abandoned Cossack settlements on the

Laba River The Laba (russian: Лаба; Circassian: Лабэжъ ''Labez̄'') is a river in Krasnodar Krai and Adygea of European Russia. It is a left tributary of the Kuban, which it joins at Ust-Labinsk. It is formed by the confluence of the Bolshaya ...

and in Taman remained the only indication of Russian presence in the area. More intensive settlement started in 1792–1794, when Black Sea Cossack Host and Don Cossacks were re-settled to this area by the Russian government in order to strengthen the southern borders. At the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th centuries, the right bank of the

was settled. At the same time, first settlements appear on the coast of the Black Sea and on the

plain In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands ...

between the Kuban and

Bolshaya Laba River The Bolshaya Laba (russian: Большая Лаба; ady, Лабэшхуэ, ''Labešxwe'', ), or Great Laba, is a river in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Russia. From the confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs wher ...

s. During the second half of the 19th century, the settlement rate intensified, and the territory was administratively organized into

Kuban Oblast The Kuban Oblast was a province (''oblast'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire. It roughly corresponded to most of the Kuban and Circassia regions. It was created in 1860 out of Kuban Cossack territories that had once been part of ...

and Black Sea Okrug (which later became

Black Sea Governorate The Black Sea Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, established in 1896 on the territory of the of the Kuban Oblast. The administrative center of the governorate was the Black Sea port of ...

). The location of the territory along the border had a significant effect on its administrative division, which incorporated the elements of civil and military governments.

Cossack settlement

See also