Kuban oblast

The Kuban oblast[lower-alpha 1] 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 the Crimean Khanate and the land of the Circassians. It was dissolved upon the assumption of supreme authority by the Kuban Rada in 1917 and the independence of the Kuban People's Republic in 1918. Its capital was the city of Yekaterinodar (present-day Krasnodar).[1]

Kuban oblast
Кубанская область
Oblast
Coat of arms of Kuban oblast
Coat of arms
Administrative map of the Kuban Oblast
Administrative map of the Kuban Oblast
CountryRussian Empire
ViceroyaltyCaucasus
Established1860
Abolished1917
CapitalYekaterinodar
(present-day Krasnodar)
Area
 • Total94,783.07 km2 (36,595.95 sq mi)
Highest elevation
(Mount Elbrus)
5,642 m (18,510 ft)
Population
 (1916)
 • Total3,022,683
 • Density32/km2 (83/sq mi)
 • Urban
9.52%
 • Rural
90.48%

Administrative divisions

The Cossack districts (otdels) of the Kuban oblast in 1917 were as follows:[2][3]

Name Capital Population Area
1897 1916
Batalpashinsky otdel (Баталпашинскій отдѣлъ) Batalpashinskaya (Cherkessk) 215,400 298,208 15,328.05 square versts (17,444.27 km2; 6,735.27 sq mi)
Yeysky otdel (Ейскій отдѣлъ) Umanskaya (Leningradskaya) 277,300 384,846 12,127.84 square versts (13,802.24 km2; 5,329.07 sq mi)
Yekaterinodarsky otdel (Екатеринодарскій отдѣлъ) Yekaterinodar (Krasnodar) 245,173 371,788 7,357.78 square versts (8,373.61 km2; 3,233.07 sq mi)
Kavkazsky otdel (Кавказскій отдѣлъ) Kavkazskaya 249,182 462,235 13,941.40 square versts (15,866.18 km2; 6,125.97 sq mi)
Labinsky otdel (Лабинскій отдѣлъ) Armavir 305,733 518,774 5,919.94 square versts (6,737.26 km2; 2,601.27 sq mi)
Maykopsky otdel (Майкопскій отдѣлъ) Maykop 283,117 468,453 14,435.76 square versts (16,428.79 km2; 6,343.19 sq mi)
Tamansky otdel (Таманскій отдѣлъ) Slavyanskaya (Slavyansk-na-Kubani) 342,976 518,379 14,173.84 square versts (16,130.71 km2; 6,228.10 sq mi)

Structure

The militarized nature of the Kuban meant that, rather than a traditional governorate (guberniya) with counties (uezds), the territory was administered by the Kuban Cossacks as an oblast which was split into otdels. Each otdel had its own sotnias which in turn would be split into stanitsas and khutors. The ataman ("commander") for each region was not only responsible for the military preparation of the Cossacks, but for the local administration duties. Local stanitsa and khutor atamans were elected, but approved by the atamans of the otdel. These, in turn, were appointed by the supreme ataman of the Kuban host, who was in turn appointed directly by the Russian emperor. Prior to 1870, this system of legislature in the oblast remained a robust military one and all legal decisions were carried out by the stanitsa ataman and two elected judges. Afterwards, however, the system was bureaucratized and the judicial functions were independent of the stanitsas.

Demographics
Ethnic groups in 1897; yellow represents Ukrainians and red, Russians (in Ukrainian)

Russian Empire Census

According to the Russian Empire Census, the Kuban oblast had a population of 1,918,881 on 28 January [O.S. 15 January] 1897, including 973,023 men and 945,858 women. The plurality of the population indicated Ukrainian to be their mother tongue, with a significant Russian speaking minority.[2]

Linguistic composition of the Kuban oblast in 1897[2]
Language Native speakers %
Ukrainian 908,818 47.36
Russian 816,734 42.56
Circassian 38,488 2.01
Karachay 26,877 1.40
German 20,778 1.08
Greek 20,137 1.05
Kabardian 14,340 0.75
Armenian 13,926 0.73
Abkhaz 12,481 0.65
Belarusian 12,356 0.64
Nogai 5,880 0.31
Romanian 5,370 0.28
Tatar[lower-alpha 2] 3,848 0.20
Polish 2,719 0.14
Turkish 2,187 0.11
Ossetian 1,973 0.10
Jewish 1,942 0.10
Romani 1,753 0.09
Mordovian 1,494 0.08
Czech 1,213 0.06
Georgian 917 0.05
Estonian 880 0.05
Latvian 848 0.04
Kyurin 615 0.03
Kalmyk 378 0.02
Bulgarian 322 0.02
Persian 252 0.01
Lithuanian 238 0.01
Kumyk 205 0.01
Kazi-Kumukh 175 0.01
Bashkir 138 0.01
Avar-Andean 127 0.01
Other 472 0.02
TOTAL 1,918,881 100.00
Religious composition of the Kuban oblast in 1897[6]
Faith Male Female Both
Number %
Eastern Orthodox 884,028 863,291 1,747,319 91.06
Muslim 53,199 49,721 102,920 5.36
Old Believer 12,363 12,580 24,943 1.30
Lutheran 8,559 8,182 16,741 0.87
Armenian Apostolic 7,997 6,653 14,650 0.76
Roman Catholic 4,413 3,121 7,534 0.39
Judaism 1,084 1,021 2,105 0.11
Mennonite 567 580 1,147 0.06
Reformed 425 409 834 0.04
Buddhist 194 161 355 0.02
Armenian Catholic 104 39 143 0.01
Karaite 42 49 91 0.00
Baptist 33 43 76 0.00
Other Christian denomination 10 4 14 0.00
Other non-Christian denomination 5 4 9 0.00
TOTAL 973,023 945,858 1,918,881 100.00

Kavkazskiy kalendar
A 1916 map of Kuban Oblast with the neighboring Black Sea Governorate and part of Sukhumi Okrug (in Russian).

According to the 1917 publication of Kavkazskiy kalendar, the Kuban oblast had a population of 3,022,683 on 14 January [O.S. 1 January] 1916, including 1,523,057 men and 1,499,626 women, 1,870,280 of whom were the permanent population, and 1,152,403 were temporary residents.[3]

Nationality Urban Rural TOTAL
Number % Number % Number %
Russians 257,675 89.50 2,561,356 93.66 2,819,031 93.26
North Caucasians 674 0.23 132,997 4.86 133,671 4.42
Other Europeans 10,098 3.51 20,667 0.76 30,765 1.02
Armenians 15,557 5.40 9,014 0.33 24,571 0.81
Sunni Muslims[lower-alpha 3] 1,144 0.40 5,292 0.19 6,436 0.21
Asiatic Christians 390 0.14 3,270 0.12 3,660 0.12
Jews 1,180 0.41 1,173 0.04 2,353 0.08
Georgians 766 0.27 230 0.01 996 0.03
Shia Muslims[lower-alpha 4] 94 0.03 720 0.03 814 0.03
Roma 278 0.10 63 0.00 341 0.01
Kurds 45 0.02 0 0.00 45 0.00
TOTAL 287,901 100.00 2,734,782 100.00 3,022,683 100.00

Notes
  2. Before 1918, Azerbaijanis were generally known as "Tatars". This term, employed by the Russians, referred to Turkic-speaking Muslims of the South Caucasus. After 1918, with the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and "especially during the Soviet era", the Tatar group identified itself as "Azerbaijani".[4][5]
  3. Primarily Turco-Tatars.[7]
  4. Primarily Tatars.[7]

References
  1. Tsutsiev 2014.
  2. "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей".
  3. Кавказский календарь на 1917 год, pp. 222–229.
  4. Bournoutian 2018, p. 35 (note 25).
  5. Tsutsiev 2014, p. 50.
  6. "Демоскоп Weekly - Приложение. Справочник статистических показателей". www.demoscope.ru. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
  7. Hovannisian 1971, p. 67.

Bibliography

45°02′N 38°58′E

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