Kurgan

Capital city, economic and cultural centre of Kurgan oblast (region), west-central Russian Federation; population (1996 est) 363,000. Kurgan is situated on the River Tobol and the Trans-Siberian Railway east of the Ural Mountains, 250 km/155 mi east of Chelyabinsk. It has engineering works producing agricultural machinery, and a variety of food-processing industries. It also lies at an important railway junction, and is the commercial centre for a surrounding region of rich farmland.

Kurgan was founded in 1553 as a fortified settlement, and became a town in 1782. Prior to the Revolution, and the ensuing collectivization of agriculture, it was a major centre for cattle and butter.