Stavropol

Krai (territory) in the southwestern Russian Federation; area 80,600 sq km/31,120 sq mi; population (1996) 2,667,000 (54% urban). The capital is Stavropol. Wheat and sunflowers are grown, and cattle and sheep are raised. Natural gas is piped to Moscow and St Petersburg, and there are food-processing industries. There are spas and health resorts around Mineralnye Vody.

The region is situated in northern Caucasia, in the foothills of the main Caucasus Mountains. There is dry steppe in the northeast, and rich deposits of natural gas and mineral springs. The main rivers are the Kuban and the Kuma. Administratively, the Karachayevo-Cherkess Republic forms part of the territory. Cities include Pyatigorsk and Kislovodsk.

The region saw heavy fighting during the Russian Civil War (1918–20). The area now covered by Stavropol krai was first constituted as the Southeastern Oblast in 1924, changing to its present designation in 1943. Stavropol was occupied by German forces 1942–43.

Stavropol

Capital city, economic and cultural centre of Stavropol krai (territory) in the southwestern Russian Federation; population (1996 est) 344,000. Stavropol is located in the foothills of northwestern Caucasia, at the centre of a major agricultural region. Heavy industry in the city produces automobiles, building materials, and construction equipment. There are also food, wool, and leather industries here. An important natural-gas pipeline runs from here to Moscow.

The city was founded in 1777 as a fort, and until the 1850s was the supply centre for Russian campaigns of conquest in Caucasia.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who was born in a village north of the city in 1931, began his political career in Stavropol. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Stavropol has experienced an influx of refugees from the many inter-ethnic conflicts that have broken out in Caucasia.