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.

Kurgan

Oblast (region) in the west-central Russian Federation; area 71,000 sq km/27,413 sq mi; population (1996) 1,112,000 (55% urban). The capital is Kurgan, and Shadrinsk and Petukhovo are other cities. The region is located in the West Siberian lowland, east of the Ural Mountains, bordering on Kazakhstan in the south. It is crossed south–north by the River Tobol, an affluent of the Irtysh. It features largely wooded steppe with black earth (chernozem) soils. Industries include engineering (manufacture of agricultural machinery and vehicles), food processing and light industries; and cattle and sheep farming.