General Information

The town of Kurgan is an administrative center of Kurgan region. Kurgan region is located in the south of the West-Siberian Plain, in the Tobol basin. It borders the Republic of Kazakstan. The population of the region is 1,116,800 people which is 0.75% of Russia’s total. The population of Kurgan is 375 thousand people. The city has more than 300 years history.

City telephone code: +7 3522

Time: Moscow time +2 hours

Climate

As the territory is located far from the seas and the shield of Ural Mountains protect it from the west, the climate in th region is continental. Winters are cold, but there is typically not much snow, and summers are warm and dry. The coldest month is January and the hottest is July.

History

Kurgan was founded in 1662 as a village called Tsarevo Gorodishe on the Tobol River.

Kurgan is the Russian word of Turkic origin meaning a burial mound. Some scholars think Kurgan culture reflects an early Indo-European ethnicity which existed in the steppes and southeastern Europe from the V to III centuries BC.

Kurgan got the status of a city in 1782 under Empress Ekaterina. The population of the town at that time was about 2 thousand people. Up to the end of XIX century it developed slowly, serving mostly as the place of exile. In 1913 the population of the town was 30 thousand people, in 1957 it reached 147 thousand and in 1998 it was about 374 thousand people.

One of the most influencial facts in the history of the town is the construction of the Trans-Siberian railway in 1894. The next important step was receiving the status of the regional centre in 1943.

Economy

Located in a rich agricultural region, the city is an agricultural and industrial center on the Urals served by Trans-Siberian railroad.

Industries of the town include production of agricultural machinery and processing food stuffs. Today enterprises of the town produce wheel tractors, buses, medical products, designs for railway and automobile bridges, agricultural and road machines, equipment for petroleum industry and many other things.

Agriculture and processing of agricultural products dominate in the economy of the region; the main crop is wheat. Rye, oats, and corn are also grown.

About a half of the population work in the industrial sector and agriculture. Others are engaged in trade and public sector. According to a survey by Bank Austria, the oblast is 37th among Russia's 89 regions in terms of investment climate.

Transportation

Kurgan is linked by railway to the Russian cities of Yekaterinburg, Omsk and Chelyabinsk. There are two railway stations in the city and the airport. The town is linked to the shipping routes of the Ob-Irtysh system by the navigable Tobol River.

Culture

There are several theatres in Kurgan, including Kurgan State Drama Theatre (address: 58, Gorkogo str., phone: +7 3522 21779, 21612) and Gulliver Puppet Theatre (address: Sovetkaya str., 104, phone: +7 3522 425 610, 466 622).

Kurgan Regional Museum housing the collection of artefacts that reflect the local history is located Pushkina str., 42. Phone: +7 3522 466 053.

Arts Museum is located Gorkogo str., 129. Phone: +7 3522 465 563.

There are several educational institutions in Kurgan. There is Kurgan State University with 11 faculties, an Agricultural Academy and Military Institute. Kurgan is a tween city of Rufina, Italy and Appleton, USA.

Hotels

Aivengo Hotel. Address: Kuznetsova str., 6. Phone: +7 3522 533637.

Atrium Hotel. Address: Pushkina str., 83. Phone: +7 3522 458 742, 458 741, 458 434.

Boldintsevo Hotel. Phone: +7 3522 421 375.

Kurgan Hotel. Address: Konstitutsii Prospect, 52. Phone: +7 3522 444166.

Moscow Hotel. Address: Krasina str., 49. Phone: +7 3522 455094.

Slavianskaya Hotel***. Address: Pushkina str., 185. Phone: +7 3522 570084.

Evgeniya Stroganova