Taman, Russia

Taman (Russian: Тамань) is a village (stanitsa) in Temryuksky District of Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the coast of the Taman Bay. Population: 9,297 (2002 Census).^[1]

History

Taman occupies the site of the ancient cities of Hermonassa and Tmutarakan. From the end of the 15th century until 1783, this was a site of a Turkish fortress.

The modern village was founded by the Zaporozhian Cossacks under Anton Golovaty on August 25, 1792 as the latter's residence and the first garrison of the Black Sea Cossack Host. Until 1849, Taman was officially considered to be a town, even though it had no local government of its own and was governed from the nearby stanitsa of Akhtanizovskaya. In 1849, Taman was re-organized as a stanitsa and established local government of its own.

Port Taman

In August 2008, Vladimir Putin signed a decree authorizing the development of a major international cargo port several miles south of Taman. Currently, the Togliattiazot's fertilizer terminal is under construction there. By 2015, Port Taman is expected to become one of the top three ports of Russia.^[2] Environmental organizations oppose these developments.^[3]

Sights

Principal sights of Taman include:

• The ruins of Hermonassa and Tmutarakan.
• A Turkish condensate pump dating from the 15th century.
• An archeological museum imitating the Roman domus.
• The memorial house of Mikhail Lermontov. The fourth part of his novel A Hero of Our Time is set in Taman.
• A small wine-making museum.
• A museum devoted to the history of Kuban Cossackdom.
• An Orthodox church built by the first Cossack settlers in 1793. This is the oldest Russian Orthodox church in the Kuban region.
• Amandus Adamson's monument to the first Cossack settlers of the region (1911).

References