Taman, Russia

Coordinates: 45°13′N 36°43′E / 45.217°N 36.717°E / 45.217; 36.717

Amandus Adamson's monument to the first Kuban Cossacks (1911)

Taman (Russian: Тамань) is a rural locality (a stanitsa) in Temryuksky District of Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the coast of the Taman Bay. Population: 10,027 (2010 Census);^[1] 9,297 (2002 Census).^[2]

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 stanitsa 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, then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin signed a government resolution authorizing the development of a major international cargo port several kilometers south of Taman. Currently, a fertilizer terminal is under construction there to link with the ammonia pipeline to Odessa owned by TogliattiAzot.

On August 2013 Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said that the Port of Taman will open in 2019 to handle dry cargoes, such as grain and coal. He also added that federal spending will amount to $2.3 billion, while private investors are expected to contribute the remaining 152 billion rubles.^[3]

Russia annexed Crimea in early 2014, taking direct control of its ports. As a result, Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev announced in May 2014, the Russian government has indefinitely suspended its plans to construct a port in Taman due to lack of need.^[4]

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