Tourism in Russia > Stavropol territory

Stavropol territory

The Caucasian Mineral Waters is an ideal place for recreation and medical treatment both for businessmen and romantic tours lovers.

The Stavropol territory is a part of Russia and is situated in the center of the North Caucasus, almost at an equal distance from the Black and Caspian Seas. Its area is 66 thousand square kilometers, population is more than 2500000 people. The capital of this region is Stavropol.

Since ancient times the Sravropol area has been the crossroad of the world. Its territory was crossed by the legendary Great Silk Way and many other trade roads which connected the Mediterranean countries with ancient Russia, India and China.

And up to now, the wealth and diversity of nature (from semi deserts to Alpine landscapes), the mild climate (with the average temperature in summer +22 - +25°C) the exceptionally pure air continue to attract numerous travelers to this territory.

The mountain health resorts in the South of the Stavropol territory — Pyatigorsk, Kislovodsk, Zheleznovodsk, Yessentuki, united by the name of the Caucasian Mineral Waters (CMW), are especially popular.

If you take a look at a map ol the Caucasus you will see a land of astonishing contrasts Majestic mountain peaks, endless steppes, invigorating mineral springs, picturesque lakes; relics from the distant past -all this has attracted hundreds of thousands of people from all over Russia and abroad for more than a century. All this is Stavropol Krai.

The hospitable citizens of the region, as is the custom in the Caucasus, honour the past and carefully preserve their tradi-tions and are now confidently building a modern recreation and tourism industry.

The resort of Kavkazskie Mineralnye Vody is the calling card of tourist Stavropol. Millions of visitors have felt the the restorative effects of the local mineral waters, healing muds, nature and gentle climate. Here cutting-edge technology and a century of experience in healing and recreation go hand-in-hand. The ever-growing number of guests and the increasing volume of investment are clear evidence of this.

The Kavminvody today stand as one of the main focuses ol economic growth in the North Caucasus and Russia as a whole. Project after project is coming on-stream, including the international projects that should help the area become an international-level resort in the near future.

However, Stavropol is more than the KMV. Our region also has great potential in ecological, agrarian, event, sports, extreme, ethnographic and cultural tourism.

Today the Krai attracts members of the jeeping, paraglid-ing and hang-gliding, and climbing communities, amongst others. Excursions which combine the 4history, culture, ecology and natural wealth of our region have been a particular success.

This issue of our magazine will fill in the details on all this and much more. Best of all, though, is to see it with your own eyes.

In the Caucasus the saying goes: "The first time you come you're our guest, the second time, our friend, and the third time, our brother!"

One of the most dynamically-growing regions of Russia- that's Stavropol Krai! Our state is the centre of the North Caucasus Federal Okrug (NCFO). Here, in the natural pearl of the Kavkazskie Mineralnye Vody (KMV), nestles the okrug's capital, Pyatigorsk. And that's the way it should be- Stavropol has historically played a unifying role in the Caucasus. The other regions in the NCFO, all noticeable smaller than Stavropol Krai, surround it in a continuous chain from the south to the east.

It is worth noting Stavropol's geographical position. The frontier between Europe and Asia runs along the Kumo-Manych Depression, dividing our Krai into two: the main, European, part and the smaller Asian one. Stavropol Krai measures 285 km from north to south and 370 km from west to east and occupies a central position in the South of Russia, between the Black and Caspian Seas.

Stavropol, the Krai's administrative captal, lies on the 45th parallel, exactly halfway between the Equator and the North Pole. Considerable industrial and scientific research capabilities are concentrated in the regional capital. Every fourth city resident is a student in higher education. At a recent meeting to discuss the future development of the NCFO, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced that in the near future a North Caucasus Federal University based on the existing tertiary education providers v would be founded.

The calling cards of the Krai are the esorts of the KMV (Caucasus Minora: Waters)- Pyatigorsk, Kislovodsk, , Yessentuki and Zheleznovodsk. The resorts are gain their edge from Stavropol's unbeatable leisure resources.

In Stavropol region was created a special 843-hectare economic zone for tourism and recreation around the Yutsa mountain, which is located 10 km from Pyatigorsk and 35 km from Mineralnye Vody airport. The Krais economy is greatly diversified. This lends it stability, which is reinforced by the resource base. Stavropol’s earth is rich in buried treasure: gas, oil, rare-earth metals, building materials and mineral water. The raw mineral potential of proven reserves and forecast reserves of ore is more than 40 billion roubles.

Stavropol can by right call itself the Gate to the Caucasus. Once the Great Silk Road ran through here, and today the well-developed transport infrastructure means that you can count on the development of logistics centres and the fulfilment of its potential as a transit hub, which should double the “loading capacity” of the regions economy by 2020. There are two airports with international status, in Min Vody and in Stavropol. Branch lines from the North Caucasus railway link Ukraine and the European part of Russia with the ports of the Capsian and Black Sea coasts and the countries of western Asia. The density of road coverage in Stavropol is 3.3 times the Russian average. Stavropol is the regional capital of the car trade, and boasts dealerships from all the worlds leading marques.

The question of a convenient road link between the KMV resorts, the Black Sea coast, Dombai and the Mt Elbrus area, which will open up new projects and opportunities for potential investors, is being comprehensively addressed. The regional government is currently seeking an “anchor investor” and unique environmental and health factors. For example, here, in a comparatively small area, around 130 mineral springs of 12 different types have been identified. There is no greater diversity in the world- in Karlovy Vary there are about 60 springs, and in Baden around 20.

Resorts and tourism are one of the most attractive facets of the Krais economy to investors. With an eye to of an all-Russia health resort development programme, the regional government intends to increase the size of the KMV spa industry by one- and-a-half to two times. This will be achieved by renovating and modernising the existing spa health and tourist facilities and by attracting private capital, foreign included, to build new ones. In 2007 a Russian federal government resolution with whom to fully exploit the international status of Stavropol Airport.

Agriculture is the gold stamp of Stavropol, the acknowledged breadbasket of Russia. The high fertility of its rich black soil works in concert with modern technology to bring a dependably abundant harvest of grains, sunflower and vegetables. Here 3.5 tonnes of grain are produced per head of population.

More than 500 agricultural organisations and 15000 farms operate in Stavropol Krai. In recent years the agrarian sector has enjoyed an average profit margin of 38%. The authoritative Agro-300 rating of the most effective agricultural businesses in 2009 placed 35 Stavropol organisations in the top 100. That is the best result in the country, but here quantity goes hand-in- hand with outstanding quality. It is worth remembering that it is Stavropol wheat which is used as the reference standard at the London chamber of weights and measures.

Stavropol Krai also has large-scale projects in its traditionally- b livestock industry. These are are largest dairy megafarms in Europe, poultry complexes and pork production.

The manufacturing industry in Stavropol comprises about 400 large and medium firms and roughly 2000 small businesses. They are responsible for a quarter of the Gross Regional Product and 72% of the regions exports. Chemicals, mechanical engineering, the electrical industry, oil extraction, glass and other industries are highly developed here.

The Stavropol company Energomera is a leader in the field of developing and producing electronic devices for metering electricity. The chemicals giant Nevinnomysskiy Azot is one of the three biggest fertiliser producers in Russia. The Monocrystal sapphire factory is in particular demand on the global market, including with the world-beating Swiss watch industry.

The Lukoil oil company is currently investigating the possibility of building a gigantic petrochemical complex, worth over 3.5 billion euros, in Budyonnovsk. (The city also has Stavrolen, which is a dependable export manufacturer.) In the foreseeable future Stavropol will be producing one third of Russia’s polymers. This is the largest project of this type in Russia and Eastern Europe.

Saint-Gobain Kavminsteklo recently commenced a new investment project in the village of Andzhievskiy in Mineralovodskiy County. The project encompasses the construction of a facility to manufacture narrow-necked glass packaging, with a total output of 360 tonnes per day. With 187 million roubles invested, the kilns are already under construction.

The Government of Stavropol Krai is maintaining a consistent policy towards the establishment of new growth areas within its territory. Following the launch of an industrial park in Nevinnomyssk, the authorities are preparing to repeat the experiment in the city of Budyonnovsk. The total budget is 3.11 billion roubles, of which the overwhelming majority- 3 billion roubles- is capital investment. A fifty-hectare site in the industrial zone of the city has beeli allocated to the construction of the Budyonnovsk industrial park, which is to accommodate high-technology manufacturing.

Pharmaceuticals are also amongst the priorities of Stavropol’s economic policy. The Krai has achieved a very high concentration of companies specialising in varied areas of the pharmaceutical sector. Leaders in drug manufacture include the well-known Allergen, Escom, Biocom and others, all of which have earned themselves a name on the global market aswell as at home. The industry is kept well-supplied with highly-qualified staff and critical medical and pharmacological breakthroughs by two formidable state universities- Pyatigorsk Pharmaceutical Academy and Stavropol Medical Academy. Having oriented the path of Stavropol’s economy towards innovation, the Government is working to establish a full innovation infrastructure, which will enable scientists, including academic pharmacists, to put their cutting-edge ideas into small-scale production. The first steps have already been taken: budget funds have been allocated to the setup of a guiding authority and business-incubator/ regional technopark.

Of course, in our maiden article we have only touched the surface of some of what Stavropol Krai can be proud of and what might be attractive to potential investors, guests, tourists and holidaymakers. On the following pages of this and all following editions of our magazine you will find not only interesting details, but some surprising discoveries aswell. Over the past few years our Krai has been developing non¬stop. We are always happy to meet new partners. Those who remember the Stavropol of thirty, twenty or even ten years ago will be pleasantly surprised and will be able to rediscover our astonishing region. A Stavropol Krai of pure, unbounded and, most importantly of all, genuine Opportunity.