Stavropol

Stavropol (Russian: Ставрополь; IPA: [ˈstavrəpəlʲ]) is a city and the administrative center of Stavropol Krai, Russia. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 398,539.

Etymology

The name "Stavropol" (Russian: Ставрополь) is a Russian rendition of the Greek name, Stauropolis (Greek: Σταυρούπολις, was the name of an historically-unrelated archbishopric in Caria, a Roman province in present Anatolia), meaning "the City of the Cross". According to legend, soldiers found a stone cross there while building the fortress in the city's future location.

The Cherkes call the city Shetkala meaning Shet fort.

History

It was founded on October 22, 1777 following the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774 as a military encampment, and was granted city status in 1785. Prince Grigory Potemkin, who founded Stavropol as one of ten fortresses built between Azov and Mozdok at the request of Catherine the Great, played a leading role in the creation of the city. Don Cossacks, particularly those from the Khopersky Regiment, settled the area in and around the cities of Stavropol and Georgiyevsk with a mission to defend borders of the Empire.

Stavropol (disambiguation)

Stavropol is a city in southwestern Russia.

Stavropol may also refer to:

See also