“Master Rallye” caravan than proceeds to the region of Krasnodar, to Black Sea, to the Caucasus.

First Russia got interested in Caucasus during the times of Ivan 4 Grozny (Ivan the Terrible), and in 1774 river Kuban was recognized as a Southern border of Russia. In 1778 great Russian commander A.Suvorov organized construction of military fortresses in Kuban, later these fortresses grew into towns and stanitsas (large Cossack villages). For the purpose of final strengthening of the Southern Russian borders all steppe regions were inhabited by the Cossacks of Don and Black Sea.

In 1838 a military fortification was built in the place of Turkish fortress Sudjuk-Kale, in the mouth of river Zemess. This fortress was founded thanks to eminent Russian figures - a naval commander and navigator M.Lazarev, and general N.Raevsky, who took part in his early ages with his father and brother in Borodino battle. At those ancient times merchants and navigators called the bay “a beautiful harbour”, it got such a poetical name for the unique beauty of its nature. For a long time Zemesskaya bay had been one of the most busy centres of the main trade road of that time - “Great Silk Road”.

Later the fortress was called Novorossiisk or “a town in Novorossia (New Russia)”, because from the end of 18^th century all space of Black Sea steppes, that became members of Russia after its liberation from Turkish dominion was called Novorossia.

But the greatest fame Novorossiisk earned in the end of last century, when it was discovered that Markhotsky mountain ridge (that is spread to the North-East from the town, and separates the town from the Kuban steppe) contains almost 100% of marl - a stone of sea origin, main raw material for cement production.

Novorossiisk is also one of the most important Russian sea-ports at Black Sea with naval base and shipbuilding factory.

Novorossiisk is one of the Russian towns, that were given a honorary title “hero-city” for their services for homeland, fortitude, courage and heroism during the Second World War against fascist Germany.

Novorossiisk is famous not only for its military and industrial exploits, but also for amazing beauty of the town itself and its surroundings. If you climb up the top of Sugar Head - the highest mountain of Markhotsky mountain ridge - you will see the whole town in all its magnificence: blossoming town, all buried in verdure, surrounded by mountains, like a sea-gull with its stretched out wings.

This region is very rich in different rare kinds of flora and fauna that are very seldom met in Russia; they exist here, in the region of Novorossiisk thanks to local mild climate. Not very far from the town, in the place called “Abrau-Durso” the largest Russian wine-making farm is situated, that is called “Soviet Champagne”. Its history began in 1970s, when the vines were taken from Germany and Crimea and planted here.

To preserve all this unique flora and fauna the Caucasus nature reserve was founded, it has all necessary conditions for free existence of rare animals - aurochs, ounces (snow leopard), deers, chamois. Here everyone can walk for a long time enjoying wonderful views, rare animals, mountain rivers and waterfalls, lakes and caves.

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