Industrialny: A Village with a City Address

The history of Industrialny, a settlement on the outskirts of Krasnodar, began in 1957. Initially, it was a place where employees of industrial enterprises and the railway lived: private houses, vegetable gardens, and quiet streets. Today, Industrialny is part of Krasnodar, but in atmosphere it still resembles a settlement. Meanwhile, cottage communities and new residential complexes are being actively built nearby; moreover, the authorities promise to build a tram line here, so more and more people are moving to Industrialny. Yaroslav Gurey reports for 93.RU on what life is like on the outskirts of Krasnodar.

Five-story Buildings and Cottages: Contrasts of the Settlement

Industrialny seems small, but if you consider all the territories that administratively belong to it, it is a fairly large settlement. It can be divided into several conventional parts:

Center — the area of the settlement that appeared first. The upper boundary starts from Solnechnaya Street, and the lower boundary is near the school. This area is characterized by old buildings of private houses and Soviet two-story and five-story buildings. Also, in some places old houses are being demolished and new ones built. The roads in this area leave much to be desired: dirt roads, large potholes, and lack of sidewalks. It should be noted that the absence of sidewalks is typical for the entire settlement. But recently, new asphalt has been appearing on some streets.

Divny — a microdistrict that used to be a separate settlement but now is part of Industrialny. It has a convenient rectangular layout with straight streets and a boulevard, a large green area in the center. The perimeter road and some streets are paved, but there are still many dirt roads. Development from the 2000s.

Divny was designed by the famous Krasnodar architect Yuri Subbotin. Previously, he told 93.RU that the settlement was originally conceived as a garden city. The first stage was 50 hectares, the second another 50, and then the third and fourth stages were built during the perestroika period without adhering to the master plan.

Cottage complexes and new development. New development surrounds old Industrialny and Divny. For example, northwest of Divny are cottage complexes of identical small houses that appeared several years ago. Also nearby are many individually built houses. In such places, the roads are often very poor, but there are sidewalks. There also often appear illegal dumps that cause fires. This part is easily accessible on foot from other parts of the settlement. There are also houses north of Solnechnaya Street, which are cut off from the center: there are no pedestrian crossings along the roads. Housing there is cheaper and newer, but there are infrastructure problems.

The Only Road to the City and Crowded Buses

Industrialny settlement is located in the northeast of Krasnodar and is part of its municipal district, which gives city registration. You can get to the settlement from the Eastern Bypass or from the city via Dorozhnaya Street. Dorozhnaya Street constantly has huge traffic jams. Dorozhnaya is the only direct road to the city; otherwise, you have to drive around in circles.

It is along Dorozhnaya Street that they plan to run trams towards Industrialny. The project is being handled by developers who are building residential complexes in this part of the city. The approximate time for the start of construction work is 2027. The city administration does not give exact deadlines. Recently, the mayor announced that a «big snag» has appeared on the route of the new line.

Since Industrialny is on the edge of the city, the transport issue is very important.

Two buses serve the settlement: No. 170a and 146a, which are actually one bus that changes its number and part of its route. 170a passes through Industrialny and the Divny microdistrict, while 146a only goes to the center and then continues to the Pobeditel settlement. Buses run infrequently: every 30–60 minutes. The vehicles are in poor condition and often overcrowded. Local residents say about the buses:

«It is very difficult to get to school and work because only 170a runs, and there are few buses on the line, so it is always crowded. The interiors are old, drivers constantly quit. Because of this, one day there may be four buses, and another only two. Of course, there is the commuter train, but the train is not convenient for everyone», complained local resident Vladislava, who needs to take bus No. 170a to school.

There are indeed two stations in the settlement where trains run between Krasnodar, Tikhoretskaya, and Korenovsk. Thanks to the commuter train, you can get to the city and the settlement without traffic jams, but the schedule is not convenient for everyone.

You can also leave Industrialny by crossing the railway tracks. There is the neighboring settlement of Loris, from which buses No. 128, 104, and 151a depart. They allow you to get there with less traffic, but the residents of Loris themselves say that they have no fewer transport problems.

One Pediatrician for Everyone and Two-Hour Trips to the «Overcrowded» Clinic

There is a branch of Polyclinic No. 13 in the settlement, where both children and adults are seen. Currently, you can only make an appointment with one pediatrician and only by prior appointment via the Kuban Online website or Gosuslugi, and the nearest available appointments may be in 1–2 weeks.

«We like the pediatrician, he is good, the nurses are good. Qualified. They always help. Day and night, it seems you can always turn to them — they will help, they will answer. We generally belong… We were supposed to belong to another branch, but since the older daughter was here too, we were allowed to stay here. There are rarely queues. This is the second time we have been sitting here in eight months», say two mothers at the clinic who came for an appointment with their children on «baby day» — Wednesday, when only infants are seen.

It is not possible to make an appointment with a general practitioner in Industrialny; you have to go to Polyclinic No. 13 at 76/1 Silantieva Street. Residents complain that the main building has narrow corridors and a huge number of patients. The journey from the branch to the polyclinic by public transport takes about two hours with a transfer, and even then it is not certain that you will see a doctor. Many specialists are sometimes simply not available.

«But what I don«t like about Silantieva is that there are very few pediatric doctors now», the two mothers continue. — «That is, there is no neurologist, who else… An ophthalmologist is missing, you can»t get an appointment at all. Some get lucky, we once managed to get an ultrasound. I wish there were more specialists.»

School at Capacity and Two Kindergartens

School No. 62 is located in Industrialny. The school building itself is of an old type, and the number of students is larger than it should be. According to locals, most teachers are good and really teach children, unlike in some new city schools. Children are taken to school by school bus from Industrialny itself, Divny, and the neighboring settlement of Pobeditel. From the nearby residential complex Dykhaniya, there is also a shuttle for children, but there it is organized by the developer.

«The school«s condition is a C in principle, not everything is so bad, but non-working drinking fountains, broken toilets and stalls, lack of toilet paper… Occasionally dirt slips… Teachers are divided into those who are really interested in their subject, who conduct lessons well, explain well, and those who often don»t care what is happening in the class, how the learning process is going. They just want to get through it somehow», said former student Valeria.

There are two kindergartens in Industrialny. One is old and located in the settlement, the second is in Divny, a large modern building.

Are There Enough Stores in the Settlement?

There are quite a few supermarkets (about 8), parcel pickup points, and everything else. The most popular supermarket is Magnit at Stepnaya, 1A. It has a good assortment, but due to the large number of visitors, products can quickly run out. Near Magnit there is Fix Price. There is also Pyaterochka on Uchitelskaya, 12. It is less frequented, which makes it more pleasant. Water can be bought from special vending machines; there are only 2–3 of them.

Several Ozon and Wildberries pickup points. There is also a single Yandex Market, SDEK, and Russian Post.

Many people work either in stores or warehouses. Others have to commute to other parts of the city. The trip to the center takes about an hour.

How Much Does Housing Cost?

In new cottage complexes on the edge of the settlement, house prices start from 7.9 million rubles (approximately $87,800 at current rates). These houses are only recently built, but they have infrastructure problems: no public transport or it runs very rarely, lack of stores and pickup points; at most there may be a children«s playground and sports ground.

In the settlement itself, prices vary, but there aren«t many options because little new construction is happening, and what exists is not often sold. Prices for apartments in two-story buildings start from 2.5 million rubles (approximately $27,800), but such buildings are in poor condition. Prices for apartments in five-story buildings start from 3.5 million rubles (approximately $38,900), but most are around 6 million rubles (approximately $66,700). Prices for private houses in the center of the settlement start from 2.6 million rubles (approximately $28,900), but there are almost no good offers.

More housing options are available in the neighboring Loris. 93.RU previously reported from there on how people live.