Krasnodar: Voices from the Kuban Plains

From the Black Sea coast to the foothills of the Caucasus, the airwaves of Russia’s southern breadbasket hum with the voices of its amateur radio community. The Krasnodar Regional Branch of the Union of Radio Amateurs of Russia is steered by Anatoly Popov (R6AW), whose postbox in central Krasnodar is as much a beacon for correspondence as the region’s repeaters are for VHF traffic.

A Wide Network of Cities and Callsigns

Deputy head Vladimir Terekhov (RX6DX) anchors operations in the regional capital, while Pyotr Osyushkin (RX6CW) keeps the paperwork flowing. Yury Balabanov (RX6CM) wears several hats — chief of the QSL bureau and chairman of the qualification commission — and coordinates with an unusually large panel of examiners, from R7AZ in the north to RA6BX in the Black Sea corridor.

Local branches stretch across the krai: Sochi under Sergey Pridachin (RZ6D), Armavir led by Sergey Migov (R7AY), Anapa with Alexander Kardapoltsev (R6AS), and Yeisk under Vasily Gerbutov (RK6AQP) — each a hub in its own micro-network.

Repeaters in Every Direction

The regional map is studded with callsigns like RR6AE in Abinsk, RR6AA–AC in Krasnodar, RR6AD in Slavyansk-na-Kubani, and outposts in Kropotkin, Timashevsk, and Staroderevyankovskaya. Together, they ensure that from the coast to the steppe, a handheld can find a friendly carrier wave.

Seasonal Cadence

From November to April, the branch keeps a regular public schedule: the third Friday and fourth Saturday of each month, 09:00–12:00, at Rostovskoe Shosse 50, office 1. On those same winter Saturdays, the qualification board convenes — often doubling as a social gathering where technical debates spill into discussions about antennas, weather, and the occasional DX chase.

In the Kuban, amateur radio is a craft practised against a backdrop of fertile fields and warm seas. Its repeaters carry not only messages, but also a sense of shared geography — a reminder that in this southern expanse, voices travel as far as the will to connect.