Ekaterinodarskoye Exchange Society was the forerunner of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Krasnodar Region in the beginning of the XX century.  

            Novorossiyskaya exchange appeared first in Kuban – in 1904 году. It was established by 16 largest companies of the town. The second as to the time of establishment was Ekaterinodarskoye Exchange Society consolidating 144 corporate and physical bodies. Then, there appeared business exchanges in Yeisk and Armavir.

            January 14 (28), 1909 can be considered the date of establishment of Ekaterinodarskoye Exchange Society, when the Town Council unanimously recognized establishment of a Commercial Exchange in Ekaterinodar “quite desirable, meeting the long felt commercial needs and, thus, timely” and resolved “to entrust the Town Head to submit an application for its establishment according to the established procedure.” Organization period lasted till September 10 (24), 1909, when the list of private persons and commercial and industrial companies registered to become members of the Exchange Society was approved of and published, and the office of Exchange Committee was opened in the leasehold premises of Ekaterinodarskoye branch of the Bank for Commerce and Industry.  Not only the eminent merchants and industrialists of Kuban, such as the Avedovs Bogarsukovs, and Ditsmans, were among the founders, but many private persons and firms of other regions of Russia as well, including the Azovsko-Donskoy Commercial Bank, Volzhsko-Kamskiy Commercial Bank, Russian for foreign trade Bank, etc. Andrey Yevseevich Fillippenko (the merchants’ Head and entrepreneur) was elected the first Chairman. During 1909-1910s contacts were established with all Exchanges of the Russian Empire, many of which had their representatives in Ekaterinodar.  

            Ekaterinodarskiy Exchange Committee had representative offices at the largest exchanges of Russia. They interchanged Charters, reports, bulletins, etc. The structure of the Committee elected for 5 years from the members of the Exchange Society included the General Department, Arbitration Board, Department for railway tariffs, Bureau of credit status, Commission for normalization and distributing.   Exchange brokers, auctioneers, notaries, exchange experts and inspectors, and members of the Exchange Arbitration Board acted officials. Brokers’ duties included mediation between the parties during bargaining, and the auctioneers were elected from the exchange brokers.  It is interesting that 2 persons “trading with the same firm” could not belong to the Committee simultaneously, and “the auctioneers, as brokers on the whole, were prohibited to trade, as well as to outbid or reserve for themselves something from the auction they carried out". Exchange notaries protested bills and letters of loan, certified acts and contracts between foreigners and Russian citizens, translated foreign acts into Russian and vice verse, protested brokers’ records, etc. Experts were mostly taken from the exchange officials – brokers and inspectors. They evaluated goods, works, services, various causes of loss, non-conformity of goods with the contractual provisions, etc.   Exchange Arbitration Boards were made up by 12 persons under the direction of one of the Committee members. Their duty was “by all measures to persuade the parties into reconciliation and only if it is impossible to issue decisions binding on the parties, based on the Exchange practices and peculiarities of the disputed bargain”.

            Sub-purchasers were export scourge. Initially exchanges were established to resist them. Exchange committees monitored prices on various goods in Russia’s markets, every year questioned companies and commercial institutions, participated in development of trade and manufacturing laws.

            Through the Exchange Committee the merchants and industrialists communicated with the Ministry for Finance and other departments and notified them of their needs. The Committee controlled local wholesale trade, gathered information and informed the regional government about it, published annual reports on home trade and retail trade.  The Exchange Committee ordered administration of the exchange, examined brokers, inspectors, valuators, etc., managed capital of exchange artels, and participated in the election of the members of the State Council of the Russian Empire. Ekaterinodarskaya Exchange opened the Bureau of credit status – kind of an enquiry service on solvency of individuals and firms. The General Meeting approved of the Rules of Examination at Ekaterinodarskaya Exchange, Regulations for exchange brokers, Arbitration Board and Quotation Commission. The Committee, “apart from subscribing to the “Torgovo-Promyshlennaya Gazeta”, “Vestnik Finansov” and “Sobranie uzakoneniy i rasporyazheniy Pravitelstva” has established communication with many Exchanges with interchange of editions”.

            Activity of Ekaterinodarskiy Exchange Committee was quite intensive and variegated. Serious questions “of primary importance for local trade and industry” were brought up. Here are some facts from the report for the year 1910. “Petitions were submitted concerning opening in Ekaterinodar of a branch of the local postal telegraph office and increased number of mailmen; concerning cancellation of the exceptional rate of Vladikavkazskaya railroad for transportation of grain freight; concerning reconstruction of Ekaterinodarsky railway bridge which hinders navigation in the Kuban River; concerning convocation of a congress of tobacco-growers for settlement of issues relating both to improvement of tobacco culture and regulation of tobacco-growers position and ease of credit conditions for them; concerning organization of telephone communication between Ekaterinodar and Novorossiysk; concerning assigning of sums appropriated by the State Duma to shore protection in Kavkazskiy District of communication lines”, etc. Great attention was paid to agrarian issues: these were numerous conferences on “tobacco business”, “grain business”, selling of harvests, development of rules for grain trade, etc.

            Besides, the Committee didn’t “avoid discussion of general issues presented by the Council of the congress of representatives of exchange trade and agriculture and by other Exchange Committees”. For instance, the “Committee discussed in detail draft law on transportation of goods by water; a Commission was formed from the Committee members to review draft laws on insolvency; the Committee sustained the petition of Rybinsky Exchange Committee concerning cancellation of law-inconsistent resolution of the Governor of Yaroslavl’ on towing-paths which can be of ambiguous value, and of Kokandsky Committee on a most important for oil tradesmen and manufacturers issue of fixing the duty for imported Chinese beans”.  For the sake of efficient protection of interests of Ekaterinodarskoye Exchange Society and monitoring of “submitted by it petitions and due notice of their status” the Committee had its permanent representative in Petersburg.  

            In April 1912 Ekaterinodarskiy Exchange Committee established Kubano-Chernomorskaya Exchange Artel with its own Articles of Association and elective Head. Activity of the Committee and Artel continued both before the Revolution and during the period of Kubanskoye Regional Government. The latest documents kept safe in the regional state archive are dated February 1920.  Most probably, activity of Ekaterinodarskiy Exchange Committee terminated early in March 1920, when the Red Army troops entered Ekaterinodar and the Soviet power set in the city. In Petrograd and Moscow activity of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry recommenced in 1921-1922s already, while in Krasnodar it happened only in 1969 when Kuban oссupied one of the leading positions in export of produce.  

            It is symbolic that a unique building and a monument of architecture has been rented by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Krasnodar Region – the former house of the merchant Vassiliy Rubezhansky, one of the most reputable entrepreneurs of Ekaterinodar.

            Rapid development of commercial and economic ties of the USSR with foreign countries and emerging need in an organization which would perform broad and directed activity in the field of supporting domestic foreign trade, strengthening contacts of industrial enterprises with foreign trade unions, assisting them in promotion of their produce in foreign markets, and search for new products for export, caused establishment of Krasnodar branch of the All-Union Chamber of Commerce in 1969.

            Krasnodar branch of the All-Union Chamber of Commerce has grown into the Regional system of Chambers of Commerce and Industry over more than three decades.

            Nowadays CCI of Krasnodar Region, a non-governmental non-profitable organization, is a coordinating center of the system of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Krasnodar Region which unites 27 inter-district Chambers of Commerce and Industry and their 6 representative offices. On the whole, the system of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Krasnodar Region numbers 2760 member-companies of CCI, of them 660 in Krasnodar.  

            CCI of Krasnodar Region contributes to establishment of the legal basis for market relations in the Region and development of business initiative. The Chamber represents interests of entrepreneurs and their unions regardless of forms of ownership and types of activity, actively supports interaction of entrepreneurs and the state and its authorities, participates in drafting and makes appraisals of the Regional laws and programs securing their conformity with interests of entrepreneurs. This process would be impossible without active support by the Administration of Krasnodar Region, City of Krasnodar, and the administrations of towns and districts of the Region.

            The Chamber promotes efficient business activity, establishment and development of business ties with the regions of the Russian Federation, with the CIS countries and foreign states; it organizes meetings and conferences, experience and information interchange.   For company specialists and managers the Chamber conducts thematic round table discussions and seminars enhancing business education. The Legal Office gives legal advice and renders services to companies and entrepreneurs.

            Highly qualified experts of the Firm “Krasnodarinvestotsenka” valuate company capital assets, market value of all types of fixed property, equipment, vehicles, land, natural resources, intellectual property, develop business plans and investment projects for the purpose of investments search and attraction. Examination and certification of produce carried out by the specialists of the Firm “Krasnodarekspertiza” serve as authoritative validation of quality and market value of produce, particularly with respect to its export or import.  The Agency for certification of goods and services functions at the Firm “Krasnodarekspertiza”.

            Testing laboratory conducts research in domestic and imported foodstuffs and determines their conformity with terms and conditions of contracts.

Department of inter-regional and external economic links encourages search for business partners abroad, gives information about prices on goods and services and company addresses in Russia and abroad, renders services of produce bar coding.  

            The Chamber Department for translation makes translation and interpretation into almost every language of the world.   

            Objectives of the Advertising-and-publishing and Editing Departments are as follows:  information support of the members of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, assisting in company image building, design of style attributes, placement of advertising and information in its own periodicals and various mass media. The Chamber edits the “Vestnik” Journal and the “Business Offers” Bulletin.

            CCI of Krasnodar Region plays an organizing part in entrepreneurs’ activity protecting and representing their interests in federal, regional and local authorities.  

            Under the aegis of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry various committees, commissions, public councils for business supporting perform their activity. Any businessman in any corner of the Region should be provided any service required for orientation in the conditions of transition to market economy. Membership with the CCI is beneficial and prestigious, as it implies gaining by each company of certain and quite appreciable advantages, first of all, such as the possibility to get support from the large union of reputable entrepreneurs with position and authority, to be provided the entire set of special services and consultations, and to use a wide network of international relations.

            Today the priority task is still supporting of Kuban’s companies-manufacturers, enhancing the development of small to medium size businesses, integration with Russia’s regions, the CIS states and foreign countries, establishment of inter-regional and international relations and attraction of funds from Russian and foreign investors to Kuban.

            According to the Governor’s Resolution “On additional measures supporting small business agents in the territory of Krasnodar Region” on the basis of CCI of Krasnodar Region there were established and successfully function in the territory of the Region 21 Cooperation Centers for Development of Business with hot lines for communication with entrepreneurs.  Basic services rendered to entrepreneurs in the Centers are as follows:

- free legal advice
- assistance in drawing of claims, writs, representing of entrepreneurs’ interests in court authorities
- assistance in lease of municipal property as office or production premises
- preparation of incorporation documents for registration of corporate bodies on the “one window” principle

            Entrepreneurs can buy the “Book for registration of actions monitoring an agent of entrepreneurial activity of Krasnodar region” in the Cooperation Centers, keeping which they will avoid recurrent or unjustified inspections. Besides, they can get consultations there on distribution of powers of controlling agents, and the telephone hot lines are permanently operating to settle conflict situations between small businesses and inspecting authorities.

            The Chamber has joined the process of introduction of the system of the International Standards ISO 9000 in Kuban, which has the highest rating in the world and on the basis of which the Universal Quality Standard has been created.   

            Undoubtedly, the Chamber has been established by entrepreneurs and for entrepreneurs. Without their support and concern their interests can not be asserted. As to the complex of rendered services the CCI of Krasnodar Region ranks among top five best Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Russia.

            CCI of Krasnodar Region offers a wide range of services aimed at business development to companies and business community, such as:

- Goods examination and certification of origin of goods;
- Certification of conformity of goods, retail trade and catering services;
- Laboratory testing of foodstuffs;
- Appraisal of any kind of property; business planning;
- Marketing and foreign economic activity;
- Translation into any language of the world;
- Design and publishing services;
- Legal services;
- Business education,  information and consulting services;
- Exhibitions and presentations;
- In-house periodicals.