It was created in 1860 out of Kuban Cossack territories that had once been part of the Crimean Khanate and the land of the Circassians.

The ataman ("commander") for each region was not only responsible for the military preparation of the Cossacks, but for the local administration duties.

Prior to 1870, this system of legislature in the oblast remained a robust military one and all legal decisions were carried out by the stanitsa ataman and two elected judges.

[citation needed] According to the Russian Empire Census, the Kuban oblast had a population of 1,918,881 on 28 January [O.S.

The plurality of the population indicated Ukrainian to be their mother tongue, with a significant Russian speaking minority.