The Kamchatskiy Kray was founded on the Kamchatka Peninsula in 2007 in the course of the Kamchatka Region and the Koryak Autonomous District merging.
The indigenous population (Itelmen, Even, Koryaks, Aleuts, Chuckchis) were the first settlers on the Kamchatka peninsula. The discovery of the eastern lands by Russians began in the 16-17th centuries. The Russian Cossacks needed only 60 years to explore through the Urals and Siberia up to the Pacific Ocean. F. Popov and S. Dezhnev were the first people who sailed round the Chuckchi peninsula and found a strait between Asia and America. The next investigations of the Far East were continued by V. Atlasov who contributed in joining Kamchatka to the Russian Empire. He first came to settle the area accompanied by 65 Cossacks and 60 Yukagir. The Russian czar Peter the Great signed a decree about the preparation of the first expedition through Siberia to Okhotsk and Kamchatka. There were 3 expeditions in total that helped to explore the Pacific ocean and Kamchatka. In 1740 two ships “St. Peter” and “St. Paul” led by V. Bering and A. Churikov came to Avacha Bay and settled a small town called Petropavlovsk in honor of two Saints – Peter and Paul. In order to settle this newly discovered land Russians were urged to move to Kamchatka with subsidies by the federal government.
Such explorers as Charles Clerk, James Cook and Francis de la Perouse have also been here.
In 1854 the port of Petropavlovsk was attacked by English and French ships. Even though the defense force was small, only 1.000 men, their bravery and extreme heroism won them the war. During and after World War II, Kamchatka began to develop as a military region. Submarine bases and patrols stretched along its borders. This is one of the reasons why Kamchatka was long closed to foreigners and Russians alike. Only in 1990 did it cautiously open its borders. Nowadays it's a modern city with population over 342,000 people.