kray [key] [Rus.,=edge], administrative and territorial unit of Russia. There are nine krays, or territories, within Russia. They are: Altai Territory, Kamchatka Territory, Khabarovsk Territory, Krasnodar Territory, Krasnoyarsk Territory, Maritime Territory, Perm Territory, Stavropol Territory, and Transbaykal Territory. Historically, these areas were frontier zones at the edges of the Russian Empire and were gradually annexed by Moscow. Tselinny Kray (see Virgin Lands Territory) was formed in 1960 in Kazakhstan (then part of the USSR), but it was disbanded in 1965. Perm Territory was created in 2005 through the merger of the Perm region and the Komi-Permyak Autonomous Area. The Kamchatka and Transbaykal territories were similarly created through mergers in 2007 and 2008 respectively.
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