city and administrative centre of Labinsk rayon (sector), Krasnodar kray (territory), western Russia. Labinsk lies along the Laba River where it flows into a plain. Founded in 1840 as a fortress, it was known as Labinskaya Stanitsa (stanitsa meaning “Cossack village”) until 1947, when it became a town. An agricultural centre, it has canning factories and timber milling, as well as a technical college. Pop. (2006 est.) 61,120.