Objective —to investigate the prevalence of smoking in the rural population of the Krasnodar Territory. Subject and methods. A population-based sample of a rural population over 18 years old from the Krasnodar Territory was examined. The sample (2.189 people including women (54.0%) and men (46.0%); mean age, 47.72±16.6 years) was formed using the method of L. Kish. The smokers included individuals who smoked one or more cigarettes a day. The smoking index was calculated; the degree of motivation to quit smoking and that of nicotine dependence (test Fagerström) were evaluated. Statistical processing was done with the programs Statistica and SPSS 6.10.1. The data were presented as M±SD. Results. The prevalence of tobacco smoking in the rural population of the Krasnodarsk Territory was 21.6% (31.1% for men and 13.4% for women; p<0.0001). The highest smoking prevalence was recorded in 46—55-year-old (50.6%) men and 36—45-year-old (24.0%) women. The highest proportion of smokers with a weak degree of nicotine dependence was observed in men aged 18—25 years and in women aged 24—35 and over 65 years. The degree of nicotine dependence significantly increased with age in both men and women. The majority (80.5%) of smokers had a high degree of motivation to stop smoking in both men (72.8%) and women (95.6%); a high degree of motivation to quit smoking was found among men and women (100%) at the age of 18—25 years. The degree of motivation for smoking cessation rose with the increased level of education. Conclusion. The revealed differences must be taken into account when elaborating a regional smoking prevention and cessation program for a rural population.