an island off the east coast of Asia. It is part of the Sakhalin Region of the RSFSR. It is washed by the waters of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan. It is separated from the mainland by the Tatar Strait, the width of which at its narrowest point (the Nevelskoy Strait) is 7.3 km, to the south from about. Hokkaido (Japan) is separated by the La Perouse Strait. Elongated meridionally from Cape Krillon in the south to Cape Elizabeth in the north. Length 948 km, with an average width of about 100 km, on the isthmuses S. narrows: on Okhinsky up to 6 km, on the Belt up to 27 km. Area 76.4 thous. km 2.
The shores of the north are comparatively weakly indented; the large bays of Aniva and Terpeniya (wide open to the south) are found only in the southern and middle parts of the island; Peninsulas of Schmidt, Terpeniya, Tonino-Anivsky and Krillonsky sharply protrude into the sea. The mountainous parts of the coast are straight and steep; the lowlands are adjoined mainly by low shores, accompanied by strips of spits and lagoons (the largest in the northeast).
The relief is represented by medium-altitude mountains, low mountains and low-lying plains, the largest of which is the North Sakhalin Plain , takes sowing. part of the island (excluding the Schmidt Peninsula). The coastal areas are occupied by swampy lowlands, which are characterized by ancient sea terraces and coastal ramparts. Further south along the north stretch the Tym-Poronayskiy and Susunayskiy intermontane axial valleys, each formed by a pair of wide valleys diverging in opposite directions; the bottoms of the valleys are low-lying plains and hilly terraces. To the west of the axial depression along the coast of the Tatar Strait, the West Sakhalin Mountains stretch (Return city with Zhuravlev peak - 1325 m), to the east along the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk - the East Sakhalin Mountains (Lopatina, 1609 m) and the Susunaisky ridge (Chekhov, 1047 m), separated by the Bay of Patience. The Muravyov lowland on the isthmus of the same name separates the Tonino-Anivsky ridge from the Susunaisky (Kruzenshterna, 670 m) to the south-east. islands. North. the extremity of S., the Schmidt Peninsula, also consists of two ridges - the Eastern and Western ridges, separated by a low-lying valley. In the Three Brothers massif, the Eastern ridge reaches a height of 623 m(Second Brother). In the Lamanon mountains there are cones of extinct volcanoes (Krasnova, Ichara).
Geologically, S. is part of the Cenozoic folded region within the Pacific folded geosynclinal belt. In the structure of S., there are two meridional anticlinoria, the East Sakhalin and West Sakhalin, separated by the Central Sakhalin synclinorium. Paleozoic rocks are exposed in the core of the East Sakhalin anticlinorium, Upper Cretaceous rocks in the core of the West Sakhalin anticlinorium; The Central Sakhalin synclinorium is composed of Neogene sediments. Strong seismicity indicates continuing mountain-building processes.
Of the minerals, oil, gas and coal are in first place in terms of industrial value. Oil and gas deposits are confined to the Neogene sediments of sowing. parts (Ekhabinskoe, Catanglis, etc.); coal content is associated with Paleogene sediments, which are associated with deposits of various coals (Vakhrushevskoe, Novikovskoe, etc.). There are known deposits of gold (Langeriy district), ore occurrences of mercury and platinum.
The climate of S. is moderate monsoon. Cold, wetter than on the mainland winters and cool, rainy summers are characteristic. The cooling effect of the Siberian continental monsoon in winter and the cold waters of the Sea of Okhotsk in summer give the climate a harshness anomalous for these latitudes; strong snowstorms and snowfalls are associated with winter cyclones. Non-freezing areas of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Tatar Strait somewhat soften and humidify the winter monsoon. The summer monsoon brings humid oceanic air to the north, causing the maximum summer precipitation. The eastern shores are colder than the western ones as a result of the influence of sea currents — the cold Sakhalin in the east and the warm Tsushima in the southwest. Average January temperatures in the north of the island are from -17.7 to -24.5 ° C, and in the south from -6.2 to -12 ° C. Winter lasts 5-7 month, summer - 2-3 month The average August temperature in the north is from 10.9 to 15.6 ° C, and in the south from 16 to 19.6 ° C. Lingering fogs on the banks in summer. Typhoons with hurricane winds and heavy rains are not uncommon in autumn. There is 600-850 precipitation on the west coast mm, in the middle parts 500-750 mm, S. more than 400 mm, in the mountains - 1000-1200 mm in year.
The rivers are predominantly mountainous, abounding in water, and belong to the basin of the Okhotsk and Japan Seas. Floods in spring and early summer are associated with snow melting in the plains and in the mountains, summer and autumn runoff peaks are associated with monsoons and typhoons. Covered in ice from November - December to April - May. Most large rivers- Tym and Poronai, on the flat areas of which there is boat navigation, on many rivers there is timber rafting.
In the north, there are many small lakes, which are confined mainly to the low-lying or plain regions of the island, and along the seashores there are lagoons isolated from the sea. There are many swamps, especially extensive ones in the Poronayskaya lowland (Tym-Poronayskiy Dol).
Soils on the plains of S. are peaty-podzolic-boggy loamy, medium- and weakly podzolic sandy loam, in the axial valleys there are boggy and alluvial meadow-sod and meadow-gley soils; in the mountains - brown-taiga non-podzolized and weakly podzolized; in the East Sakhalin mountains there are mountain podzolic.
The flora of S. is predominantly South Okhotsk; in the south and southwest. it is dominated by North Japanese elements. The north is dominated by sparse larch taiga; south of 52 ° N sh. Ayan spruce and Sakhalin fir forests predominate; in the southwest the role of broad-leaved trees (maples, velvet, Manchurian ash, Mongolian oak, etc.) and lianas (actinidia, lemongrass, grapes) is increasing. In the upper belt of the mountains there are thickets of stone birch and dwarf cedar. Kuril bamboo is abundant in the undergrowth on the slopes of the West Sakhalin Mountains. Under the canopy of the forest, especially in the valleys, there is a developed high-grass area of giant ferns, Sakhalin buckwheat, etc. On the swampy plains, there are vast treeless spaces, reminiscent of tundra and forest-tundra.
Most of S. is characterized by the taiga-Siberian fauna, which is somewhat depleted in comparison with the mainland due to its insular position. Mammals include bear, fox, wolverine, sable, squirrel, chipmunk, sowing. deer, musk deer, etc. On the coastal rocks there are “bird colonies” (guillemot, hatchets, cormorants, etc.). Near the shores there are marine mammals: sea lion, sea otter, fur seal. Anadromous salmon fish enter rivers for spawning.
On the economy and the population of S., see Art. Sakhalin Region .
Yu. K. Efremov.
The most ancient tribes inhabiting S. are the Ains, Nivkhs, and Evenks. It was discovered by Europeans in the 17th century. The Cossacks of I. Yu. Moskvitin's detachment visited the north in 1640, the Dutch navigator De Vries in 1643, and participants in the expedition of V.D. Poyarkov in 1643-1646. S. studied at the end of the 18th century. French navigator J.F. La Perouse, at the head of the 19th century. Russian admiral I.F.Kruzenshtern. The expedition of G.I. Nevelskoy in 1848-49 established that S. is an island. According to Russian-Japanese treaties and agreements (see Russian-Japanese treaties and agreements), S. was recognized as a common possession in 1855 and a property of Russia in 1875. It was part of the Primorsky Region, and from 1884 it was independently governed by the head of the island (the administrative center was Aleksandrovsky Post). Since the end of the 60s. until 1906 - a place of hard labor and exile (see Sakhalin hard labor and exile).
From the 2nd half of the 19th century. the study and development of S. began by the Russians. In 1890 A.P. Chekhov visited S. After the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05, according to the Portsmouth Peace Treaty of 1905 (see Portsmouth Peace Treaty of 1905), southern North (south of 50 ° N lat.) Ceded to Japan. In 1909, the Sakhalin Oblast was formed on the territory of Northern S. (the center is the city of Aleksandrovsk). In 1918-1920 Northern S. was captured by the White Guards, and in 1920-25 it was occupied by Japan. Since May 1925 as part of the RSFSR. In 1926-30 the district of the Far Eastern Territory. In 1932, the Sakhalin Region was formed as part of the Far Eastern, and since 1938, the Khabarovsk Territory. As a result of the Sakhalin operation of 1945 Sov. troops liberated South S. In accordance with the decisions of the Crimean Conference 1945 (See Crimean Conference 1945) and the Potsdam Conference of 1945 (See the Potsdam Conference of 1945) South S. was returned to the USSR. In 1946, the Yuzhno-Sakhalin Region was formed as part of the Khabarovsk Territory. On January 2, 1947, an independent Sakhalin Region was created, including about. Sakhalin, Kuril Islands and Moneron and Tyuleniy islands.
Lit .: Sakhalin Island, Khabarovsk, 1971; Geology of the USSR, v. 33, p. 1 - Sakhalin Island, M., 1970; Zemtsova A.I., Climate of Sakhalin, L., 1968; Ivlev A.M., Soils of Sakhalin, M., 1965; Naumenko Z. M., Barannikov L. F., Forests and timber industry of Sakhalin, M. - L., 1960; Atlas of the Sakhalin region, M., 1967; A.P. Chekhov, Sakhalin Island, Sobr. cit., t. 10, M., 1963; Sakhalin Region Sat. Art., Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, 1960; Senchenko I.A., Revolutionaries of Russia in the Sakhalin penal servitude, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, 1963.
- - An island off the eastern shores of Asia between the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan. It is separated from the mainland by the Tatar Strait ...
Russia. Linguistic and Cultural Dictionary
- - the village of Seryshevsky district. Main in 1928. The name is somewhat metamorphic, for in Amur region Sakhalin refers to high dry areas of land among wetlands ...
Toponymic dictionary of the Amur region
- - an island off the east. coasts of Asia, between the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan. Part of the Sakhalin Region. RSFSR. Area 76.4 t. Km2, center - Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. According to archaeologists ...
Soviet Historical Encyclopedia
- - an island off the eastern shores of Asia, between the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan. It is separated from the mainland by the Tatar Strait. See Art. Sakhalin Region ...
Russian encyclopedia
- - V. ecological group of arboviruses; antigenic group Sakhalin; generic affiliation is not defined; pathogenicity for humans has not been established ...
Comprehensive Medical Dictionary
- - I island near the east. the coast of Siberia, between 46 ° and 54 ½ ° N. sh. and 141 ½ ° and 145 ° E. etc ....
- - in Japanese Karafuto. - According to the peace treaty between Russia and Japan on August 16, 1905, the southern part of the island, partly occupied by the Japanese during the war, went to the latter, while the northern part remained in the possession of Russia ...
Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron
- - an island off the east coast of Asia. It is part of the RSFSR region. Washed by the waters of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan ...
Great Soviet Encyclopedia
- - an island off the eastern shores of Asia, between the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan. The Tatar Strait is separated from the mainland. 76.4 thousand km & sup2. Length 948 km. Height up to 1609 m.On Sakhalin - North-Sakhalin Plain ...
Big encyclopedic dictionary
- - "southern Sakhal" ...
Russian spelling dictionary
- - Sakhalin People. Falcon influenced by the word fallop; see Sobolevsky, Lectures 145. The name of the island is derived from the Manchus; see Thomas 138 ...
Vasmer's etymological dictionary
Sakhalin in books
Travel to Sakhalin
From the book The Path to Chekhov the author Gromov Mikhail PetrovichTravel to Sakhalin April 21. Departure to Sakhalin. Route: to Yaroslavl - by rail, to Perm - by steamer along the Volga and Kama; then on horseback, in boats, on steamers - Yekaterinburg, Tyumen, Ishim, Kratny Yar, Dubrovin, Tomsk, Mariinsk, Achinsk, Krasnoyarsk, Kansk,
Chapter 7 Sakhalin
From the book Living in the Gulag. Collection of memories author Lazarev V.M.Chapter 7 Sakhalin So, we are on Sakhalin, not far from the village of Pogibi, Rybnovsky District. Here, indeed, work has already begun on the construction of the dam. It was supposed to connect the settlement of Pogibi and Cape Nevelskoy with a dam (distance of about forty kilometers), and by land Pogibi
TRIP TO SAKHALIN
the author Keyserling AlfredTRIP TO SAKHALIN After I so successfully "won" myself household utensils, the ice on the Amur became, and communication with the outside world, from which we were completely cut off for a month and a half, was restored - now on a sleigh. On Sakhalin, they planned to build a new prison.
SAKHALIN AND KAMCHATKA
From the book Memoirs of the Russian Service the author Keyserling AlfredSAKHALIN AND KAMCHATKA Our departure was sudden. We still hoped to hunt moose and bears in the upper reaches of the Zeya, and had already prepared everything for this expedition when Baron Korf informed us that we needed to return to Blagoveshchensk. Business issues were resolved and we said goodbye to
TRAVEL TO SAKHALIN
From the book Chekhov the author Gromov Mikhail PetrovichJOURNEY TO SAKHALIN 1 At the beginning of 1890, Chekhov was going to travel to Sakhalin to write a book about Russian hard labor after visiting India and Ceylon on the return nougat. “Sensational news,” reported the newspaper “Novosti Day” in January 1890, “A.P. Chekhov is taking
Sakhalin
From the book Human Work the author Svichkar Tatiana NikolaevnaSakhalin In Moscow, I hardly got a ticket to Khabarovsk. They had to go on the uppermost, third shelf, where the beds usually lie. “They take them off at night,” they said to me, “So you will have somewhere to sleep.” Take it, otherwise you’ll sit at the station for another month.
Chapter VI SAKHALIN
From the book Vlas Doroshevich. The fate of the feuilletonist the author Bookchin Semyon VladimirovichCHAPTER VI SAKHALIN In one of his feuilleton reviews, Doroshevich called Odessa "a very frank city that does not want to hide its vices" - "right at the entrance from the station to the left of the courthouse, to the right is the prison." We moved from the station to the prison several times a year, thundering
Sakhalin salad
From the book The best fish dishes on holidays and for every day the author Kashin Sergey Pavlovich12. Amber Sakhalin
From the book Modern Passions for Ancient Treasures the author Averkov Stanislav Ivanovich12. Amber Sakhalin But back to amber. It's easier to deal with than with the Popigai diamond. But nevertheless ... The sign of the presence of amber in nature is not a meteorite or an asteroid, but coal. An ancient peat bog will do, too.
9. SAKHALIN, see fig. p.13
From the book Baptism of Rus [Paganism and Christianity. Baptism of the Empire. Constantine the Great - Dmitry Donskoy. The Battle of Kulikovo in the Bible. Sergius of Radonezh - isob the author Nosovsky Gleb Vladimirovich9. SAKHALIN, see fig. p.13 Several lands have been identified on Sakhalin. We will move from south to north. ??? “The land of Rakhman. People walk naked in it, dress with garden leaves and feed on vegetables from those trees. And the riz (that is, clothes - Auth.), They have neither cattle, nor bread, nor hail, nor soldiers
Sakhalin island!
From the book Russian explorers - the glory and pride of Russia the author Glazyrin Maxim YurievichSakhalin island! 1853, September 22 (October 4), 08:00. The ship "Nikolay" approaches the southern coast of about. Sakhalin near Tamari-Aniva for a cannon shot. Russian boats and a longboat with an armed landing of 25 Russians approaching the shore. A crowd of armed men rushes from the sheds to the shore
Sakhalin
From the book Historical Districts of St. Petersburg from A to Z the author Glezerov Sergey EvgenievichSakhalin This is how the inhabitants of the Nevskaya Zastava called one of the most neglected places in the village of Smolensk beyond the Nevskaya Zastava. Now it is the area of Elizarov Avenue and Tkachey Street, as well as Obukhovskoy Oborony Avenue between the Nevsky Zavod Association (formerly Semyannikovsky) and
Sakhalin
From the book Encyclopedic Dictionary (C) author Brockhaus F.A.Sakhalin Sakhalin is an island near the east. the coast of Siberia, between 46 ° and 541/2 ° N. sh. and 1411/2 ° and 145 ° E. etc .; stretched from N to S for approx. 850 in., With the greatest width. in the 183th century. and the smallest in the 24th century. The closest distance from the mainland of Asia near the mouth of the Amur, between capes Lazarev and Pogobi, approx. 7 in .; south. the end
Sakhalin
From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (SA) of the author TSBSakhalin island
From the book The Far East. Guide the author Makarycheva VladaSakhalin Island (76.4 thousand km2, 4 miles east of the mainland in the narrowest part of the strait) The largest island in the Russian Federation. It is washed by the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan. The length from Cape Crillon to Cape Elizabeth is 948 km, width -
Sakhalin makes an indelible impression on the traveler. It is enough to look at the photos of these places, you fall in love with this amazing land in absentia, the local landscapes are so beautiful. There are sights that are historical heritage, but the main wealth of the Sakhalin region is its natural monuments.
The regional museums of the region display expositions reflecting the life of the indigenous peoples. In addition, here you can see exhibitions dedicated to the modern culture of the countries of the East, walk around Chekhov's places. Of course, interesting is the museum of railway equipment in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, which, by right, is considered one of the most visited attractions in the region.
The museum is interesting, first of all, for its unique technology, as well as for the narrow-gauge railway, which has no analogues in the whole world: its track gauge is 1067 mm, and it is fully operational. So part of the museum's collection is located right in the open air. Here you can see a variety of carriages, mini-steam locomotives of the 30s of the XX century, and other old equipment.
Interesting are also such island rarities as the old branch of the railway line, located between Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Kholmsk, or the narrow-gauge railway Nogliki-Okha, which operates to this day in the north of Sakhalin, and other monuments of the heritage of the Karafuto governorate, as well as lighthouses with a century-old history, an unusual tunnel in the form of a broken line at Cape Jonkier, not far from Aleksandrovsk-Sakhalinsky, laid in solid rocky ground by convicts, an ancient man's camp and much more.
However, the greatest interest is caused not by man, but by nature itself. A place that any tourist wants to see is a tiny piece of land in the Sea of Okhotsk east of Sakhalin, which is marked on all maps of the world as Tyuleniy Island. There is a unique rookery of fur seals, you can see such an accumulation of these sea animals only here and near the Commander Islands in the USA. And although no ship has the right to approach the protected area closer than 30 miles, and aircraft are prohibited from flying over this place, you can get here on an excursion.
The sights of Sakhalin include its thermal springs: Lesogorskie (near the village of Lesogorsk, along the Lesogorka river), Lunskie (on the Lunsky Bay, in the isthmus region), Daginskie (in the village of Goryachy Klyuchi, half a kilometer from the Nogliki-Okha highway).
In the Krasnogorsk region you can see a grove of relict yews, not far from the village of Vakhrusheva, admire the amazingly beautiful waterfall of the Nituy River, marvel at huge stone statues similar to idols from Easter Island on Cape Stukabis or rock arches of Cape Velikan, and not far from the villages of Staradubskoe and Vzmor Sakhalin amber of the color of thick tea with a cherry tint, which is not inferior in quality to the Baltic amber.
Of course, these are not all the wonders of Sakhalin, which these lands are so generously endowed with. You just can't tell everything. Perhaps the last thing I would like to mention is salmon spawning, which is also one of the main natural attractions of the Sakhalin Region. Anyone who has never seen how stubbornly this sea fish goes to spawning grounds, jumping over rapids and overcoming waterfalls, streams flowing into the ocean, will be extremely interesting to observe this amazing natural phenomenon.
mountain Sister Sakhalin Island 
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT SAKHALIN
Sakhalin - largest island Russia, washed by the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan, separated from the mainland by the narrow Tatar Strait and the Nevelskoy Strait, from the island of Hokkaido by the La Perouse Strait.
Until the 19th century, the status of Sakhalin was not defined. For the first time it was secured to Russia by the St. Petersburg Treaty of 1875, according to which the island of Sakhalin was transferred to Russia, and the northern Kuril Islands became the property of Japan.
Immediately after the conclusion of this treaty, tsarist Russia identified Sakhalin as a place of exile and hard labor for criminals. After the end of the Russo-Japanese War and the signing of the Portsmouth Treaty, Japan received South Sakhalin, but in 1920 the Japanese occupation of Northern Sakhalin began, which lasted until 1925. After the end of World War II, the entire territory of Sakhalin Island was incorporated into the USSR.
Sakhalin attracts tourists primarily with its unique nature... Mount Vaida (900 meters above sea level) and Vaidia cave are a unique natural complex. In the cave, you can admire the bizarre stalactites and stalagmites and other wonders.
In addition to its healing properties, Daginsky thermal springs are also a unique natural monument. This is a very unusual sight - the ponds outgoing by the ferry, in which wild swans swim, surrounded by pristine nature.
Sakhalin is famous for its mineral springs and curative mud. Near Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk there is a unique mineral spring Sinegorsk, carbonic bicarbonate-chloride sodium water with a high arsenic content. This rare type of natural mineral water is used in the treatment of diseases with impaired cellular metabolism and radiation sickness. Procedures with carbonic-arsenic waters and for the treatment of hematopoietic organs are used.
On the shores of the Tatar Strait there are balneological health resorts using sea silt sulphide mud. This mud is used to treat slow healing ulcers and other skin diseases of various origins.
The Daginsky thermal springs of Sakhalin treat such serious diseases of the musculoskeletal system as arthrosis, arthritis, polyarthritis, neuritis, sciatica, osteochondrosis, as well as most skin diseases.
On the eastern outskirts of the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk there is a modern, well-equipped ski base"Mountain air". About 10 kilometers of ski slopes of various difficulty categories are laid along the slopes of Mount Bolshevik. A modern snow park has been built for snowboarders, equipped with jumps and rails, and a special chute has been arranged for tubing lovers. The slopes are equipped with a drag lift and a gondola-chair lift.
Burunnaya Bay Sakhalin Island 
GEOGRAPHY OF SAKHALIN ISLAND, WHERE IT IS, HOW TO GET THERE
Sakhalin (Japanese 樺 太 ， Chinese 库 页 / 庫 頁) is an island off the east coast of Asia. It is part of the Sakhalin Region. The largest island in Russia. It is washed by the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan. It is separated from mainland Asia by the Tatar Strait (in the narrowest part - the Nevelskoy Strait - it is 7.3 km wide and freezes in winter); from the Japanese island of Hokkaido - by the La Perouse Strait.
The island got its name from the Manchu name of the Amur River - "Sakhalyan-ulla", which means "Black River" - this name, printed on the map, was mistakenly attributed to Sakhalin, and in subsequent editions of maps it was printed as the name of the island.
The Japanese call Sakhalin Karafuto, this name goes back to the Ainu "kamui-kara-puto-ya-mosir", which means "land of the god of the mouth." In 1805, a Russian ship under the command of I.F.Kruzenshtern explored most of the Sakhalin coastline and concluded that Sakhalin was a peninsula. In 1808, Japanese expeditions led by Matsuda Denzuro and Mamiya Rinzo proved that Sakhalin was an island. Most European cartographers were skeptical about the Japanese data. For a long time, on different maps, Sakhalin was designated either an island or a peninsula. Only in 1849 did the expedition under the command of G. I. Nevelskoy put an end to this issue, passing on the military transport ship "Baikal" between Sakhalin and the mainland. This strait was later named after Nevelskoy.
The island stretches meridionally from Cape Crillon in the south to Cape Elizabeth in the north. The length is 948 km, the width is from 26 km (Poyasok Isthmus) to 160 km (at the latitude of the village of Lesogorskoe), the area is 76.4 thousand km².
Tikhaya Bay Sakhalin Island 
TOURISM IN SAKHALIN
Sakhalin Oblast Tourism
The tourist potential of the Sakhalin Region is huge, although not fully exploited. The island of Sakhalin and the Kuriles itself is a treasury of the Far Eastern nature. And the focus on tourism, which is being made today by local authorities and business representatives, will bring it to one of the leading positions in the economy of the islands.
The area is primarily of interest to Japanese tourists, which is due to the presence of natural and historical resources. As for the infrastructure, it is poorly developed. Nevertheless, at the beginning of 2011, 57 travel companies operated in the region, of which 34 were tour operators and 23 travel agents.
The Sakhalin Region is an attractive territory for the development of ecotourism. True, most travel companies are still focused on outbound tourism. 90% of those entering are Japanese citizens who require a high level of comfort from accommodation, transport, information services, which is not inferior to the Japanese. Therefore, today many hotels in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk strive to provide services High Quality, in terms of safety, sanitation and comfort. Many restaurants operating in hotels offer a menu, including oriental cuisine, and even a separate Japanese one.
In addition, with the assistance of the regional administration, a number of measures were carried out at the expense of investors, the purpose of which is to support and develop the tourism industry. As part of the work to preserve the monuments of Japanese culture, an action was carried out to improve the territory of the former treasury of the Karafuto jinja temple.
Sakhalin Energy, together with the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in the Sakhalin Region, implemented a project to arrange an ecological route to Chekhov Peak. The construction of a tourist complex in the village. Hot Springs of the Nogliki District. Landscaping of the territory of the tourist base "Aquamarine" (the village of Lesnoye, Korsakovsky district) was carried out. Construction issue is being discussed tourist complex on the territory of Lesogorsk thermal mineral springs. A catalog of investment proposals in the field of tourism has been formed, including a proposal for the development of beach areas in the Sakhalin region.
And finally, a megaproject is underway in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to create the Sakhalin City Center, which will globally change the focus in tourism, because investors expect that upon completion of the project, Sakhalin will become a tourist mecca, and it is inbound tourism that will generate income.
natural rock arch at Cape Kuznetsov 
Today in the Sakhalin region one of the best ski resorts in the region. For this type of recreation, the Sakhalin winter provides excellent opportunities. In the south of the island, abundant snow cover lasts an unusually long time (up to 6 months), not only on medium-high mountain peaks, but also in valleys, which ideally matches the standards of Olympic winter outdoor sports. If desired, skiers can extend the season for another couple of months on the slopes of the highest Sakhalin mountain, Lopatina, which is located in the middle of the island.
A wide variety of recreational routes with visits to thermal springs in different parts of the region, where you can take advantage of unique healing mineral waters and muds that meet a wide range of medical needs, ranging from gastrotherapy, neuropathology, to severe skin diseases and diseases of the musculoskeletal system.
Some travel companies are already ready to provide the most interesting entertainment and sports programs. This is water tourism, with rowing on kayaks, rafting and catamarans, sea travel on yachts, and autotourism, and the most interesting hiking trails along Sakhalin and the Kuriles, and helicopter trips to completely inaccessible corners of the Sakhalin region.
Well, and exotic. Unique geological natural monuments, an abundance and variety of seafood, racing on relict reindeer sleds and supermodern snowmobiles, bear hunting, professional fishing, all kinds of water activities, visiting rookeries of sea animals and much more.
Sea of Okhotsk 
ROUTES IN SAKHALIN
Sakhalin Island Routes
Sakhalin land is beautiful and amazing, there are so many interesting things here that you can fall in love with it in absentia. It is difficult to tell about everything, but it is easy to imagine how difficult the choice of a tourist is, because you want to see as much as possible. And this despite the fact that the tourism sector is not fully developed here, especially the Kuril Islands, which are part of the Sakhalin Region. The routes are very different, from quite budget ones to striking in their cost and scope of ideas, like trips by helicopter to the Southern Kuriles or along Sakhalin, for example, to the lake "Upper" of the Spamberg Mountain, which has no connection with the outside world.
Quite expensive tours include bear hunting and deer hunting. However, most are classified as ecological tourism, which includes fishing, berry picking, diving, boat trips on the lakes.
LLC "Imperial Tour" is ready to take you to the Dolinka River on an all-terrain vehicle, to Lake Ainskoye on a GAZ-66 car, to assist in trips to the Kura River and Lake Ptichye.
Travel company LLC "Moguchi" offers routes for corporate rest, in particular, delivery to the hard-to-reach Sakhalin peninsula - Cape Krillon. The rocky islands of Hirano, the seal rookery, visiting historical sites(Cape Kanabeyev, Hochemina trail, old Japanese bridges, grottoes), numerous waterfalls and weeping rocks. The huntsman-guide will demonstrate how commercial fishing for pink salmon goes, then he will show how to cook five-minute red caviar in field conditions, Sakhalin-style fish soup, pink salmon baked in burdocks. I must say that seafood and fish will constantly be present on your table, regardless of the direction of the path that you choose.
The company organizes trips to the north of Sakhalin, to its Okha region, where you can hunt bears, fur-bearing animals and feathered game, go fishing and just watch local birds and animals. From here you will certainly bring unique photographs.
Intour-Sakhalin offers a number of interesting routes. The 50th Parallel program is a trip to the Japanese places of the island. The route starts in Korsakov, then tourists visit lakes Tunaicha and Chastichivoe, Poronaysk, the former border between the USSR and Japan, the so-called 50th Parallel, settlements Pobedino, Smirnykh, the city of Kholmsk.
The company organizes the route Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk - Tikhaya Bay, with a stop in Vzmorye and a visit to a Japanese temple. The Intur-Sakhalin arsenal has many one-day programs: a tour to the Mogutan mud volcano in the village of Pugachevo and a geological monument in the vicinity of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, nicknamed the "frog" for its shape; excursion around the territory of the Yuzhno-Sakhalin ski resort; Boat trip to Cape Vindis and Cape Kuznetsov, on the slopes of the sea terraces of which countless cormorants, gulls, guillemots nest, and where you can see sea lions and seals all year round. In the form of one-day routes, you can also get acquainted with other sights of Sakhalin (Moneron Island, Cape Velikan, Cape Krillon).
In winter, for those wishing to rest in Nekrasovka (Nogliki district of Sakhalin) with sleigh rides in a dog sled through Cape Tatyana to Moskalev and back.
In summer, a 6-day route to the Susunai Valley is good for recreation (Lake Tunaicha, fishing on the Komissarovka River, in the vicinity of the village of Pervaya Pad and on Teplye Lakes, as well as a visit to Cape Svobodny on the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk). Sakhalin island 
In the south of the island, "Intur-Sakhalin" offers to climb the Bolshevik mountain by cable-gondola, climb Chekhov's peak, relax on Lake Tunaicha and the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk and go to Starodubskoye to get acquainted with the place of collecting amber, which the sea throws on the shore after the storm.
The route "Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk - Nogliki" includes a visit to the village of Goryachy Klyuchi, near which healing hot springs are located. The concert of the Nivkhinka folklore ensemble adds an exotic touch to the trip.
Recreational routes include a trip to Sinegorsk, which is famous for its mineral springs and the sanatorium "Sinegorskie mineral water". Water from these springs is also used in medical institutions in Dolinsk.
There are routes for lovers active rest... One of them is the conquest of Mount Lopatin (1609 m).
As part of a 9-day tour Travel Company"Mishka Tour" offers a walking tour to an unusually beautiful natural monument - the Zhdanko mountain range. Accompanied by qualified guides and certified rescuers from the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation, you can go on a speleological tour to the caves of Mount Vaida or climb the 20-meter Khomutovsky rocks, climb Peak Smely, take an ice-climbing course on the unusually beautiful icefalls of the Zhdanko Ridge. Each participant of the excursion receives special equipment, undergoes mandatory instructions and learns to work with a rope, at heights and in caves. The head of the route always has means for scaring away animals (hand flares), radio stations, a satellite phone, a first aid kit, and rescue equipment.
An extreme tour in the Dolinsky district involves a rope crossing over a roaring threshold mountain river and a deep canyon. You will have the opportunity to walk around the area and see places of unique beauty.
Also, with experienced travel agency instructors, you can dive in the area of Cape Juno or in a sea lion rookery in the Nevelsk area to observe the life of these animals under water, explore the seabed near the village of Prigorodnoye (Snorkeling), see gray whales from the Piltun Cape lighthouse, challenge Sakhalin lakes, having mastered kayaking.
For fans of extreme sports, a one-day rafting along the upper reaches of the Krasnoarmeyka River, with the passage of the Bykovsky Rapid, one of the most difficult and most beautiful in the south of Sakhalin. Another extreme route is a 3-day rafting on catamarans along Lutoga. Each participant of the excursion is provided with quality equipment. At other times and in a different way, you can come to the upper reaches of the Lyutoga to watch salmon spawning.
In addition, "Mishka Tour" provides one-day boat trips along hard-to-reach capes and bays off the western coast of the Tonino-Aniva Peninsula, along the ancient volcanoes of the Zhdanko ridge, a trip to Cape Burunny, to Cape Kuznetsov.
The Ostrov travel agency specializes in fishing and hunting tours. It offers its clients routes to the bays of Nyisky and Nabil, to the rivers Dagi, Tym, Lyutoga, Poronai, rafting on the Evay river with fishing in Chayvo Bay, hunting in the central and southern parts of the island.
With the travel agency LLC "Island travel" Sivuch "you can see the most beautiful waterfalls of the island. Visit the shore of the waterfalls at Cape Bird, admire the Uyunovsky and Aikhor waterfalls, as well as the waterfall on Olkhovatka, go to the Imperial Lake.
Island Noticeable, Tikhaya Bay 
SAKHALIN ISLAND RELIEF
The relief of the island is composed of medium-high mountains, low mountains and low-lying plains. The southern and central parts of the island are characterized by mountainous relief and consist of two meridionally oriented mountain systems- West Sakhalin (up to 1327 m high - Onor) and East Sakhalin mountains (up to 1609 m high - Lopatin), separated by the longitudinal Tym-Poronayskaya lowland. The north of the island (with the exception of the Schmidt Peninsula) is a gentle, hilly plain.
The shores of the island are weakly indented; large bays - Aniva and Terpeniya (wide open to the south) are located in the southern and middle parts of the island, respectively. V coastline there are two large bays and four peninsulas.
The following 11 regions are distinguished in the relief of Sakhalin:
The Schmidt Peninsula (about 1.4 thousand km ²) is a mountainous peninsula in the extreme north of the island with steep, sometimes steep shores and two meridional ridges - Western and Eastern; highest point- Town of Three Brothers (623 m); connected with the North Sakhalin plain by the Okha isthmus, the width of which at its narrowest point is just over 6 km;
The North Sakhalin Plain (about 28 thousand km ²) is a gently hilly area south of the Schmidt Peninsula with a widely ramified river network, weakly expressed watersheds and separate low mountain ranges, stretching from Baikal Bay in the north to the confluence of the Nysh and Tymisha rivers in the south point - Daakhuria (601 m); The northeastern coast of the island stands out as a sub-area, which is characterized by large lagoons (the largest are Piltun, Chayvo, Nyisky, Nabilsky, Lunsky bays), separated from the sea by narrow strips of alluvial spits, dunes, low sea terraces - in this sub-area and the main Sakhalin oil and gas fields are located on the adjacent shelf of the Sea of Okhotsk;
The West Sakhalin Mountains stretch almost 630 km from the latitude with. Hohe (51º19 "N) in the north to the Krillon Peninsula in the extreme south of the island; the average width of the mountains is 40-50 km, the largest (at the latitude of Cape Lamanon) is about 70 km; the axial part is formed by Kamyshovy (north of the Poyasok Isthmus) and South Kamyshovy Ridges;
The Tym-Poronayskaya lowland is located in the middle part of the island and is a hilly-ridged lowland stretching for about 250 km in the meridional direction - from the Terpeniya Bay in the south to the confluence of the Tym and Nysh rivers in the north; the maximum width (up to 90 km) reaches at the mouth of the Poronai River, the minimum (6-8 km) - in the valley of the Tym River; in the north it passes into the Nabil lowland; covered with a thick cover of Cenozoic sediments, composed of sedimentary deposits of the Quaternary period: sandstones, pebbles; the highly swampy southern part of the lowland is called the Poronayskaya "tundra";
The Susunai Lowland is located in the southern part of the island and stretches for about 100 km from Aniva Bay in the south to the Naiba River in the north; from the west, the lowland is bounded by the West Sakhalin Mountains, from the east - by the Susunai Range and the Korsakov Plateau; in the southern part, the width of the lowland reaches 20 km, in the center - 6 km, in the north - 10 km; absolute heights in the north and south do not exceed 20 m above sea level, in the central part, at the watershed of the basins of the rivers Susuya and Bolshaya Takoy, they reach 60 m; refers to the type of internal lowlands and is a tectonic depression filled with a large layer of Quaternary deposits; within the limits of the Susunayskaya lowland are the cities of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Aniva, Dolinsk and about half of the island's population lives;
The East Sakhalin Mountains are represented in the north by the Lopatinsky mountain cluster (the highest point is the city of Lopatina, 1609 m) with ridges radiating outward from it; two spurs in the opposite direction represent the Nabil ridge; in the south, the Nabilsky ridge passes into the Central ridge, in the north, sharply declining, into the North Sakhalin plain;
Lowland of the Terpeniya Peninsula - the smallest of the regions, occupies a large part of the Terpeniya Peninsula to the east of the Terpeniya Bay;
The Susunai Range stretches from north to south for 70 km and has a width of 18-120 km; the highest points are Mount Pushkinskaya (1047 m) and Chekhov Peak (1045 m); it is composed of Paleozoic deposits, at the foot of the western macroslope of the ridge is the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk;
The Korsakov plateau is bounded in the west by the Susunai lowland, in the north by the Susunai ridge, in the east by the Muravyov lowland, in the south by the Aniva Bay, has a slightly wavy surface formed by a system of flat-topped ridge ridges elongated in the northeastern direction; the town of Korsakov is located on the southern tip of the plateau on the shores of Aniva Bay;
Muravyov lowland (in the picture) is located between Aniva bays in the south and Mordvinov bays in the north, has a ridged relief with flat tops of ridges; within the lowland there are many lakes, including the so-called "Warm Lakes", where the people of South Sakhalin like to go on vacation;
Tonino-Anivsky ridge stretches from north to south, from Cape Svobodny to Cape Aniva, almost 90 km, the highest point is Mount Kruzenshtern (670 m); composed of Cretaceous and Jurassic deposits.
Cape Giant, Sakhalin 
ATTRACTIONS OF SAKHALIN ISLAND
Bird lake
Beautiful and amazing lake in the south of Sakhalin island
Devil's bridge on Sakhalin
A unique structure on Sakhalin, located in this moment in a semi-disassembled state.
Bird waterfall
The largest waterfall on the island is Kunashir, which attracts a large number of tourists every year.
Volcano Golovnin
An active volcano on Kunashir Island with two amazing lakes at the bottom of the crater
Cape and Lighthouse Aniva
Cape in the southeast of Sakhalin Island with the lighthouse of the same name
White cliffs of Sakhalin
Amazing white rocks on the shores of the Okhotsk sea
Lake Tunaicha
One of the most favorite vacation spots for Sakhalin residents
Aikhor Sakhalin waterfall 
Tyatya volcano
Huge active volcano located on Kunashir Island, Kuril Islands.
Iturup Island
South island Kuril ridge, a real treasure of natural attractions and a great place to relax in nature.
Cape Column
A unique rock formation on the Kunashir island.
Sakhalin hot springs
A unique source of healing water in the north of Sakhalin.
Cape Crillon
Cape Crillon is the most South point Sakhalin Islands
Ilya-Muromets waterfall
One of the largest and most beautiful waterfalls in Russia.
Tatar Strait Sakhalin 
SAKHALIN CLIMATE
Sakhalin's climate is moderate monsoon (average January temperature is from -6 ° C in the south to -24 ° C in the north, August - from + 19 ° C to + 10 ° C, respectively), marine with long cold snowy winters and average warm summers. Average annual temperature in the north of the island (according to long-term data) it is about −1.5 ° C, in the south - + 2.2 ° C.
The following factors influence the climate:
The geographical position is between 46º and 54º N. determines the arrival of solar radiation from 410 kJ / year in the north to 450 kJ / year in the south.
In winter, the weather is largely determined by the Siberian anticyclone: at this time, northern and northwestern winds prevail, severe frosts can stand, especially in the central part of the island with a moderately continental microclimate. At the same time, winter cyclones can come from the south (which are practically absent in the mainland regions of the Russian Of the Far East), determining strong and frequent storms. So, in the winter of 1970, a series of snowy cyclones hit the region, accompanied by numerous avalanches. The wind reached a hurricane force (individual gusts - up to 50 m / sec), snow cover in the southern part of Sakhalin exceeded the norm by 3-4 times, reaching 6-8 m in some places.Burans paralyzed the work of all types of transport, seaports, industrial enterprises ...
The position between the Eurasian continent and the Pacific Ocean determines the monsoon nature of the climate. It is associated with a humid and warm, rather rainy Sakhalin summer. Summer starts in June and ends in September.
The mountainous terrain affects the direction and speed of the wind. A decrease in wind speed in intermontane basins (in particular, in the relatively large Tym-Poronayskaya and Susunayskaya lowlands) contributes to cooling the air in winter and warming up in summer, it is here that the greatest temperature contrasts are observed; while the mountains protect the named lowlands, and also West Coast from the effects of the cold air of the Sea of Okhotsk.
In summer, the contrast between the western and eastern coasts of the island is enhanced by the correspondingly warm Tsushima Current. Sea of Japan, which reaches the southwestern tip of Sakhalin, and the cold East Sakhalin Current of the Sea of Okhotsk, which runs along the eastern coast from north to south.
The cold Sea of Okhotsk affects the climate of the island as a giant thermal accumulator, determining a prolonged cold spring and a relatively warm autumn: snow in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk sometimes lasts until mid-May (and in 1963 heavy snowfall was noted on June 1), while the flower beds in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk can bloom until early November. If we compare Sakhalin with similar (in terms of climatic indicators) territories of European Russia, then the seasons on the island replace each other with a delay of about three weeks. For the same reason, the warmest month of the year in Sakhalin is August, and the coldest is February. The average September temperature is almost always higher than the average June.
city of Nevelsk 
Air temperature
The maximum temperature on Sakhalin (+ 39 ° C) was noted in July 1977 in the village. Border on east coast(Nogliki district). The minimum temperature on Sakhalin (-50 ° C) was recorded in January 1980 in the village. Ado-Tymovo (Tymovsky district). The registered temperature minimum in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is -36 ° C (January 1961), the maximum is + 34.7 ° C (August 1999).
The greatest average annual amount precipitation (990 mm) falls in the city of Aniva, the least (476 mm) - at the Kuegda meteorological station (Okha region). The average annual precipitation in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (according to long-term data) is 753 mm.
The earliest stable snow cover appears on Cape Elizaveta (Okhinsky District) and in the village of Ado-Tymovo (Tymovsky District) - on average on October 31, the latest - in Korsakov (on average on December 1). The average dates for the melting of the snow cover are from April 22 (Kholmsk) to May 28 (Cape Elizabeth). In Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, stable snow cover appears on average on November 22 and disappears on April 29.
Frequent cyclones are often accompanied by floods. The latter took place in the southern part of the island already in 2009. Both in June and July 2009 in the south of Sakhalin there were three monthly precipitation norms, on July 15-16, the amount of precipitation in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk reached 107 mm, that is, almost two monthly norm. Many rivers overflowed their banks, twice due to the destruction of the railway line, traffic on the Sakhalin railway, connecting the south and north of the island, was stopped.
The most powerful typhoon in the last 100 years "Phyllis", moving from the Pacific Ocean to the northwest, hit the island in August 1981. The maximum precipitation then fell on August 5-6, and from August 4 to August 7, 322 fell in the south of Sakhalin mm of precipitation (about three monthly norms). The typhoon was accompanied by catastrophic floods. The water in some rivers rose 6.5 m, landslides and mudflows were observed. The situation was aggravated by stormy southeasterly winds causing seawater surge on the coasts of Aniva and Terpeniya bays. The flood caused human casualties, more than two thousand families were left homeless. The Anivsky, Smirnykhovsky and Poronaysky districts were especially affected.
Typhoon Georgia hit the south of Sakhalin on September 18-19, 1970. In a matter of hours, the monthly norm of precipitation fell, the water on the rivers rose by 5 m, crops were flooded, a large number of livestock died, roads and railways were washed out. The hurricane wind led to massive destruction of power lines. There were human casualties.
2002 turned out to be fruitful for powerful typhoons: from July 11 to 15, typhoon "Chataan" and the tropical depression "Nerri" caused very heavy rains in the south of Sakhalin, mudflows, landslides. Roads were washed out, houses were flooded. On September 2, Typhoon Rusa again brought heavy downpours to the south of the island. The water in the rivers rose by 2.5-4.5 m. 449 houses were flooded, 9 bridges were destroyed. In the Nevelsk region, 80 mudflows came down. Finally, on October 2-3, Typhoon Higos, moving from the Japanese islands, crossed the southern part of Sakhalin and caused very heavy rains and storm winds. As a result of numerous accidents on power lines, there was no electricity in twenty settlements, roads were washed out. A ship sank in the Gulf of Patience. In Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, a strong wind knocked down more than a thousand trees, several people were injured from their fall.
There are 16120 lakes on Sakhalin with a total area of about 1000 km². The areas of their greatest concentration are the north and southeast of the island. The two largest lakes of Sakhalin are Nevskoye with a mirror area of 178 km² (Poronaysky district, near the mouth of the Poronai River) and Tunaicha (174 km²) (Korsakovsky district, in the north of the Muravyov lowland); both lakes belong to the lagoon type.
Aniva Bay 
NATURAL RESOURCES
Sakhalin is characterized by a very high potential natural resources. In addition to biological resources, the reserves of which Sakhalin is one of the first in Russia, there are very large reserves of hydrocarbons and coal on the island and its shelf. In terms of the volume of explored reserves of gas condensate, the Sakhalin Region ranks 4th in Russia, gas - 7th, coal - 12th (in the figure) and oil - 13th place, while within the region the reserves of these minerals are practically are entirely concentrated on Sakhalin and its shelf. Other natural resources of the island include wood, gold, mercury, platinum, germanium, chromium, talc, and zeolites.
FLORA AND FAUNA
Both the flora and fauna of the island are depleted both in comparison with the adjacent areas of the mainland, and in comparison with the island of Hokkaido located to the south.
The history of the floristic study of Sakhalin, probably begun by Fyodor Bogdanovich Schmidt in 1859, goes back more than 150 years.
As of the beginning of 2004, the flora of the island includes 1521 species of vascular plants, belonging to 575 genera from 132 families, and 7 families and 101 genera are represented only by alien species. The total number of alien species on the island is 288, or 18.9% of the total flora. According to the main taxonomic groups, the vascular plants of the Sakhalin flora are distributed as follows (excluding the invasive ones): vascular spore plants - 79 species (including lycopods - 14, horsetails - 8, ferns - 57), gymnosperms - 9 species, angiosperms - 1146 species (including including monocots - 383, dicots - 763). The leading families of vascular plants in the flora of Sakhalin are sedges (Cyperaceae) (121 species excluding invasive ones - 122 species including invasive ones), Asteraceae (120-175), Poaceae (108-152), Rosaceae (58 - 68), buttercup (Ranunculaceae) (54 - 57), heather (Ericaceae) (39 - 39), clove (Caryophyllaceae) (38 - 54), buckwheat (Polygonaceae) (37 - 57), orchid (Orchidaceae) (35 - 35), cruciferous (Brassicaceae) (33 - 53).
By life forms, the vascular plants of Sakhalin are distributed as follows: trees - 44 species, lianas - 9, shrubs - 82, shrubs - 54, semi-shrubs and semi-shrubs - 4, perennial grasses - 961, annual and biennial grasses - 79 (all figures are given without taking into account alien species).
The main forest-forming species of the coniferous forests of Sakhalin are Gmelin larch (Larix gmelinii) and fine-scaled larch (Larix leptolepis) introduced from Japan, ayan spruce (Picea ajanensis) and Glen spruce (Picea glehnii), Sakhalin pine fir (Abieslvest sympathy), introduced sachalinensis ). The predominant deciduous species are stone birch (Betula ermanii) and white (Betula alba), downy alder (Alnus hirsuta), aspen (Populus tremula), sweet poplar (Populus suaveolens), dew willow (Salix rorida), goats (Salix caprea) and heart-leaved (Salix cardiophylla), chozenia (Chosenia arbutifolia), Japanese elm (Ulmus japonica) and lobed elm (Ulmus laciniata), yellow maple (Acer ukurunduense).
There are 44 species of mammals on the island, the most well known of which are bear, sable, otter, American mink, reindeer, wolverine, musk deer, represented here by a special Sakhalin subspecies, raccoon dog, sea lion and others. About half of the Sakhalin theriofauna species are rodents.
There are 378 bird species recorded on Sakhalin; 201 of them (53.1%) nest on the island. The largest number of species (352) was recorded in the southern part of the island, 320 species were recorded in the central part, and 282 species in the northern part. Most nesting birds (88 species) are passerines; in addition, the avifauna has a high proportion of charadriiformes (33 nesting species), lamellar-billed (22 nesting species), owls and diurnal birds of prey (11 nesting species each).
seal rookery 
RED BOOK
The island's fauna, flora and mycobiota include many rare protected species of animals, plants and fungi. 18 species of mammals registered on Sakhalin, 97 species of birds (including 50 nesting ones), seven species of fish, 20 species of invertebrates, 113 species of vascular plants, 13 species of bryophytes, seven species of algae, 14 species of fungi and 20 species of lichens (i.e. 136 species of animals, 133 species of plants and 34 species of mushrooms - a total of 303 species) have the status of protected, that is, they are listed in the Red Book of the Sakhalin Region, while about a third of them are simultaneously included in the Red Book Russian Federation».
Of the "federal Red Book" flowering plants, the flora of Sakhalin includes heart-shaped aralia (Aralia cordata), bulbous calypso (Calypso bulbosa), Glen's cardiocrinum (Cardiocrinum glehnii), Japanese sedge (Carex japonica) and gray-leaved turtle (Carex livida), venus Cypripedium calceolus) and large-flowered (Cypripedium macranthum), Grey's bifolia (Diphylleia grayi), leafless epiphyl (Epipogium aphyllum), Japanese kandyk (Erythronium japonicum), tall potbelly (Gastrodia elata), Iris enslifanthia) ), calopanax seven-lobed (Kalopanax septemlobum), tiger lily (Lilium lancifolium), Tolmachev's honeysuckle (Lonicera tolmatchevii), long-legged winged seedling (Macropodium pterospermum), whole-leafed leaf mugs of Rhodewort folia - Miyakea single leaf vascular plant (Miyakea) (Neottianthe cucullata), obovate peonies (Paeonia obovata) and mountain peonies (Paeonia or eogeton), rough bluegrass (Poa radula) and Wright's viburnum (Viburnum wrightii), that is, 23 species. In addition, there are eight more "federal Red Book" plants on the island: two types of gymnosperms - Sargent's juniper (Juniperus sargentii) and pointed yew (Taxus cuspidata), three species of ferns - Asiatic half-ear (Isoëtes asiatica), Mikel's leptorumor (Leptorumoh) Wright's mecodium (Mecodium wrightii), two species and one variety of mosses - Japanese bryoxiphium (Bryoxiphium norvegicum var.japonicum), northern necker (Neckera borealis), and the dumbest plagiotecium (Plagiothecium obtusissimum).
POPULATION
Sakhalin is the largest island in terms of population in the Russian Federation. As of January 1, 2010, the population of Sakhalin and the Kuriles was 510.9 thousand people, the population of Sakhalin Island is about 493 thousand people.
According to the 2002 census, 527,268 people lived on the island, including 253,304 men and 273,964 women. About 84% of the population are ethnic Russians, the rest are Koreans (5.6%), Ukrainians (4.0%), Tatars (1.2%), Belarusians (1.0%), Mordovians (0.5%), less than 1% of the population are representatives of the indigenous peoples of the North - the Nivkhs (0.5%) and the Oroks (0.06%). 2002 to 2009 Sakhalin's population continued to decline slowly (by about 1% per year): mortality still prevails over births, and the number of migrants arriving to the island from the mainland and from neighboring countries (China, North Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan ), lower than the number of Sakhalin residents leaving the island.
The largest city in Sakhalin - regional center Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (190,227 people), others relatively big cities- Korsakov (33 148 people), Kholmsk (29 563 people), Okha (21 830 people), Poronaysk (15 476 people), Dolinsk (11 885 people), Nevelsk (10 965 people).
HISTORY OF SAKHALIN
Archaeological finds indicate that people could appear on Sakhalin in the early Paleolithic era, about 250-300 thousand years ago. During the Pleistocene epoch, as a result of periodic glaciations, the level of the World Ocean dropped several times and land "bridges" appeared between Sakhalin and the mainland, as well as Sakhalin, Hokkaido and Kunashir. During the late Pleistocene, Homo sapiens penetrated Sakhalin: sites of modern humans, 20-12 thousand years old, were found in the southern and middle parts of the island, then along another land "bridge" between Asia and America, located on the site of the modern Bering Strait , Homo sapiens moved to the American continent). In the Neolithic (10-2.5 thousand years ago), the entire territory of Sakhalin Island was inhabited. Fishing and hunting for sea animals formed the basis of the material culture of people of that time, who led a sedentary lifestyle along the sea coast.
The ancestors of the modern Paleo-Asian peoples - the Nivkhs (in the north of the island) and the Ainu (in the south) - appeared on the island during the Middle Ages. At the same time, the Nivkhs migrated between Sakhalin and the lower Amur, and the Ainu - between Sakhalin and Hokkaido. Their material culture was in many ways similar, and their livelihood was supplied by fishing, hunting and gathering. At the end of the Middle Ages (in the 16th-17th centuries), Tungus-speaking peoples migrated to Sakhalin from the mainland - the Evenks (nomadic reindeer herders) and the Oroks (Uilta), who, under the influence of the Evenks, also began to engage in reindeer husbandry.
Cape Kuznetsov
How Sakhalin was discovered
At the end of the 16th century, as a result of Yermak's campaign for the Urals, vast lands were annexed to the Moscow state, stretching along the Tura, Tobol and Irtysh rivers. The Russians established themselves in these lands. The stories that reached them about the unprecedented riches of Siberia, about the innumerable abundance of precious fur-bearing animals, attracted service people - Cossacks and brave industrialists farther to the east. Moving in small detachments along the rivers and portages, crossing the virgin Siberian taiga, fighting the warlike local peoples, overcoming inhuman difficulties, cold and hardships, the Cossacks and industrialists for several decades traveled a long way from the Ob to the shores of the Pacific Ocean. They discovered new lands, produced whenever possible detailed descriptions and by right of discovery they attached them to Russia. The names of Dezhnev, Khabarov, Atlasov, Poyarkov and many other explorers have become glorious milestones in the history of our country.
In July 1643, the Cossack foreman Poyarkov with a small detachment left Yakutsk to discover and explore new lands. He climbed with his detachment upstream of the Aldan River, crossed the dividing ridge and went out to the Zeya River, along which he descended to the Amur. In the next year, 1644, Poyarkov reached the mouth of the Amur and went to sea. In the summer of 1646, Poyarkov returned to Yakutsk and brought back the first descriptions of the Amur, Shantar Islands and Sakhalin.
In subsequent years, the Russians visited Sakhalin more than once. In 1742, Lieutenant Shelting, a member of Vitus Bering's expedition, sailed along the eastern coast of Sakhalin on a double-dinghy "Nadezhda" and entered the strait, later called the La Perouse Strait, in honor of the famous French navigator, who in 1787 aboard the frigates "Bussol" and "Astrolabe" visited Sakhalin. La Pérouse gave French names to several points on the island, including the Douai River, as well as the Bay de Castries that he discovered on the mainland.
In 1805, the coast of Sakhalin was surveyed by the first Russian round the world expedition Kruzenshtern. The next year, 1806, Russian officers Khvostov and Davydov visited southern Sakhalin and raised the Russian flag there.
However, for a long time, the geography of the lower reaches of the Amur and Sakhalin Island remained unclear. Navigators who visited Sakhalin or passed near it believed that Sakhalin was a peninsula connected by an isthmus to the mainland. This conclusion was made by both La Perouse and Kruzenshtern and the commander of the Russian brig "Konstantin" - Gavrilov, sent in 1846 to study the mouth of the Amur and Sakhalin. Only in 1849, the research of Captain GI Nevelskoy on the transport "Baikal" proved that Sakhalin is an island.
[As it turned out later, the Japanese scientist Mamia-Rinzo as early as 1808 established that Sakhalin is an island, but the data on his travel, published in Japanese, were not known to Europeans.]
The narrow part of the strait separating Sakhalin from the mainland now bears the name of Captain Nevelskoy.
The origin of the name of Sakhalin Island
In the 18th century, on maps published in Western Europe, off the coast Pacific Ocean, north of China, depicted the huge country of Tartary. The French navigator La Perouse was also convinced of the existence of this mysterious Tartary. Having reached the strait separating Sakhalin from the mainland on his ships, La Perouse, without hesitation for a long time, called it Tatarsky. As a result of this misunderstanding, the strait still bears an accidental and unfounded name.
The Tatar Strait is the name given to the entire body of water that separates the island from the mainland. The narrowest part of the strait is named after Nevelskoy. The part of the strait lying in the north merges closely with the Amur estuary. Therefore, many, speaking about the Amur estuary, mean the northern part of the strait.
The name of the island itself is no less coincidental. The Amur River was called "Sakhalyan-ulla" in Mongolian. On one of the maps of "Tataria", published in western Europe and depicting Sakhalin as a peninsula, an inscription was made at the site of the mouth of the Amur: "Sachalien anga-hata", which in Mongolian means "rocks of the black river". After Captain Nevelsky established that Sakhalin is an island, the map compilers attributed this inscription to the new island, which has since become known as Sakhalin.
The Japanese call Sakhalia Karafuto or Kabafuto, which means "birch island".
The first steps in the development of the island
After the discovery of Nevelskoye, work on the study and development of Sakhalin was carried out quite intensively.
In 1852, midshipman Boshnyak was sent to Sakhalin, who was supposed to check the information about the presence of deposits there. coal... Boshnyak drove along the western bank to Douai, crossed the island and went to his east coast at the mouth of the Tymi river. Boshnyak's research has confirmed the information about the wealth of Sakhalin coal.
The next year, in 1853, a military unit with artillery was landed in the southern part of the island and the Russian flag was again raised over the island. On the south bank The Korsakovsky military post was created on the island, and the Ilyinsky post on the western coast.
In the same year, Rimsky-Korsakov on the Vostok schooner made a detailed survey of the western shores of the island and identified places suitable for anchorage of sea vessels.
Soon, small mining of coal began at the so-called "Chikhachevsky quarries" in Douai.
In 1854, 1855 and 1856 the island was researched by the zoologist L.I.Shrenk. He made several long and very difficult trips around the island, covered the physical geography of Sakhalin in some detail, described its indigenous population, vegetation and animal world.
The island was visited by the members of a large expedition of the Russian Geographical Society F.B. Schmidt, P.P. Glen, Lieutenant Rashkov, topographer Shebunin and Dr. Brylkin. As a result of their work, a map of Sakhalin was compiled.
In 1867-1868, the geological exploration of the island was carried out by the mining engineer Lopatin.
As a result of all these studies, the fossil, plant and fish wealth of Sakhalin was more and more fully identified and the large strategic importance the island, which is a natural outpost of the Russian state in the Far East and covers Russia's exits to the Pacific Ocean.
Sakhalin was inhabited by the Ainu, Tungus, Gilyaks and Orochons. They were engaged in hunting, fishing and reindeer herding. By the time the Russians first visited the island, the indigenous people of Sakhalin were completely independent from any state.
Until the end of the 18th century, the Japanese did not settle on Sakhalin. They came to the island only for the fishing season. Then, after the appearance of the Russian Cossacks and industrialists, the Japanese began little by little to seize the island into their own hands. In 1787, the Japanese built two small villages on the island. In subsequent years, they spread throughout the southern half of the island. Uninvited aliens exploited the Ainu, actually turned them into their serfs, forced the Ainu to perform the most difficult and exhausting work for free.
It took quite a long time until the tsarist government finally realized how important Sakhalin was for Russia and sent the first military post there (in 1853). By this time, uninvited guests had already settled on the island. The appearance of the Russian guard not only did not weaken the resettlement of the Japanese there, but, on the contrary, strengthened the Japanese expansion. Russian troops could not prevent the penetration of the Japanese. Soon, Japan laid claim to the island. According to the Shimoda Treaty of 1854, Japan achieved joint possession of this island with Russia.
The seizure of Sakhalin by the Japanese clearly threatened the Russian Far Eastern possessions and the exits from the Amur. In addition, the Japanese predatory destroyed the natural resources of Sakhalin. Japan readily agreed to give up its alleged "rights" to Sakhalin on the condition that Russia hand over the Kuril Islands to it in "exchange". In 1875, this deal took place. Sakhalin completely passed into the possession of Russia, and Japan, as a result of this extremely profitable deal for it, acquired the Kuril Islands, relying on which it could control Russia's exits to the Pacific Ocean.
However, Japan has not abandoned the exploitation of Sakhalin's natural resources. The short-sighted tsarist government allowed the Japanese to keep fisheries in southern Sakhalin. At the end of the 19th century, Japan annually caught 40-45 thousand tons of fish in Sakhalin. The catch of fish by the Russians did not exceed 13-15 thousand tons in those years.
Having “bought off” the Japanese at a high price, the tsarist government began to colonize the island and develop its natural resources, showing no more ingenuity in this matter than in “trading” the islands.
Sakhalin hard labor
The tsarist government found a kind of application for Sakhalin - hard labor was created on a distant island. Harsh natural conditions Sakhalin, in combination with the hard labor regime, was a heavy punishment for the convicts. It was decided to use the labor of convicts in the development of coal, logging, etc. The flight of prisoners from the island, separated from the mainland by the stormy Tatar Strait, according to the organizers of the hard labor, was impossible.
Convicts who had served their term of imprisonment were supposed to be placed in a forced permanent settlement here, on the island, so that they would be engaged mainly in agriculture.
In 1869, the first batch of convicts, consisting of 800 people, was delivered to Sakhalin. From that time on, the dark pages of the history of Sakhalin began. Convicts arrived one after another. Hundreds, thousands of people. In the beginning, only men. Then women appeared: after some convicts their wives and children voluntarily went to exile to Sakhalin.
Chained in hand and foot shackles, and sometimes chained to a wheelbarrow, the convicts worked mainly in coal mines, in the areas adjacent to Aleksandrovsk.
The inept organization of mining, the lack of any tools, except for a pick and a shovel, and the hard labor regime did not contribute to the development of coal industry... The amount of coal mined was small. The coal was not sorted and went to the consumer along with the coal. Coal was carried out of the mines on a stretcher or in sacks, which caused it to be crushed. All this sharply reduced the quality of coal and made it difficult to sell it.
The severe convict regime and the arbitrariness of the administration led to a mass exodus of convicts. Some fugitives managed to cross the Tatar Strait and return to European Russia. But many remained within the island. To get their food, they robbed the settlers who had already served their sentences.
The life of the settlers was not much different from the life of the convicts.
The organization of the settlements was also affected by the complete arbitrariness of the tsarist administration. A convict who had served his sentence was given an ax, a hoe, a shovel, two pounds of rope, one saw for five people and indicated the place where he was to settle. Places for settlement were chosen without any plan, without taking into account the surrounding conditions. It also happened that settlements were built in places completely unsuitable for agriculture, damp, flooded with water, etc. At the cost of tremendous effort, literally bloody labor, the settler built himself a hut and created some kind of economy. But this did not bring him any relief. He eked out a miserable existence. In addition, the exiled settlers did not have civil rights and lived on the basis of a special charter. At the first opportunity, the exiled settlers abandoned their huts and "household" and fled to the mainland.
Despite the mass exodus of convicts and exiled settlers, the population of Sakhalin continuously increased due to new parties of convicts sent here. By 1904, there were about 40 thousand prisoners, exiled settlers and free residents on Sakhalin.
The exploration of Sakhalin did not stop even during the hard labor. Meteorological stations were established in the village of Aleksandrovskoye and the village of Rykovskoye. A lot of work was done to study the seas washing the shores of Sakhalin, to study its bowels, soils, vegetation and animals.
First Japanese intervention. Elimination of hard labor. Capture by the Japanese of South Sakhalin
In 1904, Japan treacherously attacked Russia. The Japanese invaded Sakhalin. Having landed on the island, from where the Russian administration had already evacuated, the Japanese began to manage in their own way. They shot most of the convicts held in prisons, established new rules for the exiled settlers. They soon felt that life under the Japanese was even worse than hard labor and rushed to the mainland in masses. The number of Russians on the island dropped from 40 to 5-6 thousand.
After the end of the war, which was unsuccessful for Russia, Japan imposed the Portsmouth Treaty on Russia, according to which the southern half of Sakhalin went to Japan. The border between the parts of Sakhalin that remained in Russia and the parts of Sakhalin captured by Japan passed along the fiftieth parallel. Along the border, across the island, a giant clearing was cut in the taiga and border pillars were installed.
With the capture of the southern half of Sakhalin, Japan closed the island ring, with which it surrounded the Russian possessions off the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Russia was left with only the northern half of the island. By the time the war ended [Russian-Japanese - approx. mine] there are almost no convicts left on it. Some of them were killed by the Japanese, some fled. The tsarist government did not try to resume hard labor here. And it was hardly possible with such close proximity to the Japanese.
Japanese colonization of southern Sakhalin.
After the partition of Sakhalin under the Portsmouth Treaty, the Japanese began to intensively populate the southern part of the island. Seaports, piers, roads were built on southern Sakhalin. It is characteristic that the settlement of southern Sakhalin was carried out mainly at the expense of reservists trained in military affairs. Along with strategic construction, the Japanese organized fisheries and forestry, vigorously engaged in reindeer husbandry and fur trade. The population of the Japanese part of the island in 1906 was 12 thousand people, in 1912 - 42 thousand, in 1923 - 140 thousand and in 1939 - over 300 thousand.
The Russian government, for its part, also took measures to populate Northern Sakhalin. But these measures were as little successful as in the days of the Sakhalin penal servitude. Sakhalin has won a sad reputation for itself. Stories about the horrors of Sakhalin life were passed from mouth to mouth. The tragedy of the Sakhalin penal servitude was intertwined in these stories with the tragedy of the Russo-Japanese war. Of course, there was a grain of fiction in the stories, nature was portrayed in them as exaggeratedly harsh. But it is quite understandable that there were few who wanted to go to a distant island, standing "at the end of the world". And those who decided to go there had to sip a lot of grief.
Relocating to Sakhalin was far from easy. The government did not bother to build a port on the island, or even a convenient berth for sea vessels. The steamer, anchored a few kilometers from the coast, disembarked passengers, with all their belongings, into boats, which, along the stormy waves of the strait, delivered the settlers to the deserted coast.
The gloomy Sakhalin taiga greeted the settlers unfriendly. A peasant who moved from the central, steppe regions of Russia to the taiga Sakhalin, found himself in unusual conditions. In order to plow the site, it was first necessary to uproot the taiga, and this required a lot of work. The timing and methods of cultivating the land, the timing of sowing and harvesting have not been studied by anyone. The settlers had to get to know them on their own, difficult experience.
Information about living conditions on Sakhalin, received from the first settlers, did not at all contribute to the influx of a new population. Therefore, until the establishment of Soviet power, population growth on Sakhalin was extremely weak. During the period from 1908 to 1917, the Russian population of the island increased by only 1600-1800 people. The tsarist government did not understand well that Northern Sakhalin, with its harsh climatic conditions and with its enormous natural resources, it requires not agricultural, but above all carefully thought out and prepared industrial colonization. As before, as in the days of hard labor, the tsarist government cared little about the development of the island's economy and even less about creating normal living conditions for the settlers.
As a result, Northern Sakhalin, until the establishment of Soviet power, remained a poorly populated outskirts, with a poorly developed economy and off-road characteristic of the outskirts.
The agriculture of the island did not develop. Its production was not enough even for the small population of the island. Peasants usually combined farming with local trades - hunting for fur animals and fishing. The coal and timber industries developed slowly due to the lack of a port and berths. The question of the construction of the Sakhalin port has not moved beyond numerous projects. Fisheries were significant, but in terms of technical equipment and profitability they were far inferior to those of Japan.
Nevertheless, as a result of the colonization carried out by the tsarist government, a fairly large number of permanent settlements, as a rule, not crowded, were created on Sakhalin. Roads were also laid, albeit very primitive, allowing wheel communication between settlements and the coast of the island. Little by little, the population began to get used to the nature of the island. On the basis of experience, the necessary skills and rules of farming have been developed. The times of hard labor were gradually forgotten, further and further they went into the depths of the past.
Work on the study of the island continued. New information about the natural resources of Sakhalin has appeared in the scientific literature. An instrumental survey of the coast and some interior parts of Northern Sakhalin was carried out, and maps were compiled. Oil exploration began at a number of points. In the Okha region, oil was discovered by the Russians back in the eighties of the last century.
The expedition of the Geological Committee, in which the mining engineer P.I. Representatives of the resettlement administration studied the soils, climate and vegetation of the island, and identified areas suitable for settlement.
Russian merchants and industrialists showed great interest in the development of Sakhalin's natural resources. With the assistance of the government, the economy of Northern Sakhalin could develop rapidly. But the tsarist administration not only did not provide this assistance, on the contrary, it created conditions under which all attempts of the population and entrepreneurs to promote the development of Sakhalin industry remained in vain.
For tsarist Russia, the backwardness of Sakhalin was no exception. The Kola Peninsula, possessing fabulous wealth, located relatively close to St. Petersburg, was also empty and deserted. The banks of the Pechora River, rich in minerals, and many other outskirts of Russia at that time were also deserted.
As a result of the victory over Japan during World War II, the entire territory of Sakhalin Island (as well as all the Kuril Islands) was included in the Soviet Union (RSFSR).
Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk was founded as part of Russian Empire in 1882 under the name Vladimirovka. After the victory of the USSR and its allies in World War II, together with the entire island, it passed to the USSR.
Zhdanko ridge, west of Sakhalin 
Transport
The public railway network covers most of the island (the most distant communication is from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to the village of Nogliki), there is also a sea ferry railway crossing to the mainland. Sakhalin Railway interesting in that it has an unusual track of 1067 mm for Russia, inherited from Japan. In the USSR, specially for Sakhalin, diesel locomotives TG16 and TG22 were designed and built in series. Since 2004, work has been underway to change the track to the 1520 mm gauge standard for Russia. They are planned to be completed, according to various forecasts, by 2016-2020.
Non-public railways (departmental narrow-gauge) carry out transportation in areas where there are no public railways. Most of them have been dismantled, leaving the operating narrow-gauge railway in the Uglegorsk region.
Highways connect almost all settlements of the region. The quality of the roads is poor, there is only asphalt in the southern part.
Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is connected by air with Moscow, Krasnodar, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Komsomolsk-on-Amur and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, with cities and villages of the Sakhalin region (Okha, Yuzhno-Kurilsk, Burevestnik (on Iturup Island)), and also with Japan (Tokyo, Sapporo, Hakodate), South Korea (Seoul) and China (Harbin, and more recently Beijing). It is interesting that from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (the regional center) there is no direct connection with the regional center Severo-Kurilsk, and you have to get there in a roundabout way - through Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
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SOURCE OF INFORMATION AND PHOTOS:
Team Wandering.
Lutskiy S. L. Sakhalin Island
Sakhalin - article from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia
Petukhov A.V., Kordyukov A.V., Baranchuk-Chervonny L.N. Atlas of vascular plants in the vicinity of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk // In the book: Introduction. (ISBN 978-5-904209-05-6) - Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk: Akon, 2010 .-- P. 9
Barkalov V. Yu., Taran A. A. List of species of vascular plants of Sakhalin Island // In the book: Plant and Animal World of Sakhalin Island (Materials of the International Sakhalin Project). Part 1. (ISBN 5-8044-0467-9) - Vladivostok: Dalnauka, 2004 .-- S. 39-66.
http://www.photosight.ru/photos/5591256/
http://sakhalin.shamora.info/Rest-in-Sakhalin-region/WIKI-Sakhalin-region/Attractions-Sakhalin-region/
Nechaev V.A.A review of the bird fauna (Aves) of the Sakhalin region // In the book: The flora and fauna of Sakhalin Island (Materials of the International Sakhalin project). Part 2. (ISBN 5-8044-0507-1) - Vladivostok: Dalnauka, 2005. - pp. 246-327.
The Red Book of the Sakhalin Region: Plants. - Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk: Sakhalin. book publishing house, 2005 .-- 348 p.
Population of the Russian Federation by municipalities as of January 1, 2013. - M .: Federal State Statistics Service Rosstat, 2013 .-- 528 p. (Table 33. Population of urban districts, municipal districts, urban and rural settlements, urban settlements, rural settlements).
Occupation of Northern Sakhalin and Japanese concessions
Wikipedia website.
Aleksandrov S. M. Sakhalin Island. - M .: Nauka, 1973 .-- 183 p.
Vasilevsky A.A.Kamenny Age of Sakhalin Island. - Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk: Sakhalin Book Publishing House, 2008. - 411 p.
Isachenko A.G., Shlyapnikov A.A. Sakhalin // Nature of the World: Landscapes. - M .: Mysl, 1989 .-- 504 p.
Southern part of the Far East. - Moscow: Nauka, 1969 .-- 422 p.
http://ilp-p.narod.ru/sakhalin/ostrov/ostrov1.htm
Sakhalin island
Sakhalin- an island off the east coast of Asia. It is part of the Sakhalin Region, the largest island in the Russian Federation. It is washed by the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan. It is separated from mainland Asia by the Tatar Strait (in the narrowest part, the Nevelskoy Strait, is 7.3 km wide and freezes in winter); from the Japanese island of Hokkaido - by the La Perouse Strait.
The island got its name from the Manchu name of the Amur River - "Sakhalyan-ulla", which means "Black River" - this name, printed on the map, was mistakenly attributed to Sakhalin, and in subsequent editions of maps it was printed as the name of the island. The Japanese call Sakhalin Karafuto, this name goes back to the Ainu "kamuy- kara-puto-ya-mosir ", which means" the land of the god of the mouth ".
In 1805, a Russian ship under the command of I.F. Kruzenshtern explored most of the Sakhalin coastline and concluded that Sakhalin was a peninsula. In 1808, Japanese expeditions led by Matsuda Denzuro and Mamiya Rinzo proved that Sakhalin was an island. Most European cartographers were skeptical about the Japanese data. For a long time, on different maps, Sakhalin was designated either an island or a peninsula. Only in 1849 did the expedition under the command of G. I. Nevelskoy put an end to this issue, passing on the military transport ship "Baikal" between Sakhalin and the mainland. This strait was later named after Nevelskoy.
Geography
The island stretches meridionally from Cape Crillon in the south to Cape Elizabeth in the north. The length is 948 km, the width is from 26 km (Poyasok Isthmus) to 160 km (at the latitude of the village of Lesogorskoe), the area is 76.4 thousand km².
Sakhalin Island Map 1885
Relief
The relief of the island is composed of medium-high mountains, low mountains and low-lying plains. The southern and central parts of the island are characterized by mountainous relief and consist of two meridionally oriented mountain systems - the West Sakhalin (up to 1327 m in height - Mount Onor) and East Sakhalin mountains (up to 1609 m in height - in the city of Lopatin), separated by the longitudinal Tym- Poronaiskaya lowland. The north of the island (with the exception of the Schmidt Peninsula) is a gentle, hilly plain.
The shores of the island are weakly indented; large bays - Aniva and Terpeniya (wide open to the south) are located in the southern and middle parts of the island, respectively. The coastline has two large bays and four peninsulas.
The following 11 regions are distinguished in the relief of Sakhalin:
- The Schmidt Peninsula (about 1.4 thousand km ²) is a mountainous peninsula in the extreme north of the island with steep, sometimes steep shores and two meridional ridges - Western and Eastern; the highest point is Tri Brata (623 m); connected with the North Sakhalin plain by the Okha isthmus, the width of which at its narrowest point is just over 6 km;
- The North Sakhalin Plain (about 28 thousand km ²) is a gently hilly area south of the Schmidt Peninsula with a widely ramified river network, weakly expressed watersheds and separate low mountain ranges, stretching from Baikal Bay in the north to the confluence of the Nysh and Tymisha rivers in the south point - Daakhuria (601 m); The northeastern coast of the island stands out as a sub-area, which is characterized by large lagoons (the largest are Piltun, Chayvo, Nyisky, Nabilsky, Lunsky bays), separated from the sea by narrow strips of alluvial spits, dunes, low sea terraces - in this sub-area and the main Sakhalin oil and gas fields are located on the adjacent shelf of the Sea of Okhotsk;
- The West Sakhalin Mountains stretch almost 630 km from the latitude with. Hoe (51º19 "N) in the north to the Krillon Peninsula in the extreme south of the island; the average width of the mountains is 40-50 km, the largest (at the latitude of Cape Lamanon) is about 70 km; the axial part is formed by Kamyshovy (north of the Poyasok Isthmus) and South Kamyshovy Ridges;
- The Tym-Poronayskaya lowland is located in the middle of the island and is a hilly-ridged lowland stretching for about 250 km in the meridional direction - from the Terpeniya Bay in the south to the confluence of the Tym and Nysh rivers in the north; the maximum width (up to 90 km) reaches at the mouth of the Poronai River, the minimum (6-8 km) - in the valley of the Tym River; in the north it passes into the Nabil lowland; covered with a thick cover of Cenozoic sediments, composed of sedimentary deposits of the Quaternary period. sandstones, pebbles; the highly swampy southern part of the lowland is called the Poronayskaya "tundra";
- The Susunai Lowland is located in the southern part of the island and stretches for about 100 km from Aniva Bay in the south to the Naiba River in the north; from the west, the lowland is bounded by the West Sakhalin Mountains, from the east - by the Susunai Range and the Korsakov Plateau; in the southern part, the width of the lowland reaches 20 km, in the center - 6 km, in the north - 10 km; absolute heights in the north and south do not exceed 20 m above sea level, in the central part, at the watershed of the basins of the Susuya and Bolshoi Takay rivers, they reach 60 m; refers to the type of internal lowlands and is a tectonic depression filled with a large layer of Quaternary deposits; within the limits of the Susunayskaya lowland are the cities of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Aniva, Dolinsk and about half of the island's population lives;
- The East Sakhalin Mountains are represented in the north by the Lopatinsky mountain cluster (the highest point is the city of Lopatina, 1609 m) with ridges radiating outward from it; two spurs in the opposite direction represent the Nabil ridge; in the south, the Nabilsky ridge passes into the Central ridge, in the north, sharply declining, into the North Sakhalin plain;
- the lowland of the Terpeniya Peninsula - the smallest of the regions, occupies a large part of the Terpeniya Peninsula to the east of the Terpeniya Bay;
- The Susunai Range stretches from north to south for 70 km and has a width of 18-120 km; the highest points are Mount Pushkinskaya (1047 m) and Chekhov Peak (1045 m); it is composed of Paleozoic deposits, at the foot of the western macroslope of the ridge is the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk;
- The Korsakov Plateau is bounded in the west by the Susunai Lowland, in the north by the Susunai Range, in the east by the Muravyov Lowland, and in the south by the Aniva Bay, has a slightly wavy surface formed by a system of flat-topped ridge ridges elongated in the northeastern direction; the town of Korsakov is located on the southern tip of the plateau on the shores of Aniva Bay;
- Muravyov lowland is located between Aniva bays in the south and Mordvinov bays in the north, has a ridged relief with flat tops of ridges; there are many lakes within the lowland, incl. the so-called "Warm Lakes", where the people of South Sakhalin like to go on vacation;
- The Tonino-Aniva ridge stretches from north to south, from Cape Svobodny to Cape Aniva, almost 90 km, the highest point is Mount Kruzenshtern (670 m); composed of Cretaceous and Jurassic deposits.
View of the Sea of Okhotsk from the high coast near the lighthouse in the Tyoplye Lakes region
Climate
Sakhalin's climate is cool, moderately monsoon (the average January temperature is from -6 ° C in the south to -24 ° C in the north, in August - from + 19 ° C to + 10 ° C, respectively), marine with long snowy winters and short cool summers.
The following factors influence the climate:
- The geographical position is between 46º and 54º N. determines the arrival of solar radiation from 410 kJ / year in the north to 450 kJ / year in the south.
- The position between the Eurasian continent and the Pacific Ocean determines the monsoon nature of the climate. It is associated with a humid and cool, rather rainy Sakhalin summer.
- The mountainous terrain affects the direction and speed of the wind. A decrease in wind speed in intermontane basins (in particular, in the relatively large Tym-Poronayskaya and Susunayskaya lowlands) contributes to cooling the air in winter and warming up in summer, it is here that the greatest temperature contrasts are observed; at the same time, the mountains protect the named lowlands, as well as the western coast from the effects of the cold air of the Sea of Okhotsk.
- In summer, the contrast between the western and eastern coasts of the island is enhanced by the correspondingly warm Tsushima Current in the Sea of Japan and the cold East Sakhalin Current in the Sea of Okhotsk.
- The cold Sea of Okhotsk affects the island's climate as a giant thermal accumulator, determining a long cold spring and a relatively warm autumn: snow in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk sometimes lasts until mid-May, and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk flower beds can bloom until early November. If we compare Sakhalin with similar (in terms of climatic indicators) territories of European Russia, then the seasons on the island replace each other with a delay of about three weeks.
Air temperature and precipitation in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk in the XXI century (temperature: II.2001-IV.2009; precipitation: III.2005-IV.2009):
| Parameters / Months | I | II | III | IV | V | VI | Vii | VIII | IX | X | XI | XII | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum air temperature, ºС | 1,7 | 4,1 | 9,0 | 22,9 | 25,0 | 28,2 | 29,6 | 32,0 | 26,0 | 22,8 | 15,3 | 5,0 | 32,0 |
| Average air temperature, ºС | −11,6 | −11,7 | −4,6 | 1,8 | 7,4 | 12,3 | 15,5 | 17,3 | 13,4 | 6,6 | −0,8 | −9,0 | 3,2 |
| Minimum air temperature, ºС | −29,5 | −30,5 | −25,0 | −14,5 | −4,7 | 1,2 | 3,0 | 4,2 | −2,1 | −8,0 | −16,5 | −26,0 | −30,5 |
| Amount of precipitation, mm | 49 | 66 | 62 | 54 | 71 | 38 | 37 | 104 | 88 | 96 | 77 | 79 | 792 |
The maximum temperature on Sakhalin (+ 39 ° C) was noted in July 1977 in the village. Pogranichnoe on the east coast (Nogliki district). The minimum temperature on Sakhalin (-50 ° C) was recorded in January 1980 in the village. Ado-Tymovo (Tymovsky district). The registered temperature minimum in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is -36 ° C (January 1961), the maximum is + 34.7 ° C (August 1999).
The highest average annual precipitation (990 mm) falls in the city of Aniva, the lowest (476 mm) - at the Kuegda meteorological station (Okha region). The average annual precipitation in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (according to long-term data) is 753 mm.
The earliest stable snow cover appears on Cape Elizaveta (Okhinsky District) and in the village of Ado-Tymovo (Tymovsky District) - on average on October 31, the latest - in Korsakov (on average on December 1). The average dates for the melting of the snow cover are from April 22 (Kholmsk) to May 28 (Cape Elizabeth). In Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, stable snow cover appears on average on November 22 and disappears on April 29.
The most powerful typhoon in the last 100 years ("Phyllis") hit the island in August 1981. The maximum precipitation then fell on August 5-6, and only from August 4 to 7, 322 mm of precipitation fell in the south of Sakhalin (about three monthly norms) ...
Inland waters
The largest rivers of Sakhalin:
| River | Administrative district (s) | Where does | Length, km | Pool area, km² | Average annual runoff, km³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burrow | Tymovskiy, Smirnykhovskiy, Poronayskiy | Gulf of Patience, Sea of Okhotsk | 350 | 7990 | 2,49 |
| The darkness | Tymovsky, Nogliksky | Nyisky Bay, Sea of Okhotsk | 330 | 7850 | 1,68 |
| Naiba | Dolinsky | Gulf of Patience, Sea of Okhotsk | 119 | 1660 | 0,65 |
| Lutoga | Kholmsky, Anivsky | Aniva Bay, Sea of Okhotsk | 130 | 1530 | 1,00 |
| Shaft | Nogliki | Chayvo Bay, Sea of Okhotsk | 112 | 1440 | 0,73 |
| Ainsky | Tomarinsky | lake Ainskoe | 79 | 1330 | ... |
| Nysh | Nogliki | Tym river (left tributary) | 116 | 1260 | ... |
| Uglegorka (Esutu) | Uglegorsk | Sea of Japan (Tatar Strait) | 102 | 1250 | 0,57 |
| Langeri (Langres) | Okhinsky | Amur estuary of the Sea of Okhotsk | 130 | 1190 | ... |
| Big | Okhinsky | Sakhalin Gulf of the Sea of Okhotsk | 97 | 1160 | ... |
| Rukutama (Vitnitsa) | Poronaisky | lake Nevskoe | 120 | 1100 | ... |
| Reindeer | Poronaisky | Gulf of Patience, Sea of Okhotsk | 85 | 1080 | ... |
| Lesogorka (Taimyr) | Uglegorsk | Sea of Japan (Tatar Strait) | 72 | 1020 | 0,62 |
| Nabil | Nogliki | Nabilsky Bay of the Sea of Okhotsk | 101 | 1010 | ... |
| Malaya Tym | Tymovsky | Tym river (left tributary) | 66 | 917 | ... |
| Leonidovka | Poronaisky | Poronai river (right tributary) | 95 | 850 | 0,39 |
| Susuya | Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Anivsky | Aniva Bay, Sea of Okhotsk | 83 | 823 | 0,08 |
There are 16120 lakes on Sakhalin with a total area of about 1000 km². The areas of their greatest concentration are the north and southeast of the island. The two largest lakes of Sakhalin - Nevskoe with a mirror area of 178 km² (Poronaysky district, near the mouth of the Poronai River) and Tunaicha (174 km²) (Korsakovsky district, in the north of the Muravyov lowland); both lakes belong to the lagoon type.
Natural resources
Sakhalin is characterized by a very high potential of natural resources. In addition to biological resources, the reserves of which Sakhalin is one of the first in Russia, there are very large hydrocarbon reserves on the island and its shelf. In terms of the volume of explored reserves of gas condensate, the Sakhalin Region ranks 4th in Russia, gas - 7th, coal - 12th and oil - 13th, while within the region, the reserves of these minerals are almost entirely concentrated on Sakhalin and its shelf. Other natural resources of the island include timber, gold, platinum.
Flora and fauna
Both the flora and fauna of the island are depleted both in comparison with the adjacent areas of the mainland, and in comparison with the island of Hokkaido located to the south.
Flora
As of the beginning of 2004, the flora of the island includes 1521 species of vascular plants belonging to 575 genera from 132 families, with 7 families and 101 genera being represented only by alien species. The total number of alien species on the island is 288, or 18.9% of the total flora. According to the main taxonomic groups, vascular plants of the Sakhalin flora are distributed as follows (excluding invasive ones): vascular spore plants - 79 species (including lycopods - 14, horsetails - 8, ferns - 57), gymnosperms - 9 species, angiosperms - 1146 species ( including monocots - 383, dicots - 763). The leading families of vascular plants in the flora of Sakhalin are sedges ( Cyperaceae) (121 species excluding alien species - 122 species including alien species), Compositae ( Asteraceae) (120 - 175), cereals ( Poaceae) (108 - 152), rosaceous ( Rosaceae) (58 - 68), buttercup ( Ranunculaceae) (54 - 57), heather ( Ericaceae) (39 - 39), clove ( Caryophyllaceae) (38 - 54), buckwheat ( Polygonaceae) (37 - 57), orchid ( Orchidaceae) (35 - 35), cruciferous ( Brassicaceae) (33 - 53).
Fauna
Pink salmon goes to spawn in an unnamed river flowing into Mordvinov Bay
"Red Book"
The island's fauna, flora and mycobiota include many rare protected species of animals, plants and fungi. 12 species of mammals registered on Sakhalin, 97 species of birds (including 50 nesting ones), seven species of fish, 20 species of invertebrates, 113 species of vascular plants, 13 species of bryophytes, seven species of algae, 14 species of fungi and 20 species of lichens (i.e. i.e. 136 species of animals, 133 species of plants and 34 species of mushrooms - a total of 303 species) have the status of protected, i.e. are included in the "Red Book of the Sakhalin Region", while about a third of them are simultaneously included in the "Red Book of the Russian Federation".
Of the "federal Red Book" flowering plants, the flora of Sakhalin includes heart-shaped aralia ( Aralia cordata), calypso bulbous ( Calypso bulbosa), Glen's cardiocrinum ( Cardiocrinum glehnii), Japanese sedge ( Carex japonica) and lead gray ( C. livida), lady's shoes are real ( Cypripedium calceolus) and large-flowered ( C. macranthum), two-leaved Gray ( Diphylleia grayi), capless cap ( Epipogium aphyllum), Japanese kandyk ( Erythronium japonicum), paunch high ( Gastrodia elata), xiphoid iris ( Iris ensata), ailantholus nut ( Juglans ailanthifolia), seven-bladed calopanax ( Kalopanax septemlobum), tiger lily ( Lilium lancifolium), Tolmachev's honeysuckle ( Lonicera tolmatchevii), long-legged winged ( Macropodium pterospermum), whole-leaved miyakia ( Miyakea integrifolia) (miyakia is the only endemic genus of vascular plants on Sakhalin), nest flower nest ( Neottianthe cucullata), peonies obovate ( Paeonia obovata) and mountain ( P. oreogeton), bluegrass rough ( Poa radula) and Viburnum Wright ( Viburnum wrightii), i.e. 23 kinds. In addition, there are eight more "federal Red Book" plants on the island: two types of gymnosperms - Sargent's juniper ( Juniperus sargentii) and pointed yew ( Taxus cuspidata), three species of ferns - Asian half-hair ( Isoёtes asiatica), Mikel's leperumor ( Leptorumohra miqueliana) and Wright's mecodium ( Mecodium wrightii), two species and one species of mosses - Japanese brioxify ( Bryoxiphium norvegicum var. japonicum), north necker ( Neckera borealis), and the dumbest plagiotetium ( Plagiothecium obtusissimum).
Population
According to the results of the 2002 census, the population of the island was 527.1 thousand people, incl. 253.5 thousand men and 273.6 thousand women; about 85% of the population are Russians, the rest are Ukrainians, Koreans, Belarusians, Tatars, Chuvashs, Mordovians, several thousand people each, representatives of the indigenous peoples of the North - Nivkhs and Oroks. 2002 to 2008 Sakhalin's population continued to decline slowly (by about 1% per year): mortality still prevails over births, and attracting work force from the mainland and from countries neighboring Russia does not compensate for the departure of Sakhalin residents to the mainland. At the beginning of 2008, about 500 thousand people lived on the island.
The largest city on the island is the regional center Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (173.2 thousand people; 01.01.2007), other relatively large cities - Korsakov (35.1 thousand people), Kholmsk (32.3 thousand people), Okha (26.7 thousand people), Nevelsk (17.0 thousand people), Poronaysk (16.9 thousand people).
According to the districts of the island, the population is distributed as follows (results of the 2002 census, people):
| District | Whole population | %% of the total | Urban population | Rural population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and subordinate settlements | 182142 | 34,6 | 177272 | 4870 |
| Alexandrovsk-Sakhalinsky | 17509 | 3,3 | 14764 | 2746 |
| Anivsky | 15275 | 2,9 | 8098 | 7177 |
| Dolinsky | 28268 | 5,4 | 23532 | 4736 |
| Korsakovsky | 45347 | 8,6 | 39311 | 6036 |
| Makarovsky | 9802 | 1,9 | 7282 | 2520 |
| Nevelsky | 26873 | 5,1 | 25954 | 921 |
| Nogliki | 13594 | 2,6 | 11653 | 1941 |
| Okhinsky | 33533 | 6,4 | 30977 | 2556 |
| Poronaisky | 28859 | 5,5 | 27531 | 1508 |
| Smirnykhovsky | 15044 | 2,9 | 7551 | 7493 |
| Tomarinsky | 11669 | 2,2 | 9845 | 1824 |
| Tymovsky | 19109 | 3,6 | 8542 | 10567 |
| Uglegorsk | 30208 | 5,7 | 26406 | 3802 |
| Kholmsky | 49848 | 9,5 | 44874 | 4974 |
| Sakhalin as a whole | 527080 | 100 | 463410 | 63670 |
Story
Archaeological finds indicate that people appeared on Sakhalin in the Paleolithic, about 20-25 thousand years ago, when the sea level dropped as a result of glaciation and land "bridges" were restored between Sakhalin and the mainland, as well as Sakhalin and Hokkaido. (At the same time, along another land "bridge" between Asia and America, located on the site of the modern Bering Strait, Homo sapiens moved to the American continent). In the Neolithic (2-6 thousand years ago) Sakhalin was inhabited by the ancestors of modern Paleo-Asian peoples - the Nivkhs (in the north of the island) and the Ainu (in the south).
The same ethnic groups constituted the main population of the island in the Middle Ages, with the Nivkhs migrating between Sakhalin and the lower Amur, and the Ainu between Sakhalin and Hokkaido. Their material culture was in many ways similar, and their livelihoods were provided by fishing, hunting and gathering. At the end of the Middle Ages (in the XVI-XVII centuries), Tungus-speaking peoples appeared on Sakhalin - the Evenks (nomadic reindeer herders) and the Oroks (Uilta), who, under the influence of the Evenks, also began to engage in reindeer husbandry.
According to the Shimoda Treaty (1855) between Russia and Japan, Sakhalin was recognized as their joint indivisible possession. According to the St. Petersburg Treaty of 1875, Russia received the Sakhalin Island as property, in return transferring all the northern Kuril Islands to Japan. After the defeat of the Russian Empire in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 and the signing of the Portsmouth Peace Treaty, Japan received South Sakhalin (part of Sakhalin Island south of the 50th parallel). As a result of the victory over Japan during the Second World War, the entire territory of Sakhalin Island and all the Kuril Islands were included in the Soviet Union (RSFSR). On the territory or part of the territory of about. Sakhalin currently has no claims either from Japan or any other country.
Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk was founded by the Russians in 1882 under the name Vladimirovka. After the victory of the USSR and its allies in World War II, together with the entire island, it passed to the USSR.
Sakhalin is the largest island in Russia, located in the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean, east of Russia and north of Japan.
Since by its structure, Sakhalin Island resembles a fish, with a fin and a tail, the island's dimensions are not proportional.
Its dimensions are:
- in length, more than 950 kilometers
- in width, in its narrowest part, more than 25 kilometers
- in width, in its widest part, more than 155 kilometers
- the total area of the island reaches more than 76,500 square kilometers
Now let's plunge into the history of Sakhalin Island.
The island was discovered by the Japanese around the middle of the 16th century. And by 1679, a Japanese settlement called Otomari (now the city of Korsakov) was officially formed in the south of the island.
During the same period, the island was given the name Kita-Ezo, which means Northern Ezo. Ezo is the former name of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. From translation into Russian, the word Ezo means shrimp. This suggests that near these islands, a large concentration of one of the main Japanese delicacy, shrimp, lived.
Russians, the island was discovered only at the beginning of the 18th century. And the first official settlements on the current island of Sakhalin were developed by 1805.
I would like to note that when the Russian colonists began to create topographic maps Sakhalin, there was one mistake on them because of which, the island got its name, Sakhalin. All due to the fact that the maps were compiled taking into account the rivers, and because of the location from which the colonists began the topography of the map, the Amur River was the main river. Since some of the guides of the Russian colonists through the untouched thickets of Sakhalin were immigrants from China, the Arum river, according to the old-written Chinese languages, namely from the Manchurian dialect, the Amur river sounded like Sakhalyan-Ulla. Due to the fact that Russian cartographers did not correctly enter this name, namely, the place of Sakhalyan-Ulla, they entered it as Sakhalin, and they wrote this name on most maps where there were branches from the Amur River, on the big earth considered that such a name was assigned to this island.
But back to history.
Due to the abundant resettlement to the island by Russian colonists, the Japanese, in 1845, the current Sakhalin Island and the Kuril Islands were declared independent, inviolable property of Japan.
But due to the fact that most of the north of the island was already inhabited by Russian colonists, and the entire territory of present-day Sakhalin was not officially appropriated by Japan and was considered not disbanded, Russia began disputes with Japan about the division of the territory. And by 1855, Russia and Japan signed the Shimodsky Treaty, in which it was accepted that Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands are joint undivided possession.
Then in 1875, in St. Petersburg, a new treaty was signed between Russia and Japan, according to which Russia renounced its part of the Kuril Islands in exchange for full ownership of the island.
Photos taken on Sakhalin Island, between the mid-18th and early 19th centuries
In 1905, due to the defeat of Russia in the Russo-Japanese War, which took place from 1904 to 1905, Sakhalin was divided into 2 parts - the northern part, which remained under the control of Russia, and the southern part, which was ceded to Japan.
In 1907, the southern part of Sakhalin was designated by the Karafuto prefecture, with its main centers in the person of the first Japanese settlement on Sakhalin Island, the city of Otomari (present-day Korsakov).
Then the main center was moved to another large, Japanese city, Toyhara (now the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk).
In 1920, the Karafuto prefecture was officially granted the status of an external Japanese territory and from an independent Japanese territory it came under the control of the Ministry of Colonial Affairs, and by 1943, Karafuto received the status of the internal lands of Japan.
August 8, 1945 Soviet Union, declared war on Japan, and 2 years later, namely in 1947, the Soviet Union won in this, the second Russian-Japanese war, taking Southern part Sakhalin and all the Kuril Islands.
And so, from 1947 to the present day, Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands remain part of the Russian Federation.
I would like to note that after the deportation of more than 400,000 Japanese began back to their homeland by the end of 1947, at the same time, a mass migration of the Russian population to Sakhalin Island began. This is due to the fact that the infrastructure built by the Japanese on the southern part of the island needed labor.
And since there were many minerals on the island, the extraction of which required a lot of labor, a mass exile of prisoners began to Sakhalin, which was an excellent free labor force.
But due to the fact that the deportation of the Japanese population was slower than the migration of the Russian population and the Sylochnikov, the deportation was finally completed by the end of the 19th century. Russian and Japanese Citizens had to live side by side for a long time.
Photos taken on Sakhalin Island, between the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
