| Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is the capital of
the Sakhalin region stretching along for 1200 km on Russia's eastern frontiers and
comprising 59 islands, the most infamous of them being the Kuril Islands. |
 |
Yuzhno- Sakhalinsk lies on the southern tip of the
Sakhalin Island, 25 km inland of the Aniva Bay. It began life in 1850s, as the small penal
settlement on the main highway between the port of Korsakov and north Sakhalin. The
prisoners sent here were exiled for life from mother Russia and were expected to live
their lives on the island, even after their sentence was over. And so, its earliest
residents were quite unprepossessing - convicts, gaolers and guardsmen forced to settle
the island. Major Vladimir Yantsevich, one of the first few officers on the island
requested and was granted permission to call this outpost of the empire, Vladimirovka in
1882.
The island was long the bone of contention between the Japanese and Russians, hence the
city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk has had a chequered history as it passed from Russian to
Japanese and back again to Russian hands. Japanese troops occupied Sakhalin in 1905 and
the Russians had to formally hand it over to them under the Portsmouth Peace Treaty. Under
the Japs, Vladimirovka became Toyohara, the capital of the Japanese prefecture of Karafuto. Its skyline changed from
that of a traditional Russian village with
pretty wooden houses and churches to pagodas and Shinto Temples.
By the time the Second World War began, Torohaya had grown into a major township of
40,000 with industries, railroad and airport, temples, schools, a museum and the residence
of the Karafuto governor. In the aftermath of Japan's defeat in WW II, Russia regained
Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands from Japan, Toyohara was named Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and made
the official capital of Sakhalin Region of the Soviet Union.
Contemporary Yuzhno- Sakhalinsk is a charming coming together of these two diverse
cultures and architectural styles. It has developed into an industrial centre with primary
focus on the food processing of fish. In the 1990s, the region became the focus of
international attention when Governor Valentyn Fyodorov attempted to create a new economic
environment on the island. His economic reforms package had a strong capitalist
orientation and became famous as the "Sakhalin Experiment". That the free market
reforms failed is a different issue but it opened up this coal, oil, gas, gold and sulphur
rich region to oil and gas multinationals.
Places of tourist interest on Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk are few - The Regional
Museum with its distinctive Japanese features has displays of the island's
history, ethnography and geography.The island has a rugged beauty - wilderness untamed and
untouched, so treks, hikes or simple excursions around the capital are ideal ways to
really see this remote part of Russia. 45km out of the city is the Lake Tunayacha
region, an archipelago of lakes separated from each other by narrow causeways. Not just is
this a very picturesque area but the lucky beachcomber may just find a piece of amber
washed upon the shore.
Getting there: The airport of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk provides the
main air link for the entire island of Sakhalin - it has international flights
coming in from Pusan and Seoul in South Korea, Hakodate (Japan) and chartered flights from
Tokyo, Sapporo, Niigata (Japan) and from Dalian, Kharbin, and Shanghai (China). From
destinations in the Russian Federation, flights connect to Moscow ( 6 days a week), St
Petersburg (7 days), Burevesnik, Vladivostok. Novosibirsk, Omsk, Khabarovsk, Irkutsk and
Yuzhno-Kurilsk. Ferry services operate between Wakkanai on the Japanese island of Hokkaido
and the port of Korsakov.
Getting around: On the island - Bykov, Nogliki, Kholmsk and Tymovsk
are connected by train to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Bus connections are available to Dolink,
Korsakov and Kholmsk. Within the city, buses, mikriki or minivans, cabs and rental cars
(with drivers) are the available modes of transportation.
Accommodation: Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk has a number of hotels catering to
foreigners - especially to the international business traveller and the staff of the MNCs
with business interests in Sakhalin. The city also has plenty of restaurants that serve
traditional Russian, Siberian, Korean and Japanese cuisine. By way of entertainment, the
city offers an entertainment complex complete with a restaurant, casino, sauna and hostess
bar.
The post office is located on ploschchad Lenina with the
telegraph/telephone office with an email service next door. There are direct dial
international phones that work with credit cards available at the major hotels.
Currency can be exchanged at money changing bureaus in the lobby of the Hotel Lada or
Hotel Rybak. Inkombank on Sakhin Tsentr has the facility to make cash advance
against credit cards.
For detailed country and visitor
information, see Russia. |
