 Sakhalinskaya oblast occupies island of Sakhalin, Kuril and other islands. It is washed by Okhotskoe and Japanese seas.
Date of oblast formation - 20.10.1932. Territory - 87,1 thousand sq. km (0,51 % of the Russian Federation). The centre - Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. The main cities: Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Khomsk, Korsakov.
Sakhalinskaya oblast, in its present form, was officially defined and integrated as a part of the Russian Federation on January 2, 1947.
The Sakhalin Region existed in various forms prior to 1947:
In 1909-1914 the Sakhalin Region comprised the northern part of Sakhalin Island
From 1914-1920 it also included Udskyi district and the city of Nikolaevsk-on-Amur
On October 20, 1932 the Sakhalin Region, consisting of the area of North Sakhalin, was included within the structure of the Far East
Since 1938, it was included within the structure of the Khabarovsk Territory.
On January 2, 1947, South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands were included as parts of the Sakhalin Region, and the Region was simultaneously designated as a separate territory of the Russian Federation.
Sakhalin is one of the largest islands in Russia. It is bathed by the Sea of Okhotsk, and the Japanese Sea. The island stretches 948km from North to South. The maximum width of the island is about 160 km. The minimum width is about 30 km. The area of the island is 76 400 sq km. The coastline is slightly indented. Nearly 2/3 of the Sakhalin area is mountainous. Lopatin Mountain is the highest, at 1,609 m.
The usual forest inhabitants are bear, marten, wolverine, sable, squirrel, Northern deer, musk deer and adder. There are two mud volcanoes and more than 60 thousand rivers and streams, the largest of which are the Tym, and Poronai Rivers.
The climate is moderate-monsoon. Average January temperatures range from -6?C in the South, to -24?C in the North of the island. The record low temperature is - 54?C. Average temperature in August is +19?C in the South and + 10?C in the North. The record high is + 38?C. The annual precipitation is 600-1200 mm.
Geographical location of the Sakhalinskaya oblast, along with its natural resources, and proximity to the countries of the Asian-Pacific, creates auspicious conditions for development of mutually beneficial cooperati
on.
The nomenclature of exports is varied. Foremost are machines, equipment, vehicles, and a wide assortment of consumer goods, such as foodstuffs, and manufactured goods. The basic nature of activities in these enterprises with foreign investments is commercial and mediatorial, manufacture of consumer goods, fish and seafood production, as well as transportation and communication services.
The Russian and foreign tourists are always intersted in excursions in a regional study of local lore museum which was open May, 11, 1946. Unique archeologic and ethnographic collections are stored in funds of this museum. Numerous exhibits acquaint visitors with floraflora and faunafauna, history of development of Sakhalin and Kuriles.
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