Way to Russia Community and Forum

Katyara

Most of the American people do not have a single idea of what Sakhalin is. I am from Sakhalin and as there is no single article on Sakhalin on this web-site, I decided to post some information on my island.

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.

The Sakhalin Regional Art Museum was opened in 1983. It is one the youngest museums in Russia.
In March 25, 1989 the museum moved to the building of the former Japanese bank "Hokkaido Takuseku". This building was constructed in the early 1930s. In the 1980s, the building was reconstructed and then given to the museum.

That was part of the information from the encyclopedia. Now something from myself: Sakhalin is a very beatiful island. I have lived here for 10 years and I have to say that it's no less interesting than Moscow or St. Petersburg! And if so many people are worried about racism, let them come to our island. People are very friendly there and they are not gonna beat you up just 'cause of the color of your skin. We have had skinheads about two years ago, but it's already forgotten. We have a lot of koreans and other types of asians on our island, and I personally have a lot of asian friends at school! Everybody is really friendly to them and we all really feel like they are part of us. We had an exchange student last year from America. She was black. She had a great time here on Sakhalin and even didn't wanna go home!
Actually, I am just saying that NOT ALL russian people are racists, like some Americans think, and if anyone wants to make sure it's true, they can do so in such cities like Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, and Magadan! The quality of living may be worse there, but the people are definetly different from Moscow or St. Petersburg. One of the things that people find very interesting is that in the town where I live (I live in Korsakov, 30,000 people), the street where I live we only have 6 hours of water a day, 3 in the morning and 3 in the evening. We usually have no heat in winter, but this year is an exception, we have heat this year!!! I am so happy about it! I think that is all for today, if you have any questions, let me know, I will answer ALL of them!!!

Dr-Fauste · Site Admin Joined: 23 Nov 2004 Posts: 654

cyndy22 · Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2005 3:47 am Post subject:

Katyara,
It is nice that you provide appealing information about where you live and this beautiful island. I am sure it is a lovely place just as yourself!. Thank you for sharing heartfelt thoughts and sentiments. If only we all had the time, money, inspiration and courage to visit the world and all of it's grandeur!

cyndy22 · Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2005 3:50 am Post subject:

katya,
You my dear are most welcome to visit and stay with us anytime. It would be a pleasure to have you.

Dr-Fauste · Site Admin Joined: 23 Nov 2004 Posts: 654

Curious if you speak Japanese or how much asian culture is your community?

Katyara · Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2005 5:55 am Post subject:

I don't speak Japanese at all, and most of the people don't. We know how to say "hi" or "thanks" in Japanese, but that's all most of us know. I was gonna study Japanese couple years ago, but it seemed like a really hard language and besides it cost too much. There is not too much of a Japanese culture in our communities, we still have old buildings from World War II, but that's about it. We are all russians, but also have a lot of koreans, who run most of the private businesses. They seem to be more succesful than the rest of us.

deskware7 · Frequent Guest Joined: 07 Jun 2004 Posts: 67

What kind of heat do you have this year that you don't normally have?

Katyara · Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2005 5:27 pm Post subject:

Our heating stations owe a lot of money to the government, thus the heating stations don't have money to give heat to the people. I don't know what happened this year to all of them, but my mother says it is so hot in the house this year as it had never been before. But they also have to pay a lot for having heat in the house, about $80.

Gelli · Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2005 10:00 pm Post subject:

Hi Katyara,

Maybe you can help me -

I'm looking at options to get to Sakhalin by land/Sea. I know i can go via Japan and the boat from Wakkanai (sp),, but i've also heard rumours of a ferry/cargo service which accepts a few passengers from Vladivostock. Unfortunately though, i can't seem to find any details.

Do you/anybody know if such a service/option exists?

I.e. basically, is there a boat i can use to get to Sakhalin from anywhere else in Russia?

If it will make a difference, it will probably be Mid -August at a guess

Katyara · Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2005 3:56 am Post subject:

Yeah... you are right. There is a ferry (boat) that goes from Vladivostok to Vanino - a very small city near Kholmsk, which is about 11/2 hours away from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk - the main city on Sakhalin. I tried to search on the net about the tickets, but didn't find anything... Sad

Do you speak any russian or have friends who speak russian? If you do, your best bet would be to call Kholmsk travelling agency or whatever it's called, and find out. Sorry couldn't help you more.

Zeus · Frequent Guest Joined: 23 Mar 2005 Posts: 21

What part of Russia are your parents from?

My girlfriend was born in Tashkent and grew up there and so did her mom but her grandma was born in Vorezh or something... halfway between Volgograd and Moscow. In this case her babula told me that she hopped on a train to Tashkent while she was in the feilds planting seeds or something... it was a very exciting story. I find it fascinating that many Russians left their ancestral homeland in seach for a better lifestyle in the outskirts of the country... Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Vadivostok, Sakhalin, etc.

vorteks · Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2005 1:46 pm Post subject:

Katyara · Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2005 8:04 pm Post subject:

My grandmother is originally from Belarus, but she moved to Sakhalin even before my mom was born. My mom has lived there since she was born. Then when she graduated from the university, she had to go to a different town for proffessional practice (I don't know how to say it...) While all her friends went to Vladivostok, she was the only one sent to Magadan. She was working in a public cafeteria where my father was eating every day after work... That is how they met and are still together... My father is from Magadan, and I was born there. We ended up moving to Sakhalin when I was 7 yo, 'cause my mom had a lot of relatives there...
Well, this story is not that exciting...

Nebraska · Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2006 10:46 pm Post subject: Information on Sakhalin Island

Hello,
My Brother and I will be traveling to Sakhalin Island in May of this year. We haven't been able to find much information on your Island. We will be there for 3 weeks hunting brown bear. We would like to know if there is anything fun to do in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. We will stay there a couple of days after traveling to the central part of the Island. Advice on what to do and what not to do would be great. We are Americans and don't know much about your culture and your customs. It looks like an amazing place. Thanks

ansie · Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 4:03 am Post subject:

Hey Nebraska,

You obviously answered an old posting and haven't received a reply. I'd like to make a few comments:

More power to you for being gutsy enough to venture so far from your comfort zone. I think that's great.

I've never been to Sakhalin but intend to visit someone there soon. But I have been to Russia several times, the most recent to coach rugby. I'll give you a couple of tips:

Firstly, whatever you do, don't expect that things there will work the way they do at home. Just accept things as they are, without giving anyone the impression of being disappointed if they happen not to match up. In this I'm not just talking about mechanical things, but also the way the system works. Be patient. You're a hunter, you know how that works.

Secondly, don't assume that because people don't readily smile on the street that they're unfriendly. Absolutely not so.

The food is different, but if you choose wisely it's more nutritious that what most people eat in the US.

Although I live in Australia at present, I'm a white South African - grandparents were Russian. I tell you this because I come from one of the great animal wildlife countries of the world, and although I know that hunting is SOMETIMES ecologically responsible, I don't approve of shooting certain species, any kind of bear most definitely included. Don't worry, I'm not a greenie who's going to give you a hard time, but go easy. Very easy. The people there are poor and need the licence money, but don't abuse nature. I've hunted plenty in South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe (when they still had animals there) and Mozambique, but I've never ever used a scope - would be like the Green Bay Packers playing a high school team.

In a lot of ways I envy you. I'd rather be there than sitting in my office.

Destinations

Moscow Trans-Siberian Golden Ring Irkutsk	St. Petersburg Baikal Lake Ekaterinburg Vladivostok other...


Travel Services

Visa Support Transfers / Taxi	Train Tickets Phone Cards

Way to Russia Community and Forum

If you have a question or want to help someone, please, go to
Way to Russia Forum on our Facebook page.

We also invite you to join our Facebook community, where you can meet other travelers and read interesting news on topics ranging from visa regulations to culture and music.

We are currently moving the old forum to Facebook, so what you see below functions as an archive.

If you have a question, please, post it on
Way to Russia Facebook Discussions Page

Recent Site Activity:

Recent Blog Activity:

	Way to Russia Talk Lounge Forum Index -> The Rest of Russia	All times are GMT + 3 Hours Goto page 1, 2 Next
Page 1 of 2

Way to Russia Community and Forum

If you have a question or want to help someone, please, go to Way to Russia Forum on our Facebook page. We also invite you to join our Facebook community, where you can meet other travelers and read interesting news on topics ranging from visa regulations to culture and music.

We are currently moving the old forum to Facebook, so what you see below functions as an archive. If you have a question, please, post it on Way to Russia Facebook Discussions Page

Recent Site Activity:

Recent Blog Activity:

If you have a question or want to help someone, please, go to
Way to Russia Forum on our Facebook page.

We also invite you to join our Facebook community, where you can meet other travelers and read interesting news on topics ranging from visa regulations to culture and music.

We are currently moving the old forum to Facebook, so what you see below functions as an archive.

If you have a question, please, post it on
Way to Russia Facebook Discussions Page