Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk
Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (Russian: Ю́жно-Сахали́нск) is a city and the administrative center of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia. It was called Vladimirovka (Влади́мировка) from 1882 to 1905, then Toyohara (Japanese: 豊原市, Hepburn: Toyohara-shi)) from 1905 to 1946. Population: 181,728 (2010 Census); 175,085 (2002 Census); 159,299 (1989 Census).
History
Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk began as a small Russian settlement called Vladimirovka, founded by convicts in 1882. The Treaty of Portsmouth in 1905, which brought an end to the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, awarded the southern half of the Sakhalin Island to Japan. Vladimirovka was renamed Toyohara (meaning "bountiful plain"), and was the prefect capital of Japanese Karafuto Prefecture.
After the end of World War II, the Japanese portion of Sakhalin island was occupied by Soviet troops. Ownership of the city transferred back to the Soviet Union and it was renamed Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk ("Southern Sakhalin"). Town status was granted to it in 1946.
Administrative and municipal status