Sovetskaya Gavan (russian: Сове́тская Га́вань, lit. ''Soviet harbor'') is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

Khabarovsk Krai Khabarovsk Krai ( rus, Хабаровский край, r=Khabarovsky kray, p=xɐˈbarəfskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia. It is geographically located in the Russian Far East and is a part of the Far Eastern Federal District ...

, Russia, and a port on the

Strait of Tartary Strait of Tartary or Gulf of Tartary (russian: Татарский пролив; ; ja, 間宮海峡, Mamiya kaikyō, Mamiya Strait; ko, 타타르 해협) is a strait in the Pacific Ocean dividing the Russian island of Sakhalin from mainland Asia ...

which connects the

Sea of Okhotsk The Sea of Okhotsk ( rus, Охо́тское мо́ре, Ohótskoye móre ; ja, オホーツク海, Ohōtsuku-kai) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands ...

in the north with the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

in the south. Population: It was previously known as ''Imperatorskaya Gavan'' (until 1922).

Name

The name of the town is often informally abbreviated to "Sovgavan" ().

History

On May 23, 1853, Lt. Nikolay Konstantinovich Boshnyak of the

Russian-American Company The Russian-American Company Under the High Patronage of His Imperial Majesty (russian: Под высочайшим Его Императорского Величества покровительством Российская-Американс� ...

ship ''Nikolay'' discovered the bay on which Sovetskaya Gavan is located and named it Khadzhi Bay. On August 4, 1853, Captain

Gennady Nevelskoy Gennady Ivanovich Nevelskoy (; in Drakino, now in Soligalichsky District, Kostroma Oblast – in St. Petersburg) was a Russian navigator. In 1848 Nevelskoy set out in command of what became the to the area of the present-day ...

founded a military post named after Admiral Grand Duke Konstantin, and renamed the bay to ''Imperatorskaya Gavan'' ('Emperor's Harbor' or 'Port Imperial'). The bay was also known to the English as Barracouta Harbour. Nikolay Boshnyak was appointed the commander of the post, which became the first Russian settlement in the area, and the predecessor of today's Sovetskaya Gavan. After the abandonment of the military post before 1900, the area became a center for

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

production, including concessions to companies from other countries such as Canada. The bay and the settlement were renamed Sovetskaya Gavan in 1922. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, construction was begun on a railway from the right bank of the

Amur River The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's List of longest rivers, tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China, Northeastern China (Inne ...

near

Komsomolsk-on-Amur Komsomolsk-on-Amur ( rus, Комсомольск-на-Амуре, r=Komsomolsk-na-Amure, p=kəmsɐˈmolʲsk nɐɐˈmurʲə) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, located on the west bank of the Amur Rive ...

to the Pacific coast, with Sovetskaya Gavan chosen as the endpoint. Sovetskaya Gavan was granted town status in 1941; the railway reached the town in 1945. This section of railway was the first section to be completed of what would later become the Baikal-Amur Mainline. From 1950 until 1954, the town was the site of the prison camp ''Ulminlag'' of the

gulag The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= was the government agency in ...

system. In 1958, the town's northern neighborhood, on the Vanino Bay, was separated into a separate

urban-type settlement Urban-type settlementrussian: посёлок городско́го ти́па, translit=posyolok gorodskogo tipa, abbreviated: russian: п.г.т., translit=p.g.t.; ua, селище міського типу, translit=selyshche mis'koho typu, ab ...

of Vanino. In 1963–1964, six sounding rockets of "Kosmos 2"-type were launched. They reached the height of .

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Sovetskaya Gavan serves as the

administrative center An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or ...

Sovetsko-Gavansky District Sovetsko-Gavansky District (russian: Сове́тско-Га́ванский райо́н) is an administrativeResolution #143-pr and municipalLaw #194 district (raion), one of the seventeen in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia. It is located in the southea ...

even though it is not a part of it. As an administrative division, it is incorporated separately as the town of krai significance of Sovetskaya Gavan—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

. As a municipal division, the town of krai significance of Sovetskaya Gavan is incorporated within Sovetsko-Gavansky Municipal District as Sovetskaya Gavan Urban Settlement.

Climate

Sovetskaya Gavan has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''Dfb''). The mild September temperatures caused by

seasonal lag Seasonal lag is the phenomenon whereby the date of maximum average air temperature at a geographical location on a planet is delayed until some time after the date of maximum insolation (i.e. the summer solstice). This also applies to the minimum ...

keep the climate within the continental range. This also means that among summer months, June is the fourth warmest, in spite of the highest sun strength being reached during that month. Apart from that there is a strong

subarctic The subarctic zone is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic, north of humid continental regions and covering much of Alaska, Canada, Iceland, the north of Scandinavia, Siberia, and the Cairngorms. Generally, ...

and

Siberian High The Siberian High (also Siberian Anticyclone; russian: Азиатский антициклон (''Aziatsky antitsiklon'')) is a massive collection of cold dry air that accumulates in the northeastern part of Eurasia from September until April. It ...

influence that keeps winters extremely cold for a coastal location at 49 degrees latitude.

Economy

Sovetskaya Gavan's economy is largely dependent on the harbour and related activities; the town has a

deep water port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

for cargo and fishing vessels, as well as ship repair facilities. There is also some foodstuffs production, such as fish processing.

Transportation

In 1973, Vanino-Kholmsk train ferry to the island

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, r=Sakhalín, p=səxɐˈlʲin; ja, 樺太 ''Karafuto''; zh, c=, p=Kùyèdǎo, s=库页岛, t=庫頁島; Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ, ''Sahaliyan''; Orok: Бугата на̄, ''Bugata nā''; Nivkh: ...

was opened, joining the mainland at Vanino, north of Sovetskaya Gavan. Whilst this diminished Sovetskaya Gavan's importance as a trading port, until the 1990s it remained an important supply harbor for the

Russian Pacific Fleet , image = Great emblem of the Pacific Fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Russian Pacific Fleet Great emblem , dates = 1731–present , country ...

. Sovetskaya Gavan is connected by rail with

, the section of line being the most easterly section of the Baikal-Amur Mainline. The town is served by

Kamenny Ruchey Kamenny Ruchey (also Mongokhto, Alekseyevka, and Mongohto) (Russian: Монгохто, Каменный Ручей) is an air base in Russia located 29 km north of Sovetskaya Gavan.

naval airfield (also known as Mongokhto) as well as the May-gatka Airport and Mayskiy Airport airbase .

Sister city

Everett, Washington Everett is the county seat and largest city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett is the seventh-largest city in the ...

, United States

References

Notes

Sources

* * *

External links

Official website of Sovetskaya Gavan

The portal of the city of Sovetskaya Gavan

Unofficial website of Sovetskaya Gavan
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Khabarovsk Krai Cities and towns built in the Soviet Union Populated places established in 1941 Sea of Japan 1853 establishments in the Russian Empire