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The village of Vladimirovka was founded on the main post road connecting Korsakov to
northern Sakhalin, on Black River in 1882.
The first settlers of the village were convicts, housed for settling the place. The first
buildings in the new village were the jailers' houses.
In September, 1883, major Vladimir Yantsevich sent in an application to name the village
as Vladimirovka, and it was granted.
The presence of fruitful soils, rich meadows, and luxuriant forests made Vladimirovka
Ideal for development.
During the first All-Russian national census in 1897, there were 150 dwelling houses in
Vladimirovka. There were many log houses built of covered boards, a church, school, post
office, hospital, water-mill on Rogatka river, groceries, and state buildings.
Upon signing of the Portsmouth Peace Treaty, the Japanese side got Southern Sakhalin
from Russia. This was a new period in Vladimirovka's history.
After occupying South Sakhalin, the Japanese government created administrative
subdivisions identical to those in Japan. A separate prefecture of Karafuto was created in
1907 from the territory of South Sakhalin. In 1908 a prefectural capital was established
at Toyohara (that meant "Valley of the fecundity"), such a name was given to the
settlement of Vladimirovka.
The Russian inhabitants of Vladimirovka had to leave their houses, paraphernalia, and
ploughed fields. In occupied South Sakhalin, the Japanese constructed the railway from
Korsakov to Vladimirovka in 1906.
The Japanese had created the plan for the development of the new city, which began a
little to the south of Russian Vladimirovka. The city plan was an accurate rectangular
plan, with streets along the railway, and perpendicularly to it.
There were many houses of the European architecture in the new city . The density of the
building in these districts was rather high; and as result of it, most of houses were
deprived of any sheds or courtyards.
There were barely any green plantations in Toyohara, except for a street, which led to
Karafuto Jinja, the principal Shinto shrine on South Sakhalin (it is Communistichesky
Prospect now). There was only the comfortable city park with a lake located near the
outskirts.
Four main streets of the city were paved with asphalt, others were not, and had no
sidewalks. Housing resources consisted of frame-houses, mainly one-storied, with light
cardboard or plywood partitions, sliding walls, and earthen floors.
» Toyohara 1 2
(Archival photos from the Japanese site "Historical Buildings in
Karahuto")
After World War II ended in 1945, the entire island again became a possession of Russia
(USSR).
Russian troops marched into Toyohara in 25th August, 1945.
Fires were an everyday occurrence in the city’s streets those days. The city had to be
rebuilt anew.
Russian settlers arriving from the mainland, felt a need for accommodation. Many Japanese
inhabitants still remained in the city, and very often Russian families were settled in
the same house with Japanese families.
Reconstruction of the city and house-building were one of the main items of that period.
In June, 1946 the city was given the new name – Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
It became a new page in the history of the city, its development, and present-day
architecture. |
 
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