Alexandrovsk-Sakhalinsky is district centre of the Sakhalin Region, a town of regional subordination. It is situated the Shore of the Tatar Strait (the Alexasndrovsky Gulf), 60 km from the nearest railway station Tymovskoye and 561 km from the administrative centre of the region - Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
Alexandrovsk-Sakhalinsky is one of eldest Russian settlements of the region, the centre of Russian settling of the Sakhalin Island. It had appeared on the place of the Alexandrovsky agricultural farm founded in 1869 near the Nivkhi nomad camp Dui—Vo. In 1881 the millenary post was transferred from the Due Cape to the settlement. The Alexandrovsky post which was called by name of tsar Alexander the Second became the centre of the Sakhalin penal servitude and its main prison. In 1890 A. Chekhov visited the center of the Sakhalin penal servitude and its main prison. At present the House where the famous writer stayed is the Chekhov’s Museum. In 1959 a monument to the great writer was erected in front of the house.
Modern town is an industrial center, and seaport.
Town is connected with populated areas Tymovskoye, Zonal’noye, Due, Mgachi by regular bus routes.

Aniva is a district centre of the Sakhalin Region, a town (since 1946) in the south of the Sakhalin Island, a railway station. The town is situated in the Susunai valley on the bank of the Lyutoga river near its mouth at the Lososey Bay of the Aniva Gulf, 37 km from Yuzhno- Sakhalinsk.
The town has come into sight on the place of an old Russian village of Lyutoga, founded in 1886. The name "Lyutoga" is derived from the Ainu language and translated as "the road to the seashore", and the name "Aniva" means, "He has arrived".
In October 1806 the brig "Yunona" under N. Khvostov's command dropped its anchor in the. Aniva Bay. The state flag of Russia was raised on the coast and an elder of the Ainu settlement was presented with a silver medal and a document was handed to him, which confirmed the belonging of Sakhalin to Russia. A group of new settlers arrived at Lyutoga in August 1885. During the Soviet-Japanese War 1945 military operations were developed in the Aniva bay.
The Aniva district is the largest producer of agricultural food-staff. The most considerable agricultural lands of the southern part of Sakhalin are concentrated here.
Aniva is connected with populated areas Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Korsakov by regular bus routes.

Dolinsk is a district centre of the Sakhalin Region, a town of regional subordination (since 1946) situated in the south part of Sakhalin, a railway station. It is located near the confluence of the Dolinka, Bolshoi Takoi and Naiba rivers, 12 km from the mouth of Naiba river flowing into the sea of Okhotsk and 43 km from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
The Naibuchi military post was established for defense of Russian lands in the mouth of Naiba river in October 1866. This post become lately a nice small town and got the name Dolinsk.
One of the most beautiful Sakhalin lakes Lebyazhye lies 22 km to the south of Dolinsk. It is a reserve for waterfowl and attracts not only tourists but also hunters and fisher people.
Dolinsk is connected with Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Bykov, Starodubskoye, and Sovetskoye by regular bus routes.

Korsakov is a district centre of the Sakhalin Region, a town of regional subordination (since 1946). It is situated on the coast of the Lososey Bay of Aniva Gulf, 42 km from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
Korsakov was founded by G. Nevelskoy's expedition in 1853 as a military post Muravyevsky. It is the most ancient settlement of the region. In 1854 because of the Anglo— French assault in the Far East Muravyevsky post was evacuated. In 1869 it was restored as the Korsakovsky post" in honor of Governor — General M. Korsakov. During the penal servitude period 1869 - 1906 the post was the centre of a district including the whole southern half of the island. The years of Korsakovsky post existence were marked by visit of many Russian scholars and researchers (L. Shrenk, an academician, M. Mitsul', an agronomist, I. Polyakov and A. Nikolsky, geographers, S. Makarov, the admiral, et al.). A. Chekhov visited it in September 1890. Up to now a few ancient houses remained in the town, which might be visited by the writer while taking a census of the Sakhalin population. During the Russian—Japanese War 1904—1905 townspeople of Korsakov were the first who were attacked by the surpassed number of enemies. Despite of brave defense a badly armed detachment had to retreat. In 1949 an obelisk was erected in honor of the marine forces that gave their lives for liberation of the town in 1945.
Korsakov of today is a highly developed diversified industrial centre, the largest seaport in Sakhalin, and the railway terminus and motor-road junction.
Korsakov agar shop produces the highest quality agar — agar in our country (it is extracted from red algaes (Ahnfeltsia) mainly for use in the confectionery production.
Korsakov seaport is one of fourice - free ports of the Sakhalin region and it is by right called as "The Southern Sea Gate of Sakhalin".
The Solovyevka fur-breeding State farm is located near the town; colored minks are breaded here. Their fur is highly valued at the St. Petersburg and London international fur auctions.
Korsakov is connected with other populated areas (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Kholmsk, Pikhtovoye, Novikovo, Aniva) by regular bus routes.

Makarov is the district centre of the Sakhalin Region, a town (since 1946), railway station. Its population is 11,5 thousand (1992). It is located on the coast of the Terpeniya Gulf (Sea of Okhotsk), 235 km from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
The town was named in honor of a distinguished Russian scientist and navigator, oceanography, polar researcher, admiral S. Makarov. He visited Sakhalin many times, investigated the Aniva and Terpeniya Gufs, sounded the Laperouse Strait, studied streams within the Kuril Range area, and researched the Tyuleny island. At the beginning of the Russian-Japanese War 1904 - 1905 S. Makarov was assigned to be the Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific squadron. He perished with the battleship "Petropavlovsk" and the most part of its crew, having been blown up by a Japanese mine. The monument to the glorious scientist and navigator was erected in the town in 1969.
Makarov is connected with populated areas (Porechye, Gomoye and Novoye) by regular bus routes.

Nevelsk is a district centre of the Sakhalin Region, a town (since 1946) of regional subordination, railway station. It is located in the south—west part of the Sakhalin Island, on the coast of the Tatar Strait (Nevelskoi Gulf), 127 km from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
Nevelsk had got its name in honor of outstanding Russian explorer of Far East admiral G.Nevelskoi. In 1848 - 1849 G. Nevelskoi as the commander of the transport warsllip "Baikal" explored the Saklialin island and composed its description. He proved therein that Sakhalin is an island, investigated the Saklialin Gulf and mapped the Tatar Strait.
A convenient geographical position, the ice-free port were preconditions for Nevelsk to develop as a large centre of fishing industry in Sakhalin.
Nevelsk is connected with oilier populated areas (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Kholmsk, Gornozavodsk, Shebunino and Kolkhoznoye) by regular bus routes.

Nogliki is a district centre of the Sakhalin Region, an urban-type settlement (since 1960), the terminal station of the Sakhalin Railway Branch. The settlement is situated in the north-eastern part of the Sakhalin Island, on a bank of the Òóò river, 8 km from its flowing into the Sea of Okhotsk and 659 km from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. A narrow -gauge railway line connects Nogliki with the Okha town situated in the north of the island and with oil producer's settlement Katangli located 12 km to the southwest.
The Nogliki district is rich in natural resources. The principal ones are oil and gas. Long before the geologists advent Nivkhi people paid their attention to fat films floating over the water surface of rivers. This fact gave them a reason to call these rivers as "Nogliki" ("An odorous river"), "Katangli" ("Astringent river"), "Tomi" ("Oily river").
First data concerned an oil presence in Nogliki river were received late in 19 century. In 1889 a retired Navy lieutenant G. Zotov took oil samples from this area. In 1890 a mining engineer L. Batsevich composed the first geological description of oilfield Nogliki and researched oilfields at Katangli and near the Nabilskiy Gulf. Later on several expeditions more took place in this area. An industrial development of these oilfields was started in 1929 beginning with oilfield Katangli and for as long as more than 60 years one of eldest Sakhalin oilfields provides "the black gold" for the country. Several new highly productive oil and gas fields were discovered during subsequent time periods.
City is the centre of oil and gas industry of an extensive area.
Nogliki is connected by air with Khabarovsk, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Okha and Zonalny. A motor road is built which connect Noqliki with a district centre Tymovskoye. Nogliki is connected.

Okha is a district centre of the Sakhalin Region, a town (since 1938) of regional subordination. The town is located in the northeastern part of Sakhalin Island, 1062 km from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Okha is connected with the nearest railway station (situated in the Nogliki settlement) with a narrow-gauge railway line. The normal railway line connects Okha with the seaport Moskal'vo. An airport is located 10 km to the southwest of the town.
The history of Okha is closely connected with exploration of Northern Sakhalin and development of its oil industry. According to the Government decision in 1927 the trust "Sakhalinneft" was established and as early as in 1928 Okha had produced 98 thousand tons of oil. Nowadays Okha is the basic centre of Sakhalin oil-and-gas.
Okha is connected with populated areas (Sabo, Nogliki, Moskalvo, Ekhabi) by regular bus routes.

Poronaisk is a district centre of the Sakhalin Region, a town (since 1946) of regional subordination, railway station. The town is located in the mouth of the Poronai river on the coast of Terpeniya Gulf (Sea of Okliolsk), 288 km from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
The natives of this land were Oroks, which lived in the drainage basin of the Poronai river. The history and culture of this most scanty nationality of Sakhalin were reseached by the scientist B. Pilsudsky after materials of his journey to Oroks in 1904. His scientific work gives a full conception about the life of indigenous Sakhalin inhabitants.
The development of the town as an industrial centre and commercial port began in 1945. Principal natural resources of this area are timber, fish and coal.
Poronaisk is connected with workmen's settlements Leonidovo, Gastello, Tikhmenevo and Vakhrushev by regular bus routes.

Smirnykh is a district centre of the Sakhalin Region, urban settlement (since 1966), and railway station. It is located in the central part of Sakhalin Island, in Òóm-Poronaiskaya valley, on the bank of Orlovka river (a right tributary of the Poronai river), 363 km from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
During the Soviet-Japanese War in August 1945 fierce battles for liberation of Southern Sakhalin from Japanese invaders took place on the territory of present-day Smirnykhovsky district. A lot of Soviet soldiers were lost during those battles. The names of Heroes of the Soviet Union, the battalion commander L. Smirnykli and sergeant A. Buyukly are immortalized in the names of district centre Smirnykh and urban settlement Buyukly.
The economic basis of the Smirnykhovsky district is due to timber industry, and the centre of this largest timber-industrial district in the region is the workmen's settlement Smirnykh.
Smirnykh is connected with populated areas Buyukly and Pobedino by regular bus routes.

Tomary is a district centre of the Sakhalin Region; a town (since 1946) located in the south-west of the Sakhalin Island, a railway station. It is situated on the coast of the Tatar Strait, 167 km from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
The Tomary district is closely connected with the history of pioneering and investigating of Sakhalin. In 1853 D. Orlov established the first military post Ilyinsky here according to G. Nevelskoy's indication. Later on this post had become the base for Russian expeditions who studied the island. In 1860-s it was the largest military post in Sakhalin.
Tomary is connected with populated areas (Krasnogorsk, Nevodskoye and Ilyinsky) by regular bus routes.

Tymovskoye is a district centre of the Sakhalin Region, an urban-type settlement, a railway station. The settlement is located in the central part of the Sakhalin Island, on a bank of the Òóm’ river, 501 km from Yuzhno-Saklialinsk.
As far as agricultural climatic conditions are concerned, the Tymovsky district is one of the most favorable for the agriculture development in the region.
Tymovskoye is an urban-type settlement, which grew up out of the village Derbinskoye founded in 1880 and given the name of a prison supervisor Derbin killed by prisoners because of his cruel treatment with them. In 1949 the village Derbinskoye was named as Tymovskoye. That time it had already been a district centre. In 1963 the village had got the status of an urban-type settlement.
Tymovskoye is the centre of an agricultural and timber-industrial district.
Tymovskoye is connected with populated areas (Alexandrovsk-Sakhalinsky, Belorechye, Argi-Pagi, Voskresenovka) by regular bus routes.

Uglegoirsk is a dictrict centre of Sakhalin Region, a town (since 1946) of regional subordination. The town is located in the west of Sakhalin Island, on the coast of Tatar Strait, 150 km from the nearest railway station Ilyinsky and 359 km from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
In addition to coal the development of Uglegorsk as an industrial centre is based on rich timber resources of the district.
Uglegors sea port is roadstead one, it is intended for the coal, paper and agricultural product export.
Uglegorsk is cinnected with populated areas (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Boshnyakovo, Ilinsky, Lesogorsk, Krasnogorsk, Shakhtyorsk) by regular bus routes.

Kholmsk is a district centre of the Sakhalin Region, a town of regional subordination (since 1946), and the second by the residents’ number. It is situated in the south of the Sakhalin Island along the coast of the Nevelskoi Gulf (the Tatar Strait), 83 km from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
Spurs of the Yuzhno-Kamyshevy Range, which is a part of West-Sakhalin Mountains, adjoin the town in the west. Steep mountain slopes are dangerous of avalanches. The avalanches are most dangerous for the railroad lines Kholmsk - Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Kholmsk - Yablochny.
The life of the town is closely connected with the sea. Kholmsk is an ice-free port, a centre of the sea fishery. The beginning of the port construction refers to 1909— 1910, the basic its facilities were erected in 1935—1938. Since June 28, 1973 a permanent sea ferryboat linking Kholmsk - Vanino across the Tatar Strait began to operate and the direct railway line Kholmsk - Moscow connected the island and the mainland. Because an island tract is incompatible with a mainland one, special equipment was installed in the port to exchange wheel sets.
Kholmsk is connected with populated areas (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Korsakov, Nevelsk, Gornozavodsk) by regular bus routes.

Severo-Kurilsky District
The administrative centre of the Severo-Kurilsky district is the Severo-Kurilsk town situated in the northern part of the Paramushir Island on the shore of the Vtoroi Kurilsky Strait. The town is situated along the coast of a small bay and is surrounded by mountains on three sides. The Shumshu Island protects it from the severe "breathing" of ocean. The summer is cloudy, rainy; strong winds predominate in winter.
The Severo-Kurilsk town is a large port on the way from Vladivostok or Korsakov to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and is connected with Yuzhno-Kurilsk by a sea-route and with Petropavlovsk-Kamchatski by an air route.
The economy structure of the Severo-Kurilsk town is defined nearly exclusively by fishery (navaga, flounder, walleye, pollack) as well as crabs (to the west of Paramushir and Shunshu Islands) and squids (to the east of them) obtaining and by the processing of obtained marine products. Principal production units of Severo-Kurilsk are fishery port (the seiner fleet base) and fish processing integrated works.
The position of town-port within a zone of an increased seismic danger, as well as on a "storm way" defines the seismic station and meteorological bureau operation.

Kurilsky District
The centre of the Kurilsky district is the Kurilsk town, which is situated on the Iturup Island. It is located at the mouth of the Kurilka river on the Kurisky Gulf coast. The low-mountain relief of its environs covered with forests, picturesque valleys of rivers and streams, and the Lebedinoye Lake form beautiful landscapes. The fairly warm and the least cloudy (within the climatic Kuril region) summer is characteristic for the Kurilsk town and other populated areas of the Iturup Island. At the same time Kurilsk is subject to disastrous effects of typhoons.
The principal economic specialization of the Kurilsk town and its satellite settlements is fishing, fish breeding and fish processing.
The port is located several kilometers from the town, in the settlement Kitovy, and the port of trawler fleet-in the Reidovo settlement.
Motor roads mutually connect populated areas of the Iturup Island; they communicated by means of coastwise transportation with Korsakov and Yuzhno-Kurilsk, and by air with Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (the local airport Burevestnik is 56 km from the town).

Yuzhno-Kurilsky District
The centre of Yuzhno-Kurilsky district is the Yuzhno-Kurilsk town; it is located at the Serebryanka river mouth on the Yuzhno-Kurilsky Cape. The town is washed with waters of a bay with the same name in the south, and with waters of Golovnin bay in the north. Yuzhno-Kurilsk is a large port of the seiner fleet, it handles large passenger ships.
Owing to the rich exotic nature, mineral springs and muds, the Kunashir Island and Yuzhno-Kurilsk itself become a centre of tourism in the Kuril region which is promoted also by a convenience of both air (the airport Mendeleevo is situated less than 20 km from the town) and sea communication with the continent and other islands of the Kuril Range.