Russian Far East
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[[Image:Map of Russia - Far Eastern Federal District.svg|right|thumb|[[Far Eastern Federal District]] (highlighted in red)]]
'''Russian Far East''' ({{lang-ru|Да́льний Восто́к Росси́и}}; {{IPA2|ˈdalʲnʲɪj vʌˈstok rʌˈsʲiɪ}}) is a term that refers to the Russian part of the [[Far East]], i.e., extreme east parts of [[Russia]], between [[Siberia]] and the [[Pacific Ocean]]. The Russian [[Far Eastern Federal District]] should not be confused with the [[Siberian Federal District]], which does not stretch all the way to the Pacific.
==Terminology==
===In Russia===
In Russia, the region is usually referred to as just "Far East", creating potential confusion with the international meaning of [[Far East]] in translation. The latter is usually referred to in Russia as "the [[Asia-Pacific Region]]" ({{lang|ru|Азиатско-тихоокеанский регион}}, abbreviated to {{lang|ru|АТР}}), or "East Asia" ({{lang|ru|Восточная Азия}}).
==Geographic Features==
*[[Beyenchime-Salaatin_crater|Beyenchime-Salaatin crater]]
*[[Klyuchevskaya Sopka]] volcano
*[[Kuril-Kamchatka Trench]]
==History==
===Early history===
Russia reached the Pacific coast in 1647 with the establishment of [[Okhotsk]], and consolidated control over the Far East in the 19th century.
The Russian Far East could very well today include [[Manchuria]] and the [[Korean Peninsula]], if Russia had not lost the Russo-Japanese
War.
===Territory===
Until 2000, the Russian Far East lacked officially defined boundaries. A single term "Siberia and the Far East" ({{lang|ru|Сибирь и Дальний Восток}}) was often used to refer to Russia's regions east of the [[Ural mountains|Urals]] without drawing a clear distinction between "Siberia" and "the Far East." Several entities with the name "Far East" had existed in the first half of the 20th century, all with rather different boundaries:
*1920–1922: [[Far Eastern Republic|The Far-Eastern Republic]] (included [[Transbaikalia]], [[Amur Oblast]], [[Primorsky Krai|Primorskaya Oblast]], [[Sakhalin Oblast]], and [[Kamchatka]]);
*1922–1926: The [[Far-Eastern Oblast]] (included [[Buryatia|Pribaykalskaya]], [[Amur Oblast|Amurkaya]], [[Primorsky Krai|Primorskaya]], [[Sakhalin Oblast|Sakhalinskaya]], and [[Kamchatka Oblast|Kamchatskaya]] [[guberniya]]s);
*1926–1938: The [[Far-Eastern Krai]] (included modern [[Primorsky Krai]] and [[Khabarovsk Krai]]).
From 1938 to 2000, there was no official entity with this name and the term "Far East" was used loosely, much like "the West" in the United States.
In 2000, Russia's [[federal subjects of Russia|federal subjects]] were grouped into larger [[federal districts of Russia|federal districts]], and [[Far Eastern Federal District]] was created, comprising [[Amur Oblast]], [[Chukotka Autonomous Okrug]], [[Jewish Autonomous Oblast]], [[Kamchatka Oblast]], [[Koryak Autonomous Okrug]], [[Khabarovsk Krai]], [[Magadan Oblast]], [[Primorsky Krai]], [[Sakha Republic|Sakha (Yakutia) Republic]], and [[Sakhalin Oblast]]. Since 2000, the term "Far East" has been increasingly used in Russia to refer to the district, though it is often also used more loosely.
Defined by the boundaries of the federal district, the Far East has an area of 6.2 million square kilometers—over one-third of the Russia's total area.
==Demographics==
===Population===
According to the [[Russian Census (2002)|2002 Census]], [[Far Eastern Federal District]] had a population of 6,692,865.
Most of it is concentrated in the southern parts. Given the vast territory of the Russian Far East, 6.7 million people translates to slightly more than one person per square kilometer, making the Russian Far East one of the most sparsely populated areas in the world. The population of the Russian Far East has been rapidly declining since the dissolution of the [[Soviet Union]] (even more so than for Russia in general), dropping by 14% in the last fifteen years. The Russian government has been discussing a range of re-population programs to avoid the forecast drop to 4.5 million people by 2015, hoping to attract in particular the remaining Russian population of the [[near abroad]].
Ethnic [[Russians]] and [[Ukrainians]] make up the majority of the population. According to the latest statistics, there are currently about 100,000 [[Islam in Russia|Muslims]] living in the Russian Far East.<ref>[http://vn.vladnews.ru/issue546/Social_life/Mosque_and_chapel_to_preach_tolerance Mosque and chapel to preach tolerance – Vladivostok News]</ref>
75% of the population is urban. The largest cities are (all population figures are as of the 2002 Census):
*[[Vladivostok]] (pop. 594,701)
*[[Khabarovsk]] (pop. 583,072)
*[[Komsomolsk-on-Amur]] (pop. 281,035)
*[[Blagoveshchensk]] (pop. 219,221)
*[[Yakutsk]] (pop. 210,642)
*[[Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky]] (pop. 198,028)
*[[Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk]] (pop. 177,682)
*[[Nakhodka]] (pop. 177,133)
*[[Ussuriysk]] (pop. 157,759)
===Traditional ethnic groups===
The original population groups of the Russian Far East include (grouped by language group):
*[[Turkic Languages|Turkic]]: [[Yakuts|Sakha]]
*[[Eskimo-Aleut languages|Eskimo-Aleut]]: [[Aleut]]s, [[Siberian Yupik]]s (Yuits)
*[[Chukotko-Kamchatkan peoples|Chukotko-Kamchatkan]]: [[Chukchi (people)|Chukchi]], [[Koryaks]], [[Alutor language|Alutors]], [[Kereks]], [[Itelmens]]
*[[Tungusic peoples|Tungusic]]: [[Evenks]], [[Evens]], [[Nanais]], [[Orochs]], [[Ul'chs|Ul'ch]], [[Udegey]], [[Oroks|Orok]]
*[[language isolate|Isolate]]: [[Yukaghirs]], [[Nivkhs]], [[Ainu people|Ainus]]
===Chinese diaspora===
One starts with the fact that there are only around 40 million [[Russians]] scattered across the vast expanse of the Far East and Siberia, with only 7 million in the Far East itself.
Yet now, for example, Russia’s main Pacific port and naval base of [[Vladivostok]], once closed to foreigners, is bristling with Chinese markets, restaurants and trade houses.<ref>[http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Chinese_Come_To_Russia.html Chinese Come To Russia]</ref> The expanding Chinese presence in the area has led to [[yellow peril]]-style fears of Chinese [[irredentism]].<ref>Rimsky-Korsakoff 1992</ref> Russian newspapers publish fantastic estimates of between two and five million Chinese migrants in the Russian Far East, and predict that half of the population of Russia would be Chinese by 2050.<ref>Alekseev 2006: 98</ref><ref name="Vit">Vitkovskaya 1999</ref> Russians perceive hostile intent in the Chinese practice of using different names for local cities, such as ''{{unicode|Hǎishēnwǎi}}'' for [[Vladivostok]], and a widespread folk belief states that the Chinese migrants remember the exact locations of their ancestors' [[ginseng]] patches, and seek to reclaim them.<ref>Alekseev 2006</ref> The [[xenophobia]] against Chinese and exaggerated concerns over the Chinese influx are described as being less prevalent in the Russian Far East, where most of the Chinese shuttle trade is actually occurring, than in [[European Russia]].<ref >Bedeski 1999</ref>
The southern part of the Russian Far East, south of the [[Stanovoy Mountains]], was ceded by China to Russia in the 19th century in the [[Treaty of Aigun]] and [[Treaty of Peking]]. Chinese historians present the treaties as being [[Unequal Treaties]] imposed on China by Russia by force, a presentation that also figures strongly in Chinese schools. <ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1740777.stm Vladivostok's Chinese puzzle]</ref><ref>[http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2005/8/24/90356.shtml Chinese Presence Grows in Russian Far East]</ref>
==See also==
*[[Far Eastern Republic]]
*[[Russian Manchuria]]
*[[Extreme North (Russia)]]
*[[Chinese people in Russia]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://frontiers.loc.gov/ Meeting of Frontiers: Siberia, Alaska, and the American West] (includes materials on Russian Far East)
*[http://wgeo.ru/russia/okr_dalnvost.shtml Дальневосточный федеральный округ at WGEO]
*[http://www.unregisterednews.com/content/view/238/9/ A Chinese future for the Russian Far-East]
{{Countries and territories of East Asia}}
[[Category: Russian Far East| ]]
[[ko:러시아 극동]]
[[nl:Russische Verre Oosten]]
[[ro:Orientul Îndepărtat Rus]]
[[ru:Дальний Восток России]]