Of all the regions of Russia, Sakhalin is the only one that is located exclusively on the islands. It is located in the Far East and is a serious supplier of minerals, fish and seafood. What do the flag and coat of arms of the Sakhalin Region represent ? Let's find out what its symbolism is about.
Region in the Pacific
Sakhalin Oblast is one of the easternmost Russian regions. It covers the island of Sakhalin, Seals, Moneron and the Kuril Islands. Its territory is washed by the Sea of โโOkhotsk and the Sea of โโJapan, which belong to the Pacific Ocean basin.
The border position of the region contributed to the fact that Japan and Russia more than once shared it among themselves. Some islands are still disputed by the Land of the Rising Sun. This is understandable, because the Sakhalin Oblast is among the leaders in oil, natural gas and coal production.
The richness of the animal world also does not go unnoticed. In local seas live: sea otters, seals, killer whales, sea lions, fur seals, crabs, sea cucumbers, crustaceans, squids, mollusks. Hundreds of species of commercial fish inhabit coastal waters, island rivers and lakes. Reindeer and various fur-bearing animals live on land, for example, sables, squirrels, and ermines.
Coat of arms of the region
The modern coat of arms of the Sakhalin Oblast was adopted in 1997. Although some of its elements, for example, volcanoes and background colors appeared in the Russian Empire. In the last version, the style has changed, new characters have been added.
The shield of the coat of arms of the Sakhalin Region is divided into three identical vertical stripes: the two extreme ones are painted white, the central one is blue. In the center of the composition is a golden vessel, turned to the right and sailing along the silver waves. This is a single mast ship Koc, which until the 19th century used Pomors.
Two hills are depicted on the sides on white stripes, from the vents of which there is red lava. They reflect the main feature of the region - its volcanoes. There are about 160 of them in the Kuril Islands alone, of which 40 are active and periodically erupted.
Flag
Unlike the coat of arms of the Sakhalin Region, its flag carries exclusively geographical information. It originated in 1995 and has no historical predecessors.
The flag canvas is painted in a blue tint, close to the color of the sea wave. In the center, the contours of the Kuril archipelago and Sakhalin Island are depicted almost as they look on the map. Only slightly changed their position. Objects are located at an angle of 45 degrees, and their upper edges are on the same line.
Coats of arms of the cities of the region
Sakhalin Oblast is considered a highly urbanized region. It is inhabited by only 490,000 people, while 81% are urban residents. Nevertheless, 242 settlements are located on its territory, of which only 15 are cities, and the rest are villages and towns.
The capital of the region is Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, which is home to more than 190,000 people. It is an administrative, scientific, cultural and transport center. Other major cities: Korsakov, Kholmsk and Okha. In the remaining settlements, less than 15,000 people live.
The emblems of the cities of the Sakhalin Oblast usually reflect the main natural features of the region and its resources. For example, the symbols of the city of Aniva are the fish and the oil rig, and on their won are mountains. On the coat of arms of Severo-Kurilsk, you can see three sea shells and a Kamchatka beaver (sea otter) sitting on stones in the middle of the water.
The city of Okha chose the symbol of an oil rig and a seagull flying over it as symbolism. This reports the resource richness of the territory, and at the same time, indicates its insular position. Below is an ornament of the Nivkhs - the indigenous population on the territory of Sakhalin.
The coat of arms of Kurilsk is decorated with three fish and silver waves, the coat of arms of Dolinsk - an eagle, which caught fish and three lilies of Glen - endemic to the plant world of the region. But the symbol of Nevelsk shows a fish and the main attraction of the city - the Steller Sea Lion seal. The fact is that these mammals settle right on the territory of the local port, which is still found only in Seattle and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.