Alexandrovsk-Sakhalinsky

 city, district center

Town in Sakhalin Oblast, Russia, located near the Strait of Tartary on the western shores of northern Sakhalin Island at the foot of the western Sakhalin mountains. Population: 10,613 (2010 Census).
A settlement called Alexandrovskaya on the present site of the town was first recorded in 1862. In 1869, an agricultural farm was established there, which later grew into the village of Alexandrovka. At the time, it was known as Otchishi (落石, Ochīshi) among Japanese. In 1881, a military post was established and became known as Alexandrovsky. The outpost served as the administrative center for managing katorga, prisons, exile settlements, and the whole island until the October Revolution. Anton Chekhov lived here in 1890 while gathering material for his book The Sakhalin Island. According to the 1897 census, the settlement had a population of 3,860, 87% male and 13% female, and 69,6% Russian, 6.9% Tatar, 6.8% Polish, 5.5% Ukrainian, 1.5% German, 1.2% Armenian, 1.2% Jewish, 1.1% Circassian. Town status was granted to Alexandrovsky in 1917. During the Russian Civil War, the town was under the control of Admiral Alexander Kolchak in 1918–1920, before being occupied by the Japanese until 1925. It was known as Akō (亜港町, Akō-chō) "Street of Port Alexander" during Japanese occupation between 1918 and 1925. In 1926, the town was renamed Alexandrovsk-Sakhalinsky to distinguish it from other places of the same name. Alexandrovsk-Sakhalinsky was the administrative center of Sakhalin Oblast between 1932 and 1947. It was also known as the coal mining center of the island during Soviet times.