# Dolinsk, Sakhalin Oblast

Dolinsk (Russian: Долинск; Japanese: 落合) is a town and the administrative center of Dolinsky District of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia, located in the southeast of the Sakhalin Island in the valley of the Naiba River and its tributaries, about 45 kilometers (28 mi) north of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) from the coast of the Terpeniye Bay of the Sea of Okhotsk. Population: 12,200 (2010 Census); 12,555 (2002 Census); 15,653 (1989 Soviet census).

## History

The present site of the town was the location of the Ainu settlement Ziancha until 1884, when the Russian village of Galkino-Vraskoye (named after Mikhail Galkin-Vraskoy) was founded. The Treaty of Portsmouth saw it transferred to Japanese control in 1905, along with the rest of southern Sakhalin. It was given machi (town) status by the Japanese, under the name Ochiai (Japanese: 落合町, Hepburn: Ochiai-machi).
The Red Army retook control of the whole of Sakhalin in 1945, during the closing stages of World War II. In 1946, the town received its present name, roughly translating as town in the valley.
Since the 1940s, the town's population has decreased by more than half, from a high of 25,135 in 1941 down to 12,200 inhabitants recorded in the 2010 Census.

## Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Dolinsk serves as the administrative center of Dolinsky District and is subordinated to it. As a municipal division, the town of Dolinsk and twelve rural localities of Dolinsky District are incorporated as Dolinsky Urban Okrug.

## Economy

Paper and machinery are produced in the town, with fishing and coal mining conducted in the surrounding area.

### Transportation

The main north-south Sakhalin railway connecting Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk with Nogliki passes through the town.

## Military

The Dolinsk-Sokol air force base is located to the south of the town.

## Climate

Like the rest of southern Sakhalin, Dolinsk has a cold humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) with cold and snowy winters and mild, rainy summers. Lying exposed to moist southeasterly flows from the Pacific Ocean, it is substantially wetter than either Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk or Alexandrovsk-Sakhalinsky, and receives very heavy snow in winter.
Climate data for Dolinsk :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 8.9 (48.0) | 7.2 (45.0) | 13.9 (57.0) | 21.1 (70.0) | 30.0 (86.0) | 31.1 (88.0) | 35.0 (95.0) | 33.9 (93.0) | 31.1 (88.0) | 26.1 (79.0) | 17.8 (64.0) | 7.2 (45.0) | 35.0 (95.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −8.5 (16.7) | −7.2 (19.0) | −2.0 (28.4) | 5.7 (42.3) | 12.7 (54.9) | 16.8 (62.2) | 20.4 (68.7) | 21.6 (70.9) | 18.3 (64.9) | 11.5 (52.7) | 2.1 (35.8) | −4.9 (23.2) | 7.2 (45.0) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −13.2 (8.2) | −12.3 (9.9) | −6.5 (20.3) | 1.4 (34.5) | 7.1 (44.8) | 11.2 (52.2) | 15.3 (59.5) | 16.8 (62.2) | 12.9 (55.2) | 6.3 (43.3) | −2.2 (28.0) | −9.3 (15.3) | 2.2 (36.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −17.7 (0.1) | −17.4 (0.7) | −11.3 (11.7) | −2.5 (27.5) | 2.7 (36.9) | 7.0 (44.6) | 11.5 (52.7) | 13.0 (55.4) | 8.4 (47.1) | 1.9 (35.4) | −6.2 (20.8) | −13.7 (7.3) | −2.1 (28.2) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −38.9 (−38.0) | −32.8 (−27.0) | −32.2 (−26.0) | −22.2 (−8.0) | −7.2 (19.0) | −2.2 (28.0) | 1.1 (34.0) | 2.0 (35.6) | −5.0 (23.0) | −11.1 (12.0) | −24.6 (−12.3) | −31.1 (−24.0) | −38.9 (−38.0) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 72.5 (2.85) | 76.6 (3.02) | 77.4 (3.05) | 59.5 (2.34) | 82.4 (3.24) | 88.7 (3.49) | 105.7 (4.16) | 113.6 (4.47) | 135.0 (5.31) | 107.0 (4.21) | 86.0 (3.39) | 102.0 (4.02) | 1,106.4 (43.55) |
| Average precipitation days | 13 | 10 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 15 | 132 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 77 | 76 | 78 | 72 | 75 | 82 | 86 | 87 | 82 | 78 | 75 | 78 | 79 |
| Source: Weatherbase ||||||||||||||

## Sister city

* Nayoro, Japan

## Notable people

* Larisa Leonidovna Petrik (Russian: Лариса Леонидовна Петрик; born 28 August 1949, Dolinsk, Sakhalin) is a former Russian gymnast and Olympic champion.