Khabarovsk
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Khabarovsk (Template:Lang-ru) is the administrative center and the largest city of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia. It is located some 30 km from the Chinese border, at Template:Coor dm. It is the second largest city in the Russian Far East, after Vladivostok. The city became the administrative center of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia in 2002. According to the 2002 Census, the population of the city was 583,072.
History
Khabarovsk, named after a Russian explorer Yerofey Khabarov, was founded in 1858 as a military observation post and later became an important industrial center for the region. The city lies at the confluence of the rivers Amur and Ussuri, and about 800 km (500 mi) north of Vladivostok and is accessible from there by an overnight train running along the Trans-Siberian railway; rail distance from Moscow is 8,523 km.
In 1894, the Department of Russian Geographical Society was formed in Khabarovsk and began initiating the foundation of libraries, theaters, and museums in the city. Since then, Khabarovsk's cultural life has flourished. Much of the local indigenous history has been well-preserved in the Regional Lore Museum and Natural History Museum and in places like near the Nanaian settlement of Sikhachi-Alyan, where cliff drawings from more 1,300 years ago can be found. The Khabarovsk Art Museum exhibits a rare collection of old Russian icons.
Tourism
A picturesque city, visitors to Khabarovsk are likely to enjoy walking the broad Amursky Boulevard with its many vibrant shops and perhaps visit the local market. The city's five districts stretch for 45 km along the Amur River.
Recently, there were many renovations in the city's downtown, rebuilding with historical perspective. A popular attraction for visitors is a walking tour from Lenin Square to Utes via Muravieva-Amurskii St., where visitors can find traditional Russian cuisine restaurants and shops with souvenirs. There are many night clubs and pubs in this area.
Unlike Vladivostok, the city has never been closed to foreigners and retains its historically international flavor. Once the capital of the Soviet Far East from 1926 to 1938, since the demise of the Soviet Union it has experienced an increased Asian presence. It is estimated that over one million Chinese travel to and through Khabarovsk on an annual basis and foreign investment by Japanese and Korean corporations has grown in recent years.
There are international flights to Dalian and Harbin (China), Aomori and Niigata (Japan), Seoul (Korea), and Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam).
The city of Khabarovsk was also the site of the Khabarovsk War Crime Trials, in which 12 former members of the Japanese Kwantung Army were put on trial for the manufacture and use of biological weapons during World War II. See Unit 731.
Some islands on the Amur River had been the object of a boundary dispute between China and Russia during the 1960s.
External links
de:Chabarowsk et:Habarovsk es:Jabárovsk eo:Ĥabarovsk fr:Khabarovsk ko:하바롭스크 io:Khabarovsk nl:Chabarovsk ja:ハバロフスク nn:Khabarovsk pl:Chabarowsk pt:Khabarovsk ru:Хабаровск fi:Habarovsk sv:Chabarovsk uk:Хабаровськ zh:伯力