This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Okhotsk is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (August 2007) |
_(1790).png)
Okhotsk (Russian: Охо́тск) is an urban-type settlement and a seaport at the mouth of the Okhota River on the Sea of Okhotsk, in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia.
Located at the eastern end of the River Route from the Urals, Okhotsk was the first Russian settlement on the Pacific Coast. It was established as a wintering camp in 1643 by the Cossacks under Semyon Shelkovnikov. The fort of Kosoi Ostrozhok was constructed in 1649. In 1714 Peter the Great sent a party of ship-builders to Okhotsk to allow faster access to the furs of Kamchatka. In 1718 Kozma Sokolov built the first vessel in Okhotsk and embarked upon a voyage to Kamchatka. This route became so popular with Russian navigators that by 1731 Okhotsk had been firmly established as the foremost Russian seaport on the Pacific.
.jpg)
At various points in its history, Okhotsk was a centre for the Russian-American Fishing and Fur-Trading activities. It is known for being the headquarters for the explorer Vitus Bering, who sailed from here for two extraordinary expeditions, discovering the Bering Strait on one and Alaska on the other. The Portuguese Jew Anton de Vieira was the town's governor at that time.
The growth of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky dislodged Okhotsk from its leading commercial position in the early 19th century, although it remained important as the base of the Siberian military flotilla, a predecessor of the Russian Pacific Fleet. In 1812 the town was moved to a new site across the Okhota River. It was of some military importance during the Russian Civil War, when the White army generals Vasily Rakitin and Anatoly Pepelyayev used it as their place of arms in the Far East.
Okhotsk was also a launch site of sounding rockets between 1981 and 2005. The rockets reached altitudes until 1000 km [1].
The importance and population of the townlet sharply declined following the demise of the Soviet Union. Population: 5,500 (2004 est.); 5,738 (2002 Census); 9,298 (1989 Census).
Transportation
Okhotsk Airport serves Okhotsk.
|
||||||||||||||
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 12 November 2008, at 22:39.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Okhotsk".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.