Islands of Russia
The islands belonging to Russia are located in all the seas that wash its territory. On the Azov and Black Seas, there are rare and small islands located in the coastal zones. The islands of Russia in the Far East are its outpost. These are the Kuril Islands, which play an important role in the geopolitics and economy of the country. Therefore, the authorities pay special attention to the development of the infrastructure of the Kuril Islands..
The largest islands of Russia
The largest Russian island is Sakhalin. It is located in the Far East and has an area of over 76 thousand square meters. km. This land area is washed by such seas as the Japanese and Okhotsk seas. The island is separated from the mainland by the Tatar Strait. Sakhalin has a cool monsoon climate. The largest city in Sakhalin is Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Significant reserves of gas and oil were discovered on the island. Previously, part of the island territory belonged to Japan.
The second largest island in Russia is occupied by the Northern Island of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago. Its area is approximately 49 thousand square meters. km. Geographically, it is part of the Arkhangelsk region. Among the European islands, it is considered the fourth largest. In terms of area, the Northern Island surpasses such countries as Estonia, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark. The island is 132 km long and only 1.5 km wide. Most of its territory is covered with perennial glaciers. The southern island of the archipelago is also located in the Arkhangelsk region and is included in the list of large islands of Russia.
Other islands
The island of Kotlin is located in the Gulf of Finland. It is located 27 km away from the mouth of the Neva River. Here is the city of Kronstadt, which is an important base of the Baltic Fleet of the Russian Federation. On this island there is the Kronstadt tide stock, from which the absolute heights of the country are measured..
Famous is Wrangel Island, which is located in the Western and Eastern Hemispheres. There is a nature reserve where polar bears live..
A significant area is occupied by the Island of the October Revolution. It is almost completely covered with glaciers, the largest of which is the Karpinsky glacier. The island is an arctic desert where only lichens and mosses are present. However, this island is of great importance for Russia, since gold was discovered in its depths..
Our country has not only sea islands, but also lake ones. They are small in size. The most famous of them are the Valaam Islands, located on Lake Ladoga. The total area of these islands is 36 square meters. km. Valaam Island occupies 28 sq. km. It is famous for the fact that the Spaso-Preobrazhensky monastery was built on its territory..
