Primorski Krai

Region in the south of the Russian Far East, lying between the Manchurian frontier and the Sea of Japan; area 165,900 sq km/64,054 sq mi; population (1996) 2,255,000 (78% urban). There are coalmining, non-ferrous metals, fishing, and lumbering industries. Wheat, oats, rice, fodder crops, soybeans, and potatoes are grown, and there is dairy farming.

Geography There are low-lying areas around the Ussuri River in the west; the Sikhote-Alin Mountains (highest point 2,077 m/6,814 ft) are in the east. The climate is monsoonal. About 70% of the region is forested (coniferous in the north and on the higher mountain slopes, deciduous elsewhere). There are rich deposits of coal, tin, lead, zinc, and gold. Cities include Vladivostok, Ussurisk, and Nakhodka. The population is heavily concentrated in the lowland, especially along the Trans-Siberian Railway, and on the south coast.

Economy Industries include coalmining, non-ferrous metals production, fishing, and lumbering. Wheat, oats, rice (under irrigation), fodder crops, soybeans, and potatoes are grown along the Ussuri lowland, and there is also dairy farming.

History The area was explored by Cossack fur traders in the 17th century. It formed part of northern China until ceded to Russia in 1858. Industrial development came rapidly after completion of the Trans-Siberian Railway in 1904; Primorski Krai came into being in 1938.