The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #157146 Message #3706753
Posted By: Rob Naylor
06-May-15 - 12:19 AM
Thread Name: Sakhalin 'Gig'!
Subject: RE: Sakhalin 'Gig'!
Leeneia: Yes, it's a big island. It's nearly 600 miles long and varies from about 20 to over 100 miles wide, making it over half the size of England in area, and as "long" north to south, but with a population of only about 450,000. About 2000 of these are Nivkhs, and they're generally looked down upon by the "European Russians" who make up the majority population here.
There's a huge amount of wilderness here, but it's quite difficult to access. Russians tend to be not very tidy at all, so "nature" around the main population centres tends to get much more "trashed" than it would in Europe of the USA, despite the Russians professing a deep love of nature. "Going to nature" is a big thing here at weekends but all too many people leave their trash there.