Korsakov (town) - History

History

Little is known of the early history of Korsakov. The site was once home to an Ainu fishing village called Kushunkotan (in Russian sources, Tamari-Aniva), which was frequented by traders of the Matsumae clan from as early as 1790. On September 22, 1853, a Russian expedition, commanded by Gennady Nevelskoy, raised the Russian flag at the settlement and renamed it "Fort Muravyovsky", after Governor-General of Eastern Siberia Nikolay Muravyov. Nevelskoy left detailed recollections of the landing. He encountered a predominantly Ainu population (at least 600 people; another source mentions only 300 Ainu inhabitants) as well as Japanese nationals who, judging by Nevelskoy's account, exercised authority over the native inhabitants. At the time of Nevelskoy's arrival, the village featured several standing structures—Nevelskoy calls them "sheds"—and even a Japanese religious temple. The villagers supposedly welcomed the Russians after they learned about their mission (protecting them from foreign incursion). Of course, the veracity of this account is in doubt, both because Nevelskoy had ulterior motives for claiming that he was "welcomed" by the inhabitants, and also because it is not clear to what extent the Russians were able to make themselves understood. The Russians abandoned the settlement on May 30, 1854, allegedly because their presence there, at the time of the Crimean War, raised the specter of Anglo-French attack, but returned in August 1869, now renaming the town "fort Korsakovsky," in honor of then-Governor General of Eastern Siberia Mikhail Korsakov. Lingering territorial conflict between Japan and Russia has polarized scholarly opinion of Korsakov's early history, as each side tries to claim priority of early settlement to back up their respective territorial claims in the broader region. In 1875, the whole Sakhalin including the village was ceded to Russia, under the Treaty of Saint Petersburg.

While under Russian administration fort Korsakovsky was an important administrative center in Sakhalin's penal servitude system and a final destination for hundreds of prisoners from European Russia, sentenced to forced labor for particularly serious crimes. Such prisoners and their families comprised early settlers of fort Korsakovsky until its hand-over to the Japanese. Prominent Russian writers, including A.P. Chekhov and V.M. Doroshevich, visited Korsakovsky and left keen observations of its unsavory trade.

In 1905, Korsakovsky was handed over to Japan after Russia's defeat in the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-1905. Renamed Ōtomari it was temporarily the capital of Karafuto Prefecture between 1905-1907. While in Japanese hands the town grew substantially. Upon the ashes of fort Korsakovsky (the Russians burned the wooden town before the hand-over) the Japanese built a stone-clad modern city, with paved streets and electricity.

A penal colony under Russia's administration, Ōtomari maintained the dreadful practice of forced labor: thousands of ethnic Koreans were brought over as slave workers. Korsakov's present-say Korean population are mainly descendants of these labour conscripts.

After World War II, Ōtomari was again ceded from Japan, this time to the Soviet Union. The Japanese population was mostly repatriated by 1947, though a few remained, along with a sizable Korean population. Old Ōtomari burned down substantially with the entry of the Russian troops. The old Bank, Japanese bank building (originally, Ōtomari Branch of Hokkaido Takushoku Bank) remains standing today, though efforts to convert it to a museum came to nothing for lack of funds. Other Japanese sites and memorials were all destroyed, including a Shinto shrine and a monument to Prince Hirohito who had visited Ōtomari on an inspection tour. An interesting sample of Japanese monuments can now be seen near Prigorodnoye (Merei before 1945)- a fallen stella to Japanese soldiers.