Zabaykalsk Забайкальск | |
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.png) Flag .png) Coat of arms | |
 Interactive map of Zabaykalsk | |
  Zabaykalsk Location of Zabaykalsk Show map of Russia Zabaykalsk Zabaykalsk (Zabaykalsky Krai) Show map of Zabaykalsky Krai | |
| Coordinates:49°39′05″N117°19′37″E / 49.65139°N 117.32694°E /49.65139; 117.32694 | |
| Country | Russia |
| Federal subject | Zabaykalsky Krai |
| Administrative district | Zabaykalsky District |
| Otpor station | 1904 |
| Urban-type settlement status since | 1954 |
| Elevation | 680 m (2,230 ft) |
| Population | |
• Total | 11,769 |
• Estimate (2018)[2] | 13,154 (+11.8%) |
| • Capital of | Zabaykalsky District |
| • Municipal district | Zabaykalsky Municipal District |
| • Urban settlement | Zabaykalskoye Urban Settlement |
| • Capital of | Zabaykalskoye Urban Settlement |
| Time zone | UTC+9 (MSK+6  [3]) |
| Postal code[4] | 674650 |
| Dialing code | +7 674650 |
| OKTMO ID | 76612151051 |
Zabaykalsk (Russian:Забайка́льск) is anurban locality (anurban-type settlement) and theadministrative center ofZabaykalsky District ofZabaykalsky Krai,Russia, located on theSino-Russian border just opposite theChineseborder town ofManzhouli. Population:10,210 (2002 census);[5]8,632 (1989 Soviet census).[6]
The formerly disputedAbagaitu Islet in theArgun River is located about 100 kilometers (62 mi) to the east.
Zabaikalsk has ahumid continental climate (KöppenDwb) with very warm summers and frigid, dry winters.
| Climate data for Zabaikalsk, Zabaikalskii Krai, data from 1961~1990 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −18 (0) | −14 (7) | −3 (27) | 9 (48) | 18 (64) | 24 (75) | 26 (79) | 24 (75) | 17 (63) | 8 (46) | −6 (21) | −16 (3) | 6 (42) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −31 (−24) | −28 (−18) | −18 (0) | −5 (23) | 3 (37) | 10 (50) | 14 (57) | 11 (52) | 4 (39) | −6 (21) | −18 (0) | −27 (−17) | −8 (18) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 2 (0.1) | 2 (0.1) | 4 (0.2) | 10 (0.4) | 19 (0.7) | 47 (1.9) | 94 (3.7) | 74 (2.9) | 36 (1.4) | 9 (0.4) | 4 (0.2) | 3 (0.1) | 304 (12.1) |
| Average precipitation days | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 15 | 13 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 75 |
| Source:[7] | |||||||||||||
It was founded in 1904 as a station (Razyezd 86, i.e. "Passing loop No. 86") on theChinese Eastern Railway.
Since 1924, a border guard detachment has been stationed there. In the aftermath of theSino-Soviet conflict (1929) the station was renamedOtpor ("Repulse").[8]
Until the mid-1930s, Razyezd 86 / Otpor had little significance as a station, as all border formalities were done atMatsiyevskaya station (deeper into Russia) and atManzhouli Railway Station, on the Chinese side of the border. The station was expanded in the mid-1930s, asthe railway on the Chinese side had been sold by the USSR toManchukuo and converted from the1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in)gauge of theRussian Railways to the1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)China Railway; Otpor thus became the last Russian-gauge station. The station became quite important in 1945, as one of the bases of theSoviet invasion of Manchuria, which also saw the rail line on the Chinese side temporary re-converted to Russian gauge. The station's importance continued as the main rail connection between the USSR and the Communist China. On China's request, in 1958 the Soviets changed the name "Otpor" to the neutralZabaykalsk (i.e., "a city inTransbaikalia", or "a city beyondLake Baikal").[8]
Eighteen Jews fled from Europe to Otopol Station (now Zabaykalsk Station) on the Trans-Siberian Railway, located on the border between the Soviet Union and Manchuria. The Manchurian government refused to accept them for fear of worsening relations with Germany. Major GeneralKiichiro Higuchi, who was consulted byAbraham Kaufman, the head of the Far Eastern Jewish Association, saw the situation and together with his subordinates arranged for food, clothing, fuel to survive the cold, medical care, and a route to Shanghai for the Jews.
This route was called the "Higuchi Route," and it is said that between 4,000 and 20,000 Jews traveled to Shanghai via this route between 1938 and 1940. Later,Sugihara Chiune andWang Kaewo rescued Jewish refugees to the Japanese concession in Shanghai. For this achievement, Higuchi's name was listed in the sixth "Golden Book" in 1941.[9][10]
The Russo-Chinese highwayAH6 passes through the town.
Zabaykalsk/Manzhouli is one of the three direct connections between Russian andChinese Railways. The other two are inPrimorsky Krai, much farther to the east; besides, much traffic between Russia and China travels on the rail line crossingMongolia. It is served by what is now officially called the Southern Branch of the Transbaykal Railway (Южный ход Забайкальской железной дороги): a line that branches off the present-day mainTrans-Siberian Railway line atKarymskaya junction (east ofChita), and continues southeast toward the Chinese border. Originally (until 1916), this line was part of the main Moscow-to-Vladivostok rail route, where trains coming from the west would continue into China on the formerChinese Eastern Railway, in order to cut acrossManchuria on their way to Russian Vladivostok. After the modern route of theTrans-Siberian Railway, located entirely within Russian national territory, was completed in 1916, the Southern Branch's role was restricted to that of servicing Russia's border communities, and providing connectivity to China.
Zabaykalsk has been atransshipment station for abreak of gauge since the 1930s, whenthe railway on the Chinese side had been sold by the USSR toManchukuo and converted from the1,524 mm (5 ft) gauge of theSoviet Railways to the1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)Manchukuo National Railway.
Since 2005, a number of projects have been carried out to increase the capacity of the "Southern Branch", and its connection to China.The goal was to enable the railway by 2010 to handle 30 trains in each direction, each one up to 71 cars long. By 2005, the maximum weight of the trains using the line had already been increased from 4,000 to 6,300 tons.[11]
In 2008,TransContainer's containertransshipment facility was expanded.[12]Work on modernizing the facility for passenger railcar bogie exchange was conducted as well.[13]
