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Russian Far East, formerly Soviet Far East, region (1989 est. pop. 7,941,000), c.2,400,000 sq mi (6,216,000 sq km), encompassing the entire northeast coast of Asia and including the Sakha Republic, Maritime Territory (Primorsky Kray), Khabarovsk Territory, the Amur, Magadan, Kamchatka, and Sakhalin regions, the Jewish Autonomous Region, and the Koryak and Chukotka autonomous areas. Although often considered a part of Siberia, the Russian Far East is treated separately in some regional schemes. In 2000 the region was made one of seven Russian administrative districts; Khabarovsk is the district administrative center.
The Russian Far East is bounded on the NW by the Taymyr and Evenki Autonomous areas, on the N by the East Siberian Sea, on the NE by the Bering Sea, on the SE by the Sea of Japan, on the S by China (Manchuria), and on the SW by the Yablonovy Mts. Other ranges in this mountainous area include the Stanovoy, Dzhugdzhur, and Kolyma. Arctic tundra covers the far north of the region, and forest taiga occupies the central section. In the south are the fertile Amur and Ussuri river valleys.
More than 25 ethnic groups inhabit the Russian Far East, among them Russians, Jews, Koryaks, Tungus, Chukchi, Yakuts, and Kamchatkans. Important urban centers include Yakutsk, Vladivostok, Komsomolsk, Khabarovsk, Ussuriysk, and Nikolayevsk.
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