* Walking along the main street of the city, you will see how the traces of its short but turbulent history are imprinted on the face of the island capital. You will learn how it was once just one of many places for exiling criminals from all over Russia, how it became the main city of the Japanese prefecture of Karafuto, where the emperor lived here, how the city was transformed under Soviet rule, why so many things are named after Chekhov, and where all the Japanese have gone.