YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, Russia -- The Russian Far East is a vast territory of 6.2 million square kilometers. Although it is about one-third the size of the United States, it has less than 3 percent of the U.S. population. Largely neglected by Moscow, some 10 percent of the population has left in search of economic opportunity. Despite emigration, unemployment remains high; more than 40 percent of residents live in poverty.
If Moscow appears indifferent to the fate of the Russian Far East, its neighbors are not. They have a keen interest in its abundant natural resources. Tapping those riches is the obvious solution to the region's economic woes -- and the process is already under way.
Days before I arrived in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the capital of the Sakhalin region, developers announced the launch of phase two of the Sakhalin 2, a project that will produce 9.6 million tons of liquid natural gas annually.