Malyj Vysotskij

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Finnish map of the Vysotsk area (Uuras) with Malyj Vysotskij (Ravansaari) at the top

Malyj Vysotskij (Russian: Малый Высоцкий, Finnish: Ravansaari) is a Finnish island in Russian territory. It is located in Vyborg Bay, next to Vysotsk island, 12 km southwest of Vyborg. It is currently leased to Finland.

Between 1918 and 1940 the island was formally part of Finland, under the name Ravansaari. It was inhabited by nearly one thousand Finns who mainly earned their livelihood from the timber industry. In 1940, it was annexed by the Soviet Union and became part of Karelo Finnish SSR. In 1941, Ravansaari was recaptured by Finnish troops and annexed to Finland. In June 1944, the island fell to the Red Army and once again became part of the Soviet Union. The island was renamed Malyj Vysotskij. A treaty was signed in 1963 to lease the island and the nearby Saimaa Canal to Finland for fifty years.

Because of the treaty and the island's isolation from both Finland and Russia, radio amateurs have made the Malyj Vysotskij island an entity of its own, much like Hawaii or Alaska. This and the fact that Alexander Stepanovich Popov did his first radio experiments in the area at the turn of the 20th century makes the island an attractive destination for DX-peditioners. All such expeditions are organized by a Finnish-Russian group, the first of which occurred in 1988.