Poronaysk

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Coordinates: 49°13′N, 143°07′E

Poronaysk (Russian: Порона́йск) is a town in Sakhalin Oblast, Russia, located on the Poronay River some 288 km north of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. It is the administrative center of Poronaysky District. Population: 17,400 (2005 est.); 17,954 (2002 Census); 25,971 (1989 Census).

Poronaysk was founded in 1869 as a Russian outpost Tikhmenevsky neighboring the Nivkh and Ainu settlements in the area. In 1905–1945, the town belonged to Japan and was renamed Shikuka. After the town had been returned to the Soviet Union, it was named Poronaysk after the river it stands on.