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Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

, coordinates = , area_km2 = 55 , length_km = 15 , width_km = 10 , highest_mount = , elevation_m = , population = No permanent residents , population_as_of = , density_km2 = , country =

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

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Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

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Dagestan Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North C ...

Chechen Island (russian: Остров Чечень; Ostrov Chechen') is a coastal island on the western shore of the

. It is located 20 km east of Krainovka right off the headland on the northern tip of the Agrakhan Peninsula. This island belongs to the

Republic of Dagestan Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia sit ...

, a federal subject of the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. The island has a length of and a maximum width of 10 km. The sea around Chechen Island usually freezes between January and March. Adjacent islands include Lopatin Island (also known as Lopatina), Bazar, Prygunki, Pichuzhonok and Yaichnyy Island and are collectively known as the 'Chechen Archipelago'.

History

One of the islands first mentions was around 1500 under the name ''sicamatela'' on an Italian map. The island is named after the

Chechens The Chechens (; ce, Нохчий, , Old Chechen: Нахчой, ''Naxçoy''), historically also known as ''Kisti'' and ''Durdzuks'', are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group of the Nakh peoples native to the North Caucasus in Eastern Europe. "Europ ...

. According to the Russian geographer and military man, the Chechens were previously settled up to the sea. German explorer Samuel Gmelin, who visited the area up until 1774, mentions how Chechens would go fishing on the island.In 1863 the

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

on the island was built by English builders. In tsarist times, the island was used as a place of exile. During the Civil War, being an important stronghold of oil shipping, it changed hands. In 1918, the British located a naval aviation base on the island, which they were going to use to bomb the ships of the Volga flotilla based in Astrakhan. In April 1920, by the forces of the Volga-Caspian military flotilla, he was finally assigned to the RSFSR.

Ecology

There are many birds on Chechen Island, especially seagulls.Caspian Sea Biodiversity Project
/ref> In very cold winters herds of ''

Saiga tatarica The saiga antelope (, ''Saiga tatarica''), or saiga, is a critically endangered antelope which during antiquity inhabited a vast area of the Eurasian steppe spanning the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains in the northwest and Caucasus in ...

'' find refuge in the island.

References

External links

Radio operators
Islands of Russia Landforms of Dagestan Seabird colonies Islands of the Caspian Sea {{Dagestan-geo-stub