Khabarovsk Krai, sometimes referred to as the Khabarovsk Oblast, is a vast administrative region in the Russian Far East, bordered to the east by the Sea of Okhotsk and crossed from south to north by the mighty Amur River. It covers nearly 800,000 square kilometers—an area roughly equivalent to the combined size of France and Italy—but is very sparsely populated, with most inhabitants concentrated in a few large cities.

The territory showcases a wide variety of landscapes: rugged mountain ranges like the Sikhote-Alin and Dzhugdzhur Mountains, broad and fertile river valleys, dense forests of conifers and deciduous trees, swampy zones dotted with lakes, and a deeply indented coastline facing the Pacific Ocean. The rugged relief and abundance of rivers lend the region a singular, wild, and powerful geographical identity.

The climate is harsh and highly contrasted, classified as extreme continental: winters are long, very cold, and often dry due to the influence of the Siberian anticyclone. Summers are short but hot and humid, affected by the East Asian monsoon that brings torrential rains and thunderstorms, especially in the southern part of the region.

The capital, Khabarovsk, located at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri rivers, is a major regional hub. With its wide boulevards, Soviet-era monuments, museums, theaters, and tree-lined squares, it retains an atmosphere that is both Eastern and European. It plays a vital role in commerce, governance, education, and culture in the Russian Far East.

Other key cities include Komsomolsk-on-Amur, known for its aerospace and military industries; Sovetskaya Gavan, situated on the coast; and Nikolaevsk-on-Amur, a former strategic port at the river's mouth.

The region’s economy relies on several pillars: heavy industry (aerospace, shipbuilding, chemicals), forestry, mining (including gold, platinum, and coal), marine and freshwater fishing, and port logistics. Vanino Port, for example, is one of the main terminals for coal exports to Asia.

Khabarovsk Krai is also rich in biodiversity. Its ecosystems are home to rare and iconic species such as the Siberian tiger, the Far Eastern brown bear, lynxes, elk, Sika deer, and numerous aquatic and migratory bird species. Its forests are a mix of firs, birches, larches, Manchurian walnut trees, and dwarf bamboo.

The region is also the ancestral homeland of several Indigenous peoples: the Nanai, Ulchi, Nivkh, and Oroch, some of whom still live in remote villages along the Amur River, preserving their languages, art, cuisine, and spiritual traditions in deep connection with the natural world.

Tourism remains modest but is gradually expanding, focused on wild nature, ethnographic tours, outdoor sports (rafting, trekking, fishing, skiing), and cultural sites such as the Sikachi-Alyan petroglyphs or the Shantar Islands—ecological treasures of the Russian Pacific.

Khabarovsk Krai embodies a little-known side of Russia—rugged, remote, yet captivating. It is a land of vastness and contrasts, where the raw power of nature meets the subtle richness of human traditions at the crossroads of Siberian and Asian influences.