Editing Sakhalin (section)

===Fixed links===
The idea of building a [[bridge|fixed link]] between Sakhalin and the Russian mainland was first put forward in the 1930s. In the 1940s, an abortive attempt was made to link the island via a {{convert|10|km|mi|adj=mid|-long|0}} undersea [[Sakhalin Tunnel|tunnel]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Railway a Gauge of Sakhalin's Future |last=[[The Moscow Times]] |work=The RZD-Partner |date=July 7, 2008 |url=http://www.rzd-partner.com/press/2008/07/07/327041.html |access-date=June 17, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://archive.today/20120909005413/http://www.rzd-partner.com/press/2008/07/07/327041.html |archive-date=September 9, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> The project was abandoned under Premier [[Nikita Khrushchev]]. In 2000, the Russian government revived the idea, adding a suggestion that a 40-km (25 mile) long bridge could be constructed between Sakhalin and the Japanese island of Hokkaidō, providing Japan with a direct connection to the [[Eurasia]]n railway network. It was claimed that construction work could begin as early as 2001. The idea was received skeptically by the Japanese government and appears to have been shelved, probably permanently, after the cost was estimated at as much as $50 billion.

In November 2008, Russian president [[Dmitry Medvedev]] announced government support for the construction of the [[Sakhalin Tunnel]], along with the required regauging of the island's railways to Russian standard gauge, at an estimated cost of 300–330 billion [[rouble]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://primamedia.ru/news/show/?id=85418 |script-title=ru:Президент России хочет остров Сахалин соединить с материком |trans-title=President of Russia wants to join Sakhalin Island to the mainland |date=November 19, 2008 |publisher=PrimaMedia |language=ru |access-date=June 17, 2010}}</ref>

In July 2013, Russian Far East development minister [[Viktor Ishayev]] proposed a [[railway]] bridge to link Sakhalin with the Russian mainland. He also again suggested [[Sakhalin–Hokkaido Tunnel|a bridge between Sakhalin and Hokkaidō]], which could potentially create a continuous rail corridor between Europe and Japan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/minister-proposes-7km-bridge-to-sakhalin-island/483353.html|publisher=The Moscow Times|title=Minister Proposes 7km Bridge to Sakhalin Island|work=RIA Novosti|date=July 19, 2013|access-date=March 29, 2014}}</ref> In 2018, president [[Vladimir Putin]] ordered a feasibility study for a mainland bridge project.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}