Why is MAZ popular in Sakhalin and what Belarusian food products are loved by locals?

Minsk and Sakhalin, despite the distance of 7 thousand kilometers, are cooperating closely and getting closer. Belarusian manufacturers supply their agricultural and road machinery, food, light industry products to the island.

The Sakhalin Region borders with the Kamchatka, Khabarovsk, and Primorsky Krai, and with Japan to the south. It is the only region in Russia that consists only of islands, the largest of which is Sakhalin.

Here, on the other side of the world, the nature is striking and the familiar rural flavor is surprising. This is the first Belarusian agro-town on the edge of the earth. The project is typical, but it is the first for the region. The project was supervised by the President of Belarus and the governor of Sakhalin Oleg Kozhemyako. A year later, a group of the island's machine operators came to Belarus for training. Machine operators, tractor drivers, and engineers live within a five-minute walk of the farm. The first newcomers began receiving keys back in 2018.

The Belarusian transport is something that immediately catches the eye. The region experiences harsh winters, so getting on a warm bus in such weather is priceless. Now they are counting on gas-engine buses.

"Bus is more economical, it is easier to operate in winter, because there are problems with diesel fuel, but there are no such problems with gas", says the bus driver Andrey Pelmenev.

In general, there are about 100 Belarusian buses in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk at a time. Most of them were purchased back in 2015. As a percentage, MAZ buses now account for more than half of all public transport in the city. In addition, they are thinking of buying our electric buses.

Belarusian road and snow removal equipment also proved to be indispensable on the island. It is frost-resistant, compact and easy to maintain, which is exactly what we need when it comes to the yards overcrowded with cars. There are plans to update the line of transportation equipment this year.