Kholmsk (Russian: Холмск), known until 1946 as Maoka (Japanese: 真岡),[7] is a port town and the administrative center of Kholmsky District of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia.

As with a number of urban areas in the Russian Far East, Kholmsk has seen a large drop in population since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the economic crisis which followed in the 1990s.

[12] The head of the administration is appointed under a contract concluded based on the results of a competition to fill the position for the term of office of the Assembly.

Since 1973, it has been the Sakhalin terminal of the Vanino-Kholmsk train ferry to the port of Vanino on the Russian mainland, connecting the mainline rail network with that of the island.

[15] Until 2019, Sakhalin railways continued to use the Japanese gauge of 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in), which required railcars coming from the Russian mainland to have their bogies changed in Kholmsk.

[17] It is the largest transport hub on Sakhalin, which includes an ice-free seaport with 2 terminals, 3 railway stations and a knot of highways.