On August 4, 1853, Captain Gennady Nevelskoy founded a military post named after Admiral Grand Duke Konstantin, and renamed the bay to Imperatorskaya Gavan ('Emperor's Harbor' or 'Port Imperial').

Nikolay Boshnyak was appointed the commander of the post, which became the first Russian settlement in the area, and the predecessor of today's Sovetskaya Gavan.

[10] After the abandonment of the military post before 1900, the area became a center for timber production, including concessions to companies from other countries such as Canada.

[citation needed] During World War II, construction was begun on a railway from the right bank of the Amur River near Komsomolsk-on-Amur to the Pacific coast, with Sovetskaya Gavan chosen as the endpoint.

Sovetskaya Gavan's economy is largely dependent on the harbour and related activities; the town has a deep water port for cargo and fishing vessels, as well as ship repair facilities.

In 1973, Vanino-Kholmsk train ferry to the island Sakhalin was opened, joining the mainland at Vanino, 30 kilometers (19 mi) north of Sovetskaya Gavan.