2012 Renting is not possible anymore

61. Malyj Vysotskij Island (R1) Maly Vysotsky Island or Malyj Vysotskij Island (Ravansaari) is an island in the Northwest of Russia that was rented to Finland. The island is located in Vyborg Bay and Vysotsk, 12 km (7 mijl) Southwet of the town of Vyborg. Between 1918 and 1940 the island was part of Finland and was calle Raavansaari. Almost thousant people lived on the island, earning their money in the timber industry. During the Second Worldwar the island was annexed by the Sovjet Union, and became a part of the Karelo-Finnish SSR. In 1941 the island was conquered again by Finland, but in 1944 the island was again occupied by the Sovjet Union. The island was renamed in Malyj Vysotsky.In 1963 an agreement was signed to rent out the island and the bearby Saimaa channel for fifty years to Finland. Because the agreement and the isolation of Malyj Vysotsky from Finland and Russia, the rented area became a new Entity for hams. Adding to the Active DXCC Countries List was done in 1988. because of the weird Entity and the fact that radio-pioneer Alexander Stepanovich Popov started hamradio activity in the area, Malyj Visotsky became an attractive destination for DXpeditions. All these DXpeditions were organised by a Finnish-Russian group. The first DXpedition took place in 1988. According a new agreement from 2010 for renting the Saimaa channel, the island would be controlled agian only by Russia. On February 17, 2012 this new agreement came into action and this became also the date that Malyj Visotsky or Ravansaari was a deleted Entity.