Sakhalin

Sakhalin is a large elongated island in the North Pacific, lying between 45° 50' and 54° 24' N, in the Russian Far East. It is a part of the Russian Federation. The capital of Sakhalin is Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

Demographics

At the beginning of the 20th century, some 32,000 Russians (of whom over 22,150 were convicts) inhabited Sakhalin along with several thousand native inhabitants. The island's population has grown to 673,100 today, 83 percent of whom are ethnic Russians and followed by Koreans at about 30,000 (5.5%). The native inhabitants consist of some 2,000 Nivkhs, 1,300 Ainus, 750 Orochons, 200 Evenks and some Yakuts. The Nivkhs in the north support themselves by fishing and hunting. The Ainus inhabit the south part of the island.

Related Topics:
Nivkhs - Ainus - Orochons - Evenks - Yakuts

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The capital, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, a city of about 200,000, has a large Korean minority many who were forcibly brought by the Japanese during World War II to work in the coal mines. Most of the population lives in the southern half of the island, centered mainly around Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and two ports, Kholmsk and Korsakov (population 50,000 each).

Related Topics:
Korea - World War II - Kholmsk - Korsakov

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The 400,000 Japanese inhabitants of Sakhalin were deported following the conquest of the southern portion of the island by the Soviet Union in 1945 at the end of World War II.

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