Sakhalin

Sakhalin, formerly Saghalien (Japanese, Karafuto), island, far eastern Russia, in the Sea of Okhotsk, separated from the eastern coast of Russia by the Tatar Strait and from the Japanese island of Hokkaido to the south by La Pérouse Strait. Mountain ranges traverse the island from north to south, and the chief rivers are the Poranay and the Tym. Much of the island is covered with pine and spruce forest. Sakhalin is some 948 km (589 mi) long from north to south, and about 24 to 160 km (15 to 100 mi) wide, with an area of 76,400 sq km (29,500 sq mi). Fishing is the main industry on the coast and fish is central to the diet of the islanders, especially since the cold climate makes agriculture difficult. Other industries include mining and timber production. Oil and coal are the primary mineral products. Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the island's main settlement, lies in the southern interior. Population 982,900 (2002 estimate).

In 1855 the Russians and Japanese established a joint administration of Sakhalin. According to the terms of the Treaty of St Petersburg (1875), however, Japan relinquished its claim to Russia in exchange for the Kuril Islands. At the close of the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, Sakhalin was divided between the Japanese and the Russians. The portion of the island south of latitude 50° North was assigned to Japan and the remainder to Russia. After World War II, the entire island became a possession of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). It has remained a possession of the Russian Federation since the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. On May 28, 1995, an earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale struck the island. Although its epicentre was some 135 km (84 mi) offshore to the north, it devastated the town of Nevtegorsk, where only 875 inhabitants were confirmed to have survived from a population of 3,200.