Sakhalin Island is the largest island in Russia. It is part of the Sakhalin Region along with the Kuril Islands. It is washed by the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan. Sakhalin Oblast is the only region in Russia completely located on the islands. About 500 thousand people live on Sakhalin. The most numerous nationalities are Russians (over 85%), followed by Koreans, Ukrainians and Tatars. The northern part is also inhabited by the indigenous inhabitants of the island - the Nivkhs.
The name "Sakhalin" comes from the Manchu name of the Amur River - "Sakhalyan-Ulla", which means "Rocks of the Black River" - this name, printed on the map, was mistakenly attributed to Sakhalin, and in further editions of maps it was printed as the name of the island ... The Japanese name of the island - Karafuto - goes back to the Ainu expression "kamui-kara-puto-ya-mosir", which means "land of the god of the mouth." However, in modern Japan, the name Saccharin (Japanese サ ハ リ ン) is more commonly used.