Sakhalin

American  

[-leen, sak-uh-lin, suh-khuh-lyeen] / -ˌlin, ˈsæk əˌlɪn, sə xʌˈljin /

noun

1. the largest island of the Russian Federation and the northernmost component of the Japanese archipelago: divided between Russia and Japan in 1905, the southern half Southern Sakhalin becoming the Japanese prefecture of Karafuto until its restoration to Russia after World War II. 28,000 square miles (72,520 square kilometers).

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Sakhalin British  

/ səxaˈlin /

noun

1. Japanese name (1905–24): Karafuto.  an island in the Sea of Okhotsk, off the SE coast of Russia north of Japan: fishing, forestry, and mineral resources (coal and petroleum). Capital: Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Pop: 546 500 (2002). Area: 76 000 sq km (29 300 sq miles)

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Etymology

Origin of Sakhalin

First recorded in 1860–65; from Russian Sakhalín, from Manchu Sahaliyan (ula angga hada) “(Island at the mouth of the) Black (river)”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Sakhalin

Earlier this year, Exxon Mobil met with Russia’s biggest state energy company, Rosneft, to discuss returning to the massive Sakhalin gas project if Moscow and Washington gave the green light.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 29, 2025

Russian officials issued a tsunami alert for the island of Sakhalin, warning that areas across the island’s west coast could be affected by the waves.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 31, 2023

Sakhalin pilot project, which was approved in 2021 and launched in 2023, was designed to test such a market and attempt to achieve carbon neutrality on the island by 2025.

From BBC ● Dec. 10, 2023

The seizure of the vessels would remain in place at least until a May 18 deadline for Sakhalin Energy to file a lawsuit challenging the contract suspension by Svitzer.

From Reuters ● May 10, 2023

Arrived there, I for the first time learned my sentence—ten years in the mines, and then ten in Sakhalin.

From The Angel of the Revolution A Tale of the Coming Terror by Griffith, George Chetwynd