RUSSIA SAKHALIN Oblast

Sakhalin Oblast (Russian: Сахали́нская о́бласть, Sakhalinskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) comprising the island of Sakhalin and Kuril Islands. The oblast has an area of 87,100 km² and a population of 546,695 (2002 Census). Its administrative center and largest city is Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk with a population of around 170,000. Besides people from other parts of the former Soviet Union, Sakhalin is home to Nivkhs and Ainu, with the latter having lost their language in Sakhalin recently.Some territories of Sakhalin Oblast (four islands, the southern ones of the Kuril archipelago) are claimed by Japan.