A Study on the Russian Exploration of Sakhalin: Focusing on Nineteenth-Century Expeditions

This study aims to provide a historical examination of the Russian Empire’s exploration of Sakhalin from the 17th century to the end of the 19th century, with particular attention to its political and geographical significance. The early expeditions were conducted as part of Imperial Russia’s strategic expansion into the Far East and its efforts to secure access to the Pacific coast. In this context, the voyages and surveys carried out by figures such as Krusenstern, Gavrilov, and especially Nevelskoy represented a concerted imperial effort to determine the island's geographical identity as a distinct landmass. Subsequent explorations of Sakhalin and the Primorye region contributed to the foundational discussions regarding territorial demarcation between Russia and Japan. From the mid-19th century onward, Russia’s colonial interest in Sakhalin intensified, marked by resource surveys, anthropological investigations of the indigenous populations, and the official designation of the island as a penal colony in 1869. Nevelskoy’s exploratory endeavors played a crucial role in consolidating Russian de facto control over the region, contributing not only to the accumulation of geographic and ethnographic knowledge but also to the formulation of imperial Far Eastern policy, diplomatic competition with Japan, and the eventual geopolitical reconfiguration that culminated in the partition of Sakhalin in 1905. Situated at the intersection of the modern histories of Russia, Japan, and Korea, Sakhalin holds strategic significance in Northeast Asia. Analyzing the processes of Russian exploration, migration, and colonization provides valuable insights into the complex political and social dynamics of the region, particularly in the context of developments following the Second World War.