Sakhalin Island or Karafuto as it is known in Japan changed hands a number of times during the course of its history.
This long-standing dispute between the two countries came to an abr.
For over a century, two major powers, the Soviet Union and Japan, endeavored to bring Sakhalin into their own sphere of influence.
Each change had a far-reaching impact not only on the native peoples but also on the thousands of immigrants who had settled there, either willingly or by force.
Sakhalin Island or Karafuto as it is known in Japan changed hands a number of times during the course of its history