Definition of: Sakhalin

(sä′hä·lēn′, sak′ə·lēn)
An island of Siberian Russian S.F.S.R. off its eastern coast; 29,700 square miles; the portion south of latitude 50° (13,930 square miles), known as Japanese Sakhalin or Karafuto, was ceded to Japan by the Treaty of Portsmouth; reoccupied by Russia after World War II. Formerly Saghalien.