What We’re Reading: Sakhalin Island and the Making of Colombia

Sakhalin Island By Anton Chekhov Earlier, during my studies, I read a lot of Russian classical literature, including the works of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. Chekhov is a famous Russian writer and playwright, but the school curriculum did not include “Sakhalin Island.” I don’t know why. “Sakhalin Island” is among my favorites of Chekhov’s works. In 1890, when Chekhov was already famous, he traveled to Sakhalin to explore the island and culture. Since 1875, prisoners had been sent there to perform forced labor under harsh conditions at remote penal colonies known as katorga. Chekhov’s book is based on his personal experiences and statistics he collected during the trip. He begins his journey in the north. He talks about the history of the island, the natural environment and the findings of scientists who explored it before him. There are interesting descriptions of the organization of villages, of everyday life, of failed attempts to cultivate agriculture and of the weather. He also describes the living conditions of the prisoners and the free inhabitants, and how their lives changed when the penal colonies appeared. Chekhov then went to the southern part of the island. He drew parallels between the north and south and contrasted […]