"Sakhalin Island" is a book published in 1895 that received high praise as the work of a talented and serious author. It is a narrative about the lives of prisoners (convicts), their hard labor, suffering, escapes, and executions—but above all, it is a look at the entire penal system from the standpoint of a thinking person. The author explores the issue of the convict’s personality, their simple and unhappy life, approaching the subject as both a researcher and an artist.