Abstract: This article examines the everyday life and mentality of the Sakhalin exiles based on their songs and poems, using the historical-comparative and historical-genetic methods. This gives a different perspective on these problems, since the sources created by the exiles were not widely used. One of the few examples is the memoirs of I. P. Yuvachev and articles of L. Y. Sternberg and B. O. Pilsudsky. However, they could not be referred to as ordinary prisoner, unlike the creators of many hard labor songs and poems. In the course of research, the author determines that although there was virtually no original song culture on Sakhalin, however, it was replaced by the rich culture of versification, which alongside the common motifs of home, love and the hard fate of the exiles, touched upon the characteristic local problems. The author assumes that such state of affairs was caused by the overall atmosphere of distrust and reticence prevalent on the island. This explains the high popularity of poems, since they could be written for a narrow circle of friends or stored inside the desk, unlike songs, which were supposed to be performed for a wide audience.

Abstract: The goal of this article is to examine the images of the Sakhalin penal servitude captured in the works of foreigners who visited the island in the late XIX – early XX centuries. The perception of foreigners draw interests due to the fact that not only the Sakhalin penal servitude, but the island itself were the embodiment of the image of “Other”, which found reflection in the narrative sources left by foreign travelers and scholars. The comparative analysis indicates that foreigners had two polar opinions about the Sakhalin penitentiary facilities, a well as the future of the island: optimistic and pessimistic. In many aspects, they neither contradicted nor complemented each other; the polemic that unfolded around the development of Sakhalin Island of that time divided the Russian society into two opposing sides. Some, relying to the positive forecasts of geologists and agronomists, as well as military necessity, offered bright prospects of the Island. Others pointed at mismatch of the official data and the reality, and doubted the positive outcome. The question of detaining criminals on Sakhalin, including state prisoners, aggravated the situation and intensified disputes. The article aims to explain the reason why one or another foreign author took the side of the “optimists” or “pessimists” in the polemics.