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The Komandorski Islands or Commander Islands () are a group of treeless islands east of the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East, in the Bering Sea. The islands consist of Bering Island, Medny Island, and two small islets. Geologically, although separated from the rest of the chain by several hundred miles, the Commander Islands are the westernmost extension of the Aleutian Islands. The inhabitants, Russians and Aleuts, fish and hunt whales and other marine mammals. The largest village is Nikolskoye on Bering Island.
The islands were discovered by Semyon Dezhnev in 1684. The islands received their name after Vitus Bering, who died there in 1741 after his ship St. Peter wrecked. Aleut (Unangan) people came to the Komandorski Islands early in the 19th century from the Aleutians. Most of the Aleuts inhabiting Bering Island came from Atka Island and those who lived on Medny Island came from Attu Island. Today the population of the islands is about 2/3 Russian and 1/3 Aleut.
The 1943 Battle of the Komandorski Islands took place in the open sea about 160 km (100 mi) south of the islands.
References
- Richard Ellis Encyclopedia of the Sea New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2001
External links
Velitelské ostrovy | Kommandeurinseln | Komandorisaared | Islas de Komandorskiye | 코만도르스키예 제도 | コマンドルスキー諸島 | Wyspy Komandorskie | Komandorskie | Командорские острова
"Komandorski Islands"