Komandorski Islands

The Komandorski Islands or Commander Islands, (in Russian, Komandorskiye Ostrova) 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, Mednyi Island, and two small islets. The inhabitants, Russians and Aleuts, fish and hunt whales and other marine mammals. The largest village is Nikolskoye on Bering Island.

Aleuts (Unangan) people came to the Komandorski Islands early in the 19th century from the Aleutian Islands. Most of the Aleuts inhabiting Bering Island came from Atka Island and those who lived on Mednyi 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.