Kuril Islands:
The President of Russia has visited the disputed Kuril Islands for the first time, travelling to Iturup as Moscow’s relations with Japan remain deeply strained over Russia’s war in Ukraine.
- The Kuril Islands is an island group in the Russian Far East that forms the boundary between the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk.
- The archipelago, administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast (Russia), extends for about 1,300 kilometers from the Kamchatka Peninsula’s (Russia) southern tip to Hokkaido’s (Japan) northeastern corner.
- The islands are divided into the Greater and Lesser Kuril Chains.
- These are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire
- The climate in the islands is severe, with long, cold, snowy winters and cool, wet, foggy summers.
- Vegetation ranges from tundra on the northern islands to dense forest on the larger southern islands.
- The principal centers are the towns of Kurilsk on Iturup, the largest island, Severo-Kurilsk on Paramushir, and Yuzhno-Kurilsk on Kunashir.
- Although Russia administers all the Kuril Islands, some islands are at the heart of the Russo-Japanese feud known as the Kuril Islands dispute.
Japan considers the four southernmost islands as part of its Northern Territories. - Tokyo claims that the disputed islands have been part of Japan since the early 19th century.
- As a result of this dispute, Russia and Japan have never formally concluded a peace treaty to end World War II.
