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The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands (; rus, Кури́льские острова́, r=Kuril'skiye ostrova, p=kʊˈrʲilʲskʲɪjə ɐstrɐˈva;
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
: or ) are a volcanic
archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...
currently administered as part of
Sakhalin Oblast Sakhalin Oblast ( rus, Сахали́нская о́бласть, r=Sakhalínskaya óblast', p=səxɐˈlʲinskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast) comprising the island of Sakhalin and the K ...
in the
Russian Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admini ...
. It stretches approximately northeast from
Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...
in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
to
Kamchatka Peninsula The Kamchatka Peninsula (russian: полуостров Камчатка, Poluostrov Kamchatka, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and we ...
in Russia separating the
Sea of Okhotsk The Sea of Okhotsk ( rus, Охо́тское мо́ре, Ohótskoye móre ; ja, オホーツク海, Ohōtsuku-kai) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands ...
from the north
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
. There are 56 islands and many minor rocks. The Kuril Islands consist of the
Greater Kuril Chain Greater Kuril Chain (russian: Большая Курильская гряда) - A part of the Kuril Islands, the Greater Kuril Chain is a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. It includes North Kurils, Iturup and Kunashir. At its south western ...
and the
Lesser Kuril Chain The Lesser Kuril Chain (russian: Малая Курильская гряда, ja, しょうクリルれっとう or 小千島列島), is an island chain in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. The islands are administered as part of Yuzhno-Kurilsky Dis ...
. They cover an area of around , with a population of roughly 20,000. The islands have been under Russian administration since their 1945 invasion as the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
towards the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Japan claims the four southernmost islands, including two of the three largest (
Iturup , other_names = russian: Итуру́п; ja, 択捉島 , location = Sea of Okhotsk , coordinates = , archipelago = Kuril Islands , total_islands = , major_islands = , area_km2 = 3139 , length_km = 200 , width_km = 27 , coastline = , highest_moun ...
and
Kunashir , other_names = kz, Kün Ashyr; ja, 国後島 , location = Sea of Okhotsk , locator_map = File:Kurily Kunashir.svg , coordinates = , archipelago = Kuril Islands , total_islands = , major_islands = , area = , length = , width = fr ...
), as part of its territory, as well as
Shikotan ; ja, 色丹島 , location = Pacific Ocean , coordinates = , archipelago = Kuril Islands , total_islands = 1 , major_islands = , area_km2 = 225 , length = , width = , coastline ...
and the
Habomai ; ja, 歯舞群島, Habomai guntō , location = Pacific Ocean , coordinates = , archipelago = Kuril Islands , total_islands = 10 + several rocks , major_islands = , area_km2 = 100 , length = , ...
islets, which has led to the ongoing
Kuril Islands dispute The Kuril Islands dispute, known as the Northern Territories dispute in Japan, is a territorial dispute between Japan and Russia over the ownership of the four southernmost Kuril Islands. The Kuril Islands are a chain of islands that stretch b ...
. The disputed islands are known in Japan as the country's "Northern Territories".


Etymology

The name ''Kuril'' originates from the
autonym Autonym may refer to: * Autonym, the name used by a person to refer to themselves or their language; see Exonym and endonym * Autonym (botany), an automatically created infrageneric or infraspecific name See also * Nominotypical subspecies, in zo ...
of the aboriginal Ainu, the islands' original inhabitants: ''kur'', meaning 'man'. It may also be related to names for other islands that have traditionally been inhabited by the Ainu people, such as ''Kuyi'' or ''Kuye'' for
Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, r=Sakhalín, p=səxɐˈlʲin; ja, 樺太 ''Karafuto''; zh, c=, p=Kùyèdǎo, s=库页岛, t=庫頁島; Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ, ''Sahaliyan''; Orok: Бугата на̄, ''Bugata nā''; Nivkh: ...
and ''Kai'' for
Hokkaidō is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...
. In
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
, the Kuril Islands are known as the Chishima Islands (
Kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...
: , literally, 'Thousand Islands Archipelago'), also known as the Kuriru Islands (
Katakana is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji and in some cases the Latin script (known as rōmaji). The word ''katakana'' means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana characters are derived fr ...
: , literally, ''Kuril Archipelago''). Once the Russians reached the islands in the 18th century they found a
pseudo-etymology A false etymology (fake etymology, popular etymology, etymythology, pseudo-etymology, or par(a)etymology) is a popular but false belief about the origin or derivation of a specific word. It is sometimes called a folk etymology, but this is also a ...
from Russian ''kurit′'', курить 'to smoke' due to the continual fumes and steam above the islands from volcanoes.


Geography and climate

The Kuril Islands form part of the ring of
tectonic Tectonics (; ) are the processes that control the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. These include the processes of mountain building, the growth and behavior of the strong, old cores of continents k ...
instability encircling the Pacific Ocean referred to as the
Ring of Fire The Ring of Fire (also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Rim of Fire, the Girdle of Fire or the Circum-Pacific belt) is a region around much of the rim of the Pacific Ocean where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur. The Ring o ...
. The islands themselves are summits of
stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and per ...
es that are a direct result of the subduction of the
Pacific Plate The Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate that lies beneath the Pacific Ocean. At , it is the largest tectonic plate. The plate first came into existence 190 million years ago, at the triple junction between the Farallon, Phoenix, and Iza ...
under the
Okhotsk Plate The Okhotsk Plate is a minor tectonic plate covering the Kamchatka Peninsula, Magadan Oblast, and Sakhalin Island of Russia; Hokkaido, Kantō and Tōhoku regions of Japan; the Sea of Okhotsk, as well as the disputed Kuril Islands. It was ...
, which forms the
Kuril Trench The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands (; rus, Кури́льские острова́, r=Kuril'skiye ostrova, p=kʊˈrʲilʲskʲɪjə ɐstrɐˈva; Japanese: or ) are a volcanic archipelago currently administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the ...
some east of the islands. The chain has around 100 volcanoes, some 40 of which are active, and many
hot springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...
and
fumaroles A fumarole (or fumerole) is a vent in the surface of the Earth or other rocky planet from which hot volcanic gases and vapors are emitted, without any accompanying liquids or solids. Fumaroles are characteristic of the late stages of volcani ...
. There is frequent
seismic activity An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...
, including a
magnitude Magnitude may refer to: Mathematics *Euclidean vector, a quantity defined by both its magnitude and its direction *Magnitude (mathematics), the relative size of an object *Norm (mathematics), a term for the size or length of a vector *Order of ...
8.5 earthquake in 1963 and one of magnitude 8.3 recorded on November 15, 2006, which resulted in
tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...
waves up to reaching the
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
coast. Raikoke Island, near the centre of the archipelago, has an active volcano which erupted again in June 2019, with emissions reaching . The climate on the islands is generally severe, with long, cold, stormy winters and short and notoriously foggy summers. The average annual precipitation is , a large portion of which falls as snow. The
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
of most of the Kurils is
subarctic The subarctic zone is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic, north of humid continental regions and covering much of Alaska, Canada, Iceland, the north of Scandinavia, Siberia, and the Cairngorms. Generally, ...
(''Dfc''), although
Kunashir , other_names = kz, Kün Ashyr; ja, 国後島 , location = Sea of Okhotsk , locator_map = File:Kurily Kunashir.svg , coordinates = , archipelago = Kuril Islands , total_islands = , major_islands = , area = , length = , width = fr ...
is
humid continental A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
(''Dfb''). However, the Kuril Islands’ climate resembles the
subpolar oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
of
southwest Alaska Southwest Alaska is a region of the U.S. state of Alaska. The area is not exactly defined by any governmental administrative region(s); nor does it always have a clear geographic boundary. Geography Southwest Alaska includes a huge, complex, and ...
much more than the hypercontinental climate of
Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...
and interior Siberia, as precipitation is heavy and permafrost completely absent. It is characterized by mild summers with only 1 to 3 months above and cold, snowy, extremely windy winters below , although usually above . The chain ranges from temperate to sub-Arctic climate types, and the vegetative cover consequently ranges from
tundra In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless moun ...
in the north to dense
spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...
and
larch Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus ''Larix'', of the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Growing from tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains furt ...
forests on the larger southern islands. The highest elevations on the islands are Alaid volcano (highest point: ) on
Atlasov Island Atlasov Island, known in Russian as Ostrov Atlasova (Остров Атласова), or in Japanese as Araido (阿頼度島), is the northernmost island and volcano and also the highest volcano of the Kuril islands, part of the Sakhalin Oblast ...
at the northern end of the chain and Tyatya volcano () on
Kunashir Island , other_names = kz, Kün Ashyr; ja, 国後島 , location = Sea of Okhotsk , locator_map = File:Kurily Kunashir.svg , coordinates = , archipelago = Kuril Islands , total_islands = , major_islands = , area = , length = , width = f ...
at the southern end. Landscape types and habitats on the islands include many kinds of beach and rocky shores, cliffs, wide rivers and fast gravelly streams, forests, grasslands,
alpine tundra Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated alpine climate, harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alp ...
,
crater lake Crater Lake (Klamath language, Klamath: ''Giiwas'') is a volcanic crater lake in south-central Oregon in the western United States. It is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park and is famous for its deep blue color and water clarity. The ...
s and
peat bogs A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...
. The soils are generally productive, owing to the periodic influxes of volcanic ash and, in certain places, owing to significant enrichment by
seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...
guano Guano (Spanish from qu, wanu) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. As a manure, guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. G ...
. However, many of the steep, unconsolidated slopes are susceptible to landslides and newer volcanic activity can entirely denude a landscape. Only the southernmost island has large areas covered by trees, while more northerly islands have no trees, or spotty tree cover. The northernmost,
Atlasov Island Atlasov Island, known in Russian as Ostrov Atlasova (Остров Атласова), or in Japanese as Araido (阿頼度島), is the northernmost island and volcano and also the highest volcano of the Kuril islands, part of the Sakhalin Oblast ...
(Oyakoba in Japanese), is an almost-perfect
volcanic A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...
cone rising sheer out of the sea; it has been praised by the Japanese in
haiku is a type of short form poetry originally from Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases that contain a ''kireji'', or "cutting word", 17 '' on'' (phonetic units similar to syllables) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern, and a ''kigo'', or se ...
,
wood-block print Woodblock printing or block printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles and later paper. Each page or image is crea ...
s, and other forms, in much the same way as the better-known
Mount Fuji , or Fugaku, located on the island of Honshū, is the highest mountain in Japan, with a summit elevation of . It is the second-highest volcano located on an island in Asia (after Mount Kerinci on the island of Sumatra), and seventh-highest p ...
. Its summit is the highest point in
Sakhalin Oblast Sakhalin Oblast ( rus, Сахали́нская о́бласть, r=Sakhalínskaya óblast', p=səxɐˈlʲinskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast) comprising the island of Sakhalin and the K ...
.


Ecology


Marine

Owing to their location along the Pacific shelf edge and the confluence of Okhotsk Sea gyre and the southward
Oyashio Current , also known as Oya Siwo, Okhotsk or the Kurile current, is a cold subarctic ocean current that flows south and circulates counterclockwise in the western North Pacific Ocean. The waters of the Oyashio Current originate in the Arctic Ocean an ...
, the Kuril islands are surrounded by waters that are among the most productive in the North Pacific, supporting a wide range and high abundance of marine life.
Invertebrates Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...
: Extensive
kelp Kelps are large brown algae seaweeds that make up the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera. Despite its appearance, kelp is not a plant - it is a heterokont, a completely unrelated group of organisms. Kelp grows in "underwat ...
beds surrounding almost every island provide crucial habitat for
sea urchins Sea urchins () are spiny, globular echinoderms in the class Echinoidea. About 950 species of sea urchin live on the seabed of every ocean and inhabit every depth zone from the intertidal seashore down to . The spherical, hard shells (tests) of ...
, various
mollusks Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000  extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...
and countless other invertebrates and their associated predators. Many species of
squid True squid are molluscs with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight arms, and two tentacles in the superorder Decapodiformes, though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also called squid despite not strictly fitting t ...
provide a principal component of the diet of many of the smaller marine mammals and birds along the chain.
Fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
: Further offshore,
walleye pollock The Alaska pollock or walleye pollock (''Gadus chalcogrammus'') is a marine fish species of the cod genus ''Gadus'' and family Gadidae. It is a semi-pelagic schooling fish widely distributed in the North Pacific, with largest concentrations fo ...
,
Pacific cod The Pacific cod (''Gadus macrocephalus)'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Gadidae. It is a bottom-dwelling fish found in the northern Pacific Ocean, mainly on the continental shelf and upper slopes, to depths of about . It can grow ...
, several species of
flatfish A flatfish is a member of the Ray-finned fish, ray-finned demersal fish order (biology), order Pleuronectiformes, also called the Heterosomata, sometimes classified as a suborder of Perciformes. In many species, both eyes lie on one side of the ...
are of the greatest commercial importance. During the 1980s, migratory Japanese
sardine "Sardine" and "pilchard" are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring family Clupeidae. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century, a folk etymology says it comes from the Ital ...
was one of the most abundant fish in the summer.
Pinniped Pinnipeds (pronounced ), commonly known as seals, are a widely distributed and diverse clade of carnivorous, fin-footed, semiaquatic, mostly marine mammals. They comprise the extant families Odobenidae (whose only living member is the walru ...
: The main pinnipeds were a significant object of harvest for the indigenous populations of the Kuril islands, both for food and materials such as skin and bone. The long-term fluctuations in the range and distribution of human settlements along the Kuril island presumably tracked the pinniped ranges. In historical times, fur seals were heavily exploited for their fur in the 19th and early 20th centuries and several of the largest reproductive rookeries, as on Raykoke island, were extirpated. In contrast, commercial harvest of the
true seal The earless seals, phocids or true seals are one of the three main groups of mammals within the seal lineage, Pinnipedia. All true seals are members of the family Phocidae (). They are sometimes called crawling seals to distinguish them from th ...
s and
Steller sea lion The Steller sea lion (''Eumetopias jubatus''), also known as the Steller's sea lion and northern sea lion, is a near-threatened species of sea lion in the northern Pacific. It is the sole member of the genus ''Eumetopias'' and the largest of t ...
s has been relatively insignificant on the Kuril islands proper. Since the 1960s there has been essentially no additional harvest and the pinniped populations in the Kuril islands appear to be fairly healthy and in some cases expanding. The notable exception is the now extinct
Japanese sea lion The Japanese sea lion (''Zalophus japonicus'') ( ja, ニホンアシカ, translit=Nihon ashika, Korean:강치, 바다사자) was an aquatic mammal that became extinct in the 1970s. It was considered to be a subspecies of the related California se ...
, which was known to occasionally haul out on the Kuril islands.
Sea otters The sea otter (''Enhydra lutris'') is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between , making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among the smalle ...
: Sea otters were exploited very heavily for their pelts in the 19th century, as shown by 19th- and 20th-century whaling catch and sighting records.
Seabirds Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adaptation, adapted to life within the marine (ocean), marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent ev ...
: The Kuril islands are home to many millions of seabirds, including
northern fulmar The northern fulmar (''Fulmarus glacialis''), fulmar, or Arctic fulmar is a highly abundant seabird found primarily in subarctic regions of the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans. There has been one confirmed sighting in the Southern Hemis ...
s,
tufted puffin The tufted puffin (''Fratercula cirrhata''), also known as crested puffin, is a relatively abundant medium-sized pelagic seabird in the auk family (Alcidae) found throughout the North Pacific Ocean. It is one of three species of puffin that make ...
s,
murre ''Uria'' is a genus of seabirds in the auk family known in Britain as guillemots, in most of North America as murres, and in Newfoundland and Labrador as turr. These are medium-sized birds with mainly brown or black plumage in the breeding sea ...
s,
kittiwake The kittiwakes (genus ''Rissa'') are two closely related seabird species in the gull family Laridae, the black-legged kittiwake (''Rissa tridactyla'') and the red-legged kittiwake (''Rissa brevirostris''). The epithets "black-legged" and "red-le ...
s,
guillemot Guillemot is the common name for several species of seabird in the Alcidae or auk family (part of the order Charadriiformes). In British use, the term comprises two genera: ''Uria'' and ''Cepphus''. In North America the ''Uria'' species are c ...
s,
auklet An auk or alcid is a bird of the family Alcidae in the order Charadriiformes. The alcid family includes the Uria, murres, guillemots, Aethia, auklets, puffins, and Brachyramphus, murrelets. The word "auk" is derived from Icelandic language, Ic ...
s,
petrel Petrels are tube-nosed seabirds in the bird order Procellariiformes. Description The common name does not indicate relationship beyond that point, as "petrels" occur in three of the four families within that group (all except the albatross f ...
s,
gull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, m ...
s and
cormorant Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven ge ...
s. On many of the smaller islands in summer, where terrestrial predators are absent, virtually every possibly hummock, cliff niche or underneath of boulder is occupied by a nesting bird. Several of the islands, including Kunashir and the Lesser Kuril Chain in the South Kurils, and the northern Kurils from Urup to Paramushir, have been recognised as
Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...
s (IBAs) by
BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...
because they support populations of various
threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensat ...
bird species, including many
waterbird A water bird, alternatively waterbird or aquatic bird, is a bird that lives on or around water. In some definitions, the term ''water bird'' is especially applied to birds in freshwater ecosystems, although others make no distinction from seabi ...
s,
seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...
s and
wader 245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots">Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflat ...
s.


Terrestrial

The composition of terrestrial species on the Kuril islands is dominated by Asian mainland taxa via migration from Hokkaido and
Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, r=Sakhalín, p=səxɐˈlʲin; ja, 樺太 ''Karafuto''; zh, c=, p=Kùyèdǎo, s=库页岛, t=庫頁島; Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ, ''Sahaliyan''; Orok: Бугата на̄, ''Bugata nā''; Nivkh: ...
Islands and by Kamchatkan taxa from the North. While highly diverse, there is a relatively low level of
endemism Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
on a species level. The WWF divides the Kuril Islands into two
ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...
s. The southern Kurils, along with southwestern
Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, r=Sakhalín, p=səxɐˈlʲin; ja, 樺太 ''Karafuto''; zh, c=, p=Kùyèdǎo, s=库页岛, t=庫頁島; Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ, ''Sahaliyan''; Orok: Бугата на̄, ''Bugata nā''; Nivkh: ...
, comprise the South Sakhalin-Kurile mixed forests ecoregion. The northern islands are part of the Kamchatka-Kurile meadows and sparse forests, a larger ecoregion that extends onto the
Kamchatka Peninsula The Kamchatka Peninsula (russian: полуостров Камчатка, Poluostrov Kamchatka, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and we ...
and
Commander Islands The Commander Islands, Komandorski Islands, or Komandorskie Islands (russian: Командо́рские острова́, ''Komandorskiye ostrova'') are a series of treeless, sparsely populated Russian islands in the Bering Sea located about ea ...
. Because of the generally smaller size and isolation of the central islands, few major terrestrial mammals have colonized these, though
red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
and
Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...
fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
es were introduced for the sake of the fur trade in the 1880s. The bulk of the terrestrial mammal biomass is taken up by
rodents Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are nat ...
, many introduced in historical times. The largest southernmost and northernmost islands are inhabited by
brown bear The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is kno ...
,
foxes Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
, and
martens A marten is a weasel-like mammal in the genus ''Martes'' within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on ...
.
Leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...
s once inhabited the islands. Some species of
deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...
are found on the more southerly islands. It is claimed that a wild cat, the
Kurilian Bobtail The Kurilian Bobtail is a cat breed (or breed group, depending on registry) originating from the (disputed) Russian Kuril Islands, as well as Sakhalin Island and the Kamchatka peninsula of Russia. Short- or long-haired, it has a semi-cobby b ...
, originates from the Kuril Islands. The bobtail is due to the mutation of a dominant gene. The cat has been domesticated and exported to nearby Russia and bred there, becoming a popular domestic cat. Among terrestrial birds,
raven A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus ''Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigned t ...
s,
peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falco ...
s, some
wren Wrens are a family of brown passerine birds in the predominantly New World family Troglodytidae. The family includes 88 species divided into 19 genera. Only the Eurasian wren occurs in the Old World, where, in Anglophone regions, it is commonly ...
s and
wagtail Wagtails are a group of passerine birds that form the genus ''Motacilla'' in the family Motacillidae. The forest wagtail belongs to the monotypic genus ''Dendronanthus'' which is closely related to ''Motacilla'' and sometimes included therein. ...
s are common.


History


Early history

The
Ainu people The Ainu are the indigenous people of the lands surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk, including Hokkaido Island, Northeast Honshu Island, Sakhalin Island, the Kuril Islands, the Kamchatka Peninsula and Khabarovsk Krai, before the arrival of the Y ...
inhabited the Kuril Islands from early times, although few records predate the 17th century.From the Kamakura period to the Muromachi period, there were Ezo (Ainu) people called Hinomoto from the Pacific coast of Hokkaido to the Kuril region, and Mr. Ando, the Ezo Sateshiku and Ezo Kanrei, was in charge of this ("Suwa Daimyojin Ekotoba"). ). It is said that when turmoil broke out on Ezogashima, he dispatched troops from Tsugaru. Its activities include the Kanto Gomensen, which calls itself the Ando Suigun, and is based in Jusanminato ("Kaisen Shikimoku"), supplying Japanese products to Ezo society and purchasing large quantities of northern products and shipping them nationwide. ("Thirteen Streets").The Matsumae clan, a feudal lord of Japan, became independent from the Ando clan (the family of Goro Ando). The Japanese administration first took nominal control of the islands during the
Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
(1603-1868) in the form of claims by the
Matsumae clan The was a Japanese clan that was confirmed in the possession of the area around Matsumae, Hokkaidō as a march fief in 1590 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and charged with defending it, and by extension the whole of Japan, from the Ainu "barbarians" ...
. The '' Shōhō Era Map of Japan'' (), a map of Japan made by the
Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...
in 1644, shows 39 large and small islands northeast of Hokkaido's
Shiretoko Peninsula is located on the easternmost portion of the Japanese island of Hokkaidō, protruding into the Sea of Okhotsk. It is separated from Kunashir Island, which is now occupied by Russia, by the Nemuro Strait. The name Shiretoko is derived from the ...
and
Cape Nosappu is a point on the Nemuro Peninsula, Nemuro, Japan which is the easternmost point in Hokkaidō. It is also the easternmost point in Japan which is open to the public. It is located where the waters from the Pacific Ocean meet those from the Se ...
. A Dutch expedition under
Maarten Gerritsz Vries Maarten Gerritszoon Vries, or Fries, also referred to as de Vries, (18 February 1589, Harlingen, Netherlands – late 1647, at sea near Manila) was a 17th-century Dutch cartographer and explorer, the first Western European to leave an account of ...
explored the islands in 1643. Russian popular legend has
Fedot Alekseyevich Popov Fedot Alekseyevich Popov (russian: Федот Алексеевич Попов, also Fedot Alekseyev, russian: Федот Алексеев; nickname Kholmogorian, russian: Холмогорец, for his place of birth ( Kholmogory), date of birth un ...
sailing into the area . Russian Cossacks landed on
Shumshu russian: Шумшу ja, 占守島 , image_name = Shumshu.jpg , image_caption = A Landsat 7 image of Shumshu Island. The northern tip of Paramushir Island is at left. The First Kuril Strait lies across the upper portion of the image. , image_size ...
in 1711.
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
whaleship A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japa ...
s caught
right whales Right whales are three species of large baleen whales of the genus ''Eubalaena'': the North Atlantic right whale (''E. glacialis''), the North Pacific right whale (''E. japonica'') and the Southern right whale (''E. australis''). They are class ...
off the islands between 1847 and 1892. Three of the ships were wrecked on the islands: two on
Urup Urup ( ja, 得撫島, Uruppu-to; russian: Уру́п, Urúp, ain, ウルㇷ゚, Urup) is an uninhabited volcanic island in the Kuril Islands chain in the south of the Sea of Okhotsk, northwest Pacific Ocean. Its name is derived from the Ainu la ...
in 1855 and one on
Makanrushi Makanrushi (russian: Маканруши; Japanese 磨勘留島; Makanru-tō) is an uninhabited volcanic island located near the northern end of the Kuril Islands chain in the Sea of Okhotsk in the northwest Pacific Ocean. Its name is derived f ...
in 1856. In September 1892, north of Kunashir Island, a
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
n
schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
seized the bark ''Cape Horn Pigeon'', of
New Bedford New Bedford (Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American pe ...
and escorted it to
Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...
, where it was detained for nearly two weeks.


Japanese administration

At the very end of the 19th century, the Japanese administration started the forced assimilation of the native Ainu people. Also at this time the Ainu were granted automatic Japanese citizenship, effectively denying them the status of an indigenous group. Many Japanese moved onto former Ainu lands, including the Kuril islands. The Ainu required to adopt Japanese names, and ordered to cease religious practices such as animal sacrifice and the custom of tattooing. Although not compulsory education, education was conducted in Japanese. Prior to Japanese colonization (in 1868) about 100 Ainu reportedly lived on the Kuril islands.


World War II

* In 1941 Admiral
Isoroku Yamamoto was a Marshal Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II until he was killed. Yamamoto held several important posts in the IJN, and undertook many of its changes and reor ...
ordered the assembly of the
Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...
strike-force for the Hawaii Operation attack on Pearl Harbor in Tankan or Hitokappu Bay,
Iturup , other_names = russian: Итуру́п; ja, 択捉島 , location = Sea of Okhotsk , coordinates = , archipelago = Kuril Islands , total_islands = , major_islands = , area_km2 = 3139 , length_km = 200 , width_km = 27 , coastline = , highest_moun ...
Island, South Kurils. The territory was chosen for its sparse population, lack of foreigners, and constant fog-coverage. The Admiral ordered the move to Hawaii on the morning of 26 November. * On 10 July 1943 the first bombardment against the Japanese bases in
Shumshu russian: Шумшу ja, 占守島 , image_name = Shumshu.jpg , image_caption = A Landsat 7 image of Shumshu Island. The northern tip of Paramushir Island is at left. The First Kuril Strait lies across the upper portion of the image. , image_size ...
and
Paramushir russian: Парамушир ja, 幌筵島 , native_name_link = , nickname = , location = Pacific Ocean , coordinates = , archipelago = Kuril Island , total_islands = , major_islands = , area_km2 = 2053 , length_km = 100 , width_km = 20 ...
by American forces occurred. From Alexai airfield 8
B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...
s from the
77th Bombardment Squadron #REDIRECTSecret Agent 077 Secret Agent 077 is a fictional superspy, lead character in a trilogy of Eurospy films starring Ken Clark as Dick Malloy (or Maloy).p.274 Blake, Matt & Deal, David ''The Eurospy Guide'' 2004 Luminary Press However "077" ...
took off, led by Capt James L. Hudelson. This mission principally struck Paramushir. * Another mission was flown during 11 September 1943 when the
Eleventh Air Force The Eleventh Air Force (11 AF) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson, Alaska.This unit is not related to the Eleventh Air Force headquarte ...
dispatched eight
B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...
s and 12 B-25s. Facing reinforced Japanese defenses, 74 crew members in three B-24s and seven B-25 failed to return. 22 men were killed in action, one taken prisoner and 51 interned in
Kamchatka The Kamchatka Peninsula (russian: полуостров Камчатка, Poluostrov Kamchatka, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and wes ...
. * The Eleventh Air Force implemented other bombing missions against the northern Kurils, including a strike by six
B-24 The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...
s from the
404th Bombardment Squadron 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...
and 16
P-38 The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive twi ...
s from the
54th Fighter Squadron The 54th Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was to the 3d Operations Group, being stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. It was inactivated on 28 April 2000. History World War II Activated ...
on 5 February 1944. * Japanese sources report that the
Matsuwa Matua (russian: Матуа, ja, 松輪島, Matsuwa-tō) is an uninhabited volcanic island near the center of the Kuril Islands chain in the Sea of Okhotsk in the northwest Pacific Ocean, across Golovnin Strait from Raikoke. Its name is derived ...
military installations were subject to American air-strikes between 1943 and 1944. * The Americans' strategic feint called " Operation Wedlock" diverted Japanese attention north and misled them about the U.S. strategy in the Pacific. The plan included air strikes by the USAAF and U.S. Navy bombers which included U.S. Navy shore bombardment and submarine operations. The Japanese increased their garrison in the north Kurils from 8,000 in 1943 to 41,000 in 1944 and maintained more than 400 aircraft in the Kurils and
Hokkaidō is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...
area in anticipation that the Americans might invade from
Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
. * American planners had briefly contemplated an invasion of northern
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
from the
Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a cha ...
during the autumn of 1943 but rejected that idea as too risky and impractical. They considered the use of
Boeing B-29 The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 F ...
Superfortresses, on
Amchitka Amchitka (; ale, Amchixtax̂; russian: Амчитка) is a volcanic, tectonically unstable and uninhabited island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in southwest Alaska. It is part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refu ...
and
Shemya Shemya or Simiya ( ale, Samiyax̂) is a small island in the Semichi Islands group of the Near Islands chain in the Aleutian Islands archipelago southwest of Alaska, at . It has a land area of , and is about southwest of Anchorage, Alaska. It is ...
bases, but rejected the idea. The U.S. military maintained interest in these plans when they ordered the expansion of bases in the western Aleutians, and major construction began on Shemya. In 1945, plans for a possible invasion of Japan via the northern route were shelved. * Between 18 August and 31 August 1945 Soviet forces invaded the North and South Kurils. * The Soviets expelled the entire Japanese civilian population of roughly 17,000 by 1946. * Between 24 August and 4 September 1945 the Eleventh Air Force of the
United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
sent two B-24s on reconnaissance missions over the North Kuril Islands with the intention of taking photos of the
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
occupation in the area. Soviet fighters intercepted and forced them away. In February 1945 the
Yalta Agreement The Yalta Conference (codenamed Argonaut), also known as the Crimea Conference, held 4–11 February 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to discuss the post ...
promised to the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
South Sakhalin Karafuto Prefecture ( ja, 樺太庁, ''Karafuto-chō''; russian: Префектура Карафуто, Prefektura Karafuto), commonly known as South Sakhalin, was a prefecture of Japan located in Sakhalin from 1907 to 1949. Karafuto became ter ...
and the
Kuril islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands (; rus, Кури́льские острова́, r=Kuril'skiye ostrova, p=kʊˈrʲilʲskʲɪjə ɐstrɐˈva; Japanese: or ) are a volcanic archipelago currently administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the ...
in return for entering the
Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...
against the Japanese during World War II. In August 1945 the Soviet Union mounted an armed invasion of
South Sakhalin Karafuto Prefecture ( ja, 樺太庁, ''Karafuto-chō''; russian: Префектура Карафуто, Prefektura Karafuto), commonly known as South Sakhalin, was a prefecture of Japan located in Sakhalin from 1907 to 1949. Karafuto became ter ...
at the cost of over 5,000 Soviet and Japanese lives.


Russian administration

The Kuril Islands are split into three administrative districts (
raion A raion (also spelt rayon) is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a city. The word is from the French (meaning 'honeycomb, department'), and is co ...
s) part of
Sakhalin Oblast Sakhalin Oblast ( rus, Сахали́нская о́бласть, r=Sakhalínskaya óblast', p=səxɐˈlʲinskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast) comprising the island of Sakhalin and the K ...
: *
Severo-Kurilsky District Severo-Kurilsky District (russian: Се́веро-Кури́льский райо́н) is an administrative district (raion) of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia; one of the seventeen in the oblast.Law #25-ZO Municipally, it is incorporated as Severo-Kuril ...
(
Severo-Kurilsk Severo-Kurilsk (russian: Се́веро-Кури́льск; ja, 柏原, ''Kashiwabara'') is a town and the administrative center of Severo-Kurilsky District of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia, located in the northern part of the Kuril Islands, on the i ...
) *
Kurilsky District Kurilsky District (russian: Кури́льский райо́н, Kuríl'skiy rayón) is an administrative district (raion) of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia; one of the seventeen in the oblast.Law #25-ZO Municipally, it is incorporated as Kurilsky Urban ...
( Kurilsk) *
Yuzhno-Kurilsky District Yuzhno-Kurilsky District (russian: Ю́жно-Кури́льский райо́н) is an administrative district (raion) of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia; one of the seventeen in the oblast.Law #25-ZO Municipally, it is incorporated as Yuzhno-Kurilsky ...
(
Yuzhno-Kurilsk Yuzhno-Kurilsk (russian: Ю́жно-Кури́льск; ja, 留夜別, ''Ruyobetsu'') is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) and the administrative center of Yuzhno-Kurilsky District of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia. Population: It is the l ...
) Japan maintains a claim to the four southernmost islands of
Kunashir , other_names = kz, Kün Ashyr; ja, 国後島 , location = Sea of Okhotsk , locator_map = File:Kurily Kunashir.svg , coordinates = , archipelago = Kuril Islands , total_islands = , major_islands = , area = , length = , width = fr ...
,
Iturup , other_names = russian: Итуру́п; ja, 択捉島 , location = Sea of Okhotsk , coordinates = , archipelago = Kuril Islands , total_islands = , major_islands = , area_km2 = 3139 , length_km = 200 , width_km = 27 , coastline = , highest_moun ...
,
Shikotan ; ja, 色丹島 , location = Pacific Ocean , coordinates = , archipelago = Kuril Islands , total_islands = 1 , major_islands = , area_km2 = 225 , length = , width = , coastline ...
, and the
Habomai ; ja, 歯舞群島, Habomai guntō , location = Pacific Ocean , coordinates = , archipelago = Kuril Islands , total_islands = 10 + several rocks , major_islands = , area_km2 = 100 , length = , ...
rocks, together called the ''Northern Territories''. In addition, the Japanese government claims that the Kuril Islands other than the Northern Territories and South Karafuto, are undetermined areas under international law because the San Francisco Peace Treaty does not specify where they belong and the Soviet Union has not signed it. On 8 February 2017 the Russian government gave names to five previously unnamed Kuril islands in
Sakhalin Oblast Sakhalin Oblast ( rus, Сахали́нская о́бласть, r=Sakhalínskaya óblast', p=səxɐˈlʲinskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast) comprising the island of Sakhalin and the K ...
: Derevyanko Island (after
Kuzma Derevyanko Kuzma Nikolayevich Derevyanko ( uk, Кузьма Миколайович Дерев'янко, russian: Кузьма́ Никола́евич Деревя́нко; ; November 14 (O.S. 1), 1904 – December 30, 1954) was a Ukrainian Lieutenant Gener ...
, ), Gnechko Island (after
Alexey Gnechko Alexey, Alexei, Alexie, Aleksei, or Aleksey (russian: Алексе́й ; bg, Алексей ) is a Russian and Bulgarian male first name deriving from the Greek ''Aléxios'' (), meaning "Defender", and thus of the same origin as the Latin ...
, ), Gromyko Island (after
Andrei Gromyko Andrei Andreyevich Gromyko (russian: Андрей Андреевич Громыко; be, Андрэй Андрэевіч Грамыка;  – 2 July 1989) was a Soviet communist politician and diplomat during the Cold War. He served as ...
, ), Farkhutdinov Island (after
Igor Farkhutdinov Igor Pavlovich Farkhutdinov (russian: Игорь Павлович Фархутдинов; April 16, 1950 – August 20, 2003) was governor of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia during 1995–2003. Biography Igor Farkhutdinov was born in 1950 in Novosib ...
, ) and Shchetinina Island (after
Anna Shchetinina Anna Ivanovna Shchetinina (russian: Анна Ивановна Щетинина; 26 February 1908 – 25 September 1999) was a Soviet merchant marine sailor who became the world's first woman to serve as a captain of an ocean-going vessel. Shche ...
, ).


Demographics

, 19,434 people inhabited the Kuril Islands, of which over 16,700 live on the four disputed islands. These include ethnic
Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...
,
Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian. The majority ...
,
Belarusians , native_name_lang = be , pop = 9.5–10 million , image = , caption = , popplace = 7.99 million , region1 = , pop1 = 600,000–768,000 , region2 = , pop2 ...
,
Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary
is an umbrella term for different
,
Nivkhs The Nivkh, or Gilyak (also Nivkhs or Nivkhi, or Gilyaks; ethnonym: Нивхгу, ''Nʼivxgu'' (Amur) or Ниғвңгун, ''Nʼiɣvŋgun'' (E. Sakhalin) "the people"), are an indigenous ethnic group inhabiting the northern half of Sakhalin Islan ...
, Oroch, and Ainus.
Russian Orthodox Christianity Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...
is the main religion. Some of the villages are permanently manned by Russian soldiers (especially in
Kunashir , other_names = kz, Kün Ashyr; ja, 国後島 , location = Sea of Okhotsk , locator_map = File:Kurily Kunashir.svg , coordinates = , archipelago = Kuril Islands , total_islands = , major_islands = , area = , length = , width = fr ...
following recent tensions). Others are inhabited by civilians, which are mostly fishers, workers in fish factories, dockers, and social sphere workers (police, medics, teachers, etc.). Recent construction works on the islands attracts a lot of migrant workers from the rest of Russia and other
post-Soviet states The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...
. , there were only 8 inhabited islands out of a total of 56.
Iturup Island , other_names = russian: Итуру́п; ja, 択捉島 , location = Sea of Okhotsk , coordinates = , archipelago = Kuril Islands , total_islands = , major_islands = , area_km2 = 3139 , length_km = 200 , width_km = 27 , coastline = , highest_moun ...
is over 60% ethnically Ukrainian.


Economy

Fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...
is the primary occupation. The islands have strategic and economic value, in terms of fisheries and also mineral deposits of
pyrite The mineral pyrite (), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Iron, FeSulfur, S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral. Pyrite's metallic Luster (mineralogy), lust ...
,
sulfur Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...
, and various
polymetallic In chemistry or mining, polymetal or polymetallic is a substance composed of a combination of different metals. When the substance contains only two metals the term ''bimetal'' (''bimetallic'') is sometimes preferred. A (or ') is an ore that is ...
ores Ore is natural Rock (geology), rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically containing metals, that can be mined, treated and sold at a profit.Encyclopædia Britannica. "Ore". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Ret ...
. There are hopes that oil exploration will provide an economic boost to the islands. In 2014, construction workers built a pier and a breakwater in Kitovy Bay, central Iturup, where barges are a major means of transport, sailing between the cove and ships anchored offshore. A new road has been carved through the woods near Kurilsk, the island's biggest village, going to the site of
Yuzhno-Kurilsk Mendeleyevo Airport Yuzhno-Kurilsk Mendeleyevo Airport (russian: Аэропорт Южно-Курильск, ja, メンデレーエフ空港) is an airport in Yuzhno-Kurilsk, on the Russian and Japanese island of Kunashir in the Kuril Islands. Airlines and desti ...
. Gidrostroy, the Kurils' biggest business group with interests in fishing, construction and real estate, built its second fish processing factory on Iturup island in 2006, introducing a state-of-the-art conveyor system. To deal with a rise in the demand of electricity, the local government is also upgrading a state-run geothermal power plant at Mount Baransky, an active volcano, where steam and hot water can be found.


Military

The main Russian force stationed on the islands is the
18th Machine Gun Artillery Division The 18th Machine Gun Artillery Division is a division of the Russian Ground Forces stationed in the Sakhalin Oblast with administration over the Kuril Islands. It is currently deployed to Eastern Ukraine. First formation It was first formed as ...
, which has its headquarters in
Goryachiye Klyuchi Goryachiye Klyuchi (russian: Горячие Ключи) is the name of several rural localities in Sakhalin Oblast, Russia: *Goryachiye Klyuchi, Kurilsky District, Sakhalin Oblast, a '' selo'' in Kurilsky District * Goryachiye Klyuchi, Nogliksky Di ...
on
Iturup Island , other_names = russian: Итуру́п; ja, 択捉島 , location = Sea of Okhotsk , coordinates = , archipelago = Kuril Islands , total_islands = , major_islands = , area_km2 = 3139 , length_km = 200 , width_km = 27 , coastline = , highest_moun ...
. There are also Border Guard Service troops stationed on the islands. In February 2011, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called for substantial reinforcements of the Kuril Islands defences. Subsequently, in 2015, additional anti-aircraft missile systems
Tor Tor, TOR or ToR may refer to: Places * Tor, Pallars, a village in Spain * Tor, former name of Sloviansk, Ukraine, a city * Mount Tor, Tasmania, Australia, an extinct volcano * Tor Bay, Devon, England * Tor River, Western New Guinea, Indonesia Sc ...
and Buk,
coastal defence Coastal management is defence against flooding and erosion, and techniques that stop erosion to claim lands. Protection against rising sea levels in the 21st century is crucial, as sea level rise accelerates due to climate change. Changes in s ...
missile system Bastion,
Kamov Ka-52 The Kamov Ka-50 "Black Shark" (russian: Чёрная акула, translit=Chyornaya akula, English: kitefin shark, NATO reporting name: Hokum A) is a Soviet/Russian single-seat attack helicopter with the distinctive coaxial rotor system of the ...
combat helicopters and one ''Varshavyanka'' project submarine came on defence of Kuril Islands. During the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine it was reported that parts of the 18th Machine Gun Artillery Division were redeployed to Eastern Ukraine.


List of main islands

While in Russian sources the islands are mentioned for the first time in 1646, the earliest detailed information about them was provided by the explorer
Vladimir Atlasov Vladimir Vasilyevich Atlasov or Otlasov ( or Отла́сов; between 1661 and 1664 – 1711) was a Siberian Cossack who was the first Russian to organize systematic exploration of the Kamchatka Peninsula. Atlasov Island, an uninhabited volcanic ...
in 1697. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, the Kuril Islands were explored by
Danila Antsiferov Danila Yakovlevich Antsiferov (; died in 1712) was a Russian explorer. Upon the death of Vladimir Atlasov in 1711, Danila Antsiferov was elected Cossack ataman of the Kamchatka. Together with Ivan Kozyrevsky, he was one of the first Russian Coss ...
, I. Kozyrevsky,
Ivan Yevreinov Ivan Mikhaylovich Yevreinov (russian: Ива́н Миха́йлович Евре́инов) (1694 – 3 February O.S. 1724) was a Russian geodesist and explorer. Ivan Yevreinov was born in Poland, then brought to Russia and baptiz ...
,
Fyodor Luzhin Fyodor Fyodorovich Luzhin ( Russian: ''Федор Федорович Лужин'') (died 1727) was a Russian geodesist and cartographer. Fyodor Luzhin was first a student at the School for Mathematical and Navigational Sciences in Moscow and then ...
, Martin Shpanberg,
Adam Johann von Krusenstern Adam Johann von Krusenstern (also Krusenstjerna in Swedish; russian: Ива́н Фёдорович Крузенште́рн, tr. ; 10 October 177012 August 1846) was a Russian admiral and explorer, who led the first Russian circumnavigation o ...
,
Vasily Golovnin Vasily Mikhailovich Golovnin (Russian: Василий Михайлович Головнин; , Gulyniki, Ryazan Oblast – , Saint Petersburg) was a Russian navigator, Vice Admiral, and corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences ( ...
, and Henry James Snow. The following table lists information on the main islands from north to south: } ! scope="col" , ja, Name ! scope="col" , Alternative
names ! scope="col" , Island Group ! scope="col" , Administrative centre /
! scope="col" , Other settlements ! scope="col" data-sort-type="number" , Area ! scope="col" , , - ,
Severo-Kurilsky District Severo-Kurilsky District (russian: Се́веро-Кури́льский райо́н) is an administrative district (raion) of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia; one of the seventeen in the oblast.Law #25-ZO Municipally, it is incorporated as Severo-Kuril ...
, , , North Kurils , North Kurils (Kita-chishima / 北千島) ,
Severo-Kurilsk Severo-Kurilsk (russian: Се́веро-Кури́льск; ja, 柏原, ''Kashiwabara'') is a town and the administrative center of Severo-Kurilsky District of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia, located in the northern part of the Kuril Islands, on the i ...
, Shelikovo,
Podgorny Nikolai Viktorovich Podgorny, ''Mykola Viktorovych Pidhornyy'' rus, Никола́й Ви́кторович Подго́рный, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj ˈvʲiktərəvʲɪtɕ pɐdˈgornɨj, links=yes ( – 12 January 1983) was a Soviet statesman who ...
, Baikovo , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 2,560 , - ,
Shumshu russian: Шумшу ja, 占守島 , image_name = Shumshu.jpg , image_caption = A Landsat 7 image of Shumshu Island. The northern tip of Paramushir Island is at left. The First Kuril Strait lies across the upper portion of the image. , image_size ...
, Шумшу , , Shumushu , North Kurils , Baikovo , , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 20 , - , Atlasov , Атласова , , Oyakoba, Araido , North Kurils , Alaidskaya Bay , , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 0 , - ,
Paramushir russian: Парамушир ja, 幌筵島 , native_name_link = , nickname = , location = Pacific Ocean , coordinates = , archipelago = Kuril Island , total_islands = , major_islands = , area_km2 = 2053 , length_km = 100 , width_km = 20 ...
, Парамушир , , Paramushiru, Horomushiro , North Kurils ,
Severo-Kurilsk Severo-Kurilsk (russian: Се́веро-Кури́льск; ja, 柏原, ''Kashiwabara'') is a town and the administrative center of Severo-Kurilsky District of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia, located in the northern part of the Kuril Islands, on the i ...
, Shelikovo,
Podgorny Nikolai Viktorovich Podgorny, ''Mykola Viktorovych Pidhornyy'' rus, Никола́й Ви́кторович Подго́рный, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj ˈvʲiktərəvʲɪtɕ pɐdˈgornɨj, links=yes ( – 12 January 1983) was a Soviet statesman who ...
, style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 2,540 , - ,
Antsiferov Antsiferov (feminine form: Antsiferova) is a Russian-language surname derived from the archaic Russian first name "Antsifer" (Анцифер), in turn derived from "Onisifor" (Онисифор, Onesiphorus). People with the name include: *Alexei A ...
, Анциферова , , Shirinki , North Kurils , Antsiferov beach , Cape Terkut , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 0 , - ,
Makanrushi Makanrushi (russian: Маканруши; Japanese 磨勘留島; Makanru-tō) is an uninhabited volcanic island located near the northern end of the Kuril Islands chain in the Sea of Okhotsk in the northwest Pacific Ocean. Its name is derived f ...
, Маканруши , , Makanru , North Kurils , Zakat , , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 0 , - ,
Avos' The Russian ''avos (russian: авось) describes a philosophy of behavior, or attitude, of a person who ignores possible problems or hassles and, at the same time, expects or hopes for no negative results or consequences. It is an attitude that tr ...
, Авось , , Hokake, Hainoko , North Kurils , , , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 0 , - ,
Onekotan Onekotan (russian: Онекотан; Japanese 温禰古丹島; Onekotan-tō, occasionally Onnekotan-tō, ain, オネコタン or オネコタㇴ) is an uninhabited volcanic island located near the northern end of the Kuril Islands chain in ...
, Онекотан , , Onwakotan , North Kurils , Mussel , Kuroisi, Nemo, Shestakov , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 0 , - ,
Kharimkotan Kharimkotan (russian: Харимкотан); Japanese 春牟古丹島; Harimukotan-tō, alternatively Harumukotan-tō or 加林古丹島; Karinkotan-tō) is an uninhabited volcanic island located from Onekotan near the northern end of the Kuril ...
, Харимкотан ,
, Harimukotan, Harumukotan , North Kurils , Sunazhma , Severgin Bay , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 0 , - ,
Ekarma Ekarma (russian: Экарма; Japanese 越渇磨島; Ekaruma-tō) is an uninhabited volcanic island near the center of the Kuril Islands chain in the Sea of Okhotsk in the northwest Pacific Ocean, separated from Shiashkotan by the Ekarma Strait ...
, Экарма , , Ekaruma , North Kurils , Kruglyy , , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 0 , - ,
Chirinkotan Chirinkotan (russian: Чиринкотан; Japanese 知林古丹島; Chirinkotan-tō) is an uninhabited volcanic island located in the centre of the Kuril Islands chain in the Sea of Okhotsk in the northwest Pacific Ocean. Its name is derived f ...
, Чиринкотан , , , North Kurils , Cape Ptichy , , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 0 , - ,
Shiashkotan Shiashkotan (russian: Шиашкотан); ( ja, 捨子古丹島; Shasukotan-tō) is an uninhabited volcanic island near the center of the Kuril Islands chain in the Sea of Okhotsk in the northwest Pacific Ocean, separated from Ekarma by the E ...
, Шиашкотан , , Shasukotan , North Kurils , Makarovka , , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 0 , - , Lowuschki-Felsen , Ловушки , , Mushiru , North Kurils , , , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 0 , - ,
Raikoke Raikoke (russian: Райкоке, ja, 雷公計島), also spelled Raykoke, is, as of 2019 a Russian uninhabited volcanic island near the centre of the Kuril Islands chain in the Sea of Okhotsk in the northwest Pacific Ocean, distant from the is ...
, Райкоке , , , North Kurils , Raikoke , , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 0 , - , Matua , Матуа , , Matsuwa , North Kurils , Sarychevo , , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 0 , - ,
Rasshua Rasshua (russian: Расшуа, ja, 羅処和島), is an uninhabited volcanic island near the center of the Kuril Islands chain in the Sea of Okhotsk in the northwest Pacific Ocean, from Ushishir and southwest of Matua. Its name is derived f ...
, Расшуа , , Rashowa, Rasutsua , North Kurils , Arches Point , , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 0 , - , Srednego , Среднего , , Suride , North Kurils , , , , style="text-align: right;" , 0 , - ,
Ushishir Ushishir (russian: Ушишир; Japanese language, Japanese: 宇志知島; Ushishiru-tō; Ainu language, Ainu: ウシシㇼ, lit. "Land of Crater bay, the bay") is a collective name for two uninhabited volcanic islands and several reefs, all bein ...
, Ушишир , , Ushishiru , North Kurils , Kraternya , Ryponkicha , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 0 , - ,
Ketoy Ketoy (or ''Ketoi'') (russian: Кетой; Japanese 計吐夷島; Ketoi-tō) is an uninhabited volcanic island located in the centre of the Kuril Islands chain in the Sea of Okhotsk in the northwest Pacific Ocean. Its name is derived from the Ainu ...
, Кетой , , Ketoi , North Kurils , Storozheva , , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 0 , - ,
Kurilsky District Kurilsky District (russian: Кури́льский райо́н, Kuríl'skiy rayón) is an administrative district (raion) of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia; one of the seventeen in the oblast.Law #25-ZO Municipally, it is incorporated as Kurilsky Urban ...
, , , Middle Kurils (Naka-chishima / 中千島) , split between both Japanese groups , Kurilsk , Reidovo, Kitovyi, Rybaki,
Goryachiye Klyuchi Goryachiye Klyuchi (russian: Горячие Ключи) is the name of several rural localities in Sakhalin Oblast, Russia: *Goryachiye Klyuchi, Kurilsky District, Sakhalin Oblast, a '' selo'' in Kurilsky District * Goryachiye Klyuchi, Nogliksky Di ...
,
Kasatka Kasatka (1976 – August 15, 2017) was a wild caught female orca who lived at SeaWorld San Diego. Life Kasatka was captured off the southeastern coast of Iceland on October 26, 1978 with another young female whale named Kahana. Both were estima ...
, Burevestnik, Shumi-Gorodok, Gornyy , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 6,606 , - ,
Simushir Simushir (russian: Симушир, ja, 新知島, translit=Shimushiru-tō, ain, シムシㇼ, translit=Simusir), meaning ''Large Island'' in Ainu, is an uninhabited volcanic island near the center of the Kuril Islands chain in the Sea of Okho ...
, Симушир , , Shimushiru, Shinshiru , North Kurils , Kraternyy , Srednaya bay , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 0 , - ,
Broutona Broutona (russian: о.Броутона; Japanese language, Japanese 武魯頓島; Buroton-tō) is an uninhabited volcanic island located near the northern end of the southern Kuril Islands chain in the Sea of Okhotsk in the northwest Pacific Ocea ...
, Броутона , , Buroton, Makanruru , North Kurils , Nedostupnyy , , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 0 , - ,
Chirpoy Chyornye Bratya (russian: Чёрные Братья, lit. ''Black Brothers''; ja, 知理保以島, Chiripoi-to) is a pair of uninhabited volcanic islands between Simushir and Urup in the Kuril Islands chain in the Sea of Okhotsk in the northwest ...
, Чирпой , , Chirihoi, Chierupoi , North Kurils , Peschanaya Bay , , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 0 , - , Brat Chirpoyev , Брат Чирпоев , , Chirihoinan , North Kurils , Garovnikova , Semenova , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 0 , - ,
Urup Urup ( ja, 得撫島, Uruppu-to; russian: Уру́п, Urúp, ain, ウルㇷ゚, Urup) is an uninhabited volcanic island in the Kuril Islands chain in the south of the Sea of Okhotsk, northwest Pacific Ocean. Its name is derived from the Ainu la ...
, Уруп , , Uruppu , North Kurils , Mys Kastrikum , Mys Van-der-Lind , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 0 , - , Other , , , , North Kurils , , , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 0 , - ,
Iturup , other_names = russian: Итуру́п; ja, 択捉島 , location = Sea of Okhotsk , coordinates = , archipelago = Kuril Islands , total_islands = , major_islands = , area_km2 = 3139 , length_km = 200 , width_km = 27 , coastline = , highest_moun ...
, Итуруп , , Etorofu, Ietorupu , South Kurils (Minami-chishima / 南千島) , Kurilsk , Reidovo, Kitovyi, Rybaki,
Goryachiye Klyuchi Goryachiye Klyuchi (russian: Горячие Ключи) is the name of several rural localities in Sakhalin Oblast, Russia: *Goryachiye Klyuchi, Kurilsky District, Sakhalin Oblast, a '' selo'' in Kurilsky District * Goryachiye Klyuchi, Nogliksky Di ...
,
Kasatka Kasatka (1976 – August 15, 2017) was a wild caught female orca who lived at SeaWorld San Diego. Life Kasatka was captured off the southeastern coast of Iceland on October 26, 1978 with another young female whale named Kahana. Both were estima ...
, Burevestnik, Shumi-Gorodok, Gornyy , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 6,602 , - ,
Yuzhno-Kurilsky District Yuzhno-Kurilsky District (russian: Ю́жно-Кури́льский райо́н) is an administrative district (raion) of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia; one of the seventeen in the oblast.Law #25-ZO Municipally, it is incorporated as Yuzhno-Kurilsky ...
, , , South Kurils , South Kurils ,
Yuzhno-Kurilsk Yuzhno-Kurilsk (russian: Ю́жно-Кури́льск; ja, 留夜別, ''Ruyobetsu'') is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) and the administrative center of Yuzhno-Kurilsky District of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia. Population: It is the l ...
, Malokurilskoye, Rudnaya, Lagunnoye,
Otrada Otrada (russian: links=no, Отрада) is a rural locality (a selo) in Kipchak-Askarovsky Selsoviet, Alsheyevsky District, Bashkortostan The Republic of Bashkortostan or Bashkortostan ( ba, Башҡортостан Республикаһы, B ...
, Goryachiy Plyazh, Aliger, Mendeleyevo,
Dubovoye Dubovoye (russian: Дубовое) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, rural locality (a Village#Russia, selo) and the administrative center of Dubovsky Selsoviet of Mikhaylovsky District, Amur Oblast, Mikhaylovsky District, Amur Oblast, ...
,
Polino Polino is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Terni in the Italian region Umbria, located about 70 km southeast of Perugia and about 15 km east of Terni. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 275 and an area of 19.5&nb ...
, Golovnino , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 10,268 , - ,
Kunashir , other_names = kz, Kün Ashyr; ja, 国後島 , location = Sea of Okhotsk , locator_map = File:Kurily Kunashir.svg , coordinates = , archipelago = Kuril Islands , total_islands = , major_islands = , area = , length = , width = fr ...
, Кунашир , , Kunashiri , South Kurils ,
Yuzhno-Kurilsk Yuzhno-Kurilsk (russian: Ю́жно-Кури́льск; ja, 留夜別, ''Ruyobetsu'') is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) and the administrative center of Yuzhno-Kurilsky District of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia. Population: It is the l ...
, Rudnaya, Lagunnoye,
Otrada Otrada (russian: links=no, Отрада) is a rural locality (a selo) in Kipchak-Askarovsky Selsoviet, Alsheyevsky District, Bashkortostan The Republic of Bashkortostan or Bashkortostan ( ba, Башҡортостан Республикаһы, B ...
, Goryachiy Plyazh, Aliger, Mendeleyevo,
Dubovoye Dubovoye (russian: Дубовое) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, rural locality (a Village#Russia, selo) and the administrative center of Dubovsky Selsoviet of Mikhaylovsky District, Amur Oblast, Mikhaylovsky District, Amur Oblast, ...
,
Polino Polino is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Terni in the Italian region Umbria, located about 70 km southeast of Perugia and about 15 km east of Terni. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 275 and an area of 19.5&nb ...
, Golovnino , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 7,800 , - ,
Shikotan ; ja, 色丹島 , location = Pacific Ocean , coordinates = , archipelago = Kuril Islands , total_islands = 1 , major_islands = , area_km2 = 225 , length = , width = , coastline ...
Group , Шикотан , , , South Kurils , Malokurilskoye , Dumnova, Otradnaya,
Krabozavodskoye Krabozavodskoye (russian: Крабозаводское), also known as Anama ( ja, 穴澗; Anama), is a village ('' selo'') in Yuzhno-Kurilsky District of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontine ...
(formerly Anama), Zvezdnaya, Voloshina, Kray Sveta , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 2,440 , - ,
Shikotan ; ja, 色丹島 , location = Pacific Ocean , coordinates = , archipelago = Kuril Islands , total_islands = 1 , major_islands = , area_km2 = 225 , length = , width = , coastline ...
Island , Шикотан , , , South Kurils , Malokurilskoye , Dumnova, Otradnaya,
Krabozavodskoye Krabozavodskoye (russian: Крабозаводское), also known as Anama ( ja, 穴澗; Anama), is a village ('' selo'') in Yuzhno-Kurilsky District of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontine ...
(formerly Anama), Zvezdnaya, Voloshina, Kray Sveta , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 2,440 , - , Other , , , , South Kurils , , Ayvazovskovo , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 0 , - ,
Khabomai ; ja, 歯舞群島, Habomai guntō , location = Pacific Ocean , coordinates = , archipelago = Kuril Islands , total_islands = 10 + several rocks , major_islands = , area_km2 = 100 , length = , ...
, Хабомаи , , Habomai , South Kurils , Zorkiy , Zelyony, Polonskogo , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 28 , - , Polonskogo , Полонского , , Taraku , South Kurils , Moriakov Bay station , , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 2 , - ,
Oskolki ''Fragments'' (russian: Осколки) was a Russian humorous, literary and artistic weekly magazine published in St Petersburg from 1881 to 1916. History From 1881 to 1906 ''Fragments'' was published by the popular writer Nikolay Leykin. From 19 ...
, Осколки , , Todo, Kaiba , South Kurils , , , , style="text-align: right;" , 0 , - , Zelyony , Зелёный , , Shibotsu , South Kurils , Glushnevskyi station , , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 3 , - , Kharkar , Харкар , , Harukaru, Dyomina , South Kurils , Haruka , , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 0 , - ,
Yuri Yuri may refer to: People and fictional characters Given name *Yuri (Slavic name), the Slavic masculine form of the given name George, including a list of people with the given name Yuri, Yury, etc. *Yuri (Japanese name), also Yūri, feminine Jap ...
, Юрий , , Yuri , South Kurils , Kalernaya , , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 0 , - ,
Anuchina Anuchina (russian: Анучина , ja, 秋勇留島, Akiyuri-to, ain, アキ・ユリ, translit=Aki-Yuri) is an uninhabited island in the Habomai Islands sub-group of the Kuril Islands chain in the south of the Sea of Okhotsk, northwest Pacifi ...
, Анучина , , Akiyuri , South Kurils , Bolshoye Bay , , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 0 , - , Tanfil'yev , Танфильев , , Suishō , South Kurils , Zorkiy , Tanfilyevka Bay, Bolotnoye , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 23 , - , Storozhevoy , Сторожевой , , Moemoshiri , South Kurils , , , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 0 , - , Rifovyy , Рифовый , オドケ島 , Odoke , South Kurils , , , , style="text-align: right;" , 0 , - , Signal'nyy , Сигнальный , , Kaigara , South Kurils , , , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 0 , - , Other , , , , South Kurils , , Opasnaga, Udivitelnaya , style="text-align: right;" , , style="text-align: right;" , 0 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan="7" style="text-align: right;" scope="row" , Total: ! style="text-align: right;" , ! style="text-align: right;" , 19,434


See also

*
2006 Kuril Islands earthquake The 2006 Kuril Islands earthquake occurred on November 15 at with a magnitude of 8.3 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (''Very Strong'') and a maximum Shindo intensity of JMA 2. This megathrust earthquake was the largest event in the ce ...
* 2007 Kuril Islands earthquake * Chishima Province *
Evacuation of Karafuto and Kuriles The evacuation of Karafuto (Sakhalin) and the Kuriles refers to the events that took place during the Pacific theater of World War II as the Japanese population left these areas, to August 1945 in the northwest of the main islands of Japan. Th ...
*
Invasion of the Kuril Islands The Invasion of the Kuril Islands (russian: Курильская десантная операция, lit=Kuril Islands Landing Operation) was the World War II Soviet military operation to capture the Kuril Islands from Japan in 1945. The inv ...
*
Karafuto Fortress The Karafuto Fortress was the defensive unit formed by the Karafuto fortification installations, and the Karafuto detachment of Japanese forces, the 88th Division. The headquarters was in Toyohara, capital of the province, based on the Suzuya pla ...
*
Karafuto Prefecture Karafuto Prefecture ( ja, 樺太庁, ''Karafuto-chō''; russian: Префектура Карафуто, Prefektura Karafuto), commonly known as South Sakhalin, was a prefecture of Japan located in Sakhalin from 1907 to 1949. Karafuto became ter ...
* Organization of Hokkai (North) Army *
Organization of Kita and Minami Fortresses The Kita and Minami Fortresses (Japanese ''kita'', "north" and ''minami'', "south") were defensive structures of the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy in the Kuril Archipelago. The most northerly points were on the Kokutan and ...
* Political divisions of Karafuto Prefecture *
Zemlyak Zemlyak (russian: земляк, "countryman") was a Russian political movement which emerged in 1992, founded by Mikhail Lukyanov, advocating for Russia to return the Kuril Islands to Japan as it would benefit the islanders economic An econom ...


References


Further reading

* Gorshkov, G. S. ''Volcanism and the Upper Mantle Investigations in the Kurile Island Arc''. Monographs in geoscience. New York: Plenum Press, 1970. * Krasheninnikov, Stepan Petrovich, and James Greive. ''The History of Kamtschatka and the Kurilski Islands, with the Countries Adjacent''. Chicago: Quadrangle Books, 1963. * Rees, David. ''The Soviet Seizure of the Kuriles''. New York: Praeger, 1985. * Takahashi, Hideki, and Masahiro Ōhara. ''Biodiversity and Biogeography of the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin''. Bulletin of the Hokkaido University Museum, no. 2-. Sapporo, Japan: Hokkaido University Museum, 2004. * Hasegawa, Tsuyoshi. ''Racing the Enemy: Stalin, Truman, and the Surrender of Japan''. 2006. . * Alan Catharine and Denis Cleary. ''Unwelcome Company. ''A fiction thriller novel set in 1984 Tokyo and the Kuriles featuring a light aircraft crash and escape from Russian-held territory. On Kindle.


External links


Southern Kuriles / Northern Territories: A Stumbling-block in Russia-Japan Relationship
history and analysis by Andrew Andersen, Department of Political Science, University of Victoria, May 2001 * http://depts.washington.edu/ikip/index.shtml (Kuril Island Biocomplexity Project) * (includes space imagery)

a
Natural Heritage Protection Fund


* http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/europe/russia/territory/index.html
Chishima: Frontiers of San Francisco Treaty in Hokkaido
Short film on the disputed islands from a Japanese perspective
USGS Map showing location of Magnitude 8.3 Earthquake 46.616°N, 153.224°E Kuril Islands region, November 15, 2006 11:14:16 UTC



Pictures of Kuril Islands

Kuril Islands
at
Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...
{{Authority control Archipelagoes of the Pacific Ocean Islands of the Sea of Okhotsk Islands of the Russian Far East Archipelagoes of Japan Geography of Northeast Asia Archipelagoes of Sakhalin Oblast Disputed islands Disputed territories in Asia Pacific Coast of Russia Landforms of the Sea of Okhotsk Volcanoes of Sakhalin Oblast Stratovolcanoes of Russia Former Japanese colonies Shipwrecks in the Sea of Okhotsk Important Bird Areas of the Kurile Islands Seabird colonies