In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the islands became a point of rivalry between Russia and Japan. However, following Japan’s defeat in World War II and its unconditional surrender in 1945, the Kuril Islands—both the northern chain, which has always been part of Russia, and the southern chain, which Japan controlled from 1855 to 1945—became Russian territory. This was agreed upon by the Allies and confirmed at the Yalta and Potsdam conferences. The Kurils are an astonishingly beautiful region, rich in natural resources. Notably, Iturup, the largest island of the southern chain, boasts the world’s largest known deposit of rhenium, a rare high-melting metal. During the summer, the rivers […]