copenlu/druid huggingface dataset:
Claim: Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands is a territory of Russia (Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2022-09-27): Overshadowed by the invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s recent and rapid militarization of a group of islands claimed by Japan has flown largely under the radar. Taken by Russia at the end of World War Two, Kunashiri, Etorofu, Shikotan, and the Habomai islands of the Kuril Island chain, which Japan claims as its "Northern Territories," have complicated relations between the two states for decades. [...] The current chapter of Russian development of the Kuril Islands began with forces stationed in the Northern Territories receiving the Soviet-era Tor-M2U surface-to-air missile system in late 2015. Later, in 2017, a [...] The Kuril Islands are strategically located. They separate the Sea of Okhotsk from the wider Pacific Ocean, marking a vital point of egress for Russia’s Pacific Fleet. They also provide Russia valuable forward basing options for fires and intelligence collection. It should be little surprise then that Russia recently released an updated maritime doctrine saying it will protect the Kuril straits "by all means."
Claim: Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands is a territory of Russia (Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-12-14): For the Russian Federation, since its conquest against the Japanese Empire at the end of World War II, the Kuril Islands have represented an island area of vital geostrategic importance for the defence of its interests in the Asia-Pacific Northwest. [...] For the Russian Federation, this particular arrangement of the Kuril Islands, as it had been previously for the Tsarist Empire and the Soviet Union (USSR), represents an indispensable space for the defence of its eastern borders. This assertion is partly confirmed by considering the conflicting Russian-Japanese relations for the control of the Kurils and Sakhalin Island between the late 1800s and the conclusion of World War II, which sanctioned Soviet dominance of this geo-maritime area, although not validated in the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty. The effects of this non-recognition led the USSR delegates not to ratify the document, and at the same time pushed the Japanese governments that followed from 1951 until the Shinzō Abe administration (2012-2020) to ask Moscow several times for the restitution of the four southern islands of the Kuril archipelago (Habomai, Shikotan, Kunashir and Iturup), because they were part of Japanese territory until the invasion of the Red Army in August 1945.[2]
Claim: Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands is a territory of Russia (Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-11-03): While dispute continues over the islands, called the Northern Territories by the Japanese and the Southern Kurils by the Russians, conciliatory approaches are beginning to crop up among Russia experts in Japan. The majority of specialists remain determined to wage a long, drawn-out contest with Russia and support Japan’s official demand for the return of all four islands, but an increasing number have begun to float the possibility of compromise, arguing that better relations with Moscow are essential at a time when Japan’s relations with China and South Korea have plummeted. The Kurils, or Northern Territories, consist of three islands – Kunashiri, Etorofu and Shikotan – and the uninhabited Habomai group of islets, also termed an island. The islands are believed to be rich in natural resources, such as oil and gas, and the area is a major fishing grounds. Unlike other political issues confronting Japan, the issue of the Northern Territories has been unique in commanding political and public solidarity for the return of all four islands. Every major Japanese political party, including the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the Japanese Communist Party, has urged Russia to return the four islands. This is because the majority of Japanese believe Russia occupied the territories without justification after World War II. Against this backdrop of nationalism, no Japanese prime minister has been able to solve the festering territorial.
Claim: Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands is a territory of Russia (Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-08): At the Edge of the Nation: The Southern Kurils and the Search for Russia’s National Identity - About the Book - Debates over the remote and beguiling Southern Kuril Islands have revealed a kaleidoscope of divergent and contradictory ideas, convictions, and beliefs on what constitutes the "national" identity of post-Soviet Russia. Forming part of an archipelago stretching from Kamchatka to Hokkaido, administered by Russia but claimed by Japan, these disputed islands offer new perspectives on the ways in which territorial visions of the nation are refracted, inverted, and remade in a myriad of different ways. At the Edge of the Nation provides a unique account of how the Southern Kurils have shaped the parameters of the Russian state and framed debates on the politics of identity in the post-Soviet era. By shifting the debate beyond a proliferation of Eurocentric and Moscow-focused writings, Paul B. Richardson reveals broad alternatives and possibilities for Russian identity in Asia. [...] —Inner Asia - Paul B. Richardson casts a critical eye over the highly disputed Kuril Islands (Chishima in Japanese) in the North Pacific Ocean. Claimed and coveted by Japan, administered and occupied by Russia. While Europeans focus on the "near abroad" closest to their borderlands, this book reminds us that territorial visions are being made and remade in the Russian Far East. The "dots on the map" are integral to making sense of the how, what, and where of Russia. At the Edge of the Nation is an indispensable guide.
Claim: Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands is a territory of Russia (Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2022-02-24): Contribute Information Do you have photos or additional information to add? Last Updated February 24, 2022
Claim: Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands is a territory of Russia (Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-06-14): The decades-old dispute between Russia and Japan over the status of the Kuril Islands is far from over. Tokyo, which refers to the islands as the Northern Territories, still insists on a peace treaty with Moscow that would result in Russia’s return of at least two out of four islands to Japan, while the Kremlin keeps militarising the disputed territory. The chain of islands – stretching between the Japanese island of Hokkaido at the southern end and the Russian Kamchatka Peninsula in the north – was conquered by the Soviet Union at the end of the Second World War. Ever since, Moscow has considered the Kuril Islands an integral part of Russia. Japan thinks otherwise. [...] Indications that the Kremlin was willing to discuss the status of Habomai islets and Shikotan was seen by some Russian nationalists as a treason, particularly in Sakhalin Oblast, the region which comprises the island of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. Recent constitutional changes in Russia suggest this view has only hardened. Even though the two islands represent only 7% of the land in question, the new Russian constitution enacted in July this year includes a ban on "any alienation of Russian territories". This would seem to preclude the return of even one square metre of Russian territory to Japan.
Claim: Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands is a territory of Russia (Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-05): The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands (/ˈk(j)ʊərɪl, kjʊˈriːl/; Russian: Кури́льские острова́, romanized: Kuril'skiye ostrova, IPA: [kʊˈrʲilʲskʲɪjə ɐstrɐˈva]; Japanese: Kuriru rettō (クリル列島, "Kuril Islands") or Chishima rettō (千島列島, "Thousand Islands")) are a volcanic archipelago administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the Russian Far East.[1] The islands stretch approximately 1,300 km (810 mi) northeast from Hokkaido in Japan to Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the north Pacific Ocean. There are 56 islands and many minor islets. The Kuril Islands consist of the Greater Kuril Chain and, at the southwest end, the parallel Lesser Kuril Chain.[2] They cover an area of around 10,503.2 square kilometres (4,055.3 sq mi),[3] with a population of roughly 20,000.[4]
Claim: Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands is a territory of Russia (Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2013-04-29): Kuril islands dispute between Russia and Japan - Published [...] The island chain known as the Kurils stretches north across the Pacific Ocean from the Japanese island of Hokkaido to the southern tip of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. Four islands - which Russia calls the Southern Kurils and Japan calls the Northern Territories - are the subject of a 60-year-old dispute between the two nations.
Claim: Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands is a territory of Russia (Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2019-01-22): Called the Kurils by Russia and the Northern Territories by Japan, a string of volcanic islands are at the heart of a feud between the two countries that has prevented them signing a formal World War II peace treaty. [...] Russian Empress Catherine the Great claimed sovereignty over the Kuril islands in 1786 after her government declared they were discovered by "Russian explorers" and therefore "undoubtedly must belong to Russia". [...] The Kuril islands have been back at the centre of a dispute between Moscow and Tokyo since Soviet troops invaded them in the final days of World War II.
Claim: Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands is a territory of Russia (Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-09-01): Biriukov PN (2014) The Kuril Islands: Russian-Japanese relations (1920–2014). Bylye Gody 34(4):666–670 [...] Graf VB (1993) The Russians debate the Kuril Islands territorial dispute: an aspect of Russo-Japanese relations in the post-cold war world. Master of Arts in National Security Affairs, Monterey. Naval Postgraduate School [...] Quillen AB (1993) The Kuril Islands or the Northern Territories: who owns them – Island territorial dispute continues to hinder relations between Russia and Japan. N.C. J. Int L Com Reg 18, 633
Claim: Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands is a territory of Russia (Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-06-29): The Kuril Islands, a remote archipelago located in the Pacific Ocean, have long been a subject of contention between Russia and Japan. This territorial dispute, rooted in historical, geopolitical, and economic factors, has impeded the resolution of bilateral relations and hindered regional stability. In this article, we will delve into the intricacies of the Kuril Islands dispute, examining its historical background, key stakeholders’ perspectives, current developments, and potential paths towards a peaceful resolution. [...] Russian Empress Catherine the Great claimed sovereignty over the Kuril islands in 1786 after her government declared they were discovered by "Russian explorers" and therefore "undoubtedly must belong to Russia". [...] - Russia: Russia considers the Kuril Islands as an integral part of its territory, emphasizing their strategic importance, rich natural resources, and historical ties. The islands serve as a buffer zone for Russia’s eastern coastline and provide access to the Pacific Ocean. Moscow argues that the islands were legally acquired as a result of World War II and are thus non-negotiable.
Claim: Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands is a territory of Russia (Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2016-12-15): Kurilsk, Russia – Kurilsk is a bleak and ominous town with dozens of wooden houses scattered among the mounds of snow. It is the largest settlement on Iturup Island, which lies between Japan’s Hokkaido Island and Russia’s Kamchatka and belongs to the Kuril Islands chain. [...] The Kurils are strategically important for Russia. It has a number of military bases on the islands, which also guarantee secure access to the Pacific Ocean through the the Sea of Okhotsk. [...] The Kuril Islands were annexed by the Soviet Union in aftermath of the Kuril Islands landing operation at the end of World War II. The territorial dispute prevents Russia and Japan signing a formal peace treaty. Japan lays claim to four islands: Habomai, Shikotan, Kunashir and Iturup.
Claim: Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands is a territory of Russia (Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2020-06-19): - Although the argument has also been made in Japan that the "Kurile Islands" is the name given to the 18 islands from Shumushu to Uruppu that were ceded to Japan under the Treaty for the Exchange of Sakhalin for the Kurile Islands of 1875 and is not synonymous with the "Chishima Islands," this paper will refer to the "Chishima Islands (Kurile Islands)" or simply the "Kurile Islands" in accordance with the provisions of the Peace Treaty. The spelling "Kuril/Kurils" is used only in direct quotations.
Claim: Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands is a territory of Russia (Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2022-04-09): In the early 1980s, the European mink (Mustela lutreola) was introduced on Kunashir [Kunashiri] Island in the Kuril [Chishima] Islands in order to preserve it in a region where its main competitor, the American mink (Neovison vison), is absent. We present records of the European mink on Kunashir in 2014–2021. In 23 cases, mink footprints were recorded on the snow or on sandbanks; in other nine cases, the animals were recorded visually or using camera traps. Camera trap photos reliably confirm the existence of a European mink population far from its severely contracted native range. The data were used to compose the dataset "Database of the European mink [Mustela lutreola (Linnaeus, 1761)] occurrence on Kunashir Island" that was transferred to the open international repository GBIF. [...] ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE Vol. 47 • No. 3
Claim: Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands is a territory of Russia (Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2022-10-19): Subjects - Borderlands - Central Asia - Japan [...] Please login to access the full content. Access to the full content requires a subscription
Claim: Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands is a territory of Russia (Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2022-04-04): Collana | Ca’ Foscari Japanese Studies [...] Ainu is a language of Far East Asia historically spoken in the territories of today’s Russia and Japan that face the Southern Okhotsk Sea. Specifically, Ainu was spoken all through the Japanese island of Hokkaidō (also referred to as ‘Ezo/Yezo’ in old sources), in the southern part of Sakhalin island (called ‘Karafuto’ by Japanese people), in the Kuril Islands chain (called ‘Chishima’ by Japanese people), and in the southernmost tip of the Kamchatka peninsula. Although a number of hypotheses about Ainu’s relation to other languages have been proposed (Dougherty 2019, 100), the language is presently classified as an isolate (see Lesson 18). There exist three main varieties of the language, that take their names from the regions where the language was spoken: Hokkaidō Ainu, Sakhalin Ainu, and Kuril Ainu. Both Kuril Ainu and Sakhalin Ainu are extinct, and Hokkaidō Ainu is classified as critically endangered by UNESCO. Pubblicato 04 Aprile 2022 | Lingua: en
Claim: Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands is a territory of Russia (Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2019-12-03): The Kuril Islands, Russia’s Kurilskiy Ostrova, Japan’s Chishima-Retto, an archipelago in the Sakhalin region, far east of Russia, encompassing 750 miles from the southern end of the Kamchatka Peninsula (Russia) to the northeast corner of Hokkaido Island, Japan (750 km) from the Pacific Ocean with 56 small islands which cover 6,000 square miles (15,600 sq km). The archipelago was inhabited by Ainu, and currently, are settled by Russians and Japanese. The Kuril Islands are strategically important for both Japan and Russia. Conflict over the islands has continued throughout history. Even in these areas, there is still some misunderstanding regarding the production and fishing of islands on the island. It is an obvious fact that Russia has a number of military bases on the islands and is trying to secure safe access to the Pacific Ocean. Russia has even begun several social and economic development programs that have been allocating about 70 billion rubles(around $ 1.1 billion) in the federal budget for the development of these regions since 2014 to provide its security in the region.
Claim: Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands is a territory of Russia (Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2022-06-27): The Kuril Islands (Kurilskiye Ostrova, in Russian, and known as Northern Territories/Southern Chishima in Japan, or Chishima-rettō) form a natural barrier between the Sea of Okhotsk and North Pacific Ocean. Extending 1,200 kilometres between the southern tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Japanese island of Hokkaido, it consists of 56 islands that cover 15,600 square kilometres. The four islands (the Southern Kurils) at the heart of the dispute are Iturup (Etorofu), Kunashir (Kunashiri), Shikotan, and Habomai. The islands are currently administered by Sakhalin Oblast as South Kuril District. Tectonically and volcanically active, the Kuril archipelago is inhabited by over 10,000 people from various ethnic groups, as well as several thousand Russian troops (Kaczynski 2007; Elleman, Nichols, and Ouimet 1999, 490). [...] Russia stresses that its sovereignty over the islands is not to be discussed, holding that its possession of the South Kurils is legal, thus, especially in view of the amendments to the Russian Constitution which bars any transfer of national territory, ‘no changes are possible in this position’ (Zakharova 2020). The Russian government also rejects the argument that the islands would be returned to Tokyo upon the completion of a peace treaty with Japan (MOFA of the Russian Federation 2020).
Claim: Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands is a territory of Russia (Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-05-05): Russia Builds Surveillance Bases on Disputed Kuril Islands to Bolster Military Presence and Counter Japan-US Alliance 13:51 JST, May 5, 2024 Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu revealed Friday during a meeting with the Russian military that multiple surveillance bases are being constructed in the northern territories and the Chishima archipelago, known in Russia as the Kuril Islands, according to Russian state news agency TASS. As part of efforts to enhance the navy’s response capabilities, the Russian military is improving the capacity of coastal communication facilities. However, Shoigu did not provide further details. [...] Historic Change as Britain Closes Last Coal-Fired Power Plant; Transition to Clean Energy Vital for Economy, Human Health -
Claim: Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands is a territory of Russia (Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2016-12-15): Kuril Islands, archipelago in Sakhalin oblast (province), far-eastern Russia. The archipelago extends for 750 miles (1,200 km) from the southern tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula (Russia) to the northeastern corner of Hokkaido island (Japan) and separates the Sea of Okhotsk from the Pacific Ocean. The 56 islands cover 6,000 square miles (15,600 square km). [...] The Kurils were originally inhabited by the Ainu, and they were later settled by the Russians and Japanese, following several waves of exploration in the 17th and 18th centuries. In 1855 Japan and Russia concluded the Treaty of Shimoda, which gave control of the four southernmost islands to Japan and the remainder of the chain to Russia. In the Treaty of Saint Petersburg, signed by those two countries in 1875, Russia ceded possession of the Kurils to Japan in exchange for uncontested control of Sakhalin Island. In 1945, as part of the Yalta agreements (formalized in the 1951 Treaty of Peace with Japan), the islands were ceded to the Soviet Union, and the Japanese population was repatriated and replaced by Soviets. Japan still claims historical rights to the southernmost islands and has tried repeatedly to persuade the Soviet Union and, from 1991, Russia to return those islands to Japanese sovereignty.
Claim: Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands is a territory of Russia (Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-08-08): The Kuril Islands (/ˈkʊərɪl, ˈkjʊərɪl, kjʊˈriːl/; Russian: Кури́льские острова́, tr. Kurilskiye ostrova, IPA: [kʊˈrʲilʲskʲɪjə ɐstrɐˈva]; "Kuril Islands"), also called the Chishima Islands (Japanese: 千島列島, Hepburn: Chishima rettō), are a group of islands (archipelago) between Russia and Japan. The northern islands are a part of Russia and the southern islands are a part of Japan. Both countries say that they own four of the islands in the middle of the group. This disagreement is called the Kuril Islands dispute. [...] North-Chishima / North Kurils [change | change source]- Shumshu (占守島/) [...] South Chishima / South Kuril [change | change source]Little Kuril [change | change source]Japan does not say these are a part of the Chishima Islands - Shikotan （色丹島） - Habomai shoto (歯舞諸島) → 2008.3.21 - Habomai Gunto（歯舞群島） - Todo（海馬島/Kaiba） - Taraku(多楽島Polonskogo)
Claim: Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands is a territory of Russia (Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-01-13): The crisis that became known as the "Golovnin Incident" finally led to the establishment of a stable coexistence between Japan and Russia. It began when the leader of a Russian survey mission to the Kuril/Chishima Islands, Captain Vasiliĭ Golovnin of the sloop Diana, went ashore on Kunashiri Island in July 1811 to obtain fresh provisions. He also tried to convince the Japanese that the Russians did not want war. Golovnin even brought along a Russian–speaking Ainu named Alekseĭ to act as translator. Indeed, although there were plans to establish a Russian colony on Sakhalin, later aborted due to lack of resources and continued Japanese hostility, it is true that the Russians were not planning any future raids. However, Golovnin, Alekseĭ and six other Russians were captured and taken to Matsumae as prisoners. Golvnin’s First Officer, Petr Rikord, decided he could not rescue Golovnin without reinforcements, but as Russia was about to face Napoleon’s invasion, he soon discovered that the central government could not send any help. Rikord thus decided his best bet was to take counter–hostages and intercepted a ship off Kunashiri in the summer of 1812.
Claim: Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands is a territory of Russia (Kuril/Chishima, and South Kuril/Chishima Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-08-31): Multiple air defense missile systems deployed by Russia on two disputed islands off northern Japan in 2020 have been moved off the isles, an analysis of satellite images showed Thursday, raising the possibility that Moscow is repurposing weapons from its Far East for use in the war against Ukraine. [...] Koizumi said it is possible they were redeployed to Russia's western region near its border with Ukraine in preparation for a potential attack. [...] Etorofu and Kunashiri are among four disputed islands called and claimed as the Northern Territories by Japan and administered by Russia, which calls them the Southern Kurils.