The Kuril archipelago,
more than 30 islands, stretches across the North Pacific between
Hokkaido and the Kamchatka Peninsula. Only five islands are permanently
inhabited, all by Russians, and perhaps 7,000 Russian border guards
are stationed throughout the islands. Japan lost the Kurils to
Russia during World War II but has claimed the southern Kurils
ever since. The dispute drags on. Most of the 16,000 Russian civilians
work in the fishing industry, but nearly all the wealth from the
fishery goes to Moscow in the form of taxes and fees. Since the
end of the Soviet era, government support for the Pacific frontier
has dwindled, and some Kuril Islanders see closer ties with Japan
as a way to improve their lot. As author Charles E. Cobb, Jr.,
reveals, these rugged and beautiful islands are a hard place to
live.
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Delayed for days by fog, wind, and rainweather as usual
in the Kuril Islandsa passenger helicopter drops in on
Paramushir, a piece of an island chain its Russian owners call
the end of the world. The former Soviet Union won
the Kurils from Japan at the end of World War II. Fifty-one years
later Russia clings to its trophy in the rich fishing grounds
of the North Pacific, defying Japan, which wants the southern
Kurils back.
Photographs by Michael S. Yamashita.
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