Iturup

Iturup
	Location and map of Iturup
Waters	Pacific Ocean
Archipelago	Kuril Islands
Geographical location	45 ° 2 ′ N , 147 ° 37 ′ E Coordinates: 45 ° 2 ′ N , 147 ° 37 ′ E
length	200 km
width	27 km
surface	3 166.64 km²
Highest elevation	Stokap ; 1634 m
Residents	7500 ; 2.4 inhabitants / km²
main place	Kurilsk
	NASA image of the southern tip of Iturup with the Berutarube volcano

Iturup ( Russian Итуруп ; Japanese 択捉島 Etorofu -tō ) is an island in the Kuril archipelago. The island is de facto part of Russia , but is claimed by Japan as part of the sub-prefecture of Nemuro , Hokkaidō .

The name comes from the Ainu language , probably from etu-oro-op ( エトゥオロオㇷ゚ ) for "place with the cape" or etu-or-op ( エトゥオㇿオㇷ゚ ) for "person / object with nasal water", which is supposed to refer to the fact that there used to be a stone here that looked like a person with a runny nose.

geography

Iturup is northeast of Hokkaidō , near the southern end of the Kuril Islands. With an area of 3,166.64 km², it is by far the largest Kuril island. Iturup is about 200 km long, with a width of 7 to 27 km.

The most important settlement on the island is the city of Kurilsk with about 2,000 inhabitants. A total of around 7500 people live on Iturup (as of 2003). The island has an airport ( IATA airport code : BVV, ICAO code UHSB).

History and politics

Iturup was originally inhabited by Ainu . Russian settlers came to the island in the late 18th century. In 1800 a Japanese garrison was stationed on Iturup. The island was used by Japan as a place of exile for political prisoners and convicts.

In 1855 the island became Japanese territory through the Treaty of Shimoda . In 1945 Iturup was occupied by Soviet troops . Since 1946 the island has belonged to Russian national territory according to the Soviet and since 1991 Russian view. Belonging to the Southern Kuril Islands, the island is the subject of the Kuril conflict : sovereignty over Iturup is claimed by Japan.

A passenger ship, the Etopirika , was built in 2012 especially for mutual visa-free visits by Russian islanders and Japanese citizens .