evidence: 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.