The Russian or Japanese leg was the first: in Russia, they gave Tokyo a certificate about the history of the Kurils

Assistant to the President of Russia, Chairman of the Russian Military Historical Society Vladimir Medinsky explained in detail why the Kuril Islands were and will be Russian. Details are provided by RIA Novosti.

Medinsky mentioned the indisputability of the right of first discovery and first development, to which is added the victory in The Second World War. The expert's statement was timed to coincide with a diplomatic scandal that broke out in Japan after the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Kuril Islands.

"Why the Kuril Islands have always been, are and will be ours. 1639-41 — discovered by Cossacks mapped by Russian cartographers...1711- the beginning of a phased accession to Russia. 1740 — publication of a survey of 34 islands. Russia's de facto sovereignty over them. All foreigners have asked Russia for permission to visit the islands," Medinsky's Telegram channel says.

The historian also recalled the decree of Empress Catherine II of 1786 on the rights of the country in the Far East — "all the islands of the Kuril Ridge ... are recognized and will continue to be recognized as belonging to the Russian Empire." After that, in all diplomatic correspondence and on all maps, the Kuril Islands appear as the territory of Russia.

EADaily previously also informed that the Russian ambassador explained to the Japanese Foreign Ministry who and when can travel to the Kuril Islands.