Iturup is the largest of the Kuril Islands, administered by Russia but claimed by Japan as part of the "Northern Territories" dispute — one of the few territorial disagreements that has prevented the two countries from ever signing a formal peace treaty ending World War II. This coin belongs to a Russian Federation series commemorating geographic regions of the country, and issuing it with Iturup's name carries an unmistakable political dimension: it is, in effect, a numismatic assertion of sovereignty over contested ground.
Iturup is the largest of the Kuril Islands, administered by Russia but claimed by Japan as part of the "Northern Territories" dispute — one of the few territorial disagreements that has prevented the two countries from ever signing a formal peace treaty ending World War II. This coin belongs to a Russian Federation series commemorating geographic regions of the country, and issuing it with Iturup's name carries an unmistakable political dimension: it is, in effect, a numismatic assertion of sovereignty over contested ground.