Why is Roscosmos chief proposing Russian names for disputed Kuril islands

Dmitry Rogozin, director-general of Russia’s Roscosmos space agency, suggested on Monday that the Kuril Islands, which are disputed by Japan, may be renamed after Russian ships and events from the Russo-Japanese War of the early twentieth century.

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The territorial dispute over the isles, which Russia claims are part of the Kuril chain and Japan claims as its Northern Territories, has stopped Tokyo and Moscow from signing a peace treaty formally ending World War Two hostilities.

Rogozin, a former deputy prime minister who managed Russia’s military industry, proposed renaming one of the islands Varyag in honour of a cruiser whose sinking sparked the Russo-Japanese War in 1904.

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Rogozin, who is known for his vehement views and has been outspoken on social media since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February, also advocated renaming the Habomai Islands the Archipelago of Russian Hero Sailors.

“Always, when states added territories they would give them their own names (… ) Why don’t these islands have Russian names?” Rogozin stated on the state-owned radio station Sputnik, adding, “This would be much more logical than the names with which we now have been calling these islands and which destroy the Russian language.”

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Japan has joined its Western allies in sanctioning Russia for sending tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in what Moscow refers to as a “special military operation.” Ukraine and its allies accuse Russia of launching an unprovoked attack.

Because of Japanese sanctions for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russia withdrew from peace treaty discussions with Japan and stopped cooperation economic initiatives involving the disputed Kuril Islands.