Rogozin Proposes to Rename Kuril Islands with Russian Names

The head of the state corporation 'Roscosmos', Dmitry Rogozin, proposed during a radio segment on Sputnik to rename the Kuril Islands and assign them Russian names in honor of famous ships and events from the Russo-Japanese War, as reported by News.ru.

For instance, it is suggested that one of the islands be named after Rear Admiral Vysevolod Rudnev of the Russian Empire. Rogozin noted that the absence of Russian names makes him "doubt" the sovereignty of the islands over Russia.

He added that the Habomai islands could be named the archipelago of Russian heroes of the Pacific seamen. According to him, the islands, like the entire Pacific Ocean, are imbued with Russian blood.

It is worth mentioning that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation has previously declared 63 Japanese citizens persona non grata. The blacklist includes Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, as well as Japan's ministers of finance, defense, and justice.

Reports indicate that the reason for this decision was "unacceptable rhetoric against the Russian Federation" as well as similar sanctions previously imposed on Russian citizens.