# Urup
> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Urup
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Urup.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urup
> Source revision: 1356009482
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
{{Short description|Uninhabited island in the Kuril Island chain}}
{{other uses}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=March 2012}}
{{Infobox Islands
| name = Urup
| local_name = {{langx|ru|Уру́п}}
{{langx|ain|ウルㇷ゚}}
{{langx|ja|得撫島}}
| image_name = UrupISS002-E-8994.PNG
| image_caption = July 2001 [NASA](/source/NASA) photograph of Urup Island
| map_image = Kuriles Urup.PNG
| map_caption =
| coordinates = {{Coord|45|56|N|150|02|E|display=inline, title}}
| location = [Sea of Okhotsk](/source/Sea_of_Okhotsk)
| archipelago = [Kuril Islands](/source/Kuril_Islands)
| area_km2 = 1430
| elevation_m = 1426
| highest_mount =
| country = {{RUS}}
| population = 0
| population_as_of = 2010
}}
thumb|Ice floes off the north-eastern tip of the island.
'''Urup''' ({{langx|ru|Уру́п|Urúp}}, {{langx|ja|得撫島|Uruppu-tō}}, {{langx|ain|ウルㇷ゚|Urup}}) is a [volcanic island](/source/volcanic_island) in the [Kuril Islands](/source/Kuril_Islands) chain in the south of the [Sea of Okhotsk](/source/Sea_of_Okhotsk), northwest [Pacific Ocean](/source/Pacific_Ocean). Its name is derived from the [Ainu language](/source/Ainu_language) word ''urup'', meaning "[sockeye salmon](/source/sockeye_salmon)". Historically, the island was populated and a Japanese garrison was present in the [Second World War](/source/Second_World_War) and then a Russian garrison. Today, the island is uninhabited although there are former mining operations on the island where temporary workers have resided. It is administered as part of the [Sakhalin Oblast](/source/Sakhalin_Oblast) of the [Russian Federation](/source/Russian_Federation).
==Geography and climate==
Urup is essentially rectangular in shape, with a long axis of 120 kilometers (75 miles) and a narrow axis of about 20 kilometers (12 miles). It is the fourth largest of the Kuril Islands, with an area of {{convert|1,430|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=off}}. The highest point is [Gora Ivao](/source/Gora_Ivao) at {{convert|1426|m|ft}}. [A number of tiny islets and rocks](/source/Offshore_islets_of_Urup) are scattered around the coast of Urup.
thumb|left|Topographic map of Urup island
The strait between Urup and [Iturup](/source/Iturup) is known as the [Vries Strait](/source/Vries_Strait), after [Dutch](/source/Netherlands) explorer [Maarten Gerritsz Vries](/source/Maarten_Gerritsz_Vries), the first recorded European to explore the area. The strait between Urup and [Simushir](/source/Simushir) is known as [Bussol Strait](/source/Bussol_Strait), after the French word for "compass", which was the name of one of French naval officer [La Pérouse](/source/Jean-Fran%C3%A7ois_de_Galaup%2C_comte_de_La_P%C3%A9rouse)'s vessels. This French mariner explored the area of the Kuril Islands in 1787.
Urup consists of four major groups of active or dormant [stratovolcano](/source/stratovolcano)s:
* '''[Kolokol Group](/source/Kolokol_Group)''' ({{langx|ru|Группа Колокола|Gruppa Kolokola}}; {{langx|ja|得撫富士|Uruppu-Fuji}}), with a height of {{convert|1328|m|ft}} has erupted as recently as 1973.
* '''[Rudakov](/source/Rudakov_(volcano))''' ({{langx|ru|Рудаков}}; {{langx|ja|台場山|Daiba-zan}}), with a height of {{convert|524|m|ft}} has a {{convert|700|m|ft|abbr=off|adj=mid|-wide}}, funnel-like crater containing a {{convert|300|m|ft|abbr=off|adj=mid|-wide}} lake
* '''[Tri Sestry](/source/Tri_Sestry)''' ({{langx|ru|Три Сестры}}; {{langx|ja|硫黄山|Io-zan}}), with a height of {{convert|998|m|ft}} has flanks cut by deep ravines and has numerous hot springs.
* '''[Ivao Group](/source/Ivao_Group)''' ({{langx|ru|Группа Ивао|Gruppa Ivao}}; {{langx|ja|白妙山|Shiratae-zan}}), with a height of {{convert|1426|m|ft|abbr=off}} is the highest point on the island. The southeast-most cone bisects a glacial valley, forming a lake.
Despite its temperate latitude, the cold [Oyashio Current](/source/Oyashio_Current) and powerful [Aleutian Low](/source/Aleutian_Low) combine to give Urup a [subarctic climate](/source/subarctic_climate) ([Köppen](/source/K%C3%B6ppen_climate_classification) ''Dfc''), that is close to a [polar climate](/source/tundra_climate) (Köppen ''ET'') with mild, foggy summers and cold, snowy winters. In reality the climate resembles the [subpolar oceanic climate](/source/subpolar_oceanic_climate) of the [Aleutian Islands](/source/Aleutian_Islands) much more than the hypercontinental climate of [Siberia](/source/Siberia) proper or [Manchuria](/source/Manchuria), but the February mean of {{convert|−6.0|C|F|1}} is well below the limit of "oceanic" climates. Urup, like all the Kuril islands, experiences extremely strong [seasonal lag](/source/seasonal_lag), with the highest temperatures in August and September, the lowest in February and temperatures typically in fact warmer at the [autumn equinox](/source/Autumn_equinox_(Northern_Hemisphere)) than at the [summer solstice](/source/summer_solstice).
{{Weather box|width=auto
|location = Urup (1953-1997 normals and extremes)
|single line = Y
|metric first = y
|Jan record high C = 6.1
|Feb record high C = 8.9
|Mar record high C = 6.1
|Apr record high C = 16.2
|May record high C = 22.0
|Jun record high C = 26.1
|Jul record high C = 30.0
|Aug record high C = 28.1
|Sep record high C = 28.0
|Oct record high C = 21.8
|Nov record high C = 15.0
|Dec record high C = 12.0
|year record high C = 30.0
|Jan high C = -2.7
|Feb high C = -3.7
|Mar high C = -2.0
|Apr high C = 2.2
|May high C = 5.9
|Jun high C = 8.4
|Jul high C = 12.1
|Aug high C = 14.5
|Sep high C = 13.3
|Oct high C = 9.7
|Nov high C = 4.2
|Dec high C = 0.0
|year high C = 5.2
|Jan mean C = -5.0
|Feb mean C = -6.0
|Mar mean C = -4.3
|Apr mean C = -0.2
|May mean C = 2.9
|Jun mean C = 5.2
|Jul mean C = 8.6
|Aug mean C = 10.9
|Sep mean C = 10.0
|Oct mean C = 6.6
|Nov mean C = 1.7
|Dec mean C = -2.3
|year mean C = 2.3
|Jan low C = -7.3
|Feb low C = -8.4
|Mar low C = -6.6
|Apr low C = -2.6
|May low C = -0.1
|Jun low C = 2.1
|Jul low C = 5.1
|Aug low C = 7.3
|Sep low C = 6.6
|Oct low C = 3.6
|Nov low C = -0.9
|Dec low C = -4.6
|year low C = -0.5
|Jan record low C = -18.0
|Feb record low C = -19.0
|Mar record low C = -20.0
|Apr record low C = -11.5
|May record low C = -13.0
|Jun record low C = -3.5
|Jul record low C = -2.2
|Aug record low C = 0.0
|Sep record low C = -3.0
|Oct record low C = -2.2
|Nov record low C = -9.0
|Dec record low C = -14.0
|year record low C = -20.0
|precipitation colour=green
|Jan precipitation mm = 106.7
|Feb precipitation mm = 79.3
|Mar precipitation mm = 84.8
|Apr precipitation mm = 100.8
|May precipitation mm = 98.2
|Jun precipitation mm = 75.3
|Jul precipitation mm = 92.4
|Aug precipitation mm = 107.0
|Sep precipitation mm = 158.0
|Oct precipitation mm = 149.5
|Nov precipitation mm = 142.7
|Dec precipitation mm = 129.8
|year precipitation mm = 1324.6
|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
|Jan precipitation days = 22.0
|Feb precipitation days = 18.1
|Mar precipitation days = 14.7
|Apr precipitation days = 11.5
|May precipitation days = 11.5
|Jun precipitation days = 10.3
|Jul precipitation days = 11.6
|Aug precipitation days = 13.3
|Sep precipitation days = 12.5
|Oct precipitation days = 14.1
|Nov precipitation days = 19.5
|Dec precipitation days = 21.9
|year precipitation days = 180.8
|source 1 = NOAA[{{cite web
|url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=daily-summaries&stations=RSM00032186&startDate=1700-01-01&endDate=2024-12-31&dataTypes=TMAX,TMIN,PRCP
|title = Daily Summaries Station Details
|publisher = [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration](/source/National_Oceanic_and_Atmospheric_Administration)
|access-date = 1 February 2024
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240219053542/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=daily-summaries&stations=RSM00032186&startDate=1700-01-01&endDate=2024-12-31&dataTypes=TMAX,TMIN,PRCP
|archive-date = 19 February 2024}}]
}}
==Fauna==
In the spring and summer [crested auklet](/source/crested_auklet), [tufted puffin](/source/tufted_puffin), and [pigeon guillemot](/source/pigeon_guillemot) nest on the island; there is also a colony of [black-legged kittiwake](/source/black-legged_kittiwake).[Kondratyev, A. Y., Litvinenko, N. M., Shibaev, Y. V., Vyatkin, P. S., & Kondratyeva, L. F. (2000). [http://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection/CW69-15-4-2000E.pdf "The breeding seabirds of the Russian Far East"]. ''Seabirds of the Russian Far East'', 37-81.]
==History==
===Prehistory===
The first attested inhabitants of Urup are the [Ainu](/source/Ainu_people), the indigenous people of the Kurils, southern [Sakhalin](/source/Sakhalin), and [Hokkaido](/source/Hokkaido).
{{anchor|Company Land|Terre de la Compagnie}}
===Age of Exploration===
[[File:Companies Land.jpeg|thumb|right|250px|A map from 1700 displaying "Companies Land" as a major island or continental extension northeast of [Honshu](/source/Honshu) in [Japan](/source/Japan) ]]
The {{lang|nl|Castricum}} under [Maarten Gerritsz Vries](/source/Maarten_Gerritsz_Vries) was the first recorded European vessel to reach this part of the Kurils, arriving in 1643[{{Cite web |url=http://www.sakhalin.ru/Engl/Region/book/17th_18th.htm |title=The 17th and 18th Centuries |access-date=25 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080325002911/http://www.sakhalin.ru/Engl/Region/book/17th_18th.htm |archive-date=25 March 2008 |url-status=dead }}] while [exploring](/source/Age_of_Exploration) [Hokkaido](/source/Hokkaido) and the surrounding area for the [Dutch East India Company](/source/Dutch_East_India_Company) (VOC).[{{harvp|De Saint-Martin & al.|1895|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=wiDuAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA444 444–445]}}.] Vries's garbled account of the islands during [an era when longitude was difficult to calculate](/source/History_of_longitude) was the origin of the large [phantom island](/source/phantom_island) '''Company Land''' ({{langx|nl|Companies Landt}}; {{langx|fr|Terre de la Compagnie}}) that subsequently appeared on European maps at various positions northeast of [Honshu](/source/Honshu).[ Named in reference to the VOC, it was considered by Vries to be the northwesternmost projection of [North America](/source/North_America){{sfnp|Wroth|1944|p=210}} and its appearance on the maps of the respected cartographers [Jan Janssonius](/source/Jan_Janssonius),{{sfnp|Wroth|1944|pp=210-211}} [Nicolas Sanson](/source/Nicolas_Sanson),{{sfnp|Wroth|1944|p=214}} and [Guillaume Delisle](/source/Guillaume_Delisle) spread it through other European maps for another century before more accurate surveys became generally accepted.{{sfnp|Wroth|1944|p=222}} The original location of Vries's landing is sometimes specifically located on Urup.][{{cite book |last=Huigen |first=Siegfried |author2=J. L. de Jong |author3=E. Kolfin |display-authors=1 |year=2010 |title=The Dutch Trading Companies as Knowledge Networks |location=Leiden |publisher=Brill }}.]
Urup is first clearly shown on an official Japanese map of 1644, identifying it as part of the territories of the [Matsumae clan](/source/Matsumae_clan), a [feudal domain](/source/han_(administrative_division)) of [Edo](/source/Edo_period) [Japan](/source/Japan).
===18th century===
The Matsumae clan holdings were officially confirmed by the [Tokugawa shogunate](/source/Tokugawa_shogunate) in 1715 and administration of the island came under the Matsumae domain’s regional office location on [Kunashir](/source/Kunashir) from 1756. Meanwhile, three voyages of [Vitus Bering](/source/Vitus_Bering)'s lieutenant [Martin Spanberg](/source/Martin_Spanberg) in 1738, 1739, and 1742 pointedly failed to find any evidence of [Rica de Oro](/source/Rica_de_Oro), [Rica de Plata](/source/Rica_de_Plata), [Staten Island](/source/Staten_Island_(phantom_island)), or Company Land in any of the areas claimed for them.{{sfnp|Wroth|1944|p=220}}
Russian fur traders appeared in the late 18th century, hunting [sea otter](/source/sea_otter) and seizing foreign ships in the area. There were clashes between the Russians and the Ainu in 1772, and the Russians left for a time, but soon returned. G.F. Muller’s ''Voyages & Découvertes faites par les Russes'' (Amsterdam, 1766) contained a list and description of the Kuril Islands, including Urup whose people were said to trade with the Japanese but were not under their control. A small Russian presence was established on Urup by the fur trader Ivan Chernyi in 1768, acting on instructions from the governor of [Siberia](/source/Siberia). During the 1770s it was the base for attempts to establish trade with the Japanese on [Yezo](/source/Yezo) (Hokkaido) which came to an end when it was destroyed by a [tsunami](/source/tsunami) in June 1780.[George A. Lensen, ''The Russian Push toward Japan:Russo-Japanese relations, 1697–1875,'' Princeton University Press, 1959, pp. 61–85; Valery O. Shubin, ‘Russian Settlements in the Kuril Islands in the 18th and 19th centuries’, ''Russia in North America: Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Russian America,'' Kingston & Fairbanks, Limestone Press,1990, pp. 425–450.]
===19th century===
During the decade following 1795, a party of 40 Russian men and women under Zvezdochetov established a colony they called "Slavorossiia" on Urup.[John J. Stephan, ''The Kuril Islands'', Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1974, pp. 64.] In 1801, the Japanese government officially claimed control of the island, incorporating it into Ezo Province (now Hokkaidō Prefecture). This led to a series of clashes with [Imperial Russia](/source/Imperial_Russia) over Urup and the other Kurils, and [sovereignty](/source/sovereignty) initially passed to Russia under the terms of the [Treaty of Shimoda](/source/Treaty_of_Shimoda) in 1855. The same year, in an effort to find the [Russian fleet](/source/Imperial_Russian_Navy) in the Pacific Ocean during the [Crimean War](/source/Crimean_War), a French-[British naval force](/source/Royal_Navy) reached the port of [Hakodate](/source/Hakodate) (open to British ships as a result of the [Anglo-Japanese Friendship Treaty](/source/Anglo-Japanese_Friendship_Treaty) of 1854), and sailing further north, landed on Urup, taking official possession of the island as "l'Isle de l'Alliance" and nominating a local Aleut inhabitant as provisional governor. The [Treaty of Paris](/source/Treaty_of_Paris_(1856)) restituted the island to Russian control.[Thierry Mormanne : "La prise de possession de l'île d'Urup par la flotte anglo-française en 1855", Revue Cipango, "Cahiers d'études japonaises", No 11 hiver 2004 pp. 209–236.]
Three [whaleship](/source/whaler)s have been wrecked near or on the island: one in 1853 and two in 1855. On the night of 27–28 April 1853, the ship ''Susan'' (349 tons), of [Nantucket](/source/Nantucket), was stove by ice and sank in Bussol Strait while attempting to enter the [Sea of Okhotsk](/source/Sea_of_Okhotsk). Two men were lost, one drowning and the other perishing on the ice. The remaining twenty-five crew members crowded into two [whaleboat](/source/whaleboat)s and reached Urup on the afternoon of 29 April. Here they spent eight days before being rescued by the [barque](/source/barque) ''Black Warrior'', of [New London](/source/New_London%2C_Connecticut).[''The Friend'', Honolulu, Vol. II, No. 10, Nov. 1, 1853, p. 93.] On 14 May 1855, the ships ''King Fisher'' (425 tons), and ''Enterprise'' (291 tons), both of [New Bedford](/source/New_Bedford%2C_Massachusetts), were wrecked on a reef on the northeast end of the island while attempting to pass through [Bussol Strait](/source/Bussol_Strait) into the Sea of Okhotsk. All hands were saved.[''Whalemen's Shipping List and Merchants' Transcript'', November 27, 1855, Vol. XIII, No. 39, p. 306.][{{cite book |last=Starbuck |first=Alexander |title=History of the American Whale Fishery from Its Earliest Inception to the year 1876 |year=1878 |publisher=Castle |isbn=1-55521-537-8}}]
==== Occupation of Urup by Great Britain and France ====
In 1855, during the [Crimean War](/source/Crimean_War) (1853–56), Britain and France occupied Urup, as part of their aggressive policy against Russian settlements in the [Far East](/source/Far_East).[Stone, Ian R. (1992). The annexation of Urup, 1855. Polar Record, 28(164), 60–. doi:10.1017/S0032247400020301]
At the onset of the war, both sides were eager to secure their positions regarding Japan, the Russians sought rights in Japanese ports for their own ships and aimed to delineate the frontier between the two nations in the Kurils. The [Treaty of Shimoda](/source/Treaty_of_Shimoda), signed on 7 February 1855, achieved this by establishing the boundary between the Japanese island of [Iturup](/source/Iturup) and the Russian island of Urup.[Stephan, J. J. 1974. The Kuril Islands. Oxford, Oxford University Press.]
Simultaneously, the [Anglo-Japanese Friendship Treaty](/source/Anglo-Japanese_Friendship_Treaty) was signed. This agreement, negotiated by Rear-Admiral Sir [James Stirling](/source/James_Stirling_(Royal_Navy_officer)), allowed British ships access to the ports of [Nagasaki](/source/Nagasaki) and [Hakodate](/source/Hakodate) for repairs, provisions, and other supplies. This strategic advantage enabled the allies to use these ports as bases for launching attacks on Russian settlements in the Far East. This was particularly advantageous, given that the next nearest British base was in [Hong Kong](/source/Hong_Kong).[Beasley, W. G. 1951. Great Britain and the opening of Japan, 1834-1858. London, Luzac.] Stirling gathered intelligence on Russian settlements in the Kurils. Consequently, an attack on Urup was initiated, aiming to reduce a reported Russian settlement and establish a naval base more firmly under allied control than those accessible in Japan.
During the Crimean War, the island was inhabited by the [Ainu](/source/Ainu_people), with a few [Russian](/source/Russians) and [Aleut](/source/Aleuts) residents working for the [Russian-American company](/source/Russian-American_Company). This company, responsible for the [Russian territory of Alaska](/source/Russian_Alaska), fur trading activities in the [Kurils](/source/Kuril_Islands) and the Pacific coast of Siberia, shared a common interest with the British [Hudson's Bay Company](/source/Hudson's_Bay_Company). A meeting in [London](/source/London) led both companies to persuade their respective governments to agree to a neutrality pact concerning their North American settlements, resulting in the British refraining from attacking Alaska during the Crimean War.[Bancroft, H. H. 1886. History of Alaska, 1730-1885. San Francisco, A. L. Bancroft.]
The main Russian settlement on the island was Tavano, to which an Anglo-French force arrived in late August 1855, led by the British [HMS Pique](/source/HMS_Pique_(1834)) and the French frigate Sybille. Captain F. W. E. Nicolson was assigned to lead this mission, even after his defeat at the [Siege of Petropavlovsk.](/source/Siege_of_Petropavlovsk) At Tavano, Allied ships were delayed in making port due to thick fog and changeable winds. Captain Nicolson, anchored outside of the harbor, finding it unsuitable. Nicolson described the village of Tavano as consisting of wooden houses and storehouses used by the few Russians on the island, along with huts used by native. Despite the absence of a Russian garrison, local residents assured Nicolson of their departure before the allies' arrival.[Stone, I. R. and Crampton, R. J. 1985. A disastrous affair; the Franco-British attack on Petropavlovsk, 1854. Polar Record. 22 (141): 629-41.][Nicolson, F. W. E. 1855b. Remarks relative to the island of Ouroup and Port Tavano. Public Record Office. In ADM 1/5657, Enclosure No. 6.]
On September 2 an "annexation ceremony" occurred on the island. The ceremony included the illegitimate renaming of the island to "l'Isle de l'Alliance" and the raising of the [Union Jack](/source/Union_Jack) and [French flag](/source/Flag_of_France). The capture of Urup marked the conclusion of Allied operations in the Pacific Theatre of the Crimean War, the allies left Urup the next day marking the end the Allied Occupation.[Stephan, J. J. 1969. The Crimean War in the far east. Modern Asian Studies. 3 (3): 257-77.]
==== Japanese Annexation of Urup ====
Under the [Treaty of Saint Petersburg](/source/Treaty_of_Saint_Petersburg_(1875)) of 1875, sovereignty passed to the [Empire of Japan](/source/Empire_of_Japan) along with the rest of the Kuril islands. The island was formerly administered as part of Uruppu District of [Nemuro Subprefecture](/source/Nemuro_Subprefecture) of [Hokkaido](/source/Hokkaido). The remaining local (mainly Aleut) inhabitants were transferred to Kamchatka, according to their will, and replaced by the Japanese colonists.
===20th century===
During [World War II](/source/World_War_II), all civilian inhabitants of the island were relocated to the [Japanese home islands](/source/Japanese_home_islands), and towards the end of the war, the [Imperial Japanese Army](/source/Imperial_Japanese_Army) stationed approximately 6,000 troops on Urup, including the IJA 129th Independent Mixed Brigade, 5th Independent Tank Company, 23rd Independent AA Company, 80th Airfield Battalion and 6th Disembarkation Unit. During the [Invasion of the Kuril Islands](/source/Invasion_of_the_Kuril_Islands) by the [Soviet Union](/source/Soviet_Union) after the end of World War II, Japanese forces on Urup surrendered without resistance.
In 1952, upon signing the [Treaty of San Francisco](/source/Treaty_of_San_Francisco), Japan renounced its claim to the island.[{{Cite web |url=http://www.fortunecity.com/olympia/ince/698/rurik/kuril.html |title=History of the Kuril Islands |access-date=14 November 2001|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011114062024/http://www.fortunecity.com/olympia/ince/698/rurik/kuril.html |archive-date=14 November 2001 |url-status=dead }}] [Soviet Border Troops](/source/Soviet_Border_Troops) occupied the former Japanese military facilities. As early as the 1950s, a [P-14 radar](/source/P-14_radar) "Tall King" VHF air defense radar existed on the far northeastern tip of Urup Island.[[https://web.archive.org/web/20170121154241/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP78T04759A009600010004-8.pdf Analysis of Selected Soviet Air Warning Radar Facilities, 1970, Central Intelligence Agency, CIA-RDP78T04759A009600010004-8.]] A lighthouse was built on Mys Kastrikum (the easternmost cape) by Soviet authorities, as well as another on the western cape, Mys Chyeryepakha.[{{cite web |title=Mys Kastrikum |website=GeoNames |url=http://www.geonames.org/2124958/mys%20kastrikum.html |access-date=13 January 2026}}][{{cite web |title=Lighthouses of Russia: Kuril Islands |website=The Public's Library and Digital Archive |date=30 July 2025 |url=https://www.ibiblio.org/lighthouse/rusakk.htm |language=ru |access-date=13 January 2026}}][{{cite web |title=Mys Chyeryepakha |website=GeoNames |url=https://www.geonames.org/2131361/mys%20cherepakha.html |access-date=13 January 2026}}] The troops were withdrawn upon the [dissolution of the Soviet Union](/source/dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Union) in 1991, the co-located airfield was turned into a bombing range.
===21st century===
The island is now largely uninhabited, except for a gold and silver mine, KurilGeo,[[https://eng.rudn.ru/cooperation/employment-partnerships/partners/kurilgeo-llc/ Kurilgeo LLC employment/partnership card at the RUDN University]] formerly owned by the [Solway Group](/source/Solway_Group) and reportedly sold to an Armenian company in 2022.[[https://arka.am/en/news/business/armenian_company_acquires_solway_s_projects_in_russia/ Armenian company acquires Solway's projects in Russia]] The island is administered as part of the [Sakhalin Oblast](/source/Sakhalin_Oblast) of the [Russian Federation](/source/Russian_Federation).
==See also==
* [List of islands of Russia](/source/List_of_islands_of_Russia)
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |editor-last=De Saint-Martin |editor-first=Vivien |editor2=Louis Rousselet |display-editors=1 |ref={{harvp|De Saint-Martin & al.|1895}} |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wiDuAAAAMAAJ |title=Nouveau Dictionnaire de Géographie Universelle |volume=7 |location=Paris |publisher=Librairie Hachette & Co. |year=1895 |language=fr |contribution-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wiDuAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA441 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=wiDuAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA441 441–445] |contribution=Yèso }}.
* {{cite book |last=Wroth |first=Lawrence C. |contribution-url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24301919 |contribution=The Early Cartography of the Pacific |title=The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America |location=Chicago |publisher=University of Chicago Press |volume=38 |issue=2 |year=1944 |pages=87–231 & 233–268 |jstor=24301919 }}.
==Further reading==
* Gorshkov, G. S. ''Volcanism and the Upper Mantle Investigations in the Kurile Island Arc''. Monographs in geoscience. New York: Plenum Press, 1970. {{ISBN|0-306-30407-4}}
* Krasheninnikov, Stepan Petrovich and James Greive. The History of Kamtschatka and the Kurilski Islands, with the Countries Adjacent. Chicago: Quadrangle Books, 1963.
* Rees, David. ''The Soviet Seizure of the Kuriles''. New York: Praeger, 1985. {{ISBN|0-03-002552-4}}
* Stephan, John J., ''The Kuril Islands'', Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1974.
* Takahashi, Hideki and Masahiro Ōhara. ''Biodiversity and Biogeography of the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin''. Bulletin of the Hokkaido University Museum, no. 2-. Sapporo, Japan: Hokkaido University Museum, 2004.
{{Kuril Islands}}
{{Sea of Okhotsk Islands}}
Category:Urup
Category:Islands of the Kuril Islands
Category:Islands of the Sea of Okhotsk
Category:Islands of the Russian Far East
Category:Volcanoes of the Kuril Islands
Category:Uninhabited islands of Russia
Category:Uninhabited islands of the Pacific Ocean
---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Urup](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urup) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urup?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.