For decades, Putin has offered Japan a compromise on the Kuril Islands. So why, on his first visit to the islands this week, did he talk about Russians’ ‘genetic code of winners’ instead?

Since taking power, Vladimir Putin has pursued a peace treaty with Japan, asserting Russia’s sovereignty over the islands while saying he is willing to negotiate on the basis of the 1956 declaration. Japan and Russia have also developed economic ties, including in the Kuril Islands.

Dmitry Medvedev, president at the time, visited the islands in 2010, prompting protests from Japan. Ahead of his return to the presidency, Putin distanced himself from the visit, saying Russia wanted to “achieve an acceptable compromise.” Consultations between the two countries continued through the 2010s, and joint projects in the Kuril Islands progressed.

After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Japan immediately joined Western sanctions against Moscow. Russia responded by halting peace treaty talks, canceling visa-free travel to the South Kuril Islands, and winding down joint activities there with Japan. Two years later, Putin promised to visit the islands for the first time. Six months after that, he said he “sees no grounds” to abandon the trip, adding that the only explanation he gave for not going was that he was allegedly too busy.

In 2025, Russia’s Foreign Ministry summed up its position: There were no prospects for dialogue with Japan on a peace treaty. Putin arrived in the Kuril Islands on August 12, 2026, where he said Russians carry the genetic code of winners.