Russian President Vladimir Putin called Russia the land of the rising sun, since the easternmost part of Chukotka is located to the east of Japan.
"Geographically speaking, I guess we should mention Kamchatka. Our neighbors, the Japanese and Japan, are called the land of the rising sun, but I think Kamchatka or Sakhalin is located to the east of Japan, and further east is New Zealand, and to the east of New Zealand there is Chukotka. And just 60 kilometers from that lies the American continent. In this light, Russia is the Land of the Rising Sun," Putin said at a meeting with participants of an environmental forum underway in Kamchatka on Monday.
And yet Russia starts with people, no matter where they live, the Russian leader emphasized. "I’d like to reiterate that Russia begins with people, no matter where they reside or live," Putin stressed.