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Unalaska Island is situated in the Bering Sea and is part of the Aleutian Islands. It was first inhabited by the Unangan people, who named it “Ounalashka” meaning ‘Near the Peninsula’. Under the direction of Stepan Glotov the first Russian traders came to the island in 1759. At this point Unalaska and the Amaknak Islands contained 24 settlements with more than 1,000 Aleut inhabitants. There were a series of conflicts between the Aleuts and Russian Fur Traders. The Aleuts ultimately destroyed four ships and killed 175 Russians.

The Commander Islands, part of Russia, are also situated in the Bering Sea to the west of the Aleutian Islands. The largest of the Commander Islands is Bering Island and the second largest is Copper Island. In 1741 famed captain Vitus Bering was shipwrecked on Bering Island and died of scurvy there with 28 of his men. Due to their desolate terrain Bering was uninhabited until 1826 and Copper was uninhabited until the early 20th century. The settlements that formed on both islands were primarily made up of Aleuts who came from the neighboring islands. Today there is no longer a population that lives on Copper Island.

Iturup Island is part of the South Kuril Islands in the Sea of Okhotsk. Though it is presently controlled by Russia it is claimed both by Japan and Russia. The first recorded European to explore the area was the Dutch explorer Maarten Gerritsz Vries and it was initially settled by the Ainu, the indigenous people of Japan and Russia. The name Iturup comes from the Ainu word meaning "place possessing [many] capes." In November 1941 a Japanese carrier sailed from Hitokappu Bay on the eastern shore of Iturup to attack the American base Pearl Harbor. After Japan's defeat in World War II Iturup was occupied by the Soviet Union and the Japanese inhabitants were expelled to the mainland. Since World War II diplomatic relations between Russia and Japan have been strained in part due to the disputed status of Iturup and other islands.