Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Kamchatka Peninsula stretches into the Pacific Ocean in the Russian Far East, defined by two massive mountain ranges. The Central Range runs down the middle of the landmass while the Eastern Range hugs the southeastern coast.
There are 29 active volcanoes within the volcanic belts flanking the Kamchatka River valley. Klyuchevskaya Sopka stands as the highest volcano and the largest active volcano in the Northern Hemisphere.
Russian explorer Ivan Moskvitin reached the Sea of Okhotsk in 1639 to initiate further expansion. Vladimir Atlasov became commander of Anadyrsk in 1695 and explored nearly the whole peninsula between 1697 and 1699.
About 322,079 inhabitants live on the Kamchatka Peninsula with more than half residing in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. This capital city held 179,526 residents in 2010 along with nearby Yelizovo having 38,980 residents.
Soviet authorities declared Kamchatka a military zone closed to unauthorized citizens after World War II. The region remained restricted to foreigners until 1990 due to its strategic importance as home base for the Russian Pacific fleet.