The Ivan Groznyy (“Ivan the Terrible”) volcano erupted early on Thursday morning on the island of Iturup, part of the Kuril group in Russia's Far East.
The volcano spewed a column of ash onto the surrounding area. Local people in the nearest towns, Goryachiye Klyuchi (9 kilometers away) and the city of Kurilsk (25 kilometers), noticed a faint smell of hydrogen sulfide gas, which disappeared later.
The eruption poses no threat to nearby human settlements.
Scientists say the eruption was started by recent torrential rain, causing a huge increase in the volume of water in underground channels around the volcano. Ivan Groznyy also erupted in 1968, 1973, and 1989, but none of the eruptions threatened life nearby.