An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 on the Richter scale struck off Russia's Pacific coast today about 293km northeast of Kurilsk in the Kuril Islands, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.
The quake, which struck at 4:24GMT, was at a depth of 38 km, USGS said.
There was no immediate tsunami warning from the quake, the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre website said.
Russia's Emergency Services Ministry said the impact on land had been minimal.
"There were no casualties or damage caused. There is no tsunami warning," a ministry spokeswoman said.
"In the nearest towns they felt a tremor of magnitude 3-4."
In the largest nearby city of Yuzhno-Kurilsk, on one of the southern Kuril islands, resident Gennady Berezyuk said he did not even feel the earthquake.
"We are used to tremors here, but I didn't feel the quake or any aftershocks," he said.
The islands lie north of Hokkaido, Japan and south of Kamchatka, Russia. Seismic activity in the region is common.
Japan's Meteorological Agency website said only a minor tremor was recorded in the northeast of Hokkaido, and no risk was seen of a tsunami in Japan.
Reuters