Habomai group. Internal document of the Gorbachev government: “We are obliged to return Habomai and Shikotan to Japan

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habomai map, habomai
(Japanese 歯舞群島 Habomai-gunto?, Suisho, “Flat Islands”) is the Japanese name for a group of islands in the northwest Pacific Ocean, together with the island of Shikotan in Soviet and Russian cartography, included in the Lesser Kuril Ridge. The Habomai group includes the islands of Polonsky, Oskolki, Zeleny, Tanfilyeva, Yuri, Demina, Anuchina and a number of small ones. Separated by the Soviet Strait from the island of Hokkaido. Area - 100 km².

• 1 Etymology and use of the name
• 2 Description
• 3 List of islands
• 4 Notes
• 5 Links

Etymology and use of the name

The unifying Japanese name for the group of islands is derived from the former administrative-territorial division of Japan: until April 1, 1959, Habomai County formally existed.

In recent years, there has been a debate in Russian society about the admissibility of using the name “Habomai” in Russian. Thus, in the resolution of the Sakhalin Regional Duma dated February 18, 1999, it was noted that the name Habomai was used in a number of Russian-Japanese agreements in 1998, which led to the widespread use of this name in the Russian media. Attention was drawn to the letter of the Interdepartmental Commission on Geographical Names of the Russian Federation (MVK No. 2257 of October 1, 1997), as well as to the requirements of Art. 8, 11 of the Federal Law “On the Names of Geographical Objects” N 152-FZ of December 18, 1997. Based on these documents, the Sakhalin Regional Duma

1. demanded that the use of such Japanese geographical names in Russian official documents and the media be considered unacceptable;
2. proposed making appropriate changes to the Russian-Japanese treaties of 1998.

Responding to this kind of criticism, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov explained that the name “Habomai” was used “... in the Joint Declaration of the USSR and Japan of October 19, 1956, which was ratified by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and is a valid international treaty. Since international treaties take precedence over domestic legislation, the name “Habomai” was subsequently repeatedly used in official Russian-Japanese documents.”

In the summer of 2006, the Sakh.com news agency reported on a situation where the use of the name “Habomai” on a website was recognized as an administrative offense, for which a fine of 30 minimum wages (equal to 3,000 rubles) was collected from the site manager.

Description

The islands are stretched in a line parallel to the Great Kuril Ridge, 48 km south of the latter. The straits between the islands are shallow and filled with reefs and underwater rocks. Strong tidal currents and persistent dense fogs make the straits extremely dangerous for navigation.

Most of the islands are low-lying. Landscapes are desert, rocky, meadow; There are no forests, there are bushes and swamps. This group of islands is characterized by a humid maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. Judging by observations of the breeding season of some rodents, which here lasts until November, the climate of Habomai is even milder than in Kunashir.

There is no civilian population on the islands - only Russian border guards.

The Habomai archipelago, along with the islands of Kunashir, Iturup and Shikotan, is the subject of a territorial dispute between Russia and Japan.

List of islands

• Green Island (Japanese: 志発島 Shibotsu-?, literally “Aspiration Island”)
• Polonsky Island (Japanese: 多楽島 taraku-to:?, lit. “Island of Great Fun”)
• Tanfilyev Island (Japanese: 水晶島 suishō-jima?, lit. “Crystal Island”)
• Yuri Island (Japanese: 勇留島 yu:ri-to:?)
• Anuchina Island
• Demin Islands
• Shard Islands
  • Rock Kira
  • Cave Rock (Kanakuso) - sea lion rookery on the rock.
  • Sail Rock (Hokoki)
  • Rock Candle (Rosoku)
  • Fox Islands (Todo)
  • Cone Islands (Kabuto)
• Jar Dangerous
  • Watchman Island (Khomosiri or Muika)
  • Drying Rock (Odoke)
  • Reef Island (Amagi-sho)
  • Signal Island (Japanese: 貝殻島 kaigar-jima?)
• Amazing Rock (Hanare)
• Rock Seagull

Notes

1. What are the “northern territories”?
2. 1 2 3 4 S. A. Ponomarev // Provincial Gazette (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk). - September 19, 2001. - No. 176.

   In fact, Habomai is, firstly, the name of a village on the island of Hokkaido - the center of the county of the same name, and secondly, the unifying Japanese name for a group of small islands, derived from the former administrative division of Japan. According to Russian cartography, these islands are part of the Lesser Kuril Ridge, which they belong to together with the larger island of Shikotan.

   Behind the seemingly foreign name Habomai, which is drummed into the national consciousness, there are about 20 islands and rocks that have their own Russian names.

3. Main Directorate of Geodesy and Cartography under the Council of Ministers of the USSR. Atlas of the USSR. - M., 1990. - P. 76.
4. Oleg Alekseevich Bogatikov. Institute of Geology of Ore Deposits, Petrography, Mineralogy and Geochemistry of the USSR Academy of Sciences, USSR Academy of Sciences. Petrographic Committee. Oceanic magmatism: evolution, geological correlation. - Moscow: Science, 1986. - P. 186.
5. V. Barkalov, S. S. Kharkevich. Biological and Soil Institute (USSR Academy of Sciences), All-Union Botanical Society, Scientific Council on the problem “Biological foundations of rational use, transformation and protection of flora” (USSR Academy of Sciences). Far Eastern branch. Flora of high-mountain ecosystems of the USSR: collection of scientific works. - Vladivostok, 1986. - 159 p.
6. N. N. Mikhailov. My Russia. - Soviet Russia. - M., 1971. - P. 232.
7. Japan

   Regarding the problem of border demarcation, official Tokyo, having formally abandoned the once pursued policy of “linking” the development of bilateral relations with the solution of the territorial problem, nevertheless, does not miss the opportunity to emphasize that “building a strategic partnership with Russia based on genuine trust is only possible while simultaneously moving towards resolving the terrorist issue,” of course, on the basis of the well-known Japanese position (Russia’s recognition of Japanese sovereignty over the South Kuril islands of Kunashir and Iturup, as well as the Lesser Kuril ridge - Shikotan Island and the Habomai group of islands.)

8. "On the use of Russian names of geographical objects on the Kuril Islands." Resolution of the Sakhalin Regional Duma (February 18, 1999 No. 16/4/52-2). Retrieved September 14, 2011. Archived from the original on March 31, 2012.
9. Igor Ivanov. Russia should be active in the Asia-Pacific region, Nezavisimaya Gazeta (02/23/1999). Retrieved September 15, 2011.
10. Natalya Krapivina. Erase Habomai - 2, Sakhalin.info, Sakh.com news agency (June 7, 2006). Retrieved September 15, 2011.
11. DisCollection.ru:: Small mammals of the southern Kuril Islands
12. Regional studies: Southern Kuril Islands or northern territories?
13. Soviet-Japanese Declaration of 1956

    At the same time, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, meeting the wishes of Japan and taking into account the interests of the Japanese state, agrees to the transfer to Japan of the islands of Habomai and the island of Shikotan with the fact that the actual transfer of these islands to Japan will be made after the conclusion of the Peace Treaty between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Japan .

14. Tokyo Declaration on Russian-Japanese Relations

    The President of the Russian Federation and the Prime Minister of Japan, adhering to a common understanding of the need to overcome the difficult legacy of the past in bilateral relations, held serious negotiations on the issue of ownership of the islands of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai. The parties agree that negotiations should continue with the aim of concluding a peace treaty as soon as possible by resolving this issue, based on historical and legal facts, and on the basis of documents developed by agreement between the two countries, as well as the principles of legality and justice, and thus completely normalize bilateral relationship.

15. Irkutsk Statement by the President of the Russian Federation and the Prime Minister of Japan on the further continuation of negotiations on the issue of a peace treaty

    ...based on this, agreed to accelerate further negotiations with a view to concluding a peace treaty by resolving the issue of ownership of the islands of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai and thus achieving complete normalization of bilateral relations on the basis of the Tokyo Declaration of 1993.

Links

• Topographic map of the Habomai Archipelago
• Small Kuril ridge

habomai, habomai map

Habomai Information About

“Japan claims four islands in the Kuril chain - Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai, citing the bilateral Treaty on Trade and Boundaries of 1855. Moscow’s position is that the southern Kuril Islands became part of the USSR (which Russia became its successor) following the Second World War, and Russian sovereignty over them, which has the appropriate international legal framework, cannot be doubted.”

(Source: Korrespondent.net, 02/08/2011)

A little history(which was researched and published by A.M. Ivanov here - http://www.pagan.ru/lib/books/history/ist2/wojny/kurily.php)

“The 50s of the 19th century was the period of the “discovery of Japan” by the Americans and Russians. The representative of Russia was Rear Admiral E.V. Putyatin, who arrived on the frigate Pallada, who in a letter to the Japanese Supreme Council dated November 6, 1853, insisted on the need for differentiation, pointing out that Iturup belongs to Russia, since it has long been visited by Russian industrialists, who long before the Japanese created there their settlements. The border was supposed to be drawn along the La Perouse Strait."

(E.Ya. Fainberg. Russian-Japanese relations in 1697-1875, M., 1960, p. 155).

Article 2 of the “Russian-Japanese Treaty on Trade and Borders” dated January 26 (February 7), 1855, signed by the parties in the city of Shimoda, states: “From now on, the borders between Russia and Japan will be between the islands Iturup and Urup. The entire island of Iturup belongs to Japan, and the entire island of Urup and the other Kuril Islands to the north are Russian possessions. As for the island of Krafto (Sakhalin), it remains undivided between Russia and Japan, as it has been until now.”(Yu.V. Klyuchnikov and A.V. Sabanin. International politics of modern times in treaties, notes and declarations. Part I. M., 1925. pp. 168-169). See picture above.

But on April 25 (May 7), 1875, the Japanese forced Russia, weakened by the Crimean War of 1953-1956, to sign an agreement in St. Petersburg, according to which:

« In return for ceding rights to Sakhalin Island to Russia... His Majesty the Emperor of All Russia... cedes to His Majesty the Emperor of Japan a group of islands called the Kuril Islands, which he owns, so that from now on the said group of Kuril Islands will belong to the Japanese Empire. This group includes the following 18 islands (the list follows), so that the border line between the Russian and Japanese empires in these waters will pass through the strait located between Cape Lopatko on the Kamchatka Peninsula and Shumshu Island.”

(Yu.V. Klyuchnikov and A.V. Sabanin. International politics of modern times in treaties, notes and declarations. Part I, M., 1925, p. 214)

To make it clear, it should be clarified that at that time the southern part of SAKHALIN island belonged to the Japanese, and the northern one - Russia (by the way, both La Perouse and Kruzenshtern considered Sakhalin a peninsula).

“On the night of August 8-9, 1945, the USSR violated its obligations under the neutrality pact and started a war against Japan, although there was no threat to Russia from Japan, and captured Manchuria, Port Arthur, South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands islands. A landing on Hokkaido was also being prepared, but the Americans intervened, and the occupation of Hokkaido by the Red Army was not implemented.

After the war, the question of concluding a peace treaty with Japan arose. In accordance with international law, only a peace treaty brings a final line under the war, finally resolves all controversial issues between former enemies, finally resolves territorial problems, clarifies and establishes state borders. All other decisions, documents, acts are just a prelude to a peace treaty, its preparation.

In this sense, the Yalta Agreement between Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt is not yet a final solution to the problem of the Kuril Islands and South Sakhalin, but just a “protocol of intentions” of the allies in the war, a statement of their positions and a promise to pursue a certain line in the future, when preparing a peace treaty . In any case, there is no reason to believe that the problem of the Kuril Islands had already been resolved in Yalta in 1945. It should be finally resolved only in a peace treaty with Japan. And nowhere else...

Some say that if four islands are returned to Japan, then Alaska must be returned to Russia. But what kind of return can we talk about? if Alaska was sold to the United States in 1867, the sale and purchase agreement was signed, and the money was received. Today one can only regret this, but all the talk about the return of Alaska has no basis.

Therefore, there is no reason to fear that the possible return of the four Kuril Islands to Japan will cause a chain reaction of activity in Europe.

We must also understand that this is not a revision of the results of the Second World War, because the Russian-Japanese border is not internationally recognized: the results of the war have not yet been summed up, the passage of the border has not been recorded. Today, not only the four southern Kuril Islands, but all the Kuril Islands and the southern part of Sakhalin below the 50th parallel do not legally belong to Russia. They are still occupied territory to this day. Unfortunately, the truth – historical, moral and, most importantly, legal – is not on Russia’s side.”

(Chechulin A.V., KURIL ISLANDS AND INTERNATIONAL LAW.

However, when negotiations on the normalization of Soviet-Japanese relations were held in London in 1955, the Soviet delegation agreed to include in the draft peace treaty an article on the transfer to Japan of the islands of the Lesser Kuril chain (Habomai and Shikotan), which was reflected in the joint declaration signed after the stay of Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama in Moscow on October 13-19, 1956:

“The USSR, meeting the wishes of Japan and taking into account the interests of the Japanese state, agrees to the transfer of the Habomai Islands and the Shikotan Islands to Japan with the condition, however, that the actual transfer of these islands to Japan will take place after the conclusion of the Peace Treaty between the USSR and Japan.”

Material from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia

Kurile Islands - a chain of islands between the Kamchatka Peninsula and the island of Hokkaido, separating the Sea of ​​Okhotsk from the Pacific Ocean with a slightly convex arc. Length - about 1200 km. Total area - 10.5 thousand sq.km.

The islands are populated extremely unevenly. The population lives permanently only in Paramushir, Iturup, Kunashir and Shikotan. The other islands have no permanent population. At the beginning of 2010, there were 19 settlements: two cities (Severo-Kurilsk, Kurilsk), an urban-type settlement (Yuzhno-Kurilsk) and 16 villages.

The maximum population value was noted in 1989 and amounted to 29.5 thousand people (excluding conscripts).

Urup

Island of the southern group of the Great Ridge of the Kuril Islands. Administratively, it is part of the Kuril urban district of the Sakhalin region. Uninhabited.

The island stretches from northeast to southwest for 116 km. with its width up to 20 km. Area 1450 sq. km. The relief is mountainous, heights up to 1426 m (Vysokaya Mountain). Between the Vysokaya and Kosaya mountains of the Krishtofovich ridge, at an altitude of 1016 m, Lake Vysokoye is located. Waterfalls with a maximum height of up to 75 m.

Currently Urup is uninhabited. The island contains non-residential settlements of Kastricum and Kompaneiskoye.

The Frisa Strait is a strait in the Pacific Ocean that separates the island of Urup from the island of Iturup. Connects the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and the Pacific Ocean. One of the largest straits of the Kuril ridge. The length is about 30 km. Minimum width 40 km. Maximum depth over 1300 m. The shore is steep and rocky.

(Today Japan and Russia are separated by the Soviet Strait, the length of which is about 13 km. The width is about 10 km. Maximum depth more than 50 m. See picture above)

Iturup

The island stretches from northeast to southwest for 200 km, width from 7 to 27 km. Area - 3200 sq. km. Consists of volcanic massifs and mountain ranges. The island has many volcanoes and waterfalls. Iturup is separated by the Frisa Strait from the island of Urup, located 40 km away. to the northeast; Catherine Strait - from Kunashir Island, located 22 km to the southwest.

In the central part of the island on the shores of the Kuril Bay of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk is the city of Kurilsk, in 2010 the population was 1,666.

Rural settlements: Reidovo, Kitovoe, Rybaki, Goryachiye Klyuchi, Burevestnik, Shumi-Gorodok, Gornoe.

Non-residential settlements: Active, Slavnoe, September, Vetrovoe, Zharkie Vody, Pioneer, Iodny, Lesozavodsky, Berezovka.

Kunashir

The island stretches from northeast to southwest for 123 km, width from 7 to 30 km. Area - 1490 sq. km. The structure of Kunashir resembles neighboring Iturup and consists of three mountain ranges. The highest peak is the Tyatya volcano (1819 m) with a regular truncated cone topped by a wide crater. This beautiful high volcano is located in the northeastern part of the island. Kunashir is separated by the Catherine Strait from Iturup Island, located 22 km northeast. The rivers of Kunashir, as elsewhere in the Kuril Islands, are short and low-water. The longest river is Tyatina, which originates from the Tyatya volcano. The lakes are predominantly lagoon (Peschanoe) and caldera (Goryachee).

In the central part of the island on the shores of the South Kuril Strait is located urban settlement Yuzhno-Kurilsk - administrative center of the Yuzhno-Kuril urban district. In 2010, the population of the village was 6,617 residents.

Non-residential settlements: Sergeevka, Urvitovo, Dokuchaevo, Sernovodsk.

Shikotan

The island stretches from northeast to southwest for 27 km, width - 5-13 km. Area - 225 km². Maximum height - 412 m (Mount Shikotan). On the shore of the South Kuril Strait there are Malokurilskaya bays (in the northern part of the island) and Krabovaya bays (in the central part). Population is about 2100 people.

The administrative center is the village of Malokurilskoye, in 2007 the population was about 1,100.

The majority of the population is engaged in fishing and processing of fish. The village is home to a fish processing plant, established in 1999 on the basis of the production facilities of the former Fish Canning Plant No. 24, which was seriously damaged during the 1994 earthquake. The company produces canned food, mainly from saury, as well as fresh frozen fish.

Habomai

“Flat Islands” - (the Japanese name for a group of islands in the northwest Pacific Ocean, together with the island of Shikotan) - in Soviet and Russian cartography considered as the Lesser Kuril Ridge. Area - 100 sq. km.

The islands are stretched in a line parallel to the Great Kuril Ridge, 48 km south of the latter. The straits between the islands are shallow and filled with reefs and underwater rocks. Strong tidal currents and persistent dense fogs make the straits extremely dangerous for navigation. Most of the islands are low-lying, there are no forests, there are bushes and swamps.

There is no civilian population on the islands of the Habomai group - only Russian border guards.

Communication between relatives of “demobes and conscripts” from the site:

http://www.esosedi.ru/onmap/ostrov_kunashir/1426103/#lat=

Kunashir Island (extracts)

MOU from Perm #

Oksana, why did you “serve”? I don’t have an email, I only write here. My son serves in LAGUNKA (that’s what they call the village) in a mortar battery. The other day they had 2 emergency situations, one was a tragedy in Dubovoy. Today (07.11.) senior officials were there.

Angela from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk #

My son hasn't called for 4 days. And Oksana was supposed to fly to Khabarovsk, where a medical examination of the boy’s body would be carried out.

MOU from Perm #

whose children should come home from Kunashir Island, Lagunnoye - they are waiting for dispatch, maybe until they are collected from all the islands and from Kunashir last, and in general, it is unclear with these shipments, there are both air and sea possibilities for sending - misunderstandings. To re-serve - for sure, everyone seems to be re-serving, to the “deputy” - what military unit does your son serve in, and it takes them a long time to get to the Urals, because they traveled for spring conscription for almost a month to the island, and others to other islands even longer. "ZhZhshnik" - an emergency happened at the military unit in Dubovoy, what do you know about the military personnel in this emergency?

Deputy from Nizhnyaya Salda #

they said about the emergency, the old-timers bet on it with money, and the officers tortured it, the 2nd from the company flew home with their own money. and those whose parents bought plane tickets in advance did not let them go. IDIOTS. They are waiting for a ship, waiting for some kind of commission. I called the Council of Soldiers' Mothers asking for help with leaving, but they couldn't help. I called the Committee for the Protection of Human Rights and they said send me a written statement asking then we can take some action, but not verbally. I took it and wrote to the president at Kremlin.Ru. My son called - silence.

Alfiya from Izhevsk #

I wrote it wrong: my son serves on Fr. Kunashir, Lagunnoe village since November 2009 And there is no news from him. The last time we spoke with him by phone was on November 5th. I'm very worried!

Mom from Penza #

The first batch was sent on November 20. They walked for 2 days to the port of Vanino, then a day to Khabarovsk, and there they were told that there were no tickets until December 7th. And only 2 days later they gave me tickets with five transfers to different trains. On the first two transfers we waited for the train for 1.5 days. Cold, hungry. We sent money to the children via Blitz transfer, otherwise we wouldn’t get there. I called every day until the children were sent away. Watch out, it's a mess there.

Alfiya from Izhevsk #

What island did your son serve on? Also in the village of Lagunnoye?

Today I spoke on the phone with the regiment commander

Kukartsev A.D. He assured me that in two days

They will send another batch. He couldn't give me his last name,

who exactly got into the first batch, who got into the second. He himself

(according to him) is in Khabarovsk on a business trip. Who can I clarify with: whether my son was included in the first shipment or not?

Nemuro city on the northern coast of Hokkaido (photo)

(Population: 29,676 people - 2010, 42,800 people - 2005)

The Shiretoko Peninsula (the northernmost part of Hokkaido, see picture below) is one of the most protected places in Japan. In Japan, it is considered the real end of the world and is protected by UNESCO. This is one of the last habitats of the brown bear (there are more than 600 of them here). There are a lot of deer, sea eagles and fish owls here. In winter, drifting ice floes float past the western part of the Shiretoko Peninsula - an extraordinary sight. Season is from mid-June to mid-September.

Conclusions:

“The total number of settlements in Russia is 157,895, of which more than 30,000 still do not have telephone communications, 39,000 abandoned villages and towns are located in the Central Federal District, the North-West, the Far North, Siberia and the Far East. Over the past 20 years, 11,000 villages and 290 small towns have disappeared from the map of Russia, and in the north of the country the population has decreased by 40%.

Up to 60% of Russia's food needs are covered by imports.

The total population of Russia, according to the latest information, is approximately 130,500,000 people.

Of these, 82% (107,010,000) live in cities and towns, and:

in Moscow 12,948,000, in the Moscow region 7,997,000, in St. Petersburg 6,897,000,

in the Leningrad region 3,479,000 (including temporary registrations and work permits for foreign migrants).

Almost all the gas produced in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (89% of all gas produced in Russia) passes through one area, where 17 high-pressure main gas pipelines intersected among the endless tundra and floodplain forests of the Pravaya Khetta River

Local residents from the village of Pangody call it very appropriately - “Cross”.

Whether this happened due to malicious intent or misunderstanding is unknown, but the lives of 78% of the Russian population depend on a plot of 500 by 500 meters.

If Russia is forced to obey the AGGRESSOR, a strike on one geographical point of the Russian Federation will immediately cause a disaster in the electric power industry of the European part of Russia (it is 80% dependent on natural gas), undermine the most important source of foreign exchange income and (if it happens in winter) cause death from cold hundreds of thousands of people, because with the shutdown of thermal power plants, the supply of heating in cities will also cease.

From the coast of the Arctic Ocean to Panguda is a little more than 500 km. Air defense in these places is completely absent. Cruise missile - 15 minutes of normal flight.

Many Russian Air Force pilots do not have flight hours even up to the minimum standard: on average 50 hours per year (8.5 minutes per day), instead of 120 (20 minutes per day). Major Troyanov, who crashed on Lithuanian territory in September 2005 in a Su-27, had an annual flight time of 14 hours; he lost his way due to lack of flight practice. There will soon not be a single sniper pilot in aviation, almost no 1st class pilots. In 10 years, only 3rd class pilots aged 37-40 will remain.

As a result of the reform of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, in the Ground Forces alone, by 2012 the number of units and formations will decrease from 1,890 to 172. The officer corps will be reduced from 315,000 to 150,000 people, and the general corps from 1,886 to 900 people. The apparatus of the Ministry of Defense will be reduced by 2.5 times, the institute of warrant officers and midshipmen (170,000 people) will be liquidated, and 65 military universities will be reorganized into 10 educational and scientific centers. Maybe that’s why 87% of Russian army officers are openly disloyal to the authorities. In 2009, only 16 officers of the Russian Armed Forces were able to enter the Military Academy of the General Staff.

Since 1994, the supply of new equipment to the air defense troops stopped and did not resume until 2007. Therefore, the country's air defense has long been focal in nature, providing cover only for some of the most important objects. There are huge “holes” gaping in it, the largest of which is between Khabarovsk and Irkutsk (about 3,400 km). Not even all missile divisions of the Strategic Missile Forces are covered by ground-based air defense, in particular this applies to the 7th, 14th, 28th, 35th, 54th divisions. In 62 constituent entities of the Russian Federation, air defense is “strikingly absent.” Such centers of the Russian defense industry as Perm, Izhevsk, Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod, Omsk, Chelyabinsk, Tula, Ulyanovsk are not protected from air strikes. As for the “new thing” of Russian air defense, so far there are only two divisions (4 launchers, 24 missiles). This is not enough to cover even a country like Serbia.”

The Kuril Islands are represented by a series of Far Eastern island territories; one side is the Kamchatka Peninsula, and the other is the island. Hokkaido in . The Kuril Islands of Russia are represented by the Sakhalin region, which stretches approximately 1,200 km in length with an area of ​​15,600 square kilometers.

The islands of the Kuril chain are represented by two groups located opposite each other - called Big and Small. A large group located in the south includes Kunashir, Iturup and others, in the center are Simushir, Keta and in the north are the remaining island territories.

Shikotan, Habomai and a number of others are considered the Lesser Kuril Islands. For the most part, all island territories are mountainous and reach a height of 2,339 meters. The Kuril Islands on their lands have approximately 40 volcanic hills that are still active. There are also springs with hot mineral water here. The south of the Kuril Islands is covered with forests, and the north attracts with unique tundra vegetation.

The problem of the Kuril Islands lies in the unresolved dispute between the Japanese and Russian sides over who owns them. And it has remained open since the Second World War.

After the war, the Kuril Islands became part of the USSR. But Japan considers the territories of the southern Kuril Islands, and these are Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan with the Habomai group of islands, its territory, without having a legal basis. Russia does not recognize the fact of a dispute with the Japanese side over these territories, since their ownership is legal.

The problem of the Kuril Islands is the main obstacle to a peaceful settlement of relations between Japan and Russia.

The essence of the dispute between Japan and Russia

The Japanese are demanding the Kuril Islands be returned to them. Almost the entire population there is convinced that these lands are originally Japanese. This dispute between the two states has been going on for a very long time, escalating after the Second World War.
Russia is not inclined to yield to Japanese state leaders on this issue. The peace agreement has not yet been signed, and this is connected precisely with the four disputed South Kuril Islands. About the legality of Japan's claims to the Kuril Islands in this video.

Meanings of the Southern Kuril Islands

The Southern Kuril Islands have several meanings for both countries:

1. Military. The Southern Kuril Islands are of military importance due to the only access to the Pacific Ocean for the country's fleet. And all because of the scarcity of geographical formations. At the moment, ships are entering ocean waters through the Sangar Strait, because it is impossible to pass through the La Perouse Strait due to icing. Therefore, submarines are located in Kamchatka - Avachinskaya Bay. The military bases operating during the Soviet era have now all been looted and abandoned.
2. Economic. Economic significance - the Sakhalin region has quite serious hydrocarbon potential. And the fact that the entire territory of the Kuril Islands belongs to Russia allows you to use the waters there at your discretion. Although its central part belongs to the Japanese side. In addition to water resources, there is such a rare metal as rhenium. By extracting it, the Russian Federation is in third place in the production of minerals and sulfur. For the Japanese, this area is important for fishing and agricultural needs. This caught fish is used by the Japanese to grow rice - they simply pour it onto the rice fields to fertilize it.
3. Social. By and large, there is no special social interest for ordinary people in the southern Kuril Islands. This is because there are no modern megacities, people mostly work there and their lives are spent in cabins. Supplies are delivered by air, and less frequently by water due to constant storms. Therefore, the Kuril Islands are more of a military-industrial facility than a social one.
4. Tourist. In this regard, things are better in the southern Kuril Islands. These places will be of interest to many people who are attracted by everything real, natural and extreme. It is unlikely that anyone will remain indifferent at the sight of a thermal spring gushing out of the ground, or from climbing the caldera of a volcano and crossing the fumarole field on foot. And there’s no need to talk about the views that open up to the eye.

For this reason, the dispute over the ownership of the Kuril Islands never gets off the ground.

Dispute over Kuril territory

Who owns these four island territories - Shikotan, Iturup, Kunashir and the Habomai Islands - is not an easy question.

Information from written sources points to the discoverers of the Kuril Islands - the Dutch. The Russians were the first to populate the territory of Chishimu. Shikotan Island and the other three were designated for the first time by the Japanese. But the fact of discovery does not yet provide grounds for ownership of this territory.

The island of Shikotan is considered the end of the world because of the cape of the same name located near the village of Malokurilsky. It impresses with its 40-meter drop into the ocean waters. This place is called the edge of the world due to the stunning view of the vastness of the Pacific Ocean.
Shikotan Island translates as Big City. It stretches for 27 kilometers, measures 13 kilometers in width, and occupies an area of ​​225 square meters. km. The highest point of the island is the mountain of the same name, rising 412 meters. Part of its territory belongs to the state nature reserve.

Shikotan Island has a very rugged coastline with numerous bays, capes and cliffs.

Previously, it was thought that the mountains on the island were volcanoes that had ceased to erupt, with which the Kuril Islands abound. But they turned out to be rocks displaced by shifts of lithospheric plates.

A little history

Long before the Russians and Japanese, the Kuril Islands were inhabited by the Ainu. The first information from Russians and Japanese about the Kuril Islands appeared only in the 17th century. A Russian expedition was sent in the 18th century, after which about 9,000 Ainu became Russian citizens.

A treaty was signed between Russia and Japan (1855), called Shimodsky, where boundaries were established allowing Japanese citizens to trade on 2/3 of this land. Sakhalin remained no man's territory. After 20 years, Russia became the undivided owner of this land, then lost the south in the Russo-Japanese War. But during the Second World War, Soviet troops were still able to regain the south of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands as a whole.
A peace agreement was nevertheless signed between the victorious states and Japan, and this happened in San Francisco in 1951. And according to it, Japan has absolutely no rights to the Kuril Islands.

But then the Soviet side did not sign, which was considered by many researchers to be a mistake. But there were serious reasons for this:

• The document did not specifically indicate what was included in the Kuril Islands. The Americans said that it was necessary to apply to a special international court for this. Plus, a member of the Japanese delegation announced that the southern disputed islands are not the territory of the Kuril Islands.
• The document also did not indicate exactly who would own the Kuril Islands. That is, the issue remained controversial.

In 1956, the USSR and the Japanese side signed a declaration preparing a platform for the main peace agreement. In it, the Country of the Soviets meets the Japanese halfway and agrees to transfer to them only the two disputed islands of Habomai and Shikotan. But with a condition - only after signing a peace agreement.

The declaration contains several subtleties:

• The word “transfer” means that they belong to the USSR.
• This transfer will actually take place after the signatures on the peace treaty have been signed.
• This applies only to the two Kuril Islands.

This was a positive development between the Soviet Union and the Japanese side, but it also caused concern among the Americans. Thanks to Washington pressure, the Japanese government completely changed ministerial positions and new officials who took high positions began to prepare a military agreement between America and Japan, which began to operate in 1960.

After this, a call came from Japan to give up not two islands offered to the USSR, but four. America puts pressure on the fact that all agreements between the Country of Soviets and Japan are not necessary to be fulfilled; they are supposedly declarative. And the existing and current military agreement between the Japanese and the Americans implies the deployment of their troops on Japanese territory. Accordingly, they have now come even closer to Russian territory.

Based on all this, Russian diplomats stated that until all foreign troops are withdrawn from its territory, a peace agreement cannot even be discussed. But in any case, we are talking about only two islands in the Kuril Islands.

As a result, American security forces are still located on Japanese territory. The Japanese insist on the transfer of 4 Kuril Islands, as stated in the declaration.

The second half of the 80s of the 20th century was marked by the weakening of the Soviet Union and in these conditions the Japanese side again raises this topic. But the dispute over who will own the South Kuril Islands remains open. The Tokyo Declaration of 1993 states that the Russian Federation is the legal successor of the Soviet Union, and accordingly, previously signed papers must be recognized by both parties. It also indicated the direction to move towards resolving the territorial affiliation of the disputed four Kuril Islands.

The advent of the 21st century, and specifically 2004, was marked by the raising of this topic again at a meeting between Russian President Putin and the Prime Minister of Japan. And again everything happened again - the Russian side offers its conditions for signing a peace agreement, and Japanese officials insist that all four South Kuril Islands be transferred to their disposal.

2005 was marked by the Russian president's readiness to end the dispute, guided by the 1956 agreement, and transfer two island territories to Japan, but Japanese leaders did not agree with this proposal.

In order to somehow reduce tensions between the two states, the Japanese side was offered to help develop nuclear energy, develop infrastructure and tourism, and also improve the environmental situation, as well as security. The Russian side accepted this proposal.

At the moment, for Russia there is no question of who owns the Kuril Islands. Without any doubt, this is the territory of the Russian Federation, based on real facts - based on the results of the Second World War and the generally recognized UN Charter.

Young Soviet Russia recognized the Portsmouth Treaty of 1905 as valid. It was concluded after the Russo-Japanese War. Under this treaty, Japan not only retained all of the Kuril Islands, but also received Southern Sakhalin.

This was the situation with the disputed islands before the Second World War - even before 1945. I would like to once again draw general attention to the fact that until the 45th year Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai never belonged to Russia, and to say otherwise means going against facts. Everything that happened after 1945 is no longer so clear.

During almost the entire period of World War II (September 1939 - August 1945), Japan and the Soviet Union were not at war. For in April 1941, a Neutrality Pact was concluded between both countries with a validity period of 5 years. However, on August 9, 1945, three days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and on the same day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, the Soviet Union, in violation of the Neutrality Pact, entered the war against Japan, whose defeat was no longer in doubt. A week later, on August 14, Japan accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration and capitulated to the Allied powers.

After the end of the war, the entire territory of Japan was occupied by Allied forces. As a result of negotiations between the allies, the territory of Japan proper was subject to occupation by US troops, Taiwan by Chinese troops, and Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands by Soviet troops. The occupation of the Northern Territories was a military occupation, completely bloodless after hostilities, and therefore subject to termination as a result of a territorial settlement under a peace treaty.

During a war, the territory of another country may be occupied and the occupying country, under international law, has the rights to administer it on the basis of military necessity. However, on the other hand, the 1907 Hague Convention on the Laws and Customs of War on Land and other international legal instruments impose certain obligations on this country, in particular, respect for the private rights of the population. Stalin ignored these international norms and, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on February 2, 1946, included the areas under occupation into the territory of his country.

And here is the opinion of the Japanese side: “We welcome that recently the Russian government has declared that it is considering the territorial problem between Japan and Russia on the basis of legality and justice. It is from the point of view of legality and justice that we believe that the mentioned Decree of the Presidium is illegal and clarification of this is of paramount importance and the appropriation of the territory of another state through such a unilateral act is not legally allowed.”

A peace treaty between Japan and the United States, England and other allied countries was concluded in 1951 in San Francisco. The Soviet Union also took part in the peace conference, but did not sign the San Francisco Treaty. In the San Francisco Conference and the San Francisco Peace Treaty regarding the problem of the Northern Territories, the following two points are significant.

The first is that Japan renounces all rights to South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands under the treaty. However, Iturup, Shikotan, Kunashir and the Habomai ridge, which have always been Japanese territory, are not included in the Kuril Islands, which Japan abandoned. The US government, regarding the scope of the concept of the “Kuril Islands” in the San Francisco Peace Treaty, stated in an official document: “[They] are not included and there was no intention to include [in the Kuril Islands] the Habomai and Shikotan ridges, as well as Kunashir and Iturup, which have always been a part of Japan proper and must therefore rightly be recognized as being under Japanese sovereignty." The second point is related to the fact that the act of annexation by the Soviet Union of South Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands and the Northern Territories did not receive international recognition. First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR A. Gromyko tried to achieve recognition of Soviet sovereignty over these areas, in particular, by proposing amendments to the treaty, but they were rejected by the conference and were not accepted into the contents of the treaty. For this and a number of other reasons, the USSR did not sign the treaty. The San Francisco Treaty makes clear that it does not grant any rights arising from the treaty to non-signatory countries.

Due to the fact that the USSR did not sign the San Francisco Treaty, negotiations were held between June 1955 and October 1956 between Japan and the Soviet Union with the goal of concluding a separate peace treaty between both countries. These negotiations did not lead to an agreement: the Japanese side stated that Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and the Habomai ridge are the territory of Japan and demanded their return, and the Soviet side took the position that, having agreed to return only Shikotan and Habomai, it could not return Iturup and Kunashir.

As a result, Japan and the USSR, instead of a peace treaty, signed a Joint Declaration, that is, an agreement that provided for the end of the state of war and the restoration of diplomatic relations. Article 9 of this treaty states that after the establishment of diplomatic relations, the parties will continue negotiations to conclude a peace treaty; and the USSR also returns the Habomai ridge and the island of Shikotan after the conclusion of a peace treaty.

The Japan-Soviet Joint Declaration was ratified by the parliaments of both countries and is a treaty deposited with the UN.

In April 1991, the then President of the USSR M. Gorbachev visited Japan. The Japanese-Soviet Statement published at that time explicitly mentioned the Habomai ridge, the islands of Shikotan, Kunashir and Iturup. The parties agreed that “the peace treaty should become a document of the final post-war settlement, including the resolution of the territorial issue,” and an agreement was also reached to speed up the preparation of the peace treaty.

After the August Democratic Revolution, Russian President B. Yeltsin proposed a new approach to the territorial issue inherited by Russia from the USSR, which is naturally and positively assessed since the government of the Russian Federation, inheriting the international legal responsibilities of the USSR, declares compliance with the UN Declaration. This new approach, first, emphasizes an understanding of the fact that as a result of positive changes in today's world, a new international order is emerging, in which the division between winners and losers of the Second World War no longer exists. Secondly, it is emphasized that when resolving the territorial issue, legality and justice become important principles, including respect for international agreements concluded in the past. That's all. There was no further movement.

As for the policies of the current President Putin, Japanese politicians led by former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori proposed adhering to the updated Kawan plan for solving the problem, announced in April 1998 by Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto. The Kavan plan is that after the demarcation of the border and the legal assignment of the islands to Japan, the disputed territories will remain de facto Russian for some time. The Russian delegation rejected this proposal, saying that it could not be considered as a mutually acceptable compromise. Putin, in turn, proposed moving towards a peace treaty gradually, while simultaneously building up the entire range of relations. To this end, Vladimir Putin invited the Prime Minister to pay an official visit to Russia, and the two leaders agreed to hold official meetings at least once a year - analogous to what exists between Moscow and Beijing, our “strategic partner.”

Now about the population of the ill-fated islands. According to Rudakova, head of the social department of the Kurilsk administration, every year the Japanese ask Kuril residents whether they want the islands to go to Japan. On Shikotan, as a rule, 60 percent do not want this, and 40 percent are not against it. On other islands, 70 percent are completely against it. “In Shikotan after the 1994 earthquake, everything is Japanese, even the fruit. People are very used to freebies and don’t want to work. They think that the Japanese will always feed them this way,” states Rudakova. Indeed, this option is not included in the Japanese plans. Back in March 1999, the “Society for the Study of the Problem of Restoring Japanese Sovereignty over the Northern Territories” developed rules according to which the Russians would live on the islands after they were transferred to the Japanese. “Residents of Russian origin who have lived for more than 5 years after restoration on Japanese territory, if they wish, have the opportunity to obtain Japanese citizenship after conducting an appropriate individual check,” the document says.

Nevertheless, Japan, a mononational country in which even the descendants of foreigners who settled several generations ago cannot obtain citizenship, pretends that all the rights of the Russians remaining on the islands will be preserved. So that Kuril residents can see with their own eyes how wonderful their life will be under their new owners, the Japanese spare no expense on receptions. Iochi Nakano, head of the secretariat of the Hokkaido Commission for the Development of Relations with the Northern Islands, said that for just one Russian who came to Hokkaido, the island government spends $1,680, not counting contributions from various public organizations. Japanese authorities seem to see things differently. They are confident that their tactics bring positive results. Iochi Nakano says: “Personally, I think there are few Russians in the northern islands who would like to remain Russians. If such exist, it is all the more important to accustom them to the fact that the northern territories belong to Japan.” Kuril residents are very surprised by the ability of the Japanese to quickly believe in what they want and pass it off as reality. Rimma Rudakova recalls how in September 2000, when Putin was in Okinawa, the Japanese hosts of the group began to furiously argue that the decision had already been made to transfer Shikotan and Habomai, and even started talking about starting negotiations on the transfer of southern Sakhalin. “When we left ten days later, they expressed regret that this had not happened,” she said.