The island, the southern part of which passed to Japan. Kuriles in the 19th century. Disputed islands - Kunashir, Shikotan, Iturup, Habomai

And equipping the islands is not profitable

Japan refused Dmitry MEDVEDEV's proposal to create a free trade zone with Russia in the South Kuriles. At the same time, Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Takeaki MATSUMOTO stressed that Japan considers four islands Kuril ridge its territory and the proposal of the Russian president does not correspond to the Japanese position.
Why these islands are so important to the Japanese and why we need them, explained our political consultant Anatoly WASSERMAN.

Japan claims four islands in the southern part of the Kuril chain - Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai, referring to the bilateral treatise on trade and borders of 1855. We stand on the fact that the South Kuriles became part of the USSR, the successor of which was Russia, following the results of the Second World War. And Russian sovereignty over them is beyond doubt. But because of Khrushchev's stupidity, we still have to chew this Japanese gum for a long time. Let me explain.
The Japanese need the Kuriles for two reasons.
First, on South Kuril Islands and in the ocean around them there are a lot of natural values: rare expensive metals, a hell of a lot of all kinds of fish and aquatic animals that our fishermen catch and immediately resell to the Japanese, without even entering the ports. For us, this living creature is of no significant value, but for the Japanese it is - that for Ukrainians it is a daily fat. Not to mention natural resources, of which Japan, in principle, is too scarce.
The second reason is prestige. Japan is very upset to lose their territories. Although America did not formally take anything from Japan as a result of World War II, Okinawa is the most large island Japanese archipelago Ryukyu - for several decades turned out to be an American base and remained under US jurisdiction. We really took away from them not only the southern part of Sakhalin, which they took from us after the Russo-Japanese War, but also Kurile Islands- Russia in 1867 left them to Japan.
In 1956, he was the first to do something stupid Nikita Khrushchev, promising to give up the island of Shikotan and a group of small Habomai islands as a carrot in front of their noses after the conclusion of a peace treaty. Behind him, the promise to give up the islands, subject to the signing of a peace agreement, was repeated Gorbachev And Yeltsin. The Japanese clung to the vague wording and changed the course of action: first, give up the islands, and then we will sign agreements. Moreover, two more islands were added to the islands promised by Khrushchev - Kunashir and Iturup.
In this case, we are deprived of the most convenient navigational approaches to the Pacific Ocean in the southern part of the Kuril chain, which will greatly complicate our entire Pacific navigation. In addition, for Russia, the return of these islands is an absolutely catastrophic loss of prestige. For yet Suvorov developed a formula: what is taken from the battle is sacred. For us, these islands are a war trophy, and the military has such a sign: to give a trophy means to be defeated in the next war.
For the Japanese, the Kuriles are revenge for the defeat in World War II, and for us, it is confirmation that we are still a great power. Therefore, the issue is not expected to be resolved in the near future.
Equipping these islands is also impractical: they are too small and most years are isolated from the world by storms. It would be possible to build camps there for seasonal work. For example, fish processing bases, mines for the extraction of rare metals, laboratories, to create transshipment bases for cargo there. But workers need infrastructure, and maintaining it is too costly.
However, militarily, the Kuriles provide us with access to the Pacific Ocean and at the same time block the approach of the military forces of a potential enemy. There are now located radar systems that provide surveillance of the Pacific waters. Losing them is extremely dangerous for us.

East fact
Until 1855, the Three Sisters (Kunashir), Citron (Iturup), Figured (Shikotan) and Green (Khabomai) were part of the Russian Empire, and then, according to the Japanese-Russian treatise on trade and borders (“Shimodsky treatise”), they were given Japan. After the defeat of Japan in World War II, the islands returned to the jurisdiction of the USSR.

One of the first documents regulating Russian-Japanese relations became the Treaty of Shimoda, signed on January 26, 1855. According to the second article of the treatise, the border was established between the islands of Urup and Iturup - that is, all four islands now claimed by Japan today were recognized as the possession of Japan.

Since 1981, the date of the signing of the Shimoda Treaty has been celebrated in Japan as "Northern Territories Day". Another thing is that, relying on the Shimoda treatise as one of the fundamental documents, in Japan they forget about one important point. In 1904, Japan, having attacked the Russian squadron in Port Arthur and unleashed the Russo-Japanese War, itself violated the terms of the treaty, which provided for friendship and good neighborly relations between states.

The Shimoda treaty did not determine the ownership of Sakhalin, where both Russian and Japanese settlements were located, and by the mid-70s a solution to this issue was also ripe. The St. Petersburg Treaty was signed, which was ambiguously assessed by both parties. Under the terms of the treaty, all the Kuril Islands were now completely withdrawn to Japan, and Russia received full control over Sakhalin.

Then, following the results of the Russo-Japanese War, according to the Treaty of Portsmouth, Japan ceded South part Sakhalin to the 50th parallel.

In 1925, the Soviet-Japanese Convention was signed in Beijing, generally confirming the terms of the Portsmouth Treaty. As is known, the late 1930s and early 1940s were extremely tense in Soviet-Japanese relations and were associated with a series of military conflicts of various scales.

The situation began to change by 1945, when the Axis began to suffer heavy defeats and the prospect of losing the Second World War became more and more obvious. Against this background, the question arose about the post-war structure of the world. So, according to the terms of the Yalta Conference, the USSR was obliged to enter the war against Japan, and South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands.

True, at the same time, the Japanese leadership was ready to voluntarily cede these territories in exchange for the neutrality of the USSR and the supply of Soviet oil. The USSR did not take such a very slippery step. The defeat of Japan by that time was a matter of maybe not a quick, but still time. And most importantly, refraining from decisive action, the Soviet Union would actually give the situation to Far East into the hands of the United States and its allies.

By the way, this also applies to the events of the Soviet-Japanese War and the Kuril landing operation itself, which was not initially prepared. When it became known about the preparations for the landing of American troops on the Kuriles, the Kuril landing operation was urgently prepared in a day. Fierce fighting in August 1945 ended with the surrender of the Japanese garrisons in the Kuriles.

Fortunately, the Japanese command did not know the real number of Soviet paratroopers and, without fully using their overwhelming numerical superiority, capitulated. At the same time, the South Sakhalin offensive operation was also carried out. So, at the cost of considerable losses, South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands became part of the USSR.

Briefly, the history of the "belonging" of the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin Island is as follows.

1.In period 1639-1649. Russian Cossack detachments led by Moskovitinov, Kolobov, Popov explored and began to explore Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. At the same time, Russian pioneers repeatedly swim to the island of Hokkaido, where they are peacefully met by local natives of the Ainu people. The Japanese appeared on this island a century later, after which they exterminated and partially assimilated the Ainu.

2.B 1701 Cossack constable Vladimir Atlasov reported to Peter I about the "subordination" of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands to the Russian crown, leading to the "wonderful Nipon kingdom."

3.B 1786. by order of Catherine II, a register of Russian possessions was made on pacific ocean bringing the register to the attention of all European states as a declaration of Russia's rights to these possessions, including Sakhalin and the Kuriles.

4.B 1792. By decree of Catherine II, the entire ridge of the Kuril Islands (both Northern and Southern), as well as Sakhalin Island officially included in Russian Empire.

5. As a result of the defeat of Russia in the Crimean War 1854—1855 gg. under pressure England and France Russia forced was concluded with Japan on February 7, 1855. Treaty of Shimoda, through which four southern islands of the Kuril chain were transferred to Japan: Habomai, Shikotan, Kunashir and Iturup. Sakhalin remained undivided between Russia and Japan. At the same time, however, the right of entry of Russian ships into Japanese ports, and also proclaimed "permanent peace and sincere friendship between Japan and Russia."

6.May 7, 1875 under the Petersburg Treaty, the tsarist government as a very strange act of "good will" makes incomprehensible further territorial concessions to Japan and transfers to it 18 more small islands of the archipelago. In return, Japan finally recognized Russia's right to the whole of Sakhalin. It is for this agreement referred most of all by the Japanese today, slyly silent that the first article of this treaty reads: "... and henceforth eternal peace and friendship will be established between Russia and Japan" ( the Japanese themselves violated this treaty in the 20th century repeatedly). Many Russian statesmen of those years sharply condemned this “exchange” treaty as short-sighted and harmful to the future of Russia, comparing it with the same short-sightedness as the sale of Alaska to the United States of America in 1867 for next to nothing (7 billion 200 million dollars). ), saying that "now we are biting our own elbows."

7. After the Russo-Japanese War 1904—1905 gg. followed another stage of humiliation of Russia. By Portsmouth peace treaty concluded on September 5, 1905, Japan received the southern part of Sakhalin, all the Kuril Islands, and also took away from Russia the right to lease the naval bases of Port Arthur and Dalniy. When Russian diplomats reminded the Japanese that all these provisions are contrary to the 1875 treaty g., those arrogantly and arrogantly answered : « War cancels all treaties. You have failed and let's proceed from the current situation ". Reader, remember this boastful declaration of the invader!

8. Next comes the time of punishment of the aggressor for his eternal greed and territorial expansion. Signed by Stalin and Roosevelt at the Yalta Conference February 10, 1945 G. " Agreement on the Far East"It was envisaged:" ... 2-3 months after the surrender of Germany, the Soviet Union will enter the war against Japan subject to the return to the Soviet Union of the southern part of Sakhalin, all the Kuril Islands, as well as the restoration of the lease of Port Arthur and Dalny(these built and equipped hands of Russian workers, soldiers and sailors back in the late XIX - early XX centuries. very comfortable on their own geographic location naval bases were donated to "fraternal" China. But these bases were so necessary for our fleet in the 60-80s of revelry " cold war"and intense combat service of the fleet in remote areas of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. I had to equip the forward base Cam Ranh in Vietnam for the fleet from scratch).

9.B July 1945 g. in accordance with Potsdam Declaration heads of the victorious countries the following verdict was passed regarding the future of Japan: "The sovereignty of Japan shall be limited to four islands: Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku, Honshu, and such as WE SPECIFY". August 14, 1945 the Japanese government has publicly confirmed the acceptance of the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, and on September 2 Japan unconditionally surrendered. Article 6 of the Instrument of Surrender reads: "... the Japanese government and its successors will faithfully fulfill the terms of the Potsdam Declaration to give such orders and take such actions as the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Powers shall require in order to carry out this declaration...”. January 29, 1946 Commander-in-Chief General MacArthur DEMANDED by Directive No. 677: "The Kuril Islands, including Habomai and Shikotan, are excluded from the jurisdiction of Japan." AND only after that legal effect, a Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of February 2, 1946 was issued, which read: “ All lands, bowels and waters of Sakhalin and the Kul Islands are the property of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ". Thus, the Kuril Islands (both Northern and Southern), as well as about. Sakhalin, legally And in accordance with the regulations international law were returned to Russia . This could put an end to the "problem" of the Southern Kuriles and stop all further verbiage. But the story of the Kuriles continues.

10. After the end of World War II US occupied Japan and turned it into their military foothold in the Far East. In September 1951 USA, UK and a number of other states (total 49) signed San Francisco Peace Treaty with Japan, prepared in violation of the Potsdam agreements without the participation of the Soviet Union . Therefore, our government did not join the treaty. However, Art. 2, chapter II of this treaty, it is fixed in black and white: “ Japan renounces all legal grounds and claims ... to the Kuril Islands and that part of Sakhalin and the islands adjacent to it over which Japan acquired sovereignty under the Treaty of Portsmouth of September 5, 1905. However, even after this, the story with the Kuriles does not end.

October 11.19 1956 d. the government of the Soviet Union, following the principles of friendship with neighboring states, signed with the Japanese government joint declaration, according to which the state of war between the USSR and Japan ended and peace, good neighborliness and friendly relations were restored between them. When signing the Declaration as a gesture of good will and no more promised to give Japan the two southernmost islands of Shikotan and Habomai, but only after the conclusion of a peace treaty between the countries.

12. However The United States after 1956 imposed a number of military agreements on Japan, replaced in 1960 by a single "Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security", according to which US troops remained on its territory, and thereby the Japanese islands turned into a base of aggression against the Soviet Union. In connection with this situation, the Soviet government announced to Japan that it was impossible to transfer the promised two islands to it.. And in the same statement it was emphasized that according to the declaration of October 19, 1956, "peace, good neighborliness and friendly relations" between the countries were established. Therefore, an additional peace treaty may not be required.
Thus, the problem of the Southern Kuriles does not exist . It's been decided a long time ago. AND de jure and de facto the islands belong to Russia . In this regard, it might be to remind the Japanese of their arrogant statement in 1905 g., and also indicate that Japan was defeated in World War II and therefore has no rights to any territory, even to her ancestral lands, except for those granted to her by the victors.
AND our foreign ministry just as harshly, or in a milder diplomatic form it would be necessary to declare this to the Japanese and put an end to this, FOREVER stopping all negotiations and even conversations on this non-existent and humiliating problem of the dignity and authority of Russia.
And again the "territorial question"

However, starting from 1991 , repeatedly held meetings of the President Yeltsin and members of the Russian government, diplomats with government circles in Japan, during which japanese side each time persistently raises the issue of "Northern Japanese territories."
Thus, in the Tokyo Declaration 1993 signed by the President of Russia and the Prime Minister of Japan, was again acknowledged the "existence of the territorial issue", and both sides promised to "make efforts" to resolve it. The question arises - could our diplomats really know that such declarations should not be signed, because the recognition of the existence of a “territorial issue” is contrary to the national interests of Russia (Article 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “ Treason»)??

As for the peace treaty with Japan, it is de facto and de jure in accordance with the Soviet-Japanese Declaration of October 19, 1956. not really needed. The Japanese do not want to conclude an additional official peace treaty, and there is no need. He Japan needs more, as the side that was defeated in the Second World War, rather than Russia.

A citizens of Russia should know the “problem” of the South Kuriles, sucked from the finger , her exaggeration, periodic hype in the media around her and the litigation of the Japanese - there a consequence of Japan's illegitimate claims in violation of the obligations it has assumed, to strictly comply with the international obligations recognized and signed by it. And such a constant desire of Japan to reconsider the ownership of many territories in the Asia-Pacific region pervades Japanese politics throughout the 20th century.

Why the Japanese, one might say, have seized the South Kuriles with their teeth and are trying to seize them again illegally? But because the economic and military-strategic importance of this region is extremely great for Japan, and even more so for Russia. This an area of ​​colossal seafood riches(fish, living creatures, marine animals, vegetation, etc.), deposits of minerals, and rare earth minerals, energy sources, mineral raw materials.

For example, January 29 of this year. short information slipped through the Vesti (RTR) program: a a large deposit of the rare earth metal Rhenium(75th element in the periodic table, and the only one in the world ).
Scientists allegedly calculated that it would be enough to invest only 35 thousand dollars, but the profit from the extraction of this metal will allow to bring the whole of Russia out of the crisis in 3-4 years . Apparently the Japanese know about this and therefore attack so persistently Russian government demanding to give them the islands.

It must be said that for 50 years of ownership of the islands, the Japanese have not built or created anything capital on them, except for light temporary buildings. Our border guards had to rebuild barracks and other buildings at the outposts. The entire economic "development" of the islands, which the Japanese are shouting to the whole world today, consisted in the predatory robbery of the riches of the islands . During the Japanese "development" from the islands rookeries of fur seals, habitats of sea otters disappeared . Part of the population of these animals our Kuril residents have already restored .

Today, the economic situation of this entire island zone, like the whole of Russia, is difficult. Of course, significant measures are needed to support this region and take care of the Kuril people. According to the calculations of a group of deputies of the State Duma, it is possible to extract on the islands, as reported in the program "Parliamentary Hour" (RTR) on January 31 of this year, only fish products up to 2000 tons per year, with a net profit of about 3 billion dollars.
In military terms, the ridge of the Northern and Southern Kuriles with Sakhalin constitutes a complete closed infrastructure of the strategic defense of the Far East and the Pacific Fleet. They enclose the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and turn it into an inland one. This is the area deployment and combat positions of our strategic submarines.

Without the South Kuriles, we will get a "hole" in this defense. Control over the Kuriles ensures free access of the fleet to the ocean, because until 1945 our Pacific Fleet, starting from 1905, was practically locked up in its bases in Primorye. The means of detection on the islands provide long-range detection of air and surface enemy, the organization of anti-submarine defense of the approaches to the passages between the islands.

In conclusion, one should note such a feature in the relationship of the Russia-Japan-US triangle. It is the United States that confirms the "legitimacy" of the ownership of the islands of Japan in spite of all international treaties they have signed .
If so, then our Foreign Ministry has full right in response to the claims of the Japanese to invite them to demand the return of Japan to her " southern territories» - Caroline, Marshall and Mariana Islands.
These archipelagos former colonies Germany, captured by Japan in 1914. Japan's dominion over these islands was sanctioned by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. After the defeat of Japan, all these archipelagos came under US control.. So Why shouldn't Japan demand that the United States return the islands to her? Or lack of spirit?
As you can see, there is explicit double standard in Japanese foreign policy.

And one more fact that clarifies the general picture of the return of our Far Eastern territories in September 1945 and military value this region. The Kuril operation of the 2nd Far Eastern Front and the Pacific Fleet (August 18 - September 1, 1945) provided for the liberation of all the Kuril Islands and the capture of the island of Hokkaido.

The accession of this island to Russia would be of great operational and strategic importance, since complete isolation of the "fence" would be ensured Sea of ​​Okhotsk our island territories: Kuriles - Hokkaido - Sakhalin. But Stalin canceled this part of the operation, saying that with the liberation of the Kuriles and Sakhalin, we had resolved all our territorial issues in the Far East. A we don't need foreign land . In addition, the capture of Hokkaido will cost us a lot of blood, unnecessary losses of sailors and paratroopers in the most last days war.

Stalin here showed himself to be a real statesman, taking care of the country, its soldiers, and not an invader, who coveted foreign territories that were very accessible in that situation for the capture.

The dispute between Russia and Japan over the ownership of the South Kuriles has been going on for several decades. Due to the unresolved issue, a peace treaty has not yet been signed between the two countries. Why are the negotiations so difficult and is there a chance to find an acceptable solution that would suit both parties, the website found out.

Political maneuver

“We have been negotiating for seventy years. Shinzo said, "Let's change our minds." Let's. So that's the idea that came to my mind: let's conclude a peace treaty - not now, but before the end of the year - without any preconditions.

This remark by Vladimir Putin at the Vladivostok Economic Forum caused a stir in the media. Japan's response, however, was predictable: Tokyo was not ready to make peace without resolving the territorial issue due to a host of circumstances. Any politician who fixes in an international treaty even a hint of a waiver of claims to the so-called northern territories, risks losing the election and ending his political career.

Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in the plenary session "Far East: Expanding the Boundaries of Opportunities" of the 4th Eastern economic forum(WEF-2018). From left: Sergei Brilev, TV presenter, Deputy Director of the Rossiya TV Channel, President of the Bering-Bellingshausen Institute for the Americas, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chairman of the China People's Republic Xi Jinping, from right to left - Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea Lee Nak-yong and President of Mongolia Khaltmaagiin Battulga

For decades, Japanese journalists, politicians and scientists have been explaining to the nation that the issue of returning the South Kuriles for the country rising sun is fundamental, and eventually explained. Now, with any political maneuver on the Russian front, the Japanese elites must take into account the notorious territorial problem.

Why Japan wants to get the four southern islands of the Kuril chain is understandable. But why does Russia not want to give them away?

From merchants to military bases

On the existence of the Kuril Islands Big world did not suspect until about the middle of the XVII century. The Ainu people who lived on them once inhabited all Japanese islands, but under the pressure of the invaders who arrived from the mainland - the ancestors of the future Japanese - was gradually destroyed or driven north - to Hokkaido, the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin.

In 1635-1637, a Japanese expedition explored the most southern islands Kuril ridge, in 1643 the Dutch explorer Martin de Vries explored Iturup and Urup and declared the latter the property of the Dutch East India Company. Five years later northern islands were opened by Russian merchants. In the 18th century, the Russian government took up the exploration of the Kuriles in earnest.

Russian expeditions reached the very south, mapped Shikotan and Habomai, and soon Catherine II issued a decree that all the Kuriles to Japan itself were Russian territory. The European powers took note of this. The opinion of the Japanese at that time did not bother anyone except themselves.

Three islands - the so-called Southern group: Urup, Iturup and Kunashir - as well as the Lesser Kuril Ridge - Shikotan and numerous uninhabited islets next to it, which the Japanese call Habomai, turned out to be in a gray zone. The Russians did not build fortifications or station garrisons there, and the Japanese were mainly occupied with the colonization of Hokkaido. Only on February 7, 1855, the first border treaty, the Shimoda Treaty, was signed between Russia and Japan.

According to its terms, the border between Japanese and Russian possessions passed through the Frieze Strait - ironically named after the same Dutch navigator, who tried to declare the islands Dutch. Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai went to Japan, Urup and the islands further north to Russia. In 1875, the entire ridge to Kamchatka itself was transferred to the Japanese in exchange for the southern part of Sakhalin; 30 years later, Japan regained it as a result of the Russo-Japanese War, which Russia lost.

During World War II, Japan was part of the Axis, but hostilities between Soviet Union and the Empire of Japan were not fought for most of the conflict, since the parties signed a non-aggression pact in 1941. However, on April 6, 1945, the USSR, fulfilling its allied obligations, warned Japan about the denunciation of the pact, and in August declared war on it. Soviet troops occupied all the Kuril Islands, on whose territory the Yuzhno-Sakhalin region was created.

But in the end, things did not come to a peace treaty between Japan and the USSR. The Cold War began, relations between the former allies heated up. Japan, occupied by American troops, automatically ended up on the side of the Western bloc in the new conflict. Under the terms of the San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1951, which the Union refused to sign for a number of reasons, Japan confirmed the return of all the Kuriles to the USSR - except for Iturup, Shikotan, Kunashir and Khabomai.

Five years later, there seemed to be the prospect of a lasting peace: the USSR and Japan adopted the Moscow Declaration, which ended the state of war. The Soviet leadership then expressed its readiness to give Japan Shikotan and Habomai, on the condition that it withdraw its claims to Iturup and Kunashir.

But in the end, everything fell apart. The United States threatened Japan that if they signed an agreement with the Soviet Union, they would not return the Ryukyu archipelago to it. In 1960, Tokyo and Washington entered into an agreement on mutual cooperation and security guarantees, which contained the provision that the United States had the right to station troops of any size in Japan and establish military bases - and after that Moscow categorically abandoned the idea of ​​​​a peace treaty.

If earlier the USSR had the illusion that by concession to Japan it was possible to normalize relations with it, transferring it to the category of at least relatively neutral countries, now the transfer of the islands meant that American military bases would soon appear on them. As a result, the peace treaty was never concluded - and has not yet been concluded.

Dashing 1990s

Soviet leaders up to Gorbachev did not recognize the existence of a territorial problem in principle. In 1993, already under Yeltsin, the Tokyo Declaration was signed, in which Moscow and Tokyo indicated their intention to resolve the issue of ownership of the South Kuriles. In Russia, this was perceived with considerable concern, in Japan, on the contrary, with enthusiasm.

The northern neighbor was going through hard times, and the most insane projects can be found in the Japanese press of that time - up to the purchase of the islands for a large amount, since the then Russian leadership was ready to make endless concessions to Western partners. But in the end, both Russian fears and Japanese hopes turned out to be groundless: within a few years, Russia's foreign policy course was adjusted in favor of greater realism, and there was no longer any talk of transferring the Kuriles.

In 2004, the question suddenly surfaced again. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that Moscow, as a state - the successor of the USSR, is ready to resume negotiations on the basis of the Moscow Declaration - that is, to sign a peace treaty and then, as a gesture of goodwill, give Shikotan and Habomai to Japan. The Japanese did not compromise, and already in 2014, Russia completely returned to Soviet rhetoric, declaring that it had no territorial dispute with Japan.

Moscow's position is completely transparent, understandable and explainable. This is the position of the strong: it is not Russia that is demanding something from Japan - quite the opposite, the Japanese are making claims that they cannot back up either militarily or politically. Accordingly, on the part of Russia, we can only talk about a gesture of good will - and nothing more. Economic relations with Japan are developing as usual, the islands do not affect them in any way, and the transfer of the islands will not speed them up or slow them down.

At the same time, the transfer of islands may entail a number of consequences, and their magnitude depends on which islands will be transferred.

The sea is closed, the sea is open

“This is a success that Russia has been moving towards for many years… In terms of the volume of reserves, these territories are a real Ali Baba’s cave, access to which opens up huge opportunities and prospects for the Russian economy… The inclusion of an enclave in the Russian shelf establishes Russia’s exclusive rights to subsoil and seabed resources enclave, including fishing for sessile species, i.e. crabs, shellfish, and so on, and also extends Russian jurisdiction over the territory of the enclave in terms of fishing, safety, environmental protection requirements.”

So minister natural resources and ecology of Russia Sergey Donskoy in 2013 commented on the news that the UN subcommission had decided to recognize the Sea of ​​Okhotsk inland sea Russia.

Until that moment, in the very center of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, there was an enclave stretching from north to south with an area of ​​​​52 thousand square meters. km, for its characteristic shape called the "Peanut Hole" (Peanut Hole). The fact is that the 200-mile special economic zone of Russia did not reach the very center of the sea - thus, the waters there were considered international and ships of any states could fish in them and mine minerals. After the UN subcommission approved the Russian application, the sea became completely Russian.

This story had many heroes: scientists who proved that the seabed in the Peanut Hole area is the continental shelf, diplomats who managed to defend Russian claims, and others. Japan presented a surprise during the voting at the UN: Tokyo was one of the first to support the Russian application. This gave rise to a lot of rumors that Russia was ready to make concessions on the Kuriles in exchange, but they remained rumors.

What will happen to the status of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk if Russia gives Japan two islands - Shikotan and Habomai? Absolutely nothing. None of them is washed by its waters, therefore, no changes are expected. But if Moscow also gives up Kunashir and Iturup to Tokyo, the situation will not be so clear-cut.

The distance between Kunashir and Sakhalin is less than 400 nautical miles, that is, the special economic zone of Russia completely covers the south of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. But there are already 500 nautical miles from Sakhalin to Urup: a corridor leading to the Peanut Hole is being formed between the two parts of the economic zone. It is difficult to predict what consequences this will entail.

At the border, the seiner walks gloomily

A similar situation is developing in the military sphere. Kunashir is separated from Japanese Hokkaido by the Straits of Treason and Kunashir; between Kunashir and Iturup lies the Catherine Strait, between Iturup and Urup - the Friza Strait. Now the straits of Ekaterina and Friza are under full Russian control, Treason and Kunashirsky are under surveillance. Not a single enemy submarine or ship will be able to enter the Sea of ​​Okhotsk through the islands of the Kuril chain unnoticed, while Russian submarines and ships can safely exit through the deep-water straits of Ekaterina and Friz.

In the event that Japan transfers the two islands to Russian ships, it will be more difficult to use the Catherine Strait; in the event of the transfer of four, Russia will completely lose control over the straits of Treason, Kunashirsky and Ekaterina and will only be able to monitor the Friza strait. Thus, a hole is formed in the system of protection of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, which cannot be repaired.

The economy of the Kuril Islands is tied primarily to the extraction and processing of fish. There is no economy on Habomai due to the lack of population, on Shikotan, where about 3 thousand people live, there is a fish cannery. Of course, in the event of the transfer of these islands to Japan, it will be necessary to decide the fate of the people living on them and the enterprises, and this decision will not be easy.

But if Russia gives up Iturup and Kunashir, the consequences will be much greater. Now about 15 thousand people live on these islands, infrastructure is being actively built, in 2014 it international Airport. But most importantly - Iturup is rich in minerals. There, in particular, is the only economically profitable deposit of rhenium - one of the rarest metals. Before the collapse of the USSR, Russian industry received it from the Kazakh Dzhezkazgan, and the deposit on the Kudryavy volcano is a chance to completely end dependence on rhenium imports.

Thus, if Russia gives Japan Habomai and Shikotan, it will lose part of its territory and suffer relatively small economic losses; if, in addition, it gives up Iturup and Kunashir, it will suffer much more both economically and strategically. But in any case, you can give only when the other side has something to offer in return. Tokyo has nothing to offer yet.

Russia wants peace - but with a strong, peaceful and friendly Japan pursuing an independent foreign policy. In the current conditions, when experts and politicians are talking louder and louder about a new cold war, the ruthless logic of confrontation comes into play again: giving Japan, which supports anti-Russian sanctions and retains American bases on its territory, Habomai and Shikotan, not to mention Kunashir and Iturup, Russia risks simply losing the islands without getting anything in return. It is unlikely that Moscow is ready to go for it.

In 2012, visa-free exchange between Southern Kuriles and Japanwill start April 24th.

On February 2, 1946, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Kuril Islands Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Khabomai were included in the USSR.

On September 8, 1951, at an international conference in San Francisco, a peace treaty was concluded between Japan and 48 countries participating in the anti-fascist coalition, according to which Japan renounced all rights, titles and claims to the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin. The Soviet delegation did not sign this treaty, referring to the fact that it regards it as a separate agreement between the US and Japanese governments. From the point of view of treaty law, the question of the ownership of the South Kuriles remained uncertain. The Kuriles ceased to be Japanese, but did not become Soviet. Using this circumstance, Japan in 1955 presented the USSR with claims to all the Kuril Islands and the southern part of Sakhalin. As a result of two years of negotiations between the USSR and Japan, the positions of the parties drew closer: Japan limited its claims to the islands of Habomai, Shikotan, Kunashir and Iturup.

On October 19, 1956, the Joint Declaration of the USSR and Japan on the termination of the state of war between the two states and the restoration of diplomatic and consular relations was signed in Moscow. In it, in particular, the Soviet government agreed to the transfer of Japan after the conclusion of a peace treaty of the islands of Habomai and Shikotan.

After the conclusion of the Japanese-American security treaty in 1960, the USSR canceled the obligations assumed by the 1956 declaration. During the Cold War, Moscow did not recognize the existence of a territorial problem between the two countries. The presence of this problem was first recorded in the Joint Statement of 1991, signed following the visit of the President of the USSR to Tokyo.

In 1993, in Tokyo, the President of Russia and the Prime Minister of Japan signed the Tokyo Declaration on Russian-Japanese relations, where the consent of the parties to continue negotiations was recorded with the aim of concluding a peace treaty as soon as possible by resolving the issue of ownership of the islands mentioned above.

IN last years In order to create at the talks an atmosphere conducive to the search for mutually acceptable solutions, the parties pay great attention to establishing practical Russian-Japanese interaction and cooperation in the area of ​​the islands.

In 1992, on the basis of an intergovernmental agreement between the inhabitants of the Russian South Kuriles and Japan. Trips are carried out on a national passport with a special insert, without visas.

In September 1999, the implementation of an agreement on the most facilitated procedure for visiting the islands by their former residents from among Japanese citizens and members of their families began.

Cooperation is being carried out in the fishery sector on the basis of the current Russian-Japanese Agreement on fishing near the southern Kuriles dated February 21, 1998.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources