Southern Kuril area. History of the Kuril Islands. The history of the development of the Kuril Islands by Russia. Japan and sanctions

The Southern Kuril Islands are a stumbling block in relations between Russia and Japan. The dispute over the ownership of the islands prevents our neighboring countries from concluding a peace treaty, which was violated during the Second World War, negatively affects the economic ties between Russia and Japan, contributes to an ever-preserving state of distrust, even hostility, of the Russian and Japanese peoples

Kurile Islands

Disputed islands - Kunashir, Shikotan, Iturup, Habomai

Kunashir Island

habomai

The history of the discovery of the Kuril Islands

- In October-November 1648, he was the first of the Russians to pass through the First Kuril Strait, that is, the strait separating the northernmost island Kuril ridge Shumshu from the southern tip of Kamchatka, under the command of the clerk of the Moscow merchant Usov Fedot Alekseevich Popov. It is possible that Popov's people even landed on Shumshu.
- The first Europeans to visit the Kuril Islands were the Dutch. On February 3, 1643, the two ships Castricum and Breskens, which left Batavia in the direction of Japan, under the general command of Martin de Vries, approached the Lesser Kuril Ridge on June 13. The Dutch saw the shores of Iturup, Shikotan, discovered the strait between the islands of Iturup and Kunashir.
- In 1711, the Cossacks Antsiferov and Kozyrevsky visited the Northern Kuril Islands Shumsha and Paramushir and even unsuccessfully tried to extort tribute from the local population - the Ainu.
- In 1721, by decree of Peter the Great, an expedition of Evreeinov and Luzhin was sent to the Kuriles, who explored and mapped 14 islands in the central part of the Kuril ridge.
- In the summer of 1739, a Russian ship under the command of M. Spanberg rounded the islands of the South Kuril ridge. Spanberg mapped, although inaccurately, the entire ridge of the Kuril Islands from the Kamchatka nose to Hokkaido.

Ainu lived on the Kuril Islands. Ainu - the first population of the Japanese islands - was gradually forced out by newcomers from Central Asia north to the island of Hokkaido and further to the Kuriles. From October 1946 to May 1948, tens of thousands of Ainu and Japanese were taken from the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin to the island of Hokkaido

The problem of the Kuril Islands. Briefly

- 1855, February 7 (new style) - the first diplomatic document in relations between Russia and Japan, the so-called Treaty of Simond, was signed in the Japanese port of Shimoda. On behalf of Russia, it was endorsed by Vice-Admiral E. V. Putyatin, on behalf of Japan - authorized Toshiakira Kawaji.

Article 2: “From now on, the borders between Russia and Japan will pass between the islands of Iturup and Urup. The whole island of Iturup belongs to Japan, and the whole island of Urup and the other Kuril Islands to the north are the possession of Russia. As for the island of Crafto (Sakhalin), it remains undivided between Russia and Japan, as it has been until now.

- 1875, May 7 - a new Russian-Japanese treaty "On the exchange of territories" was concluded in St. Petersburg. On behalf of Russia, it was signed by Minister of Foreign Affairs A. Gorchakov, and on behalf of Japan, by Admiral Enomoto Takeaki.

Article 1. “His Majesty the Emperor of Japan ... cedes to His Majesty the All-Russian Emperor part of the territory of the island of Sakhalin (Krafto), which he now owns .. so that from now on the aforementioned Sakhalin Island (Krafto) will completely belong to the Russian Empire and the border line between the Empires of Russia and The Japanese will pass in these waters through the La Perouse Strait "

Article 2. “In return for the cession of rights to Sakhalin Island to Russia, His Majesty the All-Russian Emperor cedes to His Majesty the Emperor of Japan a group of islands called the Kuril Islands. ... This group includes ... eighteen islands 1) Shumshu 2) Alaid 3) Paramushir 4) Makanrushi 5) Onekotan, 6) Harimkotan, 7) Ekarma, 8) Shiashkotan, 9) Mus-sir, 10) Raikoke, 11) Matua , 12) Rastua, 13) the islets of Sredneva and Ushisir, 14) Ketoi, 15) Simusir, 16) Broughton, 17) the islets of Cherpoy and Brother Cherpoev, and 18) Urup, so that the border line between the Russian and Japanese Empires in these waters will pass through the strait located between Cape Lopatkoy of the Kamchatka Peninsula and Shumshu Island"

- May 28, 1895 - An agreement between Russia and Japan on trade and navigation was signed in St. Petersburg. On behalf of Russia, it was signed by Minister of Foreign Affairs A. Lobanov-Rostovsky and Minister of Finance S. Witte; on behalf of Japan, it was signed by Nishi Tokujiro, Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Russian Court. The treaty consisted of 20 articles.

Article 18 stated that the treaty supersedes all previous Russo-Japanese treaties, agreements and conventions

- 1905, September 5 - Portsmouth Peace Treaty was concluded in Portsmouth (USA), which completed. On behalf of Russia, it was signed by Chairman of the Committee of Ministers S. Witte and Ambassador to the United States R. Rosen, on behalf of Japan by Foreign Minister D. Komura and envoy to the United States K. Takahira.

Article IX: “The Russian Imperial Government cedes to the Imperial Japanese Government in perpetual and complete possession the southern part of the island of Sakhalin and all the islands adjacent to the latter .... The fiftieth parallel of northern latitude is taken as the limit of the ceded territory.

- 1907, July 30 - An agreement between Japan and Russia was signed in St. Petersburg, consisting of a public convention and a secret treaty. The convention stated that the parties were obliged to respect the territorial integrity of both countries and all the rights arising from the agreements existing between them. The agreement was signed by Minister of Foreign Affairs A. Izvolsky and Ambassador of Japan to Russia I. Motono
- 1916, July 3 - in Petrograd Petrograd established the Russo-Japanese alliance. It consisted of a vowel and a secret part. In the secret one, the previous Russian-Japanese agreements were also confirmed. The documents were signed by Minister of Foreign Affairs S. Sazonov and I. Motono
- 1925, January 20 - the Soviet-Japanese Convention on the Basic Principles of Relations, ... the declaration of the Soviet government ... was signed in Beijing. The documents were endorsed by L. Karahan from the USSR and K. Yoshizawa from Japan

convention.
Article II: “The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics agrees that the treaty concluded at Portsmouth on 5 September 1905 shall remain in full force and effect. It is agreed that the treaties, conventions and agreements, other than the said Treaty of Portsmouth, concluded between Japan and Russia before November 7, 1917, will be revised at a conference to be held subsequently between the Governments of the Contracting Parties, and that they may be amended or canceled as necessary. changing circumstances require."
The declaration emphasized that the government of the USSR does not share political responsibility with the former tsarist government for the conclusion of the Portsmouth Peace Treaty: “The Plenipotentiary of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics has the honor to declare that the recognition by his Government of the validity of the Treaty of Portsmouth of September 5, 1905 does not in any way mean that The government of the Union shares with the former tsarist government the political responsibility for the conclusion of the said treaty.

- 1941, April 13 - Neutrality Pact between Japan and the USSR. The pact was signed by Foreign Ministers Molotov and Yosuke Matsuoka
Article 2 "In the event that one of the contracting parties becomes the object of hostilities by one or more third powers, the other contracting party shall remain neutral throughout the entire conflict."
- 1945, February 11 - at the Yalta Conference of Stalin Roosevelt and Churchill, an agreement was signed on the Far East.

"2. The return of the rights that belonged to Russia, violated by the perfidious attack of Japan in 1904, namely:
a) the return to the Soviet Union of the southern part of about. Sakhalin and all adjacent islands, ...
3. Transfers of the Kuril Islands to the Soviet Union"

- 1945, April 5 - Molotov received the Japanese ambassador to the USSR, Naotake Sato, and made a statement to him that in the conditions when Japan was at war with England and the USA, allies of the USSR, the pact loses its meaning and its extension becomes impossible
- August 9, 1945 - The USSR declared war on Japan.
- 1946, January 29 - Memorandum of the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces on Far East American General D. MacArthur to the government of Japan determined that the southern part of Sakhalin and all the Kuril Islands, including the Lesser Kuril ridge (the Habomai group of islands and Shikotan Island), are withdrawn from the sovereignty of the Japanese state
- 1946, February 2 - By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, in accordance with the provisions of the Yalta Agreement and the Potsdam Declaration, the South Sakhalin (now Sakhalin) Region of the RSFSR was created in the returned Russian territories

The return to the Russian territory of South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands made it possible to provide access to Pacific Ocean ships of the Navy of the USSR, to acquire a new frontier of forward deployment of the Far Eastern group of ground forces, which has been carried far beyond the continent, and military aviation Soviet Union and now Russian Federation

- 1951, September 8 - Japan signed the San Francisco Peace Treaty, according to which it renounced "all rights ... to the Kuril Islands and to that part of Sakhalin ..., sovereignty over which it acquired under the Portsmouth Treaty of September 5, 1905." The USSR refused to sign this treaty, because, according to Minister Gromyko, the text of the treaty did not enshrine the sovereignty of the USSR over South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands.

The San Francisco Peace Treaty between the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition and Japan officially ended World War II, fixed the procedure for paying reparations to allies and compensation to countries affected by Japanese aggression

- 1956, August 19 - in Moscow, the USSR and Japan signed a declaration ending the state of war between them. According to it (including) the island of Shikotan and the Habomai ridge were to be transferred to Japan after the signing of a peace treaty between the USSR and Japan. However, soon Japan, under pressure from the United States, refused to sign a peace treaty, since the United States threatened that if Japan withdraws its claims to the Kunashir and Iturup islands, the Ryukyu archipelago with the island of Okinawa would not be returned to Japan, which, on the basis of Article 3 of the San Francisco Peace the treaty was then administered by the United States

“President of Russia V.V. Putin has repeatedly confirmed that Russia, as a successor state of the USSR, is committed to this document…. It is clear that if it comes to the implementation of the 1956 Declaration, a lot of details will have to be agreed upon ... However, the sequence that is set out in this Declaration remains unchanged ... the first step before everything else is the signing and entry into force of a peace treaty "(Russian Foreign Minister S . Lavrov)

- 1960, January 19 - Japan and the United States signed the "Treaty of Interaction and Security"
- January 27, 1960 - The government of the USSR announced that since this agreement was directed against the USSR, it refuses to consider the transfer of the islands to Japan, since this will lead to the expansion of the territory used by American troops
- 2011, November - Lavrov: "The Kuriles were, are and will be our territory in accordance with the decisions that were made following the results of the Second World War"

Iturup, the largest of the South Kuril Islands, became ours 70 years ago. Under the Japanese, tens of thousands of people lived here, life was in full swing in the villages and markets, there was a large military base from where the Japanese squadron left to smash Pearl Harbor. What have we built here over the past years? Recently, here is the airport. A couple of shops and hotels also appeared. And in the main settlement - the city of Kurilsk with a population of just over one and a half thousand people - they laid an outlandish attraction: a couple of hundred meters (!) Of asphalt. But in the store, the seller warns the buyer: “The product is almost expired. Do you take it? And he hears in response: “Yes, I know. Of course I will." And how not to take it if there is not enough food (with the exception of fish and what the garden gives), and there will be no delivery in the coming days, more precisely, it is not known when it will be. Local people like to repeat: we have 3,000 people and 8,000 bears here. There are more people, of course, if you count the military and border guards, but no one counted the bears - maybe there are more of them. From the south to the north of the island, one has to get along a harsh dirt road through the pass, where hungry foxes guard each car, and roadside burdocks are the size of a person, you can hide with them. Beauty, of course: volcanoes, hollows, springs. But it is safe to ride on the local dirt trails only during the day and when
there is no fog. And in rare settlements, the streets are empty after nine in the evening - a curfew in fact. A simple question - why did the Japanese live well here, while we only get settlements? - most of the inhabitants simply do not occur. We live - we guard the earth.(“Rotational sovereignty”. “Spark” No. 25 (5423), June 27, 2016)

Once a prominent Soviet figure was asked: “Why don't you give Japan these islands. She has such a small territory, and you have such a large one? “That’s why it’s big because we don’t give it back,” the activist answered.

Image copyright RIA Image caption Before Putin and Abe, the issue of signing a peace treaty between Russia and Japan was discussed by all their predecessors - to no avail

During a two-day visit to Nagato and Tokyo, the Russian president will agree with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on investments. The main question - about the ownership of the Kuril Islands - as usual, will be postponed indefinitely, experts say.

Abe became the second G7 leader to host Putin after the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014.

The visit was supposed to take place two years ago, but was canceled due to sanctions against Russia, supported by Japan.

What is the essence of the dispute between Japan and Russia?

Abe is making progress in a multi-year territorial dispute, in which Japan claims the islands of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan, as well as the Habomai archipelago (in Russia, such a name does not exist, the archipelago, together with Shikotan, are united under the name of the Lesser Kuril Ridge).

The Japanese elite is well aware that Russia will never return two large islands, so they are ready to take a maximum of two small ones. But how to explain to society that they forever abandon the big islands? Alexander Gabuev, expert at the Carnegie Moscow Center

At the end of World War II, in which Japan fought on the side of Nazi Germany, the USSR expelled 17,000 Japanese from the islands; no peace treaty was signed between Moscow and Tokyo.

The San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1951 between the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition and Japan established the sovereignty of the USSR over South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, but Tokyo and Moscow did not agree on what to understand by the Kuriles.

Tokyo considers Iturup, Kunashir and Habomai as its illegally occupied " northern territories". Moscow considers these islands part of the Kuriles and has repeatedly stated that their current status is not subject to revision.

In 2016, Shinzo Abe flew to Russia twice (to Sochi and Vladivostok), he and Putin also met at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima.

In early December, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow and Tokyo had similar positions on the peace treaty. In an interview with Japanese journalists, Vladimir Putin called the absence of a peace treaty with Japan an anachronism that "should be eliminated."

He also said that the foreign ministries of the two countries needed to resolve "purely technical issues" between themselves so that the Japanese would be able to visit southern Kuriles without visas.

However, Moscow is embarrassed that in the event of the return of the southern Kuriles, US military bases may appear there. The head of the Council did not rule out such a possibility. national security Japan Shotaro Yachi in a conversation with the Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev, the Japanese newspaper Asahi wrote on Wednesday.

Should we wait for the return of the Kuriles?

The short answer is no. "We should not expect any breakthrough agreements, and ordinary ones too, on the issue of ownership of the southern Kuriles," said former Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Kunadze.

"The expectations of the Japanese side, as usual, are at odds with the intentions of Russia," Kunadze told the BBC. last days Before leaving for Japan, he repeatedly said that for Russia the problem of belonging to the Kuriles does not exist, that the Kuriles are, in essence, a war trophy following the results of the Second World War, and even that Russia's rights to the Kuriles are secured by international treaties.

The latter, according to Kunadze, is a moot point and depends on the interpretation of these treaties.

“Putin is referring to the agreements reached in Yalta in February 1945. These agreements were political in nature and assumed the appropriate contractual and legal formalization. It took place in San Francisco in 1951. The Soviet Union did not sign a peace treaty with Japan then. , there is no other consolidation of Russia's rights in the territories that Japan renounced under the San Francisco Treaty," the diplomat sums up.

"The parties are trying as much as possible to blow off the ball of mutual expectations of the public and show that there will be no breakthrough," comments Alexander Gabuev, an expert at the Carnegie Moscow Center.

"The red line of Russia: Japan recognizes the results of the Second World War, renounces claims to the southern Kuriles. As a gesture of goodwill, we give Japan two small islands, and on Kunashir and Iturup we can make visa-free entry, a free zone of joint economic development Anything, he thinks. - Russia can't give up two large islands as it would be a loss, these islands have economic importance, a lot of money has been invested there, there is a large population, the straits between these islands are used by Russian submarines when they go out to patrol the Pacific Ocean."

Japan, according to Gabuev's observations, has softened its position on disputed territories in recent years.

“The Japanese elite is well aware that Russia will never return two large islands, so they are ready to take a maximum of two small ones. But how to explain to society that they are forever abandoning large islands? large. For Russia, this is unacceptable, we want to resolve the issue once and for all. These two red lines are not yet close enough to expect a breakthrough," the expert believes.

What else will be discussed?

The Kuriles are not the only topic discussed by Putin and Abe. Russia needs foreign investment in the Far East.

According to the Japanese edition of Yomiuri, due to sanctions, trade between the two countries has decreased. Thus, imports from Russia to Japan decreased by 27.3% - from 2.61 trillion yen ($23 billion) in 2014 to 1.9 trillion yen ($17 billion) in 2015. And exports to Russia by 36.4% - from 972 billion yen (8.8 billion dollars) in 2014 to 618 billion yen (5.6 billion dollars) in 2015.

The Japanese government intends to acquire a part of the gas fields of the Russian company Novatek, as well as a part of the shares of Rosneft through the state oil, gas and metals corporation JOGMEC.

It is expected that dozens of commercial agreements will be signed during the visit, and the working breakfast of the Russian president and the Japanese prime minister will be attended, in particular, by the head of Rosatom Alexei Likhachev, the head of Gazprom Alexei Miller, the head of Rosneft Igor Sechin, the head of the Russian Fund for Direct investments Kirill Dmitriev, entrepreneurs Oleg Deripaska and Leonid Mikhelson.

So far, Russia and Japan are only exchanging pleasantries. Whether at least part of the economic memorandums will come true, it will become clear whether they can also agree on something.

Disputes over the four South Kuril Islands, which currently belong to the Russian Federation, have been going on for quite some time. This land, as a result of agreements and wars signed at different times, changed hands several times. Currently, these islands are the cause of the unresolved territorial dispute between Russia and Japan.

Discovery of the islands

The issue of opening the Kuril Islands is controversial. According to the Japanese side, the Japanese were the first to set foot on the land of the islands in 1644. The map of that time with the designations “Kunashiri”, “Etorofu” and others applied to it is carefully preserved in the National Museum of Japanese History. And the Russian pioneers, according to the Japanese, first came to the Kuril ridge only during the time of Tsar Peter I, in 1711, and on the Russian map of 1721 these islands are called "Japanese Islands".

But in reality, the situation is different: firstly, the Japanese received the first information about the Kuriles (from the Ainu language - “kuru” means “a person who came from nowhere”) from local residents Ainu (the oldest non-Japanese population of the Kuriles and the Japanese Islands) during an expedition to Hokkaido in 1635. Moreover, the Japanese did not reach the Kuril lands themselves due to constant conflicts with the local population.

It should be noted that the Ainu were hostile to the Japanese, and initially they treated the Russians well, considering them their "brothers", because of the similarity in appearance and methods of communication between Russians and small peoples.

Secondly, the Kuril Islands were discovered by the Dutch expedition of Maarten Gerritsen de Vries (Vries) in 1643, the Dutch were looking for the so-called. "Golden Lands" The Dutch did not like the land, and they sold a detailed description of them, a map to the Japanese. It was on the basis of Dutch data that the Japanese compiled their maps.

Thirdly, the Japanese at that time did not own not only the Kuriles, but even Hokkaido, only in its southern part there was their stronghold. The Japanese began to conquer the island at the beginning of the 17th century, and the struggle against the Ainu went on for two centuries. That is, if the Russians were interested in expansion, then Hokkaido could become a Russian island. This was facilitated by the good attitude of the Ainu towards the Russians and their enmity towards the Japanese. There are records of this fact. The Japanese state of that time did not officially consider itself the sovereign of not only Sakhalin and the Kuril lands, but also Hokkaido (Matsumae) - this was confirmed in his circular by the head of the Japanese government, Matsudaira, during the Russian-Japanese negotiations on the border and trade in 1772.

Fourthly, Russian explorers visited the islands before the Japanese. In the Russian state, the first mention of the Kuril lands dates back to 1646, when Nekhoroshko Ivanovich Kolobov gave a report to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich about the campaigns of Ivan Yuryevich Moskvitin and spoke about the bearded Ainu inhabiting the Kuriles. In addition, Dutch, Scandinavian and German medieval chronicles and maps report the first Russian settlements in the Kuriles of that time. The first reports about the Kuril lands and their inhabitants reached the Russians in the middle of the 17th century.

In 1697, during the expedition of Vladimir Atlasov to Kamchatka, new information about the islands appeared, the Russians explored the islands up to Simushir (an island of the middle group of the Great Kuril Islands).

18th century

Peter I knew about the Kuril Islands, in 1719 the tsar sent to Kamchatka secret expedition under the leadership of Ivan Mikhailovich Evreinov and Fedor Fedorovich Luzhin. The marine surveyor Evreinov and the surveyor-cartographer Luzhin had to determine whether there was a strait between Asia and America. The expedition reached the island of Simushir in the south and brought local residents and rulers to the Russian state.

In 1738-1739, the navigator Martyn Petrovich Shpanberg (a Dane by origin) traveled along the entire Kuril ridge, mapped all the islands he encountered, including the entire Lesser Kuril ridge (these are 6 large and a number of small islands that are separated from the Greater Kuril ridge by the South - Kuril Strait). He explored the lands up to Hokkaido (Matsumaya), bringing the local Ainu rulers to the Russian state.

In the future, the Russians avoided sailing to the southern islands, mastered the northern territories. Unfortunately, at that time, abuses against the Ainu were noted not only by the Japanese, but also by the Russians.

In 1771, the Lesser Kuril Ridge was withdrawn from Russia and passed under the protectorate of Japan. The Russian authorities, in order to rectify the situation, sent the nobleman Antipin with the translator Shabalin. They were able to persuade the Ainu to restore Russian citizenship. In 1778-1779, Russian envoys brought over 1.5 thousand people from Iturup, Kunashir and even Hokkaido into citizenship. In 1779, Catherine II freed those who accepted Russian citizenship from all taxes.

In 1787, a list of the Kuril Islands up to Hokkaido-Matsumai was given in the "Extensive land description of the Russian state ...", the status of which has not yet been determined. Although the Russians did not control the lands south of Urup Island, the Japanese operated there.

In 1799, by order of the sei-taishogun Tokugawa Ienari, he headed the Tokugawa Shogunate, two outposts were built on Kunashir and Iturup, and permanent garrisons were placed there. Thus, the Japanese secured the status of these territories within Japan by military means.

Agreements

In 1845, the Japanese Empire unilaterally announced its power over all of Sakhalin and the Kuril ridge. This naturally caused a violent negative reaction from the Russian Emperor Nicholas I. But, the Russian Empire did not have time to take action, the events of the Crimean War prevented it. Therefore, it was decided to make concessions and not bring the matter to war.

On February 7, 1855, the first diplomatic agreement between Russia and Japan was concluded - Shimoda Treaty. It was signed by Vice Admiral E. V. Putyatin and Toshiakira Kawaji. According to the 9th article of the treatise, "permanent peace and sincere friendship between Russia and Japan" was established. Japan moved the islands from Iturup and to the south, Sakhalin was declared a joint, indivisible possession. Russians in Japan received consular jurisdiction, Russian ships received the right to enter the ports of Shimoda, Hakodate, Nagasaki. The Russian Empire received the most favored nation treatment in trade with Japan and received the right to open consulates in ports open to Russians. That is, in general, especially given the difficult international situation of Russia, the treaty can be assessed positively. Since 1981, the Japanese have celebrated the signing of the Shimoda Treaty as the Day of the Northern Territories.

It should be noted that in fact the Japanese received the right to the "Northern Territories" only for "permanent peace and sincere friendship between Japan and Russia", the most favored nation treatment in trade relations. Their further actions de facto annulled this agreement.

Initially, the provision of the Shimoda Treaty on the joint ownership of the island of Sakhalin was more beneficial for the Russian Empire, which was actively colonizing this territory. The Japanese Empire did not good fleet, therefore, at that time did not have such an opportunity. But later, the Japanese began to intensively populate the territory of Sakhalin, and the question of its ownership began to become more and more controversial and acute. The contradictions between Russia and Japan were resolved by signing the St. Petersburg Treaty.

St. Petersburg Treaty. It was signed in the capital of the Russian Empire on April 25 (May 7), 1875. Under this agreement, the Empire of Japan transferred Sakhalin to Russia in full ownership, and in exchange received all the islands of the Kuril chain.

As a result of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 and Treaty of Portsmouth On August 23 (September 5), 1905, the Russian Empire, in accordance with the 9th article of the agreement, ceded to Japan the south of Sakhalin, south of 50 degrees north latitude. Article 12 contained an agreement to conclude a convention on fishing by the Japanese along the Russian shores of the Sea of ​​Japan, the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and the Bering Sea.

After the death of the Russian Empire and the beginning of foreign intervention, the Japanese occupied Northern Sakhalin and participated in the occupation of the Far East. When the Bolshevik Party won the Civil War, Japan did not want to recognize the USSR for a long time. Only after the Soviet authorities in 1924 annulled the status of the Japanese consulate in Vladivostok and in the same year the USSR recognized Great Britain, France and China, did the Japanese authorities decide to normalize relations with Moscow.

Beijing Treaty. On February 3, 1924, official negotiations between the USSR and Japan began in Beijing. Only on January 20, 1925, the Soviet-Japanese convention on the basic principles of relations between countries was signed. The Japanese undertook to withdraw their forces from the territory of Northern Sakhalin by May 15, 1925. The declaration of the government of the USSR, which was attached to the convention, emphasized that the Soviet government did not share with the former government of the Russian Empire political responsibility for the signing of the Portsmouth Peace Treaty of 1905. In addition, the agreement of the parties was enshrined in the convention that all agreements, treaties and conventions concluded between Russia and Japan before November 7, 1917, except for the Portsmouth Peace Treaty, should be revised.

In general, the USSR made great concessions: in particular, Japanese citizens, companies and associations were granted the rights to exploit natural resources throughout the territory of the Soviet Union. On July 22, 1925, a contract was signed to provide the Empire of Japan with a coal concession, and on December 14, 1925, an oil concession in Northern Sakhalin. Moscow agreed to this agreement in order to stabilize the situation in the Russian Far East in this way, since the Japanese supported the Whites outside the USSR. But in the end, the Japanese began to systematically violate the convention, create conflict situations.

During the Soviet-Japanese negotiations that took place in the spring of 1941 regarding the conclusion of a neutrality treaty, the Soviet side The question of the liquidation of Japanese concessions in Northern Sakhalin was raised. The Japanese gave their written consent to this, but delayed the implementation of the agreement for 3 years. Only when the USSR began to gain the upper hand over the Third Reich did the Japanese government agree to the implementation of the agreement given earlier. So, on March 30, 1944, a Protocol was signed in Moscow on the destruction of the Japanese oil and coal concessions in Northern Sakhalin and the transfer Soviet Union of the entire concession property of the Japanese.

February 11, 1945 at the Yalta Conference three great powers - the Soviet Union, the United States, Great Britain - reached an oral agreement on the entry of the USSR into the war with the Empire of Japan on the terms of the return of South Sakhalin and the Kuril ridge to it after the end of World War II.

In the Potsdam Declaration dated July 26, 1945, it was said that Japanese sovereignty would be limited only to the islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku and other smaller islands, which the victorious countries would indicate. The Kuril Islands were not mentioned.

After the defeat of Japan, on January 29, 1946, by Memorandum No. 677 of the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Powers, the American General Douglas MacArthur excluded the Chisima Islands (Kuril Islands), the Habomadze Islands (Habomai) island group and the island of Shikotan (Shikotan) from Japanese territory.

According to San Francisco Peace Treaty dated September 8, 1951, the Japanese side renounced all rights to South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. But the Japanese argue that Iturup, Shikotan, Kunashir and Habomai (the islands of the Lesser Kuril ridge) were not part of the Tisima Islands (Kuril Islands) and they did not refuse them.

Further agreements

joint declaration. On October 19, 1956, the Soviet Union and Japan adopted a Joint Declaration. The document ended the state of war between the countries and restored diplomatic relations, and also spoke of Moscow's consent to the transfer of the Habomai and Shikotan islands to the Japanese side. But they were to be handed over only after the signing of the peace treaty. However, later Japan was forced to refuse to sign a peace treaty with the USSR. The United States threatened the Japanese not to give up Okinawa and the entire Ryukyu archipelago if they gave up their claims to the other islands of the Lesser Kuril chain.

After Tokyo signed the Cooperation and Security Treaty with Washington in January 1960, extending the American military presence on the Japanese islands, Moscow announced that it refused to consider the issue of transferring the islands to the Japanese side. The statement was substantiated by the security of the USSR and China.

In 1993 was signed Tokyo Declaration about Russian-Japanese relations. It said that the Russian Federation is the legal successor of the USSR and recognizes the 1956 agreement. Moscow expressed its readiness to start negotiations on Japan's territorial claims. In Tokyo, this was assessed as a sign of the coming victory.

In 2004, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sergei Lavrov, made a statement that Moscow recognizes the 1956 Declaration and is ready to negotiate a peace treaty based on it. In 2004-2005, this position was confirmed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

But the Japanese insisted on the transfer of 4 islands, so the issue was not resolved. Moreover, the Japanese gradually increased their pressure, for example, in 2009, the head of the Japanese government at a government meeting called the Lesser Kuril Ridge "illegally occupied territories." In 2010-early 2011, the Japanese got so excited that some military experts began to talk about the possibility of a new Russo-Japanese war. Only a spring natural disaster - the consequences of a tsunami and a terrible earthquake, the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant - cooled the ardor of Japan.

As a result, the loud statements of the Japanese led to the fact that Moscow announced that the islands are the territory of the Russian Federation legally following the results of the Second World War, this is enshrined in the UN Charter. And the Russian sovereignty over the Kuriles, which has the appropriate international legal confirmation, is beyond doubt. Plans were also announced to develop the economy of the islands and strengthen the Russian military presence there.

The strategic importance of the islands

economic factor. The islands are economically underdeveloped, but they have deposits of valuable and rare earth metals - gold, silver, rhenium, titanium. The waters are rich in biological resources, the seas that wash the shores of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands are one of the most productive areas of the World Ocean. Great importance They also have shelves where hydrocarbon deposits have been found.

political factor. The cession of the islands will sharply lower Russia's status in the world, and there will be a legal opportunity to review other results of the Second World War. For example, they may be required to give Kaliningrad region Germany or part of Karelia Finland.

military factor. The transfer of the islands of the South Kuril chain will provide the naval forces of Japan and the United States with free access to the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. It will allow our potential adversaries to exercise control over strategically important strait zones, which will drastically impair the deployment of the forces of the Russian Pacific Fleet, including nuclear submarines with intercontinental ballistic missiles. This will be a strong blow to the military security of the Russian Federation.

Initially, the Ainu lived on the islands of Japan (then it was called Ainumoshiri - the land of the Ainu), until they were pushed north by the proto-Japanese. But the original lands of the Ainu on the Japanese islands of Hokkaido and Honshu. The Ainu came to Sakhalin in the XIII-XIV centuries, "finishing" the settlement in the beginning. XIX century.

Traces of their appearance were also found in Kamchatka, in Primorye and the Khabarovsk Territory. Many toponymic names of the Sakhalin region bear Ainu names: Sakhalin (from "SAKHAREN MOSIRI" - "undulating land"); the islands of Kunashir, Simushir, Shikotan, Shiashkotan (the ending words “shir” and “kotan” mean, respectively, “plot of land” and “settlement”). It took the Japanese more than 2,000 years to occupy the entire archipelago up to and including Hokkaido (then called "Ezo") (the earliest evidence of skirmishes with the Ainu dates back to 660 BC). Subsequently, the Ainu practically all degenerated or assimilated with the Japanese and Nivkhs.

At present, there are only a few reservations on the island of Hokkaido, where Ainu families live. Ainu, perhaps the most mysterious people in the Far East. The first Russian navigators who studied Sakhalin and the Kuriles were surprised to note Caucasian facial features, thick hair and beards unusual for Mongoloids. Russian decrees of 1779, 1786 and 1799 testify that the inhabitants of the southern Kuriles - Ainu since 1768 were Russian subjects (in 1779 they were exempted from paying tribute to the treasury - yasak), and the southern Kuril Islands were considered Russia as its own territory. The fact of Russian citizenship of the Kuril Ainu and the belonging of Russia to the entire Kuril ridge is also confirmed by the Instruction of the Irkutsk governor A.I. Bril to the chief commander of Kamchatka M.K. c Ainu - inhabitants of the Kuril Islands, including those from the south (including the island of Matmai-Hokkaido), the mentioned tribute-yasaka. Iturup means " the best place", Kunashir - Simushir means "a piece of land - a black island", Shikotan - Shiashkotan (the ending words "shir" and "kotan" mean, respectively, "a piece of land" and "settlement").

With their good nature, honesty and modesty, the Ainu produced the most best impression. When they were given gifts for the delivered fish, they took them in their hands, admired them and then returned them. With difficulty, the Ainu succeeded in explaining that this was being given to them as property. In relation to the Ainu, even Catherine the Second prescribed - to be affectionate with the Ainu and not tax them, in order to alleviate the situation of the new Russian sub-South Kuril Ainu. Decree of Catherine II to the Senate on the exemption from taxes of the Ainu - the population of the Kuril Islands, who accepted Russian citizenship in 1779. Yeya I.V. commands the hairy smokers brought into citizenship on the distant islands - the Ainu to be left free and not to require any collection from them, and henceforth the peoples living there should not be forced to do so, but try to continue with friendly treatment and affection for the expected benefit in crafts and trade to continue what has already been established with them acquaintance. The first cartographic description of the Kuril Islands, including them southern part, was made in 1711-1713. according to the results of the expedition of I. Kozyrevsky, who collected information about most of the Kuril Islands, including Iturup, Kunashir and even the "Twenty Second" Kuril Island MATMAI (Matsmai), which later became known as Hokkaido. It was precisely established that the Kuriles were not subject to any foreign state. In the report of I. Kozyrevsky in 1713. it was noted that the South Kuril Ainu "live autocratically and not under citizenship and trade freely." study and economic development, conducted missionary activities, taxed the local population with tribute (yasak). During the 18th century, all the Kuril Islands, including their southern part, became part of Russia. This is also confirmed by the statement made by the head of the Russian embassy N. Rezanov during negotiations with the representative of the Japanese government K. Toyama in 1805 that "to the north of Matsmai (Hokkaido Island) all lands and waters belong to the Russian emperor and that the Japanese did not extend further than their possessions." The Japanese mathematician and astronomer of the 18th century Honda Toshiaki wrote that “... the Ainu look at the Russians as their own fathers,” since “true possessions are won by virtuous deeds. Countries forced to submit to the force of arms remain unsubdued at heart."

By the end of the 80s. XVIII century, the facts of Russian activity in the Kuriles were accumulated quite enough so that, in accordance with the norms international law that time, count the entire archipelago, including its southern islands, belonging to Russia, which was recorded in Russian state documents. First of all, we should name the imperial decrees (recall that at that time the imperial or royal decree had the force of law) of 1779, 1786 and 1799, in which the citizenship of Russia of the South Kuril Ainu (then called "furry smokers") was confirmed, and the islands themselves were declared the possession of Russia. In 1945, the Japanese evicted all the Ainu from occupied Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands to Hokkaido, while for some reason they left on Sakhalin a labor army of Koreans brought by the Japanese and the USSR had to accept them as stateless persons, then the Koreans moved to Central Asia. A little later, ethnographers wondered for a long time - where did these harsh lands there were people wearing swing (southern) type of clothing, and linguists discovered Latin, Slavic, Anglo-Germanic and even Indo-Aryan roots in the Ainu language. The Ainu were ranked among the Indo-Aryans, and among the Australoids and even Caucasians. In a word, there were more and more mysteries, and the answers brought more and more problems. The Ainu population was a socially stratified group (“utar”), headed by the families of leaders by the right of inheritance of power (it should be noted that the Ainu clan went through the female line, although the man was naturally considered the main one in the family). "Utar" was built on the basis of fictitious kinship and had a military organization. The ruling families, who called themselves "utarpa" (head of the utar) or "nishpa" (leader), were a layer of the military elite. Men of “high birth” were destined for military service from birth, high-born women spent their time embroidering and shamanic rituals (“tusu”).

The chief's family had a dwelling inside a fortification ("chasi"), surrounded by an earthen embankment (also called "chasi"), usually under the cover of a mountain or rock protruding above the terrace. The number of mounds often reached five or six, which alternated with ditches. Together with the family of the leader inside the fortification, there were usually servants and slaves (“ushyu”). The Ainu did not have any centralized power. Of the weapons, the Ainu preferred the bow. No wonder they were called "people from whose hair arrows stick out" because they wore quivers (and swords, by the way, too) behind their backs. The bow was made from elm, beech or large euonymus (high shrub, up to 2.5 m high with very strong wood) with whalebone overlays. The bowstring was made from nettle fibers. The plumage of the arrows consisted of three eagle feathers. A few words about combat tips. In combat, both "regular" armor-piercing and spiked tips were used (perhaps to better cut through armor or get an arrow stuck in a wound). There were also tips of an unusual, Z-shaped section, which were most likely borrowed from the Manchus or Jurgens (information has been preserved that in the Middle Ages the Sakhalin Ainu repulsed a large army that came from the mainland). Arrowheads were made of metal (the early ones were made of obsidian and bone) and then smeared with aconite poison "suruku". Aconite root was crushed, soaked and placed in a warm place for fermentation. A stick with poison was applied to the spider's leg, if the leg fell off, the poison was ready. Due to the fact that this poison quickly decomposed, it was also widely used in hunting large animals. The arrow shaft was made of larch.

The swords of the Ainu were short, 45-50 cm long, slightly curved, with one-sided sharpening and a one and a half hand handle. The Ainu warrior - dzhangin - fought with two swords, not recognizing shields. The guards of all swords were removable and were often used as decorations. There is evidence that some guards were specially polished to a mirror finish in order to scare away evil spirits. In addition to swords, the Ainu wore two long knives (“cheiki-makiri” and “sa-makiri”), which were worn on the right thigh. Cheiki-makiri was a ritual knife for making sacred shavings "inau" and performing the rite "re" or "erytokpa" - ritual suicide, which the Japanese later adopted, calling "hara-kiri" or "seppuku" (as, by the way, the cult of the sword, special shelves for sword, spear, bow). Ainu swords were put on public display only during the Bear Festival. An old legend says: A long time ago, after this country was created by God, there lived an old Japanese man and an old Ain man. The Ainu grandfather was ordered to make a sword, and the Japanese grandfather: money (the following explains why the Ainu had a cult of swords, and the Japanese had a thirst for money. The Ainu condemned their neighbors for acquisitiveness). They treated the spears rather coolly, although they exchanged them with the Japanese.

Another detail of the weapons of the Ainu warrior was the combat beaters - small rollers with a handle and a hole at the end, made of hardwood. On the sides of the beaters were supplied with metal, obsidian or stone spikes. The mallets were used both as a flail and as a sling - a leather belt was threaded through the hole. A well-aimed blow from such a mallet killed immediately, at best (for the victim, of course) - forever disfigured. The Ainu did not wear helmets. They had natural long thick hair, which was tangled into a tangle, forming a semblance of a natural helmet. Now let's move on to the armor. Armor of the sarafan type was made from the skin of a bearded seal (“sea hare” - a type of large seal). In appearance, such armor (see photo) may seem bulky, but in fact it practically does not restrict movement, it allows you to bend and squat freely. Thanks to the numerous segments, four layers of skin were obtained, which with equal success reflected the blows of swords and arrows. The red circles on the chest of the armor symbolize the three worlds (upper, middle and lower worlds), as well as shamanic “toli” disks that scare away evil spirits and generally have a magical meaning. Similar circles are also depicted on the back. Such armor is fastened in front with the help of numerous ties. There were also short armor, like sweatshirts with planks or metal plates sewn on them. Very little is currently known about the martial art of the Ainu. It is known that the pra-Japanese adopted almost everything from them. Why not assume that some elements of martial arts were also not adopted?

Only such a duel has survived to this day. Opponents, holding each other by the left hand, struck with clubs (the Ainu specially trained their backs to pass this endurance test). Sometimes these batons were replaced with knives, and sometimes they just fought with their hands, until the opponents were out of breath. Despite the brutality of the duel, no cases of injury were observed. In fact, the Ainu fought not only with the Japanese. Sakhalin, for example, they conquered from the "tonzi" - a short people, really the indigenous population of Sakhalin. From "tonzi" Ainu women adopted the habit of tattooing their lips and the skin around their lips (a kind of half-smile - half-mustache was obtained), as well as the names of some (very good quality) swords - "tontsini". It is curious that the Ainu warriors - the Jangins - were noted as very warlike, they were incapable of lying. The information about signs of ownership of the Ainu is also interesting - they put special signs on arrows, weapons, utensils, passed down from generation to generation, in order, for example, not to confuse whose arrow hit the beast, who owns this or that thing. There are more than one and a half hundred such signs, and their meanings have not yet been deciphered. Rock inscriptions were found near Otaru (Hokkaido) and on the sharp Urup.

It remains to add that the Japanese were afraid of an open battle with the Ainu and won them by cunning. An ancient Japanese song said that one "emishi" (barbarian, ain) is worth a hundred people. There was a belief that they could make fog. Over the years, the Ainu have repeatedly raised an uprising against the Japanese (in Ainu “siskin”), but each time they lost. The Japanese invited the leaders to their place to conclude a truce. Sacredly honoring the customs of hospitality, the Ainu, trusting like children, did not think anything bad. They were killed during the feast. As a rule, the Japanese did not succeed in other ways of suppressing the uprising.

“The Ainu are a meek, modest, good-natured, trusting, sociable, polite, respectful people; brave on the hunt

and... even intelligent.” (A.P. Chekhov - Sakhalin Island)

From the 8th century the Japanese did not stop slaughtering the Ainu, who fled from extermination to the north - to Hokkaido - Matmai, the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin. Unlike the Japanese, the Russian Cossacks did not kill them. After several skirmishes between similar outwardly blue-eyed and bearded aliens on both sides, normal friendly relations were established. And although the Ainu flatly refused to pay the yasak tax, no one killed them for this, unlike the Japanese. However, 1945 became a turning point for the fate of this people. Today, only 12 of its representatives live in Russia, but there are many "mestizos" from mixed marriages. The destruction of the "bearded people" - the Ainu in Japan stopped only after the fall of militarism in 1945. However, the cultural genocide continues to this day.

It is significant that no one knows the exact number of Ainu on the Japanese islands. The fact is that in “tolerant” Japan, quite often there is still a rather arrogant attitude towards representatives of other nationalities. And the Ainu were no exception: it is impossible to determine their exact number, since according to the Japanese censuses they do not appear either as a people or as a national minority. According to scientists, the total number of the Ainu and their descendants does not exceed 16 thousand people, of which there are no more than 300 purebred representatives of the Ainu people, the rest are “mestizos”. In addition, often the most unprestigious job is left to the Ainu. And the Japanese are actively pursuing a policy of their assimilation and about no " cultural autonomies' is out of the question for them. People from mainland Asia also came to Japan around the same time that people first reached America. The first settlers of the Japanese islands - YOMON (ancestors of the Ainu) reached Japan twelve thousand years ago, and yowi (ancestors of the Japanese) came from Korea in the last two and a half millennia.

In Japan, work has been done that allows us to hope that genetics is able to solve the question of who the ancestors of the Japanese are. Along with the Japanese living on the central islands of Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu, anthropologists distinguish two more modern ethnic groups: the Ainu from the island of Hokkaido in the north and the Ryukyuans, who live mainly on the southernmost island of Kinawa. One theory is that these two groups, the Ainu and the Ryukyuans, are the descendants of the original Yomon settlers who once occupied all of Japan and were later pushed out of the central islands north into Hokkaido and south into Okinawa by the Youi from Korea. Mitochondrial DNA research conducted in Japan only partly supports this hypothesis: it showed that modern Japanese from the central islands have very much in common genetically with modern Koreans, with whom they have many more identical and similar mitochondrial types than with the Ainu and the Ryukyuans. However, it is also shown that there are practically no similarities between the Ainu and Ryukyu people. Age estimates have shown that both of these ethnic groups have accumulated certain mutations over the past twelve millennia - this suggests that they are indeed descendants of the original Yomon people, but also proves that the two groups have not been in contact since then.

The mysterious Kuriles are a paradise for any romantic traveler. Inaccessibility, uninhabited, geographical isolation, active volcanoes, far from a "beach climate", avaricious information - not only do not scare away, but also increase the desire to get to the foggy, fire-breathing islands - the former military fortresses of the Japanese army, which still hide many secrets deep underground.
The Kuril arc with a narrow chain of islands, like an openwork bridge, connects two worlds - Kamchatka and Japan. The Kuriles are part of the Pacific volcanic ring. The islands are the tops of the highest structures of the volcanic ridge, protruding from the water only 1-2 km, and extending into the depths of the ocean for many kilometers.

In total, there are over 150 volcanoes on the islands, of which 39 are active. The highest of them is the Alaid volcano - 2339 m, located on the island of Atlasov. Volcanic activity is associated with the presence on the islands of numerous thermal springs some of them medicinal.

Experts compare the Kuril Islands with a huge Botanical Garden, where representatives of various floras coexist: Japanese-Korean, Manchurian and Okhotsk-Kamchatka. Here they grow together - polar birch and thousand-year-old yew, larch with spruce and wild grapes, cedar dwarf and velvet tree, interweaving of woody vines and carpet thickets of lingonberries. Traveling around the islands, you can visit various natural areas, get from the pristine taiga to subtropical thickets, from the moss tundra to the jungle of giant grasses.
The seabed around the islands is covered with dense vegetation, in the thickets of which numerous fish, mollusks, marine animals find refuge, and crystal clear water allows lovers of underwater travel to navigate well in the seaweed jungle, where unique finds also happen - sunken ships and the Japanese military technique - reminders of military events in the history of the Kuril archipelago.

Yuzhno-Kurilsk, Kunashir

GEOGRAPHY, WHERE THEY ARE, HOW TO GET TO
The Kuril Islands are a chain of islands between the Kamchatka Peninsula and the island of Hokkaido, separating the Sea of ​​Okhotsk from the Pacific Ocean in a slightly convex arc.
The length is about 1200 km. The total area is 10.5 thousand km². To the south of them is the state border of the Russian Federation with Japan.
The islands form two parallel ridges: the Greater Kuril and the Lesser Kuril. Includes 56 islands. They are of great military-strategic and economic importance. The Kuril Islands are part of the Sakhalin region of Russia. The southern islands of the archipelago - Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and the Habomai group - are disputed by Japan, which includes them in the Hokkaido prefecture.

The Kuril Islands belong to the regions of the Far North
The climate on the islands is marine, rather severe, with cold and long winters, cool summers, and high humidity. The mainland monsoon climate undergoes significant changes here. In the southern part of the Kuril Islands, frosts in winter can reach -25 ° C, the average temperature in February is -8 ° C. In the northern part, the winter is milder, with frosts down to -16 ° C and -7 ° C in February.
In winter, the islands are affected by the Aleutian baric minimum, the effect of which weakens by June.
The average temperature in August in the southern part of the Kuril Islands is +17 °C, in the north - +10 °C.

Iturup Island, White Rocks Kuril Islands

List of KURIL ISLANDS
List of islands with an area of ​​more than 1 km² in the direction from north to south.
Name, Area, km², height, Latitude, Longitude
Great Kuril Ridge
northern group
Atlasova 150 2339 50°52" 155°34"
Shumshu 388 189 50°45" 156°21"
Paramushir 2053 1816 50°23" 155°41"
Antsiferova 7 747 50°12" 154°59"
Macanrushi 49 1169 49°46" 154°26"
Onecotan 425 1324 49°27" 154°46"
Harimkotan 68 1157 49°07" 154°32"
Chirinkotan 6 724 48°59" 153°29"
Ekarma 30 1170 48°57" 153°57"
Shiashkotan 122 934 48°49" 154°06"

middle group
Raikoke 4.6 551 48°17" 153°15"
Matua 52 1446 48°05" 153°13"
Russhua 67 948 47°45" 153°01"
Ushishir Islands 5 388 — —
Ryponkicha 1.3 121 47°32" 152°50"
Yankich 3.7 388 47°31" 152°49"
Ketoi 73 1166 47°20" 152°31"
Simushir 353 1539 46°58" 152°00"
Broughton 7 800 46°43" 150°44"
Black Brothers Islands 37,749 — —
Chirpoy 21 691 46°30" 150°55"
Brat-Chirpoev 16,749 46°28" 150°50" Kuril Islands

Southern group
Urup 1450 1426 45°54" 149°59"
Iturup 3318.8 1634 45°00" 147°53"
Kunashir 1495.24 1819 44°05" 145°59"

Small Kuril Ridge
Shikotan 264.13 412 43°48" 146°45"
Polonsky 11.57 16 43°38" 146°19"
Green 58.72 24 43°30" 146°08"
Tanfilyev 12.92 15 43°26" 145°55"
Yuri 10.32 44 43°25" 146°04"
Anuchina 2.35 33 43°22" 146°00"

volcano Atsonapuri Kuril Islands

Geological structure
The Kuril Islands are a typical ensimatic island arc at the edge of the Okhotsk plate. It sits above a subduction zone where the Pacific Plate is being swallowed up. Most of the islands are mountainous. The highest height is 2339 m - Atlasov Island, Alaid volcano. The Kuril Islands are located in the Pacific volcanic ring of fire in a zone of high seismic activity: out of 68 volcanoes, 36 are active, there are hot mineral springs. Large tsunamis are not uncommon. The most famous are the tsunami of November 5, 1952 in Paramushir and the Shikotan tsunami of October 5, 1994. The last major tsunami occurred on November 15, 2006 in Simushir.

South Kuril Bay, Kunashir Island

earthquakes
In Japan, an average of 1,500 earthquakes per year is recorded, i.e. 4 earthquakes per day. Most of they are associated with movement in the earth's crust (tectonics). Over 15 centuries, 223 destructive earthquakes and 2000 of medium strength were noted and described: These, however, are far from complete numbers, since earthquakes began to be recorded in Japan with special instruments only since 1888. A significant proportion of earthquakes occur in the Kuril Islands region, where they are often appear as seaquakes. Captain Snow, who hunted sea animals here for many years, at the end of the last century, repeatedly observed such phenomena. So, for example, on July 12, 1884, 4 miles west of the Srednov stones, the gusty noise and shuddering of the ship lasted about two hours with intervals of 15 minutes and a duration of 30 seconds. The waves of the sea were not noticed at that time. The water temperature was normal, about 2.25°C.
Between 1737 and 1888 16 devastating earthquakes were noted in the region of the islands, for 1915-1916. - 3 catastrophic earthquakes in the middle part of the ridge, in 1929 - 2 similar earthquakes in the north.
Sometimes these phenomena are associated with underwater lava eruptions. The destructive impacts of earthquakes sometimes raise a huge wave (tsunami) on the sea, which is repeated several times. With colossal force, it falls on the shores, complementing the destruction from the shaking of the soil. The height of the wave can be judged, for example, from the case of the ship “Natalia”, sent by Lebedev-Lastochkin and Shelekhov under the command of the navigator Petushkov to the 18th island: “On January 8, 1780, there was a severe earthquake; the sea rose so high that the gukor (A. S.’s ship), which was in the harbor, was carried to the middle of the island ... ”(Berkh, 1823, pp. 140-141; Pozdneev, p. 11). The wave caused by the earthquake of 1737 reached a height of 50 m and hit the shore with terrible force, breaking the rocks. Several new rocks and cliffs have risen in the Second Channel. During an earthquake on Simushir in 1849, all sources of groundwater dried up, and its population was forced to move to other places.

Paramushir island, Ebeko volcano

Mendeleev volcano, Kunashir island

Mineral springs
The presence of numerous hot and highly mineralized springs on the islands is associated with volcanic activity. They are found on almost all islands, especially on Kunashir, Iturup, Ushishir, Raikok, Shikotan, Ekarma. On the first of them there are quite a few boiling springs. On others, hot keys have a temperature of 35-70 ° C. They come out in different places and have a different debit.
On about. A Raikoke spring with a temperature of 44°C gushes at the foot of high cliffs and forms bath-like pools in the cracks of the hardened lava.
On about. Ushishir is a powerful boiling spring that comes out in the crater of a volcano, etc. The water of many springs is colorless, transparent, and most often contains sulfur, sometimes deposited along the edges with yellow grains. For drinking purposes, the water of most sources is unsuitable.
Some springs are considered healing and on inhabited islands used for treatment. The gases emitted by volcanoes along fissures are often also rich in sulfurous fumes.

Devil's finger Kuril Islands

Natural resources
On the islands and coastal zone industrial reserves of non-ferrous metal ores, mercury, natural gas, and oil have been explored. On the island of Iturup, in the area of ​​the Kudryavy volcano, there is the richest mineral deposit of rhenium known in the world. Here, at the beginning of the 20th century, the Japanese mined native sulfur. The total resources of gold in the Kuril Islands are estimated at 1867 tons, silver - 9284 tons, titanium - 39.7 million tons, iron - 273 million tons. Currently, the development of minerals is not numerous.
Of all the Kuril Straits, only the Frieze Strait and the Ekaterina Strait are non-freezing navigable.

Bird's waterfall, Kunashir

Flora and fauna
Flora
Due to the large length of the islands from north to south, the flora of the Kurils is extremely different. On northern islands(Paramushir, Shumshu and others), due to the harsh climate, woody vegetation is rather scarce and is represented mainly by shrub forms (dwarf trees): alder (alder), birch, willow, mountain ash, elfin cedar (cedar). On the southern islands (Iturup, Kunashir) coniferous forests grow from Sakhalin fir, Ayan spruce and Kuril larch with a large participation of broad-leaved species: curly oak, maples, elms, calopanax seven-lobed with big amount woody vines: petiolate hydrangeas, actinidia, Chinese magnolia vine, wild grapes, poisonous oriental toxicodendron, etc. In the south of Kunashir, there is the only wild magnolia species in Russia - obovate magnolia. One of the main landscape plants of the Kuriles, starting from the middle islands (Ketoi and to the south), is Kuril bamboo, which forms impenetrable thickets on mountain slopes and forest edges. Tall grasses are common on all islands due to the humid climate. Various berries are widely represented: crowberry, lingonberry, blueberry, honeysuckle and others.
There are more than 40 species of endemic plants. For example, Kavakam astragalus, island wormwood, Kuril edelweiss, found on Iturup Island; Ito and Saussurea Kuril, growing on the island of Urup.
The following plants are protected on the island of Iturup: endangered Asiatic half-flower, flowering plants mainland aralia, heart-shaped aralia, seven-lobed calopanax, Japanese kandyk, Wright's viburnum, Glen's cardiocrinum, obovate peony, Fori rhododendron, Sugeroki's holly, Gray's two-leaf, pearl marsh, wolfwort low, mountain peony, lichens glossodium japanese and stereocaulon naked, gymnosperms juniper Sargent and yew spiky, bryophyte bryoxiphium savatier and atractylocarpus alpine, growing near the volcano Baransky. On the island of Urup protected viburnum Wright, Aralia heart-shaped and plagiotium obtuse.

Alaid volcano, Atlasov Island

Fauna
A brown bear lives on Kunashir, Iturup and Paramushir, and a bear was also found on Shumshu, but during a long stay on the island of a military base, due to its relatively small size, the bears on Shumshu were mostly knocked out. Shumshu is a connecting island between Paramushir and Kamchatka, and individual bears are now found there. Foxes and small rodents live on the islands. A large number of birds: plovers, gulls, ducks, cormorants, petrels, albatrosses, passerines, owls, falconiformes and others. Lots of bird colonies.
The coastal underwater world, unlike the islands, is not only numerous, but also very diverse. Seals, sea otters, killer whales, sea lions live in coastal waters. Of great commercial importance are: fish, crabs, molluscs, squids, crustaceans, trepangs, sea cucumbers, sea ​​urchins, seaweed, whales. The seas washing the shores of Sakhalin and the Kuriles are among the most productive areas of the World Ocean.
Endemic animals (mollusks) are also present on Iturup Island: Iturup lacustrine, Iturup sharovka (Lake Reidovo), Kuril pearl mussel, Sinanodont-like kunashiriya and Iturup zatvorka are found on Dobroye Lake.
On February 10, 1984, the Kurilsky State Nature Reserve was established. 84 species included in the Red Book of Russia live on its territory.

Kunashir Island, Pervukhin Bay

History of the islands
17th-18th century
The honor of discovery, exploration and initial development of the Kuril Islands belongs to Russian expeditions and colonists.

The first visit to the islands is attributed to the Dutchman Gerrits Fries, who visited Fr. Uruppu. Calling this land "Company Land" - Companys lant (Reclus, 1885, p. 565), Friese, however, did not assume that it was part of the Kuril ridge.
The remaining islands north of Uruppu to Kamchatka were discovered and described by Russian "explorers" and navigators. And the Russians discovered Uruppa for the second time at the beginning of the 18th century. Japan at that time were known only o. Kunashiri and the Malaya Kuril ridge, but they were not part of the Japanese Empire. The northernmost colony of Japan was about. Hokkaido.
The server islands of the Kuril ridge were first reported by the clerk of the Anadyr prison, the Pentecostal Vl. Atlasov, who discovered Kamchatka. In 1697 he walked along west coast Kamchatka south to the mouth of the river. Golygina and from here "I saw how there are islands at sea."
Not knowing that trade with foreigners had been prohibited in Japan since 1639, Peter I in 1702 gave the task of establishing good-neighbourly trade relations with Japan. From that time on, Russian expeditions persistently made their way south of Kamchatka in search of trade route to Japan. In 1706, the Cossack M. Nasedkin clearly saw land in the south from Cape Lopatka. According to the order of the Yakut voivode to “provide” this land, the Cossack ataman D. Antsiferov and Yesaul Ivan Kozyrevsky in 1711 went to about. Shumushu (Shumshu) and Paramusir (Paramushir), and upon their return they made a “drawing” of all the islands. To draw the southern islands, they used the stories of Japanese fishermen who were thrown out by a storm to Kamchatka and saw the southern islands.
In the campaign of 1713, Yesaul Ivan Kozyrevsky again "visited" the islands beyond the "transitions" (straits) and made a new "drawing". The surveyors Evreinov and Luzhin were surveying on the map in 1720 from Kamchatka to the Sixth Island (Simushiru). After 10 years, the brave leader of the "explorers" V. Shestakov with 25 service people visited the five northern islands. Following him, thorough work "for the sake of observation and finding a way to Japan" was carried out by Captain Spanberg, Bering's assistant on his second expedition.
During 1738-1739. Spanberg mapped and described almost all the islands. Based on his materials, 40 islands under Russian names were shown on the “General Map of the Russian Empire” in the Academic Atlas of 1745, for example, the islands of Anfinogen, Krasnogorsk, Stolbovoy, Krivoy, Osypnoy, Goat, Brother, Sister, Alder, Zeleny, etc. As a result of Spanberg's work, the composition of the entire island ridge was first clarified and mapped. The previously known extreme southern islands (“Company Land”, the island of “States”) were defined as components of the Kuril ridge.
For a long time before that, there was an idea of ​​some large "Land of Gama" to the east of Asia. The legend of Gama's hypothetical Land was forever dispelled.
In the same years, the Russians got acquainted with the small indigenous population of the islands - the Ainu. According to the largest Russian geographer of that time, S. Krasheninnikov, on about. Shumushu by the 40s of the 18th century. there were only 44 souls.
In 1750 he sailed to about. Shimushiru is the foreman of the First Nick Island. Storozhev. After 16 years (in 1766), foremen Nikita Chikin, Chuprov and centurion Iv. Black again tried to find out the number of all the islands and the population on them.

After the death of Chikina on about. Simushiru I. Cherny spent the winter on this island. In 1767 he reached Fr. Etorofu, and then settled on about. Uruppu. Returning to Kamchatka in the autumn of 1769, Cherny reported that on 19 islands (including Etorofu) 83 "shaggy" (Ainu) had accepted Russian citizenship.
In their actions, Chikin and Cherny were obliged to be guided by the instructions of the Bolsheretsk office: “When traveling to distant islands and back ... describe .... their size, the width of the straits, which are on the islands, animals, also rivers, lakes and fish in them. .. To visit about gold and silver ores and pearls ... offenses, taxes, robbery ... and other acts contrary to the decrees and rudeness and fornication violence, not to show, expecting the highest mercy and reward for jealousy. After some time, the Tyumen merchant Yak. Nikonov, as well as the sailors of the Protodyakonov trading company and other "explorers" delivered more accurate news about the islands.
In order to firmly and finally consolidate the islands and develop them, the chief commander of Kamchatka, Bem, proposed to build on about. Uruppu fortification, create there Russian settlement and develop, economy. To implement this proposal and develop trade with Japan, the Yakut merchant Lebedev-Lastochkin equipped an expedition in 1775 under the command of the Siberian nobleman Antipin. The expedition ship "Nikolai" crashed near about. Uruppu. Two years later, to Antipin on about. Uruppa was sent from Okhotsk the ship "Natalia" under the command of navigator M. Petushkov.
After wintering on Uruppu, "Natalia" went to Akkesi Bay on about. Hokkaido and met a Japanese ship here. By agreement with the Japanese, Antipin and the translator, the Irkutsk townsman Shabalin, appeared in 1779 with the goods of Lebedev-Lastochkin on about. Hokkaido to Akkeshi Bay. Strictly mindful of the instructions received by Antipin that “... having met with the Japanese, act courteously, affectionately, decently ... find out what Russian goods they need“ things and what kind of things you can get from them in return, set prices and whether they would like to for mutual bargaining, to make an agreement on some island that would guide the future ... to establish peaceful relations with the Japanese, ”the merchants counted on trade that would be beneficial for both sides. But their hopes were not justified. In Akkesi, they were given the prohibition of the Japanese not only to trade on about. Hokkaido (Matsmai), but also sail to Etorofu and Kunashiri.
Since that time, the Japanese government began to oppose the Russians in the southern islands in every possible way. In 1786, it commissioned an official, Mogami Tokunai, to inspect the islands. Finding three Russians on Etorofu and interrogating them, Tokunai handed them an order: “Foreign nationals are strictly forbidden to enter Japanese territory. Therefore, I order you to return to your state as soon as possible. The movement of Russian merchants to the south for peaceful purposes was interpreted by the Japanese in a completely different way.

city ​​of Severo-Kurilsk

19th century
In 1805, a representative of the Russian-American Company, Nikolai Rezanov, who arrived in Nagasaki as the first Russian envoy, tried to resume negotiations on trade with Japan. But he also failed. However, the Japanese officials, who were not satisfied with the despotic policy of the supreme power, gave him hints that it would be nice to carry out a forceful action in these lands, which could push the situation off the ground. This was carried out on behalf of Rezanov in 1806-1807 by an expedition of two ships led by Lieutenant Khvostov and midshipman Davydov. Ships were plundered, a number of trading posts were destroyed, and a Japanese village was burned on Iturup. Later they were tried, but the attack for some time led to a serious deterioration in Russian-Japanese relations. In particular, this was the reason for the arrest of Vasily Golovnin's expedition.
The first distinction between the possessions of Russia and Japan in the Kuril Islands was made in the Shimoda Treaty of 1855.
In exchange for the right to own southern Sakhalin, Russia transferred to Japan in 1875 all the Kuril Islands.

20th century
After the defeat in 1905 in the Russo-Japanese War, Russia transferred the southern part of Sakhalin to Japan.
In February 1945, the Soviet Union promised the United States and Great Britain to start a war with Japan on the condition that Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands be returned to it.
February 2, 1946. Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on the formation on the territory of South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands of the Khabarovsk Territory RSFSR.
November 5, 1952. A powerful tsunami hit the entire coast of the Kuriles, Paramushir suffered the most. A giant wave washed away the city of Severo-Kurilsk (formerly Kasivabara). The press was forbidden to mention this catastrophe.
In 1956, the Soviet Union and Japan adopted a Joint Treaty officially ending the war between the two states and transferring Habomai and Shikotan to Japan. Signing the agreement, however, did not work out, because it came out that Japan was waiving the rights to Iturup and Kunashir, because of which the United States threatened not to give Japan the island of Okinawa.

Church of the Holy Trinity, Yuzhno-Kurilsk

The Problem of Ownership
At the end of World War II in February 1945, at the Yalta Conference of the Heads of Power, the countries participating in the anti-Hitler coalition, an agreement was reached on the unconditional return of the southern part of Sakhalin and the transfer of the Kuril Islands to the Soviet Union after the victory over Japan.
On July 26, 1945, within the framework of the Potsdam Conference, the Potsdam Declaration was adopted, which limited the sovereignty of Japan to the islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku. On August 8, the USSR joined the Potsdam Declaration. On August 14, Japan accepted the terms of the Declaration and on September 2, 1945, signed the Instrument of Surrender confirming these terms. But these documents did not speak directly about the transfer of the Kuril Islands to the USSR.
On August 18 - September 1, 1945, Soviet troops carried out the Kuril landing operation and occupied, among other things, the southern Kuril Islands - Urup, Iturup, Kunashir and the Lesser Kuril ridge.
In accordance with the Decree of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces of February 2, 1946, in these territories, after their exclusion from Japan by Memorandum No. 677 of the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces of January 29, 1946, was formed South Sakhalin Region as part of the Khabarovsk Territory of the RSFSR, which on January 2, 1947 became part of the newly formed Sakhalin Region as part of the RSFSR.
On September 8, 1951, Japan signed the San Francisco Peace Treaty, according to which it renounced "all rights, titles and claims to the Kuril Islands and to that part of Sakhalin Island and the islands adjacent to it, sovereignty over which Japan acquired under the Portsmouth Treaty of September 5, 1905 G." When discussing the San Francisco Treaty in the US Senate, a resolution was adopted containing the following clause: damage to the rights and legal foundations of Japan in these territories, as well as any provisions in favor of the USSR in relation to Japan contained in the Yalta Agreement will not be recognized. In view of the serious claims to the draft treaty, the representatives of the USSR, Poland and Czechoslovakia refused to sign it. The treaty was also not signed by Burma, the DRV, India, the DPRK, the PRC, and the MPR, which were not represented at the conference.
Japan makes territorial claims to the southern Kuril Islands Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Khabomai with total area 5175 km². These islands are called the "Northern Territories" in Japan. Japan substantiates its claims with the following arguments:
According to Article 2 of the Shimoda Treaty of 1855, these islands were included in Japan and they are the original possession of Japan.
This group of islands, according to the official position of Japan, is not included in the Kuril chain (Chishima Islands) and, having signed the act of surrender and the San Francisco Treaty, Japan did not renounce them.
The USSR did not sign the San Francisco Treaty.
However, the Shimodsky treatise is considered annulled due to the Russo-Japanese War (1905).
In 1956, the Moscow Declaration was signed, which ended the state of war and established diplomatic and consular relations between the USSR and Japan. Article 9 of the Declaration states, in part:
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, however, that the actual transfer of these islands to Japan will be made after the conclusion of the Peace Treaty.
On November 14, 2004, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, on the eve of the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Japan, stated that Russia, as the successor state of the USSR, recognizes the 1956 Declaration as existing and is ready to conduct territorial negotiations with Japan on its basis.
It is noteworthy that on November 1, 2010, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev became the first Russian leader to visit the Kuril Islands. President Dmitry Medvedev then stressed that “all the islands of the Kuril chain are the territory of the Russian Federation. This is our land, and we must equip the Kuriles.” The Japanese side remained implacable and called this visit regrettable, which in turn caused a response from the Russian Foreign Ministry, according to which there could be no changes in the status of the Kuril Islands.
Some Russian official experts, in search of a solution that could satisfy both Japan and Russia, offer very peculiar options. So, Academician K.E. Chervenko in April 2012, in an article on the possibility of a final settlement of the territorial dispute between the Russian Federation and Japan, voiced an approach in which the countries participating in the San Francisco Treaty (states that have the right to determine the international legal status South Sakhalin with adjacent islands and all the Kuril Islands) recognize the Kuriles de facto as the territory of the Russian Federation, leaving Japan the right to consider them de jure (under the terms of the above-mentioned agreement) not included in Russia.

Cape Stolbchaty, Kunashir Island

Population
The Kuril Islands are extremely unevenly populated. The population lives permanently only in Paramushir, Iturup, Kunashir and Shikotan. There is no permanent population on the other islands. At the beginning of 2010, there are 19 settlements: two cities (Severo-Kurilsk, Kurilsk), an urban-type settlement (Yuzhno-Kurilsk) and 16 villages.
The maximum value of the population was noted in 1989 and amounted to 29.5 thousand people. In Soviet times, the population of the islands was significantly higher due to high subsidies and a large number military personnel. Thanks to the military, the islands of Shumshu, Onekotan, Simushir and others were populated.
As of 2010, the population of the islands is 18.7 thousand people, including in the Kuril urban district - 6.1 thousand people (on the only inhabited island of Iturup, also includes Urup, Simushir, etc.); in the South Kuril urban district - 10.3 thousand people. (Kunashir, Shikotan and other islands of the Lesser Kuril Ridge (Khabomai)); in the North Kuril urban district - 2.4 thousand people (on the only inhabited island of Paramushir, also includes Shumshu, Onekotan, etc.).

Onekotan Island

Economy and development
August 3, 2006 at a meeting of the Government of the Russian Federation approved federal program development of the islands from 2007 to 2015, including 4 blocks: development of transport infrastructure, fish processing industry, social infrastructure and solving energy problems. The program provides:
The allocation of funds for this program is almost 18 billion rubles, that is, 2 billion rubles a year, which is equivalent to about 300 thousand rubles for each inhabitant of the islands, which will increase the population from 19 to 30 thousand people.
The development of the fishing industry - at present, there are only two fish factories on the islands, and both are state-owned. The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of the Russian Federation proposes to create another 20 new fish hatcheries to replenish biological resources. The federal program provides for the creation of the same number of private fish breeding plants and the reconstruction of one fish processing plant.
On the islands, it is planned to build new kindergartens, schools, hospitals, develop a transport network, including the construction of a modern all-weather airport.
The problem of electricity shortage, which is four times more expensive in the Kuril Islands than in Sakhalin, is planned to be solved through the construction of power plants operating on geothermal springs using the experience of Kamchatka and Japan.
In addition, in May 2011, the Russian authorities announced their intention to allocate an additional 16 billion rubles, thereby doubling the funding for the development program for the Kuril Islands.
In February 2011, it became known about plans to strengthen the defense of the Kuriles with an air defense brigade, as well as a mobile coastal missile system with Yakhont anti-ship missiles.

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SOURCE OF INFORMATION AND PHOTO:
Team Nomads.
Photo: Tatyana Selena, Viktor Morozov, Andrey Kapustin, Artem Demin
The Russian Academy of Sciences. Institute of Geography RAS. Pacific Institute of Geography FEB RAS; Editors: V. M. Kotlyakov (chairman), P. Ya. Baklanov, N. N. Komedchikov (chief editor) and others; Rep. editor-cartographer Fedorova E. Ya. Atlas of the Kuril Islands. — M.; Vladivostok: IPTs "DIK", 2009. - 516 p.
Control natural resources and Environmental Protection Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia for the Sakhalin Region. Report "On the state and protection of the environment of the Sakhalin region in 2002" (2003). Retrieved June 21, 2010. Archived from the original on August 23, 2011.
Sakhalin region. Official site of the governor and government of the Sakhalin region. Retrieved June 21, 2010. Archived from the original on October 7, 2006.
Makeev B. "The Kuril problem: the military aspect". World economy and international relationships, 1993, No. 1, p. 54.
Wikipedia site.
Solovyov A.I. Kuril Islands / Glavsevmorput. - Ed. 2nd. - M .: Publishing House of the Glavsevmorput, 1947. - 308 p.
Atlas of the Kuril Islands / Russian Academy of Sciences. Institute of Geography RAS. Pacific Institute of Geography FEB RAS; Editors: V. M. Kotlyakov (chairman), P. Ya. Baklanov, N. N. Komedchikov (chief editor) and others; Rep. editor-cartographer Fedorova E. Ya .. - M .; Vladivostok: IPTs "DIK", 2009. - 516 p. - 300 copies. - ISBN 978-5-89658-034-8.
http://www.kurilstour.ru/islands.shtml