History of the Kuril Islands. The history of the development of the Kuril Islands by Russia

harsh reality of these places is such that it serves as a constant reminder to a person that the crown of the “king of nature” has been appropriated to them self-appointedly and completely undeservedly. Because here, in the face of nature, we sometimes find ourselves unarmed. Frequent earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions more than once led to the fact that people left their homes with no hope of restoring entire settlements. There are many such abandoned villages, urban-type settlements and military camps. And in this sense, Severo-Kurilsk was lucky, which, although it was completely destroyed by the wave of 1952, was then nevertheless rebuilt.

Severo-Kurilsk

Severo-Kurilsk is a city in the Sakhalin Region with a population of less than 2,500 people, located in the northeast of the Kuril island of Paramushir. Severo-Kurilsk stands at the foot of Mount Ebeko, just some 7 km away. from an active volcano. The city's economy is based on the extraction and processing of fish (navaga, flounder and pollock) and seafood, mainly crabs and squid. There is a fishing port.

Two dams with small power plants have been built on the river adjacent to the city. Geothermal sources are being searched. The city also has a small airport for helicopters. The picturesque surroundings of Severo-Kurilsk, the presence of mineral springs form the basis for recreation for residents and guests of the city.

Despite the fact that the city belongs to the Sakhalin Region, passenger traffic is carried out only with the Kamchatka Territory, since the distance to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is 4 times less than to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. From the Kamchatka Peninsula, it can be reached by air in less than 2 hours. The sea route is 16-18 hours - at present, sea transportation from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is carried out by the Gipanis passenger ship.

The North Kuril region includes the following islands: Shumshu, Paramushir, Atlasov, Antsiferova, Makarushi, Onekotan, Kharimkotan, Shiashkotan, Ekarma, Chirikotan, Matua, Rasshua, Ushishir, Ketoi, as well as a number of small islands, such as the Avos rock and the Trap rocks .

Kurilsk

Kurilsk is a city in the Sakhalin Region, located on the Iturup Island of the Kuril Ridge. The population does not exceed 2000 people. Kurilsk has a seaport, a fish factory for the reproduction of pink salmon, a seismic station, a weather station, a tsunami warning station, and even has its own local history museum with a collection of archaeological and ethnographic materials.

The municipality is located in the central part of the Kuril Islands and includes the islands: Iturup, Urup, Broughton, Black Brothers (Chirpoi, Brat-Chirpoev), Simushir and many small islands and rocks.

The structure of the Kuril urban district includes 7 villages: Kitovoye, Rybaki, Burevestnik, Gornoye, Goryachiye Klyuchi, Reidovo. These are small settlements, for example, only 20 people live in the village of Rybaki, there are not even 200 in Burevestnik, about 600 in Kitovoe, and about 1000 in Reidovo. In the rest, the population has crossed the 1000th threshold, since military units are located on the territory of these settlements .

Yuzhno-Kurilsk

Yuzhno-Kurilsk is an urban-type settlement located on the island of Kunashir, with a population of about 7,000 people. It was also repeatedly rebuilt after the destruction caused by natural disasters.

In Yuzhno-Kurilsk, as well as in other cities of the islands, there are several fishing enterprises.
OAO Kuril Mining and Geological Company, based in the village, is engaged in geological exploration and mining of precious metals at gold mining sites in the Sakhalin Region.

In addition, the Mendeleevskaya Geothermal Power Plant and a heat supply station are being built in the village, which will allow in the future to abandon expensive coal and diesel fuel deliveries and completely transfer Yuzhno-Kurilsk to geothermal heat supply.

16 km. from the village there is the Mendeleevo airport, where you can fly from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk in less than two hours. Sea communication between Sakhalin and Yuzhno-Kurilsk is provided by motor ships Marina Tsvetaeva and Igor Farkhutdinov. In addition, from here you can get to Shikotan, where the Nadezhda and Druzhba ships go. And only cargo flights go to Vladivostok.

Not far from the village is the "Hot Beach", where you can relax on thermal springs and these are far from the only natural sights of the South Kuril urban district.

In addition, here you can visit the local history museum and the Neolithic site. ancient man, which is located on the left bank of the Alyokhina River.

In the chain of islands between Kamchatka and Hokkaido, stretching in a convex arc between the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and the Pacific Ocean, on the border of Russia and Japan are the South Kuril Islands - the Habomai group, Shikotan, Kunashir and Iturup. These territories are disputed by our neighbors, who even included them in the Japanese prefecture. Since these territories are of great economic and strategic importance, the struggle for the South Kuriles has been going on for many years.

Geography

Shikotan Island is located at the same latitude as the subtropical city of Sochi, and the lower ones are at the latitude of Anapa. However, there has never been a climatic paradise here and is not expected. The South Kuril Islands have always belonged to the area Far North, although they cannot complain about the same harsh arctic climate. Here winters are much milder, warmer, summers are not hot. This temperature regime when in February - the coldest month - the thermometer rarely shows below -5 degrees Celsius, even the high humidity of the sea deprives negative impact. The monsoonal continental climate here changes significantly, since the close presence of the Pacific Ocean weakens the influence of the no less close Arctic. If in the north of the Kuriles in the summer it is +10 on average, then the South Kuril Islands constantly warm up to +18. Not Sochi, of course, but not Anadyr either.

The ensimatic arc of the islands is located at the very edge of the Okhotsk Plate, above the subduction zone where the Pacific Plate ends. For the most part, the South Kuril Islands are covered with mountains, on Atlasov Island the highest peak is more than two thousand meters. There are also volcanoes, since all the Kuril Islands lie in the Pacific fiery volcanic ring. Seismic activity is also very high here. Thirty-six of the sixty-eight active volcanoes in the Kuriles require constant monitoring. Earthquakes are almost constant here, after which the danger of the world's largest tsunami comes. So, the islands of Shikotan, Simushir and Paramushir have repeatedly suffered greatly from this element. The tsunamis of 1952, 1994 and 2006 were especially large.

Resources, flora

Oil reserves have been explored in the coastal zone and on the territory of the islands themselves, natural gas, mercury, a huge number of non-ferrous metal ores. For example, near the Kudryavy volcano there is the richest known rhenium deposit in the world. Same southern part Kuril Islands was famous for the extraction of native sulfur. Here common resources gold - 1867 tons, and also a lot of silver - 9284 tons, titanium - almost forty million tons, iron - two hundred and seventy-three million tons. Now the development of all minerals is waiting for better times, they are too few in the region, except for such a place as South Sakhalin. The Kuril Islands can generally be regarded as the country's resource reserve for a rainy day. Only two straits of all the Kuril Islands are navigable all year round because they don't freeze. These are the islands of the South Kuril ridge - Urup, Kunashir, Iturup, and between them - the straits of Ekaterina and Friza.

In addition to minerals, there are many other riches that belong to all mankind. This is the flora and fauna of the Kuril Islands. It varies greatly from north to south, since their length is quite large. In the north of the Kuriles there is rather sparse vegetation, and in the south - coniferous forests of amazing Sakhalin fir, Kuril larch, Ayan spruce. In addition, broad-leaved species are very actively involved in covering the island mountains and hills: curly oak, elms and maples, calopanax creepers, hydrangeas, actinidia, lemongrass, wild grapes and much, much more. There is even magnolia in Kushanir - the only wild species of obovate magnolia. The most common plant that adorns the South Kuril Islands (landscape photo is attached) is Kuril bamboo, whose impenetrable thickets hide mountain slopes and forest edges from view. Herbs are here because of the soft and humid climate very high and varied. There are a lot of berries that can be harvested on an industrial scale: lingonberries, crowberries, honeysuckle, blueberries and many others.

Animals, birds and fish

On the Kuril Islands (the northern ones are especially different in this regard), there are about the same number of brown bears as in Kamchatka. There would be the same number in the south if it were not for the presence of Russian military bases. The islands are small, the bear lives close to the rockets. On the other hand, especially in the south, there are many foxes, because there is an extremely large amount of food for them. Small rodents - a huge number and many species, there are very rare ones. From land mammals there are four orders here: bats (brown earflaps, night bats), hares, mice and rats, predators (foxes, bears, although they are few, mink and sable).

Of the marine mammals in the coastal island waters, sea otters, anturs (this is a species of island seal), sea lions and spotted seals live. A little further from the coast there are many cetaceans - dolphins, killer whales, minke whales, northern swimmers and sperm whales. Accumulations of eared sea lion seals are observed along the entire coast of the Kuril Islands, especially a lot of them on the season. Here you can see colonies of fur seals, bearded seals, seals, lionfish. decoration marine fauna- sea otter. The precious fur animal was on the verge of extinction in the very recent past. Now the situation with the sea otter is gradually leveling off. Fish in coastal waters have a huge commercial value, but there are also crabs, and mollusks, and squids, and trepangs, all crustaceans, sea ​​kale. The population of the South Kuril Islands is mainly engaged in the extraction of seafood. In general, this place can be called without exaggeration one of the most productive territories in the oceans.

Colonial birds make up huge and most picturesque bird colonies. These are silly, storm-petrels, cormorants, various gulls, kittiwakes, guillemots, puffins and many, many more. There are many here and the Red Book, rare - albatrosses and petrels, mandarins, ospreys, golden eagles, eagles, peregrine falcons, gyrfalcons, Japanese cranes and snipe, owls. They winter in the Kuriles from ducks - mallards, teals, goldeneyes, swans, mergansers, sea eagles. Of course, there are many ordinary sparrows and cuckoos. Only on Iturup there are more than two hundred species of birds, of which one hundred are nesting. Eighty-four species from those listed in the Red Book live in.

History: seventeenth century

The problem of ownership of the South Kuril Islands did not appear yesterday. Before the arrival of the Japanese and Russians, the Ainu lived here, who met new people with the word "kuru", which meant - a person. The Russians picked up the word with their usual humor and called the natives "smokers". Hence the name of the entire archipelago. The Japanese were the first to draw up maps of Sakhalin and all the Kuriles. This happened in 1644. However, the problem of belonging to the South Kuril Islands arose even then, because a year earlier, other maps of this region were compiled by the Dutch, led by de Vries.

The lands have been described. But it's not true. Friz, after whom the strait he discovered is named, attributed Iturup to the northeast of the island of Hokkaido, and considered Urup to be part of North America. A cross was erected on Urup, and all this land was declared the property of Holland. And the Russians came here in 1646 with the expedition of Ivan Moskvitin, and the Cossack Kolobov with the funny name Nehoroshko Ivanovich later colorfully spoke about the bearded Ainu inhabiting the islands. The following, slightly more extensive information came from the Kamchatka expedition of Vladimir Atlasov in 1697.

18th century

The history of the South Kuril Islands says that the Russians really came to these lands in 1711. The Kamchatka Cossacks rebelled, killed the authorities, and then changed their minds and decided to earn forgiveness or die. Therefore, they assembled an expedition to travel to new uncharted lands. Danila Antsiferov and Ivan Kozyrevsky with a detachment in August 1711 landed on the northern islands of Paramushir and Shumshu. This expedition gave new knowledge about a whole range of islands, including Hokkaido. In this regard, in 1719, Peter the Great entrusted reconnaissance to Ivan Evreinov and Fyodor Luzhin, through whose efforts a whole range of islands was declared Russian territories, including the island of Simushir. But the Ainu, of course, did not want to submit and go under the authority of the Russian Tsar. Only in 1778, Antipin and Shabalin managed to convince the Kuril tribes, and about two thousand people from Iturup, Kunashir and even Hokkaido passed into Russian citizenship. And in 1779, Catherine II issued a decree exempting all new eastern subjects from any taxes. And even then conflicts began with the Japanese. They even banned the Russians from visiting Kunashir, Iturup and Hokkaido.

The Russians did not yet have real control here, but lists of lands were compiled. And Hokkaido, despite the presence of a Japanese city on its territory, was recorded as belonging to Russia. The Japanese, on the other hand, visited the south of the Kuriles a lot and often, for which the local population rightly hated them. The Ainu did not really have the strength to rebel, but little by little they harmed the invaders: either they would sink the ship, or they would burn the outpost. In 1799, the Japanese had already organized the protection of Iturup and Kunashir. Although the Russian fishermen settled there relatively long ago - approximately in 1785-87 - the Japanese rudely asked them to leave the islands and destroyed all evidence of Russian presence on this land. The history of the South Kuril Islands already then began to acquire intrigue, but no one knew at that time how long it would be. For the first seventy years - until 1778 - the Russians did not even meet with the Japanese in the Kuriles. The meeting took place in Hokkaido, which at that time had not yet been conquered by Japan. The Japanese came to trade with the Ainu, and here the Russians are already catching fish. Naturally, the samurai got angry, began to shake their weapons. Catherine sent a diplomatic mission to Japan, but the conversation did not work out even then.

Nineteenth century - a century of concessions

In 1805, the famous Nikolai Rezanov, who arrived in Nagasaki, tried to continue negotiations on trade and failed. Unable to endure the shame, he instructed two ships to make a military expedition to the South Kuril Islands - to stake out the disputed territories. It turned out to be a good revenge for the destroyed Russian trading posts, burned ships and expelled (those who survived) fishermen. A number of Japanese trading posts were destroyed, a village on Iturup was burned. Russo-Japanese relations approached the last pre-war brink.

Only in 1855 was the first real demarcation of territories made. Northern islands - Russia, southern - Japan. Plus joint Sakhalin. It was a pity to give away the rich crafts of the South Kuril Islands, Kunashir - especially. Iturup, Habomai and Shikotan also became Japanese. And in 1875, Russia received the right of undivided possession of Sakhalin for the cession of all the Kuril Islands without exception to Japan.

Twentieth century: defeats and victories

In the Russo-Japanese War of 1905, Russia, despite the heroism of the worthy songs of cruisers and gunboats, which were defeated in an unequal battle, lost along with the war half of Sakhalin - the southern, most valuable one. But in February 1945, when the victory over Nazi Germany was already predetermined, the USSR set a condition for Great Britain and the United States: it would help defeat the Japanese if they returned the territories that belonged to Russia: Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the Kuril Islands. The Allies promised, and in July 1945 the Soviet Union confirmed its commitment. Already in early September, the Kuril Islands were completely occupied Soviet troops. And in February 1946, a decree was issued on education South Sakhalin region, which included the Kuriles in full force, which became part of Khabarovsk Territory. This is how the return of South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands to Russia happened.

Japan was forced to sign a peace treaty in 1951, which stated that it does not and will not claim rights, titles and claims regarding the Kuril Islands. And in 1956, the Soviet Union and Japan were preparing to sign the Moscow Declaration, which confirmed the end of the war between these states. In token of good will The USSR agreed to transfer two Kuril Islands to Japan: Shikotan and Habomai, but the Japanese refused to accept them because they did not refuse claims to other southern islands - Iturup and Kunashir. Here again the United States had an impact on the destabilization of the situation when it threatened not to return the island of Okinawa to Japan if this document was signed. That is why the South Kuril Islands are still disputed territories.

Today's century, twenty-first

Today, the problem of the South Kuril Islands is still relevant, despite the fact that a peaceful and cloudless life has long been established in the entire region. Russia cooperates with Japan quite actively, but from time to time the conversation about the ownership of the Kuriles is raised. In 2003, a Russian-Japanese action plan was adopted regarding cooperation between the countries. Presidents and prime ministers exchange visits, numerous Russian-Japanese friendship societies have been created different levels. However, all the same claims are constantly made by the Japanese, but not accepted by the Russians.

In 2006, a whole delegation from public organization, popular in Japan, is the Solidarity League for the return of territories. In 2012, however, Japan abolished the term "illegal occupation" in relation to Russia in matters relating to the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin. And in the Kuril Islands, the development of resources continues, federal programs for the development of the region are being introduced, the amount of funding is increasing, a zone with tax incentives, the islands are visited by the country's highest government officials.

The Problem of Ownership

How can one disagree with the documents signed in February 1945 at Yalta, where the conference of the countries participating in the anti-Hitler coalition decided the fate of the Kuriles and Sakhalin, which would return to Russia immediately after the victory over Japan? Or did Japan not sign the Potsdam Declaration after signing its own Instrument of Surrender? She did sign. And it clearly states that its sovereignty is limited to the islands of Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku and Honshu. Everything! On September 2, 1945, this document was signed by Japan, therefore, and the conditions indicated there were confirmed.

And on September 8, 1951, a peace treaty was signed in San Francisco, where she renounced in writing all claims to the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin Island with its adjacent islands. This means that its sovereignty over these territories, obtained after the Russo-Japanese War of 1905, is no longer valid. Although here the United States acted extremely insidiously, adding a very cunning clause, because of which the USSR, Poland and Czechoslovakia this agreement didn't sign. This country, as always, did not keep its word, because it is in the nature of its politicians to always say "yes", but some of these answers will mean - "no". The United States left a loophole in the treaty for Japan, which, having slightly licked its wounds and released, as it turned out, paper cranes after the nuclear bombings, resumed its claims.

Arguments

They were as follows:

1. In 1855, the Kuril Islands were included in the original possession of Japan.

2. The official position of Japan is that the Chisima Islands are not part of the Kuril chain, so Japan did not renounce them by signing an agreement in San Francisco.

3. The USSR did not sign the treaty in San Francisco.

So, Japan's territorial claims are made on the South Kuril Islands of Habomai, Shikotan, Kunashir and Iturup, whose total area is 5175 square kilometers, and these are the so-called northern territories belonging to Japan. In contrast, Russia says on the first point that the Russo-Japanese War annulled the Shimoda Treaty, on the second point - that Japan signed a declaration on the end of the war, which, in particular, says that the two islands - Habomai and Shikotan - the USSR is ready give after the signing of the peace treaty. On the third point, Russia agrees: yes, the USSR did not sign this paper with a cunning amendment. But there is no country as such, so there is nothing to talk about.

At one time, it was somehow inconvenient to talk about territorial claims with the USSR, but when it collapsed, Japan plucked up courage. However, judging by everything, even now these encroachments are in vain. Although in 2004 the Minister of Foreign Affairs announced that he agreed to talk about the territories with Japan, nevertheless, one thing is clear: no changes in the ownership of the Kuril Islands can occur.

On the question of Japan's claims to our Kuriles

Over and over again, Japanese politicians "put pressure on the pedal", initiating conversations with Moscow on the subject that, they say, "it's time to return the Northern Territories to the Japanese masters."

We didn't really react to Tokyo's hysteria before, but now it seems we need to respond.

To begin with, a picture with text, which better than any analytical articles represents Japan's real position at the time when she was winner Russia. Now they are whining panhandling, but as soon as they feel their strength, they immediately begin to play "king of the hill":

Japan took away a hundred years ago our Russian lands- half of Sakhalin and all the Kuril Islands as a result of the defeat of Russia in the war of 1905. Since then, the famous song “On the Hills of Manchuria” has remained, which still in Russia reminds of the bitterness of that defeat.

However, times have changed, and Japan itself has become defeatist in World War II, which personally started against China, Korea and other Asian countries. And, overestimating its strength, Japan even attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor in December 1941 - after that, the United States entered the war against Japan and its ally Hitler. Yes Yes, Japan was an ally of Hitler but little is remembered about that today. Why? Who did not like History in the West?

As a result of its own military disaster, Japan signed in September 1945 the "Act on unconditional surrender"(!), where in text it is clearly stated that "We hereby pledge that the Japanese Government and its successors will faithfully fulfill the conditions" Potsdam Declaration". And in that Potsdam Declaration» clarified that « Japanese sovereignty will be limited to the islands Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku and themes smaller islands that we will indicate". And where are the "northern territories" that the Japanese demand "back" from Moscow? In general, what kind of territorial claims against Russia can be discussed in Japan, which deliberately went to the aggression in alliance with Hitler?

- Taking a purely negative attitude towards any transfer of any islands to Japan, it should still be fair to explain: tactics recent years which is perfectly clear to professionals, lies in the following - do not deny outright what was promised by the previous authorities, speak only about the fidelity of the 1956 Declaration, that is, only about Habomai and Shikotane, thus excluding from the problem Kunashir and Iturup, which appeared under pressure from Japan in the negotiations in the mid-90s, and, finally, to accompany the words about the "loyalty" of the Declaration with such wording that today does not strictly coincide with the position of Japan.

- The declaration assumed first the conclusion of a peace treaty and only then the "transfer" of the two islands. The transfer is an act of goodwill, a willingness to dispose of one's own territory "in accordance with the wishes of Japan and taking into account the interests of the Japanese state." Japan, on the other hand, insists that the “return” precede the peace treaty, because the very concept of “return” is the recognition of the illegality of their belonging to the USSR, which is a revision not only of the results of the Second World War itself, but also of the principle of the inviolability of these results.

- Satisfaction of Japanese claims to "return" the islands would mean a direct undermining of the principle of indisputability of the results of World War II and would open up the possibility of questioning other aspects of the territorial status quo.

– The “complete and unconditional surrender” of Japan is fundamentally different from a simple surrender in terms of legal, political and historical consequences. A simple "surrender" means an acknowledgment of defeat in hostilities and does not affect the international legal personality of the defeated power, no matter what losses it may suffer. Such a state retains its sovereignty and legal personality and just as legal side negotiates peace terms. “Complete and unconditional surrender” means the cessation of the existence of a subject of international relations, the dismantling of the former state as a political institution, the loss of sovereignty and all powers that pass to the victorious powers, which themselves determine the conditions of peace and post-war device and settlement.

– In case of "total and unconditional surrender" with Japan, then Japan retained the former emperor, which is used to assert that Japan's legal personality was not interrupted. However, in reality, the source of the preservation of imperial power is different - it is the will and decision of the Winners.

- US Secretary of State J. Byrnes pointed out to V. Molotov: "Japan's position does not withstand criticism that it cannot consider itself bound by the Yalta agreements, since it was not a party to them." Today's Japan is a post-war state, and the settlement can proceed solely from the post-war international legal basis, especially since only this basis has legal force.

- In the "Soviet-Japanese Declaration of October 19, 1956", the readiness of the USSR was recorded to "transfer" to Japan the islands of Habomai and Shikotan, but only after the conclusion of the Peace Treaty. It's about not about "return", but about "transfer", that is, about the readiness to dispose of as act of goodwill its territory, which does not create a precedent for revising the results of the war.

- The United States exerted direct pressure on Japan during the Soviet-Japanese negotiations in 1956 and did not stop at ultimatum: The United States stated that if Japan signs a "Peace Treaty" with the USSR, in which it agrees to recognize South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands as part of the territory of the USSR, " The United States will keep the Ryukyu Islands in perpetuity."(Okinawa).

- The signing of the "Soviet-Japanese Declaration", according to the reckless plan of N. Khrushchev, was supposed to keep Japan from concluding a military cooperation treaty with the United States. However, such an agreement between Tokyo and Washington followed on January 19, 1960, and according to it perpetual stay of American armed forces on Japanese territory.

- On January 27, 1960, the Soviet government announced "a change in circumstances" and warned that "only subject to the withdrawal of all foreign troops from the territory of Japan and the signing of the Peace Treaty between the USSR and Japan, the islands of Habomai and Shikotan will be transferred to Japan".

These are the considerations about the Japanese "Wishlist".

Kuriles: not four bare islands

Recently, the "question" about the South Kuriles has been raised again. The media of disinformation are fulfilling the task of the current government - to inspire the people that we do not need these islands. The obvious is hushed up: after the transfer of the South Kuriles to Japan Russia will lose a third of the fish, our Pacific Fleet will be locked up and will not get free access to the Pacific Ocean, it will be necessary to revise the entire border system in the east of the country etc. Me, a geologist who worked for Far East, Sakhalin, 35 years old, who has been to the South Kuriles more than once, is especially outraged by the lie about "four bare islands", supposedly representing the South Kuriles.

Let's start with the fact that the South Kuriles are not 4 islands. They include o. Kunashir, about. Iturup and all the islands of the Lesser Kuril Ridge. The latter includes Fr. Shikotan(182 sq. km), about. Green(69 sq. km), about. Polonsky(15 sq. km), about. Tanfiliev(8 sq. km), about. Yuri(7 sq. km), about. Anuchin(3 sq. km) and many smaller islands: about. Demina, about. shards, about. watchdog, about. Signal other. Yes, to the island Shikotan usually includes islands Grieg and Aivazovsky. The total area of ​​the islands of the Lesser Kuril Ridge is about 300 sq. km, and all the islands of the South Kuriles - over 8500 sq. km. The fact that the Japanese, and after them "our" democrats and some diplomats call the island habo mai, is about 20 islands.

The bowels of the Southern Kuriles contain a large complex of minerals. Its leading elements are gold and silver, the deposits of which have been explored on about. Kunashir. Here, at the Prasolovsky deposit, in some areas the content gold reaches a kilogram or more, silver– up to 5 kg per ton of rock. The predicted resources of the North Kunashir ore cluster alone are 475 tons of gold and 2160 tons of silver (these and many other figures are taken from the book "The Mineral Raw Material Base of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands at the Turn of the Third Millennium" published last year by the Sakhalin Book Publishing House). But, apart from Fr. Kunashir, other islands of the South Kuriles are also promising for gold and silver.

In the same Kunashir, polymetallic ores are known (Valentinovskoye deposit), in which the content zinc reaches 14%, copper - up to 4%, gold– up to 2 g/t, silver– up to 200 g/t, barium– up to 30%, strontium- until 3 %. Stocks zinc are 18 thousand tons, copper- 5 thousand tons. On the islands of Kunashir and Iturup there are several ilmenite-magnetite placers with a high content of gland(up to 53%), titanium(up to 8%) and increased concentrations vanadium. Such raw materials are suitable for the production of high-grade vanadium iron. In the late 60s, Japan offered to buy Kuril ilmenite-magnetite sands. Is it because of the high content of vanadium? But in those years, not everything was sold and bought, there were values more expensive than money, and transactions were not always accelerated by bribes.

Of particular note are the recently discovered rich accumulations of ore in the South Kuriles. rhenium, which goes to the details of supersonic aircraft and missiles, protects the metal from corrosion and wear. These ores are modern ejecta from volcanoes. The ore continues to accumulate. It is estimated that only one Kudryavy volcano on about. Iturup takes out 2.3 tons of rhenium per year. In places, the content of this valuable metal in the ore reaches 200 g/t. Will we give it to the Japanese too?

From non-metallic minerals, we single out deposits sulfur. Now this raw material is one of the scarcest in our country. Deposits of volcanic sulfur have long been known in the Kuriles. The Japanese developed it in many places. Soviet geologists explored and prepared for development a large sulfur deposit Novoye. Only on one of its sites - Western - industrial reserves of sulfur are more than 5 million tons. On the islands of Iturup and Kunashir there are many smaller deposits that can attract entrepreneurs. In addition, some geologists consider the region of the Lesser Kuril Ridge to be promising for oil and gas.

In the South Kuriles there are very scarce in the country and very valuable thermal mineral waters. The most famous of them are the Hot Beach springs, in which waters with a high content of silicon and boric acid have a temperature of up to 100 o C. There is a balneary. Similar waters - in the North Mendeleevsky and Chaikinsky sources on about. Kunashir, as well as in a number of places on about. Iturup.

And who hasn't heard about the thermal waters of the Southern Kuriles? In addition to being a tourism destination, this thermal power raw materials, the importance of which has recently been increasing due to the ongoing energy crisis in the Far East and the Kuril Islands. So far, a geothermal hydroelectric power station using underground heat is operating only in Kamchatka. But it is possible and necessary to develop high-potential coolants - volcanoes and their derivatives - on the Kuril Islands. To date, on about. Kunashir has explored the Hot Beach steam-hydrotherm deposit, which can provide heat and hot water the city of Yuzhno-Kurilsk (partially, the steam-water mixture is used to supply heat to a military unit and state farm greenhouses). On about. Iturup explored a similar field - Ocean.

It is also important that the South Kuril Islands is a unique testing ground for studying geological processes, volcanism, ore formation, studying giant waves (tsunamis), and seismicity. There is no second such scientific testing ground in Russia. And science, as you know, is a productive force, the fundamental basis for the development of any society.

And how can one call the South Kuriles "bare islands" if they are covered with almost subtropical vegetation, where there are many medicinal herbs and berries (aralia, lemongrass, redberry), the rivers are rich red fish(chum salmon, pink salmon, sima), fur seals, sea lions, seals, sea otters live on the coast, shallow water is dotted with crabs, shrimps, trepangs, scallops?

Isn't all of the above known in the government, in the embassy of the Russian Federation in Japan, "our" democrats? I think that the arguments about the possibility of transferring the South Kuriles to Japan - not from stupidity, but from meanness. Some figures like Zhirinovsky propose to sell our islands to Japan and call specific amounts. Russia sold Alaska on the cheap, also considering the peninsula "unnecessary land." And now the US gets a third of its oil from Alaska, more than half of its gold, and much more. So still sell cheap, gentlemen!

How Russia and Japan will divide the Kuriles. We answer eight naive questions about the disputed islands

Moscow and Tokyo, possibly as close as ever to solving the problem of the South Kuril Islands - this is the opinion of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. For his part, Vladimir Putin explained that Russia was ready to discuss this issue only on the basis of the Soviet-Japanese declaration of 1956 - according to it, the USSR agreed to transfer to Japan only two the smallest South Kuril Islands - Shikotan and coming habomai. But left behind large and inhabited islands Iturup and Kunashir.

Will Russia agree to a treaty and where did the “Kuril issue” come from? Viktor Kuzminkov.

1. Why do the Japanese claim the Kuriles at all? After all, they abandoned them after the Second World War?

- Indeed, in 1951, the San Francisco Peace Treaty was concluded, where it was stated that Japan refuses from all claims to the Kuril Islands, - agrees Kuzminkov. - But a few years later, in order to get around this moment, the Japanese began to call four islands - Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai - northern territories and deny that they belong to the Kuril ridge (but, on the contrary, belong to the island of Hokkaido). Although on the pre-war Japanese maps they were designated precisely as the South Kuriles.

2. Still, how many disputed islands - two or four?

- Now Japan claims all four of the above islands - in 1855, the border between Russia and Japan passed through them. But immediately after the Second World War - both in San Francisco in 1951 and in 1956 at the signing of the Soviet-Japanese declaration - Japan disputed only Shikotan and Habomai. At that time, they recognized Iturup and Kunashir as the Southern Kuriles. It is about returning to the positions of the 1956 declaration that Putin and Abe are now talking about.

“Joint management in the Kuriles was discussed, but I believe that this is a stillborn project,” the expert commented. - Japan will demand such preferences for itself that will cast doubt on Russia's sovereignty in these territories.

Similarly, the Japanese are not ready to agree to the lease of the islands from Russia (such an idea was also voiced) - they consider the northern territories to be their ancestral land.

In my opinion, the only real option for today is the signing of a peace treaty, which means little to both countries. And the subsequent creation of a commission on the delimitation of borders, which will sit for at least 100 years, but will not come to any decision.

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The total population of the South Kuril Islands is about 17 thousand people.

Island group habomai(more than 10 islands) - uninhabited.

On the island Shikotan– 2 settlements: Malokurilskoye and Krabozavodskoye. There is a cannery. In the Soviet years, it was one of the largest in the USSR. But now little is left of its former power.

On the island Iturup- the city of Kurilsk (1600 people) and 7 settlements. In 2014, the Iturup International Airport was opened here.

On the island Kunashir- Yuzhno-Kurilsk settlement (7700 people) and 6 smaller settlements. Here is a geothermal power plant and more than a hundred military facilities.

Pavel Shipilin. Kuril Islands - Japanese national idea

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In 2006, the Federal Target Program " Socio-economic development of the Kuril Islands for 2007-2015". The main objectives of the program are to improve the living standards of the population, solve energy and transport problems, and develop fisheries and tourism. this moment the volume of FTP is 21 billion rubles. The total amount of funding for this program / including budgetary and non-budgetary sources / is almost 28 billion rubles. In the coming years, the main funds will be directed to the creation and development of the system highways, airports and seaports. The main attention will be paid to such facilities as the Iturup airport, the sea terminal on the island of Kunashir, the cargo-passenger complex in the Bay of Kitovy on the island of Iturup, and others. including 3 kindergartens in Kunashir, a hospital with a polyclinic in Iturup, a hospital in Shikotan, as well as a number of housing and communal services.

The Kuril Islands are a chain of islands between the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Japanese island of Hokkaido, separating the Sea of ​​Okhotsk from the Pacific Ocean. They are part of the Sakhalin region. Their length is about 1200 km. The total area is 10.5 thousand square meters. km. 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 30 large and many small islands. They are of great military-strategic and economic importance.

The territory of the North Kuril urban district includes the islands of the Greater Kuril ridge: Atlasova, Shumshu, Paramushir, Antsiferova, Makanrushi, Onekotan, Kharimkotan, Chirinkotan, Ekarma, Shiashkotan, Raikoke, Matua, Rasshua, Ushishir, Ketoi and all the small islands located nearby. The administrative center is the city of Severo-Kurilsk.

The Southern Kuril Islands include the islands of Iturup, Kunashir / belong to the Greater Kuril ridge /, Shikotan and the Habomai ridge / belong to the Lesser Kuril ridge /. Their total area is about 8.6 thousand square meters. km.

Iturup, located between the islands of Kunashir and Urup, is the largest island in the Kuril archipelago in terms of area. Area - 6725 sq. km. The population is about 6 thousand people. Administratively, Iturup is part of the Kuril City District. The center is the city of Kurilsk. The basis of the economy of the island is the fishing industry. In 2006, the most powerful fish factory in Russia "Reidovo" was launched on the island, processing 400 tons of fish per day. Iturup is the only place in Russia where a deposit of rhenium metal has been discovered; since 2006, gold deposits have been explored here. Burevestnik Airport is located on the island. In 2007, within the framework of the Federal Target Program, the construction of a new international airport Iturup, which will become the main air harbor in the Kuriles. The runway is currently under construction.

Kunashir is the southernmost of the Kuril Islands. Area - 1495.24 sq. km. The population is about 8 thousand people. The center is the urban-type settlement of Yuzhno-Kurilsk /population 6.6 thousand people/. It is part of the South Kuril urban district. The main industry is fish processing. The entire territory of the island is a border zone. Civil and military transportation on the island is carried out by Mendeleevo Airport. For several years, reconstruction was carried out there in order to improve air communication between Kunashir and the neighboring islands of the Kuril chain, Sakhalin and other Russian regions. On May 3, 2012, permission was received to put the airport into operation. The work was carried out in accordance with the Federal Target Program "Social economic development Kuril Islands / Sakhalin region/ for 2007-2015". As a result of the project, the airfield was reconstructed to receive An-24 aircraft, and the engineering support of the airport was brought to the requirements of the NGEA and FAP standards.

On Iturup and Kunashir, the only large formation of the Russian Armed Forces on the islands of the Kuril ridge is deployed - the 18th machine-gun-artillery division.

On the islands of Kunashir and Iturup, under the influence of the Kuril volcanic zone, volcanoes of various sizes stretch. Countless rivers, waterfalls, hot springs, lakes, meadows and bamboo thickets can be attractive for the development of tourism on the islands.

Shikotan is the largest island in the Lesser Ridge of the Kuril Islands. Area - 225 sq. km. The population is more than 2 thousand people. Included in the South Kuril urban district. Administrative center - with. Malokurilskoe. There is a hydrophysical observatory on the island, fishing and marine animal production are also developed here. Shikotan is partially located on the territory of the state nature reserve of federal significance "Small Kuriles". The island is separated by the South Kuril Strait from Kunashir Island.

Khabomai is a group of islands that, together with Shikotan Island, form the Lesser Kuril Ridge. The Habomai include the islands of Polonsky, Shards, Zeleny, Tanfiliev, Yuri, Demina, Anuchin and a number of small ones. Area - 100 sq. km. Included in the South Kuril urban district. The straits between the islands are shallow, filled with reefs and underwater rocks. There are no civilians on the islands - only Russian border guards.

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 applied to it - “Kunashiri”, “Etorofu”, etc. is carefully preserved in the National Museum of Japan. 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 the Russians were initially treated well, considering them to be their "brothers", because of the similarity in appearance and methods of communication between Russians and small nations.

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 back in mid-seventeenth 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 (the island middle group Great Ridge of the Kuril Islands).

18th century

Peter I knew about the Kuril Islands, in 1719 the tsar sent a secret expedition to Kamchatka led by 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. Russian authorities to correct the situation, the nobleman Antipin was sent with an interpreter 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, in the Extensive Land Description Russian state... "a list of the Kuril Islands was given up to Hokkaido-Matsumai, 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.

Space image of the Lesser Kuril Ridge

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, events prevented Crimean War. 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 severe international position Russia, the agreement 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 have a good fleet, so at that time it 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.

St. Petersburg Treaty of 1875 (Japanese Foreign Ministry Archive).

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 on the conclusion of a convention on fishing by the Japanese along the Russian coasts 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 canceled the status of the Japanese consulate in Vladivostok and in the same year the USSR recognized Great Britain, France and China, the Japanese authorities decided 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 does 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 to the Soviet Union of all Japanese concession property.

February 11, 1945 on the Yalta Conference three great powers - the Soviet Union, the United States, Great Britain - have achieved verbal agreement about 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 by the American General Douglas MacArthur, the Chisima Islands (Kuril Islands), the Habomadze Islands (Habomai) and the island of Shikotan (Shikotan) were excluded 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 Khabomai (the islands of the Lesser Kuril ridge) were not part of the Tisima Islands (Kuril Islands) and they did not refuse them.

Negotiations in Portsmouth (1905) - from left to right: from the Russian side (far side of the table) - Planson, Nabokov, Witte, Rosen, Korostovets.

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 countries and restored diplomatic relations, and also spoke about 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 military presence Americans on Japanese islands, Moscow stated that it refuses 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 contain 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 South Kuril Islands will provide Naval Forces Japan and the US have 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 ability to deploy forces Pacific Fleet Russian Federation, including nuclear submarines with intercontinental ballistic missiles. It will with a strong blow on the military security of the Russian Federation.