The problem of ownership of the southern Kuril Islands. Will Putin give the disputed islands to Japan?

Statement Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe about the intention to resolve the territorial dispute over the Kuril Islands and again attracted the attention of the general public to the so-called “problem of the Southern Kurils” or “northern territories”.

Shinzo Abe's loud statement, however, does not contain the main thing - an original solution that could suit both sides.

Land of the Ainu

The dispute over the Southern Kuril Islands has its roots in the 17th century, when there were neither Russians nor Japanese on the Kuril Islands.

The indigenous population of the islands can be considered the Ainu, a people whose origins are still debated by scientists. The Ainu, who once inhabited not only the Kuril Islands, but also all the Japanese islands, as well as the lower reaches of the Amur, Sakhalin and the south of Kamchatka, have today turned into a small nation. In Japan, according to official data, there are about 25 thousand Ainu, and in Russia there are just over a hundred of them left.

The first mentions of the islands in Japanese sources date back to 1635, in Russian sources - to 1644.

In 1711, a detachment of Kamchatka Cossacks led by Danila Antsiferova And Ivan Kozyrevsky first landed on the northernmost island of Shumshu, defeating a detachment of local Ainu here.

The Japanese also showed more and more activity in the Kuril Islands, but no demarcation line and no agreements existed between the countries.

Kuriles - to you, Sakhalin— us

In 1855, the Shimoda Treaty on trade and borders between Russia and Japan was signed. This document for the first time defined the border of the possessions of the two countries in the Kuril Islands - it passed between the islands of Iturup and Urup.

Thus, the islands of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and the Habomai group of islands came under the rule of the Japanese emperor, that is, the very territories around which there is a dispute today.

It was the day of the conclusion of the Shimoda Treaty, February 7, that was declared in Japan as the so-called “Northern Territories Day”.

Relations between the two countries were quite good, but they were spoiled by the “Sakhalin issue”. The fact is that the Japanese claimed the southern part of this island.

In 1875, a new treaty was signed in St. Petersburg, according to which Japan renounced all claims to Sakhalin in exchange for the Kuril Islands - both Southern and Northern.

Perhaps, it was after the conclusion of the 1875 treaty that relations between the two countries developed most harmoniously.

Exorbitant appetites of the Land of the Rising Sun

Harmony in international affairs, however, is a fragile thing. Japan, emerging from centuries of self-isolation, was rapidly developing, and at the same time its ambitions were growing. The Land of the Rising Sun has territorial claims against almost all its neighbors, including Russia.

This resulted in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, which ended in a humiliating defeat for Russia. And although Russian diplomacy managed to mitigate the consequences of military failure, nevertheless, in accordance with the Portsmouth Treaty, Russia lost control not only over the Kuril Islands, but also over South Sakhalin.

This state of affairs did not suit not only Tsarist Russia, but also the Soviet Union. However, it was impossible to change the situation in the mid-1920s, which resulted in the signing of the Beijing Treaty between the USSR and Japan in 1925, according to which the Soviet Union recognized the current state of affairs, but refused to acknowledge “political responsibility” for the Portsmouth Treaty.

In subsequent years, relations between the Soviet Union and Japan teetered on the brink of war. Japan's appetite grew and began to spread to the continental territories of the USSR. True, the defeats of the Japanese at Lake Khasan in 1938 and at Khalkhin Gol in 1939 forced official Tokyo to slow down somewhat.

However, the “Japanese threat” hung like a sword of Damocles over the USSR during the Great Patriotic War.

Revenge for old grievances

By 1945, the tone of Japanese politicians towards the USSR had changed. There was no talk of new territorial acquisitions—the Japanese side would have been quite satisfied with maintaining the existing order of things.

But the USSR gave an undertaking to Great Britain and the United States that it would enter the war with Japan no later than three months after the end of the war in Europe.

The Soviet leadership had no reason to feel sorry for Japan - Tokyo behaved too aggressively and defiantly towards the USSR in the 1920s and 1930s. And the grievances of the beginning of the century were not forgotten at all.

On August 8, 1945, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan. It was a real blitzkrieg - the million-strong Japanese Kwantung Army in Manchuria was completely defeated in a matter of days.

On August 18, Soviet troops launched the Kuril landing operation, the goal of which was to capture the Kuril Islands. Fierce battles broke out for the island of Shumshu - this was the only battle of the fleeting war in which the losses of Soviet troops were higher than those of the enemy. However, on August 23, the commander of the Japanese troops in the Northern Kuril Islands, Lieutenant General Fusaki Tsutsumi, capitulated.

The fall of Shumshu became the key event of the Kuril operation - subsequently the occupation of the islands on which the Japanese garrisons were located turned into acceptance of their surrender.

They took the Kuril Islands, they could have taken Hokkaido

On August 22, Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet troops in the Far East, Marshal Alexander Vasilevsky, without waiting for the fall of Shumshu, gives the order to troops to occupy the Southern Kuril Islands. The Soviet command is acting according to plan - the war continues, the enemy has not completely capitulated, which means we should move on.

The initial military plans of the USSR were much broader - Soviet units were ready to land on the island of Hokkaido, which was to become a Soviet zone of occupation. One can only guess how the further history of Japan would have developed in this case. But in the end, Vasilevsky received an order from Moscow to cancel the landing operation in Hokkaido.

Bad weather somewhat delayed the actions of Soviet troops in the Southern Kuril Islands, but by September 1, Iturup, Kunashir and Shikotan came under their control. The Habomai island group was completely taken under control on September 2-4, 1945, that is, after the surrender of Japan. There were no battles during this period - the Japanese soldiers resignedly surrendered.

So, at the end of World War II, Japan was completely occupied by the Allied powers, and the main territories of the country came under US control.

On January 29, 1946, Memorandum No. 677 of the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Powers, General Douglas MacArthur, excluded the Kuril Islands (Chishima Islands), the Habomai (Habomadze) group of islands, and Shikotan Island from Japanese territory.

On February 2, 1946, in accordance with the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Yuzhno-Sakhalin Region was formed in these territories 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.

Thus, de facto, South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands passed to Russia.

Why didn't the USSR sign a peace treaty with Japan?

However, these territorial changes were not formalized by a treaty between the two countries. But the political situation in the world has changed, and yesterday’s ally of the USSR, the United States, turned into Japan’s closest friend and ally, and therefore was not interested in either resolving Soviet-Japanese relations or resolving the territorial issue between the two countries.

In 1951, a peace treaty was concluded in San Francisco between Japan and the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition, which the USSR did not sign.

The reason for this was the US revision of previous agreements with the USSR, reached in the Yalta Agreement of 1945 - now official Washington believed that the Soviet Union had no rights not only to the Kuril Islands, but also to South Sakhalin. In any case, this is exactly the resolution that was adopted by the US Senate during the discussion of the treaty.

However, in the final version of the San Francisco Treaty, Japan renounces its rights to South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. But here, too, there is a catch - official Tokyo, both then and now, states that it does not consider Habomai, Kunashir, Iturup and Shikotan to be part of the Kuril Islands.

That is, the Japanese are sure that they really renounced South Sakhalin, but they never renounced the “northern territories”.

The Soviet Union refused to sign a peace treaty not only because its territorial disputes with Japan were unresolved, but also because it did not in any way resolve similar disputes between Japan and the then USSR ally, China.

Compromise ruined Washington

Only five years later, in 1956, the Soviet-Japanese declaration on ending the state of war was signed, which was supposed to be the prologue to the conclusion of a peace treaty.

A compromise solution was also announced - the islands of Habomai and Shikotan would be returned to Japan in exchange for unconditional recognition of the sovereignty of the USSR over all other disputed territories. But this could happen only after the conclusion of a peace treaty.

In fact, Japan was quite happy with these conditions, but then a “third force” intervened. The United States was not at all happy about the prospect of establishing relations between the USSR and Japan. The territorial problem acted as an excellent wedge driven between Moscow and Tokyo, and Washington considered its resolution extremely undesirable.

It was announced to the Japanese authorities that if a compromise was reached with the USSR on the “Kuril problem” on the terms of the division of the islands, the United States would leave the island of Okinawa and the entire Ryukyu archipelago under its sovereignty.

The threat was truly terrible for the Japanese - we were talking about an area with more than a million people, which has the greatest historical significance for Japan.

As a result, a possible compromise on the issue of the Southern Kuril Islands melted away like smoke, and with it the prospect of concluding a full-fledged peace treaty.

By the way, control over Okinawa finally passed to Japan only in 1972. Moreover, 18 percent of the island’s territory is still occupied by American military bases.

Complete dead end

In fact, there has been no progress in the territorial dispute since 1956. During the Soviet period, without reaching a compromise, the USSR came to the tactic of completely denying any dispute in principle.

In the post-Soviet period, Japan began to hope that Russian President Boris Yeltsin, generous with gifts, would give up the “northern territories.” Moreover, such a decision was considered fair by very prominent figures in Russia - for example, Nobel laureate Alexander Solzhenitsyn.

Perhaps at this moment the Japanese side made a mistake, instead of compromise options like the one discussed in 1956, they began to insist on the transfer of all the disputed islands.

But in Russia the pendulum has already swung in the other direction, and those who consider the transfer of even one island impossible are much louder today.

For both Japan and Russia, the “Kuril issue” has become a matter of principle over the past decades. For both Russian and Japanese politicians, the slightest concessions threaten, if not the collapse of their careers, then serious electoral losses.

Therefore, Shinzo Abe’s declared desire to solve the problem is undoubtedly commendable, but completely unrealistic.

Briefly, the history of “belonging” to the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin Island is as follows.

1.During the period 1639-1649. Russian Cossack detachments led by Moskovitinov, Kolobov, Popov explored and began to develop Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. At the same time, Russian pioneers repeatedly sailed to the island of Hokkaido, where they were peacefully greeted by the local Ainu aborigines. The Japanese appeared on this island a century later, after which they exterminated and partially assimilated the Ainu.

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

3.B 1786. By order of Catherine II, a register of Russian possessions in the Pacific Ocean was made, with the register being brought to the attention of all European states as a declaration of Russia's rights to these possessions, including Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands.

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

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

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

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

8.Next comes the time to punish the aggressor for his eternal greed and territorial expansion. Signed by Stalin and Roosevelt at the Yalta Conference February 10, 1945 G. " Agreement on the Far East" provided: "... 2-3 months after the surrender of Germany, the Soviet Union will enter the war against Japan subject to the return to the Soviet Union of the southern part of Sakhalin, all the Kuril Islands, as well as the restoration of the lease of Port Arthur and Dalny(these built and equipped by the hands of Russian workers, soldiers and sailors back in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. naval bases were very convenient in their geographical location donated free of charge to “brotherly” China. But our fleet needed these bases so much in the 60-80s during the raging Cold War and the intense combat service of the fleet in remote areas of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. We had to equip the Cam Ranh forward base in Vietnam from scratch for the fleet).

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

10.After the end of the Second World War US occupied Japan and turned it into their military base in the Far East. In September 1951 The USA, Great Britain and a number of other states (49 in total) signed Treaty of San Francisco with Japan, prepared in violation of the Potsdam Agreements without the participation of the Soviet Union . Therefore, our government did not join the agreement. However, in Art. 2, Chapter II of this treaty is written in black and white: “ Japan renounces all rights and claims... to the Kuril Islands and that part of Sakhalin and the adjacent islands , over which Japan acquired sovereignty by the Treaty of Portsmouth of September 5, 1905.” However, even after this, the story with the Kuril Islands does not end.

11.19 October 1956 The government of the Soviet Union, following the principles of friendship with neighboring states, signed with the Japanese government joint declaration, according to which the state of war between the USSR and Japan ended and peace, good neighborliness and friendly relations were restored between them. When signing the Declaration as a gesture of goodwill and nothing more it was promised to transfer to Japan the two southernmost islands of Shikotan and Habomai, but only after the conclusion of a peace treaty between the countries.

12.However The United States imposed a number of military agreements on Japan after 1956, replaced in 1960 by a single “Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security”, according to which US troops remained on its territory, and thus the Japanese islands turned into a springboard for aggression against the Soviet Union. In connection with this situation, the Soviet government declared to Japan that it was impossible to transfer the promised two islands to it.. And the same statement emphasized that, according to the declaration of October 19, 1956, “peace, good neighborliness and friendly relations” were established between the countries. Therefore, an additional peace treaty may not be required.
Thus, the problem of the South Kuril Islands does not exist . It was decided a long time ago. AND de jure and de facto the islands belong to Russia . In this regard, it might be appropriate remind the Japanese of their arrogant statement in 1905 g., and also indicate that Japan was defeated in World War II and therefore has no rights to any territories, even to her ancestral lands, except those that were given to her by the victors.
AND to our Foreign Ministry just as harshly, or in a softer diplomatic form you should have stated this to the Japanese and put an end to it, PERMANENTLY stopping all negotiations and even conversations on this non-existent problem that degrades the dignity and authority of Russia.
And again the “territorial issue”

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

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

A Russian citizens should know that the “problem” of the Southern Kuril Islands is just a fake , her exaggeration, periodic media hype around her and the litigiousness of the Japanese - there is consequence of Japan's illegal claims in violation of its obligations to strictly comply with its recognized and signed international obligations. And Japan’s constant desire to reconsider the ownership of many territories in the Asia-Pacific region permeates Japanese politics throughout the twentieth century.

Why The Japanese, one might say, have their teeth in the Southern Kuril Islands and are trying to illegally take possession of them again? But because the economic and military-strategic importance of this region is extremely great for Japan, and even more so for Russia. This region of colossal seafood wealth(fish, living creatures, sea animals, vegetation, etc.), deposits of useful, including rare earth minerals, energy sources, mineral raw materials.

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

I must say that During the 50 years of ownership of the islands, the Japanese did not build or create anything major on them, except for light temporary buildings. Our border guards had to rebuild barracks and other buildings at outposts. The entire economic “development” of the islands, which the Japanese are shouting about to the whole world today, consisted in the predatory robbery of the islands' wealth . During the Japanese "development" from the islands seal rookeries and sea otter habitats have disappeared . Part of the livestock of these animals our Kuril residents have already restored .

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

Without the Southern Kuril Islands we will have a hole in this defense. Control over the Kuril Islands ensures free access of the fleet to the ocean - after all, until 1945, our Pacific Fleet, starting in 1905, was practically locked in its bases in Primorye. Detection equipment on the islands provides long-range detection of air and surface enemies and the organization of anti-submarine defense of the approaches to the passages between the islands.

In conclusion, it is worth noting this feature in the relationship between the Russia-Japan-US triangle. It is the United States that confirms the “legality” of the islands’ ownership of Japan , against all odds international treaties signed by them .
If so, then our Ministry of Foreign Affairs has every right, in response to the claims of the Japanese, to propose that they demand the return of Japan to its “southern territories” - the Caroline, Marshall and Mariana Islands.
These archipelagos former colonies of Germany, captured by Japan in 1914. Japanese rule over these islands was sanctioned by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. After the defeat of Japan, all these archipelagos came under US control. So Why shouldn't Japan demand that the United States return the islands to it? Or lack the spirit?
As you can see, there is clear double standard in Japanese foreign policy.

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

The annexation of this island to Russia would have important operational and strategic significance, since it would ensure the complete enclosure of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk by our island territories: Kuril Islands - Hokkaido - Sakhalin. But Stalin canceled this part of the operation, saying that with the liberation of the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin, we had resolved all our territorial issues in the Far East. A we don't need someone else's land . In addition, the capture of Hokkaido will cost us a lot of blood, unnecessary losses of sailors and paratroopers in the very last days of the war.

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

Kuril Islands problem

Segorskikh A.

group 03 History

The so-called “disputed territories” include the islands of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai (the Lesser Kuril chain consists of 8 islands).

Usually, when discussing the problem of disputed territories, three groups of problems are considered: historical parity in the discovery and development of islands, the role and significance of the Russian-Japanese treaties of the 19th century that established the border between the two countries, as well as the legal force of all documents regulating the post-war structure of the world. What is especially interesting in this matter is that all the historical treaties of the past, which Japanese politicians refer to, have lost force in today’s disputes, not even in 1945, but back in 1904, with the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, because international law states: a state of war between states terminates the validity of any and all agreements between them. For this reason alone, the entire “historical” layer of the Japanese side’s argument has nothing to do with the rights of today’s Japanese state. Therefore, we will not consider the first two problems, but will focus on the third.

The very fact of Japan's attack on Russia in the Russo-Japanese War. was a gross violation of the Shimoda Treaty, which proclaimed “permanent peace and sincere friendship between Russia and Japan.” After the defeat of Russia, the Treaty of Portsmouth was concluded in 1905. The Japanese side demanded Sakhalin Island from Russia as an indemnity. The Treaty of Portsmouth terminated the exchange agreement of 1875, and also stated that all trade agreements between Japan and Russia would be canceled as a result of the war. This annulled the Shimoda Treaty of 1855. Thus, by the time of conclusion on January 20, 1925. Convention on the Basic Principles of Relations between Russia and Japan, in fact, there was no existing bilateral agreement on the ownership of the Kuril Islands.

The issue of restoring the rights of the USSR to the southern part of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands was discussed in November 1943. at the Tehran Conference of the Heads of the Allied Powers. At the Yalta Conference in February 1945. The leaders of the USSR, USA and Great Britain finally agreed that after the end of the Second World War, South Sakhalin and all the Kuril Islands would pass to the Soviet Union, and this was the condition for the USSR to enter the war with Japan - three months after the end of the war in Europe.

February 2, 1946 followed by a Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, which established that all land with its subsoil and waters on the territory of Southern Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands is state property of the USSR.

On September 8, 1951, in San Francisco, 49 countries signed a peace treaty with Japan. The draft treaty was prepared during the Cold War without the participation of the USSR and in violation of the principles of the Potsdam Declaration. The Soviet side proposed to carry out demilitarization and ensure democratization of the country. The USSR, and along with it Poland and Czechoslovakia, refused to sign the treaty. However, Article 2 of this treaty states that Japan renounces all rights and title to Sakhalin Island and the Kuril Islands. Thus, Japan itself renounced its territorial claims to our country, confirming this with its signature.

But later the United States began to argue that the San Francisco Peace Treaty did not indicate in whose favor Japan renounced these territories. This laid the foundation for the presentation of territorial claims.

1956, Soviet-Japanese negotiations on normalizing relations between the two countries. The Soviet side agrees to cede the two islands of Shikotan and Habomai to Japan and proposes to sign a Joint Declaration. 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 good will, a willingness to dispose of one’s own territory “meeting the wishes of Japan and taking into account the interests of the Japanese state.” Japan insists that the “return” precede the peace treaty, because the very concept of “return” is a recognition of the illegality of their belonging to the USSR, which is a revision not only of the results of the Second World War, but also of the principle of the inviolability of these results. American pressure played its role, and the Japanese refused to sign a peace treaty on our terms. The subsequent security treaty (1960) between the United States and Japan made the transfer of Shikotan and Habomai to Japan impossible. Our country, of course, could not give up the islands for American bases, nor could it bind itself to any obligations to Japan on the issue of the Kuril Islands.

On January 27, 1960, the USSR stated that since this agreement was directed against the USSR and the PRC, the Soviet government refused to consider the issue of transferring these islands to Japan, since this would lead to an expansion of the territory used by American troops.

Currently, the Japanese side claims that the islands of Iturup, Shikotan, Kunashir and the Habomai ridge, which have always been Japanese territory, are not included in the Kuril Islands, which Japan abandoned. The US government, regarding the scope of the concept of “Kuril Islands” in the San Francisco Peace Treaty, stated in an official document: “They do not include, and there was no intention to include (in the Kuril Islands) the Habomai and Shikotan ridges, or Kunashir and Iturup, which previously always were part of Japan proper and should therefore be fairly recognized as being under Japanese sovereignty."

He gave a worthy answer regarding Japan’s territorial claims to us at one time: “The borders between the USSR and Japan should be considered as the result of the Second World War.”

In the 90s, at a meeting with the Japanese delegation, he also resolutely opposed the revision of borders, emphasizing that the borders between the USSR and Japan were “legal and legally justified.” Throughout the second half of the 20th century, the question of the ownership of the southern group of the Kuril islands Iturup, Shikotan, Kunashir and Habomai (in the Japanese interpretation - the question of the “northern territories”) remained the main stumbling block in Japanese-Soviet (later Japanese-Russian) relations.

In 1993, the Tokyo Declaration on Russian-Japanese relations was signed, which states that Russia is the successor of the USSR and that all agreements signed between the USSR and Japan will be recognized by Russia and Japan.

On November 14, 2004, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the eve of the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Japan, said that Russia, as a successor state of the USSR, recognizes the 1956 Declaration as existing and is ready to conduct territorial negotiations with Japan on its basis. This formulation of the question caused a lively discussion among Russian politicians. Vladimir Putin supported the position of the Foreign Ministry, stipulating that Russia “will fulfill all its obligations” only “to the extent that our partners are ready to fulfill these agreements.” Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi responded by saying that Japan was not satisfied with the transfer of only two islands: “If the ownership of all the islands is not determined, the peace treaty will not be signed.” At the same time, the Japanese prime minister promised to show flexibility in determining the timing of the transfer of the islands.

On December 14, 2004, US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld expressed his readiness to assist Japan in resolving the dispute with Russia over the Southern Kuril Islands. Some observers see this as a US refusal of neutrality in the Japanese-Russian territorial dispute. And a way to divert attention from their actions at the end of the war, as well as maintain equality of power in the region.

During the Cold War, the United States supported Japan's position in the dispute over the South Kuril Islands and did everything to ensure that this position did not soften. It was under pressure from the United States that Japan reconsidered its attitude towards the Soviet-Japanese Declaration of 1956 and began to demand the return of all disputed territories. But at the beginning of the 21st century, when Moscow and Washington found a common enemy, the United States stopped making any statements regarding the Russian-Japanese territorial dispute.

On August 16, 2006, a Japanese fishing schooner was detained by Russian border guards. The schooner refused to obey the commands of the border guards, and warning fire was opened on it. During the incident, one member of the schooner's crew was fatally wounded in the head. This caused a sharp protest from the Japanese side. Both sides say the incident occurred in their own territorial waters. In 50 years of dispute over the islands, this is the first recorded death.

On December 13, 2006, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Taro Aso, at a meeting of the foreign policy committee of the lower house of representatives of parliament, spoke in favor of dividing the southern part of the disputed Kuril Islands in half with Russia. There is a point of view that in this way the Japanese side hopes to solve a long-standing problem in Russian-Japanese relations. However, immediately after Taro Aso’s statement, the Japanese Foreign Ministry disavowed his words, emphasizing that they were misinterpreted.

Of course, Tokyo's position towards Russia has undergone some changes. She abandoned the principle of “inseparability of politics and economics,” that is, a strict link between the territorial problem and cooperation in the economic field. Now the Japanese government is trying to pursue a flexible policy, which means softly promoting economic cooperation and solving the territorial problem at the same time.

Main factors that need to be taken into account when solving the problem of the Kuril Islands

· the presence of the richest reserves of marine biological resources in the waters adjacent to the islands;

· underdeveloped infrastructure on the territory of the Kuril Islands, the virtual absence of its own energy base with significant reserves of renewable geothermal resources, the lack of its own vehicles to ensure freight and passenger transportation;

· proximity and virtually unlimited capacity of seafood markets in neighboring countries of the Asia-Pacific region; the need to preserve the unique natural complex of the Kuril Islands, maintain local energy balance while maintaining the cleanliness of the air and water basins, and protect the unique flora and fauna. The views of the local civilian population must be taken into account when developing a mechanism for transferring the islands. Those who remain must be guaranteed all rights (including property rights), and those who leave must be fully compensated. It is necessary to take into account the readiness of the local population to accept the change in the status of these territories.

The Kuril Islands have important geopolitical and military-strategic significance for Russia and affect Russia’s national security. The loss of the Kuril Islands will damage the defense system of Russian Primorye and weaken the defense capability of our country as a whole. With the loss of the islands of Kunashir and Iturup, the Sea of ​​Okhotsk ceases to be our inland sea. The Kuril Islands and the adjacent waters are a unique ecosystem of its kind, possessing the richest natural resources, primarily biological. The coastal waters of the Southern Kuril Islands and the Lesser Kuril Ridge are the main habitat areas for valuable commercial species of fish and seafood, the extraction and processing of which is the basis of the economy of the Kuril Islands.

The principle of the inviolability of the results of the Second World War should be the basis of a new stage of Russian-Japanese relations, and the term “return” should be forgotten. But maybe it’s worth letting Japan create a museum of military glory on Kunashir, from which Japanese pilots bombed Pearl Harbor. Let the Japanese often remember what the Americans did to them in response, and about the US base in Okinawa, but they feel the Russians’ tribute to their former enemy.

Notes:

1. Russia and the problem of the Kuril Islands. Defending tactics or surrender strategy. Narochnitskaya N. http:///analit/

3. The Kuril Islands are also Russian land. Maksimenko M. http:///analit/sobytia/

4. Russia and the problem of the Kuril Islands. Defending tactics or surrender strategy. Narochnitskaya N. http:///analit/

7. Modern Japanese historians about the development of the South Kuril Islands (beginning of the 17th - beginning of the 19th century) http://proceedings. /

8. The Kuril Islands are also Russian land. Maksimenko M. http:///analit/sobytia/

The authorities of Russia and Japan have been unable to sign a peace treaty since 1945 due to a dispute over the ownership of the southern part of the Kuril Islands.

The Northern Territories Problem (北方領土問題 Hoppo ryo do mondai) is a territorial dispute between Japan and Russia that Japan considers unresolved since the end of World War II. After the war, all the Kuril Islands came under the administrative control of the USSR, but a number of the southern islands - Iturup, Kunashir and the Lesser Kuril Ridge - are disputed by Japan.

In Russia, the disputed territories are part of the Kuril and South Kuril urban districts of the Sakhalin region. Japan claims four islands in the southern part of the Kuril ridge - Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai, citing the bilateral Treaty on Trade and Borders of 1855. Moscow's position is that the southern Kuril Islands became part of the USSR (which Russia became the successor of) results of the Second World War, and Russian sovereignty over them, which has the appropriate international legal registration, is beyond doubt.

The problem of ownership of the southern Kuril Islands is the main obstacle to the complete settlement of Russian-Japanese relations.

Iturup(Japanese: 択捉島 Etorofu) is an island in the southern group of the Great Kuril Islands, the largest island of the archipelago.

Kunashir(Ainu Black Island, Japanese 国後島 Kunashiri-to:) is the southernmost island of the Great Kuril Islands.

Shikotan(Japanese 色丹島 Sikotan-to:?, in early sources Sikotan; name from the Ainu language: “shi” - large, significant; “kotan” - village, city) is the largest island of the Lesser Ridge of the Kuril Islands.

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

History of the Kuril Islands

17th century
Before the arrival of the Russians and Japanese, the islands were inhabited by the Ainu. In their language, “kuru” meant “a person who came from nowhere,” which is where their second name “Kurilians” came from, and then the name of the archipelago.

In Russia, the first mention of the Kuril Islands dates back to 1646, when N. I. Kolobov spoke about the bearded people inhabiting the islands ainah.

The Japanese received the first information about the islands during an expedition [source not specified 238 days] to Hokkaido in 1635. It is not known whether she actually got to the Kuril Islands or learned about them indirectly, but in 1644 a map was drawn up on which they were designated under the collective name “thousand islands.” Candidate of Geographical Sciences T. Adashova notes that the map of 1635 “is considered by many scientists to be very approximate and even incorrect.” Then, in 1643, the islands were explored by the Dutch led by Martin Friese. This expedition compiled more detailed maps and described the lands.

XVIII century
In 1711, Ivan Kozyrevsky went to the Kuril Islands. He visited only 2 northern islands: Shumshu and Paramushira, but he questioned in detail the Ainu who inhabited them and the Japanese who were brought there by a storm. In 1719, Peter I sent an expedition to Kamchatka under the leadership of Ivan Evreinov and Fyodor Luzhin, which reached the island of Simushir in the south.

In 1738-1739, Martyn Shpanberg walked along the entire ridge, plotting the islands he encountered on the map. Subsequently, the Russians, avoiding dangerous voyages to the southern islands, developed the northern ones and imposed tribute on the local population. From those who did not want to pay it and went to distant islands, they took amanats - hostages from among their close relatives. But soon, in 1766, centurion Ivan Cherny from Kamchatka was sent to the southern islands. He was ordered to attract the Ainu into citizenship without the use of violence or threats. However, he did not follow this decree, mocked them, and poached. All this led to a revolt of the indigenous population in 1771, during which many Russians were killed.

The Siberian nobleman Antipov achieved great success with the Irkutsk translator Shabalin. They managed to win the favor of the Kurils, and in 1778-1779 they managed to bring into citizenship more than 1,500 people from Iturup, Kunashir and even Matsumaya (now Japanese Hokkaido). In the same 1779, Catherine II, by decree, freed those who had accepted Russian citizenship from all taxes. But relations with the Japanese were not built: they forbade the Russians from going to these three islands.

In the “Extensive Land Description of the Russian State...” of 1787, a list of 21 islands belonging to Russia was given. It included islands as far as Matsumaya (Hokkaido), the status of which was not clearly defined, since Japan had a city in its southern part. At the same time, the Russians had no real control even over the islands south of Urup. There, the Japanese considered the Kurilians their subjects and actively used violence against them, which caused discontent. In May 1788, a Japanese merchant ship arriving at Matsumai was attacked. In 1799, by order of the central government of Japan, two outposts were founded in Kunashir and Iturup, and security began to be maintained constantly.

19th century
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 in 1805. But he too failed. However, Japanese officials, who were not satisfied with the despotic policy of the supreme power, hinted to him that it would be nice to carry out a forceful action in these lands, which could push the situation from a dead point. 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 looted, a number of trading posts were destroyed, and a Japanese village on Iturup was burned. They were later tried, but the attack led to a serious deterioration in Russian-Japanese relations for some time. In particular, this was the reason for the arrest of Vasily Golovnin’s expedition.

In exchange for ownership of southern Sakhalin, Russia transferred all of the Kuril Islands to Japan in 1875.

XX century
After defeat in the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, 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, subject to the return of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands.
February 2, 1946. Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on the inclusion of South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands into the RSFSR.
1947. Deportation of Japanese and Ainu from the islands to Japan. 17,000 Japanese and an unknown number of Ainu were evicted.
November 5, 1952. A powerful tsunami hit the entire coast of the Kuril Islands, Paramushir was hit the hardest. A giant wave washed away the city of Severo-Kurilsk (formerly Kashiwabara). It was forbidden to mention this disaster in the press.
In 1956, the Soviet Union and Japan adopted the Joint Treaty, officially ending the war between the two countries and handing over Habomai and Shikotan to Japan. However, it was not possible to sign the agreement: the United States threatened not to give Japan the island of Okinawa if Tokyo renounced its claims to Iturup and Kunashir.

Maps of the Kuril Islands

Kuril Islands on the English map of 1893. Plans of the Kuril Islands, from sketches chiefly mand by Mr. H. J. Snow, 1893. (London, Royal Geographical Society, 1897, 54×74 cm)

Fragment of the map Japan and Korea - Location of Japan in the Western Pacific (1:30 000 000), 1945

Photo map of the Kuril Islands based on a NASA satellite image, April 2010.

List of all islands

View of Habomai from Hokkaido
Green Island (Japanese: 志発島 Shibotsu-to)
Polonsky Island (Japanese: 多楽島 Taraku-to)
Tanfilyeva Island (Japanese: 水晶島 Suisho-jima)
Yuri Island (Japanese: 勇留島 Yuri-to)
Anuchina Island (秋勇留島 Akiyuri-to)
Demina Islands (Japanese: 春苅島 Harukari-to)
Shard Islands
Rock Kira
Cave Rock (Kanakuso) - sea lion rookery on the rock.
Sail Rock (Hokoki)
Rock Candle (Rosoku)
Fox Islands (Todo)
Cone Islands (Kabuto)
Jar Dangerous
Watchman Island (Khomosiri or Muika)

Drying Rock (Odoke)
Reef Island (Amagi-sho)
Signal Island (Japanese: 貝殻島 Kaigara-jima)
Amazing Rock (Hanare)
Rock Seagull

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

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

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

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

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

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

The essence of the dispute between Japan and Russia

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

Meanings of the Southern Kuril Islands

The Southern Kuril Islands have several meanings for both countries:

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

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

Dispute over Kuril territory

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

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

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

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

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

A little history

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

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

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

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

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

The declaration contains several subtleties:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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