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

This was the case with the disputed islands before the Second World War - even before 1945. I want to once again draw general attention to the fact that until the 45th year, Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Khabomai never belonged to Russia, and to assert the opposite is to go against facts. Everything that happened after 1945 is no longer so clear cut.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As for the policy of the current President Putin, Japanese politicians, led by former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, proposed to adhere to the updated Kavan plan for solving the problem, announced in April 1998 by Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto. Kavan's plan is to ensure that after the border is demarcated and the islands are legally assigned to Japan, the disputed territories will remain de facto Russian for some time. The Russian delegation, on the other hand, rejected this proposal, stating that it could not be regarded as a mutually acceptable compromise. Putin, in turn, proposed moving towards a peace treaty gradually, while building up the entire range of relations. To do this, Vladimir Putin invited the Prime Minister to pay an official visit to Russia, and the two leaders agreed to hold official meetings at least once a year - similar to what exists between Moscow and Beijing, our "strategic partner".

Now about the population of the ill-fated islands. According to Rudakova, head of the social department of the Kurilsk administration, the Japanese ask Kuril residents every year if they want the islands to go to Japan. On Shikotan, as a rule, 60 percent do not want this, and 40 percent do not mind. On the other islands, 70 percent are strongly opposed. “On Shikotan, after the 1994 earthquake, everything is Japanese, even fruit. The people are very accustomed to freebies, they do not want to work. They think that the Japanese will always feed them like this,” says Rudakova. Indeed, this option is not included in the plans of the Japanese. Back in March 1999, the Society for the Study of the Problem of the Restoration of Japan's Sovereignty over the Northern Territories developed the rules by which the Russians would live on the islands after they were handed over to the Japanese. “Residents of Russian origin who have lived more than 5 years after being reinstated in Japan, if they wish, have the opportunity to obtain Japanese citizenship after conducting an appropriate individual verification,” the document says.

Nevertheless, Japan, a mono-ethnic country in which even the descendants of foreigners who settled several generations ago cannot obtain citizenship, pretends that all the rights of Russians remaining on the islands will be preserved. In order for the people of Kuril to see for themselves how wonderful their life will be under the new owners, the Japanese do not spare money for receptions. Yochi Nakano, head of the secretariat of the Hokkaido Commission for the Development of Relations with the Northern Islands, said that the island government spends $1,680 for just one Russian who came to Hokkaido, not counting contributions from various public organizations. The Japanese authorities seem to take things differently. They are confident that their tactics bring positive results. Yochi Nakano says: “Personally, I think that there are few Russians in the northern islands who would like to remain Russians. If there are any, it is all the more important to teach them that the northern territories belong to Japan. Kuril residents are very surprised by the ability of the Japanese to quickly believe in what they want and pass it off as real. Rimma Rudakova recalls how in September 2000, when Putin was in Okinawa, the Japanese hosting the group began to furiously argue that a decision had already been made to transfer Shikotan and Habomai, and even started talking about starting negotiations on the transfer of southern Sakhalin. “When we left ten days later, they expressed their regret that this did not happen,” she said.

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habomai map, habomai
(Jap. 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 Shikotan Island in Soviet and Russian cartography included in the Lesser Kuril Ridge. The Habomai group includes the islands of Polonsky, Oskolki, Zeleny, Tanfiliev, Yuri, Demin, Anuchin and a number of small ones. Separated by the Soviet Strait from the island of Hokkaido. Area - 100 km².

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

Etymology and use of the name

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

In recent years, there has been a discussion in Russian society about the permissibility of using the name "Habomai" in Russian. So, in the resolution of the Sakhalin Regional Duma dated February 18, 1999, it was noted that the name Habomai was used in a number of Russian-Japanese agreements of 1998, which led to the widespread use of this name in the Russian media. The statement drew attention to the letter of the Interdepartmental Commission on Geographical Names of the Russian Federation (MVK N 2257 of October 1, 1997), as well as to the requirements of Art. 8, 11 of the Federal Law "On the names of geographical objects" N 152-FZ of December 18, 1997. Based on these documents, the Sakhalin Oblast Duma

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

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

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

Description

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

Most of the islands are low-lying. Desert, rocky, meadow landscapes; there are no forests, there are bush thickets and swamps. This group of islands is characterized by a humid maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. Judging by the observation of the breeding season of some rodents, which here lasts until November, the climate of Khabomaev is even milder than in Kunashir.

There are no civilians on the islands - only Russian border guards.

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

List of islands

View of Habomai from Hokkaido

• Green Island (志発島, shibotsu-to: ?
• Polonsky Island (jap. 多楽島 taraku-to:?
• Tanfiliev Island
• Yuri Island
• Anuchin Island (秋勇留島 akyu:ri-to:?
• Demin Islands (Jap. 春苅島 harukari-to:?
• Shard Islands
  • Kira rock
  • Rock Cave (Kanakuso) - a rookery of sea lions on a rock.
  • Sail Rock (Hokoki)
  • Candle Rock (Rosoku)
  • Fox Islands (Todo)
  • Bump Islands (Kabuto)
• Can Dangerous
  • Watchtower Island (Homosiri or Muika)
  • Drying Rock (Odoke)
  • Reef Island (Amagi-sho)
  • Signal Island
• Amazing Rock (Hanare)
• Seagull rock

Panorama of the Habomai Islands. Taken from Hokkaido, Nemuro Peninsula (Cape Nosappu) on March 26, 2005.

Notes

1. What is the "Northern Territories"?
2. 1 2 3 4 S. A. Ponomarev // Provincial Gazette (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk). - September 19, 2001. - No. 176.

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

   Behind the foreign name Khabomai, which seems to be hammered into national self-consciousness, there are about 20 islands and rocks that have their own Russian names.

3. Main Directorate of Geodesy and Cartography under the Council of Ministers of the USSR. Atlas of the USSR. - M., 1990. - S. 76.
4. Oleg Alekseevich Bogatikov. Institute of Geology of Ore Deposits, Petrography, Mineralogy and Geochemistry of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Academy of Sciences of the USSR. petrographic committee. Oceanic magmatism: evolution, geological correlation. - Moscow: Nauka, 1986. - S. 186.
5. V. Barkalov, S. S. Kharkevich. Institute of Biology and Soil (Academy of Sciences of the USSR), All-Union Botanical Society, Scientific Council on the problem "Biological Basis for the Rational Use, Transformation and Protection of the Plant World" (Academy of Sciences of the USSR). Far East branch. Plant world of high-mountain ecosystems of the USSR: a collection of scientific papers. - Vladivostok, 1986. - 159 p.
6. N. N. MIKHAILOV My Russia. - Soviet Russia. - M., 1971. - S. 232.
7. Japan

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

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

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

14. Tokyo Declaration on Russo-Japanese Relations

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

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

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

Links

• Topographic map of the Habomai archipelago
• Small Kuril Ridge

Kurile Islands

Great Kuril Ridge	northern group Atlasova Shumshu Paramushir Antsiferova Makanrushi Onekotan Harimkotan Chirinkotan Ekarma Shiashkotan middle group Raikoke Matua Rasshua of Ushishir Island (Ryponkicha Yankich) Ketoi Simushir of Broughton of Black Brothers Island (Chirpoi Brat-Chirpoev) Southern group Urup Iturup Kunashir
Small Kuril Ridge	Shikotan of Aivazovsky* Aleksey Gnechko* Grieg* Far* Ninth Wave* Igor Farkhutdinov* Sergey Kapitsa* Middle* Polonsky* Oskolki Island* Green* Tanfilyev* Yuriy* Demin Island* Anuchina* Storozhevoy* Signal* Reef*
* islands, also collectively known

habomai, habomai map

Habomai Information About

It turned out that prior to Gorbachev's official visit to Japan in April 1991, the government had carried out a clandestine study of the legal status of the four islands of the Northern Territories. The materials received by the Asahi newspaper include the following: 1) it was necessary to transfer the two islands of Habomai and Shikotan according to the Soviet-Japanese declaration of 1956, 2) the conflict could be the subject of an investigation by the International Court of Justice.

The Russian government insists that "the territorial right to the four islands was transferred to Russia as a result of the Second World War."

At one time, Gorbachev instructed a working group to conduct an objective analysis, which consisted mainly of members of the Institute of State and Law of the USSR Academy of Sciences. The commission consisted of 10 specialists in the field of international law and the study of Japan.

The study also notes that under the San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1951, Russia has more legal grounds for owning the islands of Kunashir and Iturup, while "the documentary base of territorial law has not been completed." With regard to the islands of Habomai and Shikotan, the position was chosen that “these islands are considered as part of the island of Hokkaido. According to the Soviet-Japanese Declaration, the Soviet Union was to transfer the islands to Japan after the conclusion of the Peace Treaty.

Rein Müllerson, 69, who led the study group, said the possibility of referring the four-island issue to the International Court of Justice was also being considered. “Shikotan and Habomai should belong to Japan. Despite the fact that the positions of the USSR on Iturup and Kunashir are quite strong, they are not absolute, they are not enough for a final conclusion in favor of belonging to the islands of the Soviet Union,” he admits.

The results of the study were given to Gorbachev, and only five copies were made, and after the confusion during the collapse of the Soviet Union, the document never surfaced again. Three years ago, Mullerson discovered that a former member of the Institute of State and Law had kept a copy of the study all along. Mullerson explains: "The leadership of the Russian Federation should already have this document in their possession."

Reflection of new thinking in diplomacy

The study of the legal position on the issue of the four islands by the Gorbachev government fully reflects the era of the formation of new thinking in diplomacy, which was based on perestroika and international cooperation.

Both the Soviet Union and modern Russia share a common position: from the first secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU Khrushchev, who in the Soviet-Japanese Declaration of 1956 promised to transfer the two islands of Habomai and Shikotan, to the current president Putin, who also, counting on improving relations with Japan, is considering transfer option of these two islands. Just like in the text of the study, which indicates that the grounds for Japanese territorial law on the islands of Habomai and Shikotan are extremely strong.

At a press conference last March, Putin signaled his desire for a “hikiwake” draw solution, overriding Japanese public opinion that disagrees with the transfer of only the two islands of Habomai and Shikotan, which do not exceed 7% of the total territory of the four islands.

So far, the Japanese government has not had a forward-looking stance. The most important task for him in the upcoming negotiations will be how far he can move on the issue of the return of the islands of Kunashir and Iturup, about which the study says that "according to the legal documentation, the issue has not been settled."

Provisions Concerning the Legal Basis for the Territorial Ownership of the Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai Islands

The dispute over the four islands of Kunashir, Iturup, Khabomai and Shikotan between Japan and the USSR is of a legal nature.

Under the San Francisco Peace Treaty, Japan left the Kuril Islands, so the legal position of the USSR on territorial law on the islands of Kunashir and Iturup is strong. However, the legal documentation on the ownership of the islands is not complete.

The Habomai and Shikotan Islands are not included in the Kuril chain, therefore, there is a basis for the transfer of the Habomai and Shikotan Islands to Japan, which was not fulfilled by the USSR in accordance with the Soviet-Japanese Declaration.

The conflict is legal in nature, so it may become the subject of an investigation by the International Court of Justice.

The materials of InoSMI contain only assessments of foreign media and do not reflect the position of the editors of InoSMI.

“Japan claims four islands in the Kuril chain - Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai, referring to the bilateral Treatise on Trade and Borders of 1855. Moscow's position is that the southern Kuriles became part of the USSR (of which Russia became the successor) following the results of the Second World War, and Russian sovereignty over them, having the appropriate international legal design, is beyond doubt.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Yu.V. Klyuchnikov and A.V. Sabanin. Modern international politics in treaties, notes and declarations. Part I, M., 1925, p.214)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"The USSR, meeting the wishes of Japan and taking into account the interests of the Japanese state, agrees to the transfer of the Habomai Islands and the Shikotan Islands to Japan, however, that the actual transfer of these islands to Japan will be made after the conclusion of the Peace Treaty between the USSR and Japan."

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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

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

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

Urup

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

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

Urup is currently uninhabited. The non-residential settlements of Kastricum and Kompaneyskoye are located on the island.

The Friza Strait is a strait in the Pacific Ocean that separates Urup Island from Iturup Island. Connects the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and the Pacific Ocean. One of the largest straits of the Kuril chain. The length is about 30 km. The minimum width is 40 km. The maximum depth is over 1300 m. The coast is steep and rocky.

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

Iturup

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

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

Rural settlements: Reidovo, Kitovoye, Fishermen, Goryachiye Klyuchi, Burevestnik, Shumi-Gorodok, Gornoe.

Non-residential settlements: Active, Glorious, September, Wind, Hot Waters, Pioneer, Iodny, Lesozavodsky, Berezovka.

Kunashir

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

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

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

Shikotan

The island is stretched from northeast to southwest for 27 km, width - 5-13 km. Area - 225 km². The maximum height is 412 m (Mount Shikotan). Malokurilskaya (in the northern part of the island) and Krabovaya (in the central part) bays are located on the coast of the South Kuril Strait. The population is about 2100 people.

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

Most of the population is engaged in the extraction and processing of fish. There is a fish factory in the village, established in 1999 on the basis of the production facilities of the former Fish Cannery No. 24, which was seriously damaged during the 1994 earthquake. The enterprise produces canned food, mainly from saury, as well as fresh-frozen fish.

Habomai

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

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

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

Communication of relatives of "demebels and conscripts" from the site:

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

Kunashir Island (extracts)

MOV from Perm #

Oksana, why "served"? I don't have e-mail, I only write here. My son serves in LAGUNKA (as they call the village) in a mortar battery. The other day they had 2 emergency situations, one was a tragedy in Dubove. Today (07.11.) the highest ranks were there.

Angela from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk #

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

MOV from Perm #

whose children should come home from Kunashir Island, Lagunnoye - they are waiting for shipment, maybe until they are collected from all the islands and from Kunashir last, and in general, it is not clear with these shipments, there are both air and sea capabilities for sending - misunderstandings. Reserving - for sure, everyone seems to be reserving, "deputy" - in which military unit your son serves, and it takes them a long time to get to the Urals, because they went to the spring draft for almost a month to the island, and others to other islands even longer. "ZhZhshnik" - an emergency happened in the military unit in Dubove, what do you know about the military personnel in this emergency?

MP from Nizhnyaya Salda #

they said about the state of emergency, the old-timers put him on the money, and the officers tortured him, the 2nd flew home from the company with their own money. and those whose parents bought plane tickets in advance were not released. IDIOTS. They are waiting for the ship, they are waiting for some kind of commission. I called the council of soldiers' mothers with a request to help with the departure - they can not help in any way. I called the Committee for the Protection of Human Rights, they said, send a written statement with a request, then we can do some actions, but not verbally. I took it and wrote to the president in Kremlin.Ru. The son called - silence.

Alfiya from Izhevsk #

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

Mom from Penza #

The first batch was sent on November 20. 2 days went to the port of Vanino, then a day to Khabarovsk, and there they were told that there were no tickets until December 7th. And only after 2 days they gave tickets with five transfers to different trains. At the first two transfers, the train was waiting for 1.5 days. Cold, hungry. We sent money to the children by Blitz transfer, otherwise they would not get there. I called every day until the children were sent. Run, it's a mess.

Alfiya from Izhevsk #

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

Today I spoke on the phone with the commander of the regiment

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

send another batch. He couldn't tell me by last name.

who exactly got into the first batch, who - into the second. he himself

(according to him) is in Khabarovsk on a business trip. Who can clarify: did my son get into the first shipment or not?

Nemuro city of the northern coast of Hokkaido (photo)

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

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

Conclusions:

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

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

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

Of these, 82% (107.010.000) live in cities and urban-type settlements, and:

in Moscow 12.948.000, in the Moscow region 7.997.000, in St. Petersburg 6.897.000,

in the Leningrad region 3.479.000 (including temporary registrations and work permits for foreign migrants).

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

Locals from the village of Pangody call it very appropriately - "Cross".

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

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

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

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

As a result of the reform of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, only in the Ground Forces by 2012 the number of units and formations will decrease from 1890 to 172. The officer corps will be reduced from 315,000 to 150,000 people, and the general's corps from 1,886 to 900 people. The apparatus of the Ministry of Defense will decrease by 2.5 times, the institute of ensigns and warrant officers (170,000 people) will be liquidated, and 65 military universities will be reorganized into 10 educational and scientific centers. Maybe that's why 87% of the officers of the Russian army are openly disloyal to the authorities. In 2009, only 16 officers of the Russian Armed Forces were able to enter the Military Academy of the General Staff.

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

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

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

Shikotan, Habomai and a number of others are considered to be the Small Kuriles. For the most part, all island territories are mountainous and go up to 2,339 meters in height. The Kuril Islands on their lands have about 40 volcanic hills that are still active. Also here is the location of springs with hot mineral water. The south of the Kuriles is covered with forest plantations, 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 been open since WWII.

The Kuril Islands after the war began to belong to the USSR. But Japan considers the territories of the southern Kuriles, and these are Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan with the Habomai group of islands, as its territory, without having a legal basis for that. 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 demand that the Kuril Islands be returned to them. There, almost the entire population 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 concede to the Japanese leaders of the state in this matter. The peace agreement has not been signed to this day, and this is connected precisely with the four disputed South Kuril Islands. About the legitimacy of Japan's claims to the Kuril Islands in this video.

The meanings of the southern Kuriles

The Southern Kuriles have several meanings for both countries:

1. Military. The Southern Kuriles are of military importance, thanks to the only outlet to the Pacific Ocean for the country's fleet located there. And all because of the scarcity of geographical formations. At the moment, the ships enter the 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 in the Soviet era have now been looted and abandoned.
2. Economic. Economic importance - in the Sakhalin region there is a rather serious hydrocarbon potential. And belonging to Russia of the entire territory of the Kuriles, 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. Extracting it, the Russian Federation is in third place in the extraction of minerals and sulfur. For the Japanese, this area is important for fishing and agricultural purposes. This caught fish is used by the Japanese to grow rice - they simply pour it into the rice fields for fertilizer.
3. Social. By and large, there is no special social interest for ordinary people in the southern Kuriles. This is because there are no modern megacities, people mostly work there and live in cabins. Supplies are delivered by air, and less often 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 Kuriles. 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 volcano caldera and crossing the fumarole field on foot. And there is no need to talk about the views that open to the eye.

For this reason, the dispute over the ownership of the Kuril Islands has not moved forward.

Dispute over the Kuril territory

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

Information from written sources indicates the discoverers of the Kuriles - the Dutch. The Russians were the first to populate the territory of Chishim. Shikotan Island and the other three are designated for the first time by the Japanese. But the fact of discovery does not yet give grounds for the possession of this territory.

The island of Shikotan is considered to be 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 end of the world due to the amazing view of the Pacific Ocean.
Shikotan Island translates as Big City. It stretches for 27 kilometers, has a width of 13 km, occupied area - 225 square meters. km. The highest point of the island is the mountain of the same name, rising to 412 meters. Partially its territory belongs to the state nature reserve.

Shikotan Island has a very indented coastline with many coves, headlands and cliffs.

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

A bit of history

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

A treaty was signed between Russia and Japan (1855), called Shimodsky, where the boundaries were established, allowing Japanese citizens to trade on 2/3 of this land. Sakhalin remained a nobody's territory. After 20 years, Russia became the undivided owner of this land, then losing the south in the Russo-Japanese War. But during the Second World War, Soviet troops were still able to take back the south of Sakhalin land and the Kuril Islands as a whole.
Between the states that won the victory and Japan, nevertheless, a peace agreement was signed and it 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 many researchers considered a mistake. But there were good reasons for this:

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

Between the USSR and the Japanese side in 1956, a declaration was signed, preparing a platform for the main peace agreement. In it, the Land of the Soviets goes to meet the Japanese and agrees to transfer to them only the two disputed islands of Habomai and Shikotan. But with a condition - only after the signing of 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 signing of the peace treaty.
• This applies only to the two Kuril Islands.

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

After that, a call came from Japan to give up not two islands proposed by the USSR, but four. America puts pressure on the fact that all agreements between the Land of Soviets and Japan are not obligatory 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, now they have come even closer to Russian territory.

Proceeding from all this, Russian diplomats declared that until all foreign troops were withdrawn from its territory, it was impossible even to talk about a peace agreement. But in any case, we are talking about only two islands of the Kuriles.

As a result, the power structures of America are still located on the territory of Japan. The Japanese insist on the transfer of the 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 under these conditions, the Japanese side again raises this topic. But the dispute about who will own the South Kuril Islands, the countries remained open. The Tokyo Declaration of 1993 states that the Russian Federation is the legal successor of the Soviet Union, respectively, and previously signed papers must be recognized by both parties. It also indicated the direction to move towards the solution of the territorial affiliation of the disputed four Kuril Islands.

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

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

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

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