Shikotan and Habomai Islands population. The islands of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai must be returned to Japan. Maps of the Kuril Islands

03.07.2020

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

Geography

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

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

Resources, flora

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

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

Animals, birds and fish

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

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

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

History: seventeenth century

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

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

18th century

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

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

Nineteenth century - a century of concessions

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

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

Twentieth century: defeats and victories

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

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

Today's century, twenty-first

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

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

The Problem of Ownership

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

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

Arguments

They were as follows:

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

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

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

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

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

Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan, Habomai - four words sound like a spell. The Southern Kuriles are the most distant, most mysterious and most problematic islands in the country. Probably every literate citizen of Russia has heard about the "problem of the islands", although the essence of the problem for many is as vague as the weather in the Far East region. These difficulties only add to the tourist attraction: it is worth seeing Cape World's End, while traveling to it does not require a visa. Although a special permit to visit the border zone is still required.

Cossack Not good and sedentary gilyaks

The islands of Iturup and Kunashir belong to the Greater Kuril Ridge, Shikotan to the Lesser. It is more difficult with Habomai: on modern maps there is no such name, this is the old Japanese designation for the rest of the islands of the Small Ridge. It is used precisely when the “problem of the South Kuriles” is being discussed. Iturup is the largest of all the Kuril Islands, Kunashir is the southernmost of the Greater Kuriles, Shikotan is the northernmost of the Lesser ones. Since Habomai is an archipelago consisting of a dozen small and very small parts of the land, the disputed Kuril Islands are actually not four, but more. Administratively, they all belong to the South Kuril District of the Sakhalin Region. The Japanese attribute them to the Nemuro District of Hokkaido Prefecture.

Entrance stele of the village of Yuzhno-Kurilsk on the island of Kunashir in the Kuril chain. Photo: Vladimir Sergeev / ITAR-TASS

The Russian-Japanese territorial dispute is a product of the 20th century, although the question of the ownership of the islands was more open than clearly defined before. The uncertainty is based on history and geography itself: the Kuril ridge, stretching in an arc from Kamchatka to Hokkaido, was discovered by the Japanese and Russians almost simultaneously.

More precisely, some land shrouded in fog north of Hokkaido was discovered back in 1643 by the Dutch expedition of Friz. The Japanese at that time only mastered the north of Hokkaido, sometimes swimming to the neighboring islands. In any case, on the Japanese map of 1644, Iturup and Kunashir were already marked. Around the same time, in 1646, the Yenisei Cossack Nehoroshko Ivanovich Kolobov, an associate of the explorer Ivan Moskovitin, reported to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich that there were islands in the Sea of Okhotsk with "sitting gilyaks" who kept "fed bears." Gilyaki - Russian name Nivkhs, Far Eastern natives, and "sedentary" means sedentary. The Nivkhs were the indigenous people of the islands, along with the ancient people of the Ainu. The bear is a totem animal of the Ainu, who specially raised bears for the most important tribal rituals. The word "gilyaks" in relation to the Kuril and Sakhalin aborigines was used until the 19th century, it can be found in Chekhov's "Sakhalin Island". And the name of the Kuriles themselves, according to one version, is reminiscent of smoking volcanoes, and according to another, it goes back to the Ainu language and the root “kur”, meaning “man”.

Kolobov, perhaps, visited the Kuril Islands before the Japanese, but his detachment definitely did not reach the Small Ridge. Only half a century later, Russian navigators sailed to the island of Simushir in the middle of the Kuriles, and moved south already in the time of Peter I. Russian names for them: Figured, Three Sisters and Citron. Most likely, Figured is Shikotan, and Three Sisters and Citron is Iturup, mistaken for two islands.

Decrees, treatises and pacts

As a result of the Second Kamchatka Expedition, forty Kuril Islands were included in the 1745 atlas "General Map of Russia". This position was confirmed in 1772, when the islands were transferred under the control of the chief commander of Kamchatka, and once again secured in 1783 by the decree of Catherine II on the preservation of Russia's right to the lands discovered by Russian navigators. In the Kuriles, free fishing for sea animals was allowed, and Russian settlements began to appear on the islands. The mainland Cossacks collected tribute from the indigenous smokers, periodically going too far. So, in 1771, after the visit of a violent detachment of the Kamchatka centurion Ivan Cherny, the Ainu rebelled and tried to get out of Russian citizenship. But in general, they treated the Russians well - they won against the backdrop of the Japanese, who considered the natives "eastern savages" and fought with them.

A sunken ship in the Yuzhno-Kurilskaya Bay on the Kunashir Island of the Kuril Ridge. Photo: Vladimir Sergeev / ITAR-TASS

Japan, by that time closed to foreigners for a hundred years, naturally had its own views of the islands. But the Japanese have not yet fully mastered even Hokkaido, originally inhabited by the same Ainu, so their practical interest in the South Kuriles flared up only towards the end of the 18th century. Then they officially forbade Russians not only to trade, but simply to appear in Hokkaido, Iturup and Kunashir. A confrontation began on the islands: the Japanese destroyed Russian crosses and put up their own signs in return, the Russians, in turn, corrected the situation, and so on. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Russian-American campaign was engaged in trade in all the Kuriles, but it was not possible to establish normal ties with Japan.

Finally, in 1855, Russia and Japan signed the first diplomatic treaty, the Shimoda Treaty. The treaty established the Russian-Japanese state border between the islands of Iturup and Urup, and Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and the rest of the islands of the Small Ridge went to Japan. The treaty was signed on February 7, and at the end of the 20th century, this day became a public holiday in Japan - the Day of the Northern Territories. The Shimoda treatise is the point from which the “problem of the South Kuriles” has grown.

In addition, the treaty left the much more important island of Sakhalin in an uncertain position for Russia: it remained in the joint possession of both countries, which again gave rise to conflicts and hindered Russian plans to develop coal deposits in the south of the island. For the sake of Sakhalin, Russia went to the "exchange of territories", and under the new Petersburg Treaty of 1875, it transferred to Japan the rights to all the Kuril Islands, gaining full control over Sakhalin. As a result, Russia lost not only the islands, but also access to the Pacific Ocean - the straits from Kamchatka to Hokkaido were now controlled by the Japanese. With Sakhalin, too, it did not turn out too well, since hard labor was immediately established on it, and coal was mined by the hands of convicts. This could not contribute to the normal development of the island.

Shikotan Island. Members of the expedition to the Kuril Islands with local residents. 1891. Photo: Patriarche / pastvu.com

The next stage was the defeat of Russia in the Russo-Japanese War. The Portsmouth Peace Treaty of 1905 canceled all previous agreements: not only the Kuriles, but also the southern half of Sakhalin went to Japan. This position was preserved and even strengthened under the Soviet government, which signed the Beijing Treaty in 1925. The USSR did not recognize itself as the legal successor of the Russian Empire and, in order to protect its eastern borders from the hostile actions of the "samurai", agreed to very favorable conditions for Japan. The Bolsheviks had no claims to the Kuriles and the southern part of Sakhalin, and Japanese companies received a concession - the right to develop oil and coal deposits on Soviet territory.

In the years before World War II, the Japanese built many engineering structures and military bases in the Kuriles. These bases almost did not participate in hostilities, except for one case: in 1941, aircraft carriers left Iturup Island, heading for Pearl Harbor. And the Japanese concession in the north of Sakhalin was officially in force until the same 1941, when the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact was concluded. The pact was terminated in August 1945: following the decisions of the Yalta Conference, the USSR entered the war with Japan, subject to the return of all the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin.

Chisima Islands trick

In September 1945, the Kuriles were occupied by Soviet troops who accepted the surrender of the Japanese garrisons. The Memorandum of General MacArthur and the San Francisco Peace Treaty with the Allies confirmed the fact that Japan renounces the rights to all territories received under the Potsdam Treaty of 1905 - Sakhalin and the Chisima Islands.

Shikotan Island. Whaling plant. 1946. Photo: Patriarche / pastvu.com

It was in this formulation that the root of the "island problem" lurked. According to the Japanese version, the historical province of Tisima is Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands north of Kunashir. Kunashir itself, Iturup and the Small Ridge are not among them. Japan thus did not renounce them, and may lay claim to the "Northern Territories" by law. The Soviet side did not sign the treaty, insisting on changing the wording, therefore, legally, Russia and Japan still remain at war. There is also a joint declaration of 1956, when the USSR promised to transfer Shikotan and Habomai to Japan after the conclusion of peace, and a few years later announced a unilateral rejection of this clause.

The Russian Federation recognizes itself as the legal successor of the USSR and accordingly recognizes the agreements signed by the Soviet Union. Including the declaration of 1956. Bidding for Shikotan and Habomai continues.

island treasures

The main myth about the South Kuriles is the assertion that their loss will lead to the loss of the only non-freezing outlet from the Sea of Okhotsk to the Pacific Ocean through the Friz and Ekaterina straits. The straits do not really freeze, but this does not matter much: most of the Sea of Okhotsk freezes anyway, and without icebreakers, winter navigation is impossible here. Moreover, in any case, Japan cannot restrict the passage through the straits, as long as it adheres to the international maritime law. In addition, the main routes of the region do not pass through the South Kuriles.

Another myth is the opposite: as if the Southern Kuriles bring more headaches than they have value, and no one will lose anything from their transfer. This is not true. The islands are rich in natural resources, including unique ones. On Iturup, for example, there is an extremely valuable deposit of the rarest rhenium metal on the Kudryavy volcano.

Kunashir Island. Golovnin volcano caldera. Photo: Yury Koshel

But the most obvious Kuril resource is natural. Since 1992, Japanese tourists have been actively traveling here on a visa-free exchange, and Kunashir and Iturup have long become the most popular of all Kuril tourist routes. After all, the Southern Kuriles are an ideal place for ecotourism. The vagaries of the local climate, fraught with the most dangerous cataclysms from eruptions to tsunamis, are redeemed by the pristine beauty of the islands in the ocean.

For more than thirty years, the nature of the Southern Kuriles has an official protected status. The Kurilsky Reserve and the Small Kuriles reserve of federal significance protect most of Kunashir and Shikotan and many other small islands of the Small Ridge. And even a sophisticated traveler will not be indifferent to the ecological routes of the reserve to the Tyatya volcano, to the picturesque mineralized lakes of the caldera of the oldest volcano on the islands of Golovnin, to the thicket of the relict forest along the Stolbovskaya ecotrail, to the fantastic basalt rocks of Cape Stolbchaty, similar to a huge stone organ. And here there are bears of a special gray color, fearless foxes, curious anthur seals, graceful Japanese cranes, thousands of flocks of waterfowl on autumn and spring migrations, dark coniferous forests, where one of the rarest birds on the planet lives - a fish owl, impenetrable bamboo thickets taller than human height, a unique wild magnolia, hot springs and icy mountain rivers, "boiling" from flocks of pink salmon entering to spawn.

Kunashir Island. Volcano Tyatya. Photo: Vlada Valchenko

And Kunashir - the “black island” - is the village of Goryachiy Plyazh with thermal springs, the smoking solfatars of the Mendeleev volcano and the village of Yuzhno-Kurilsk, which in the future may become a new center of Far Eastern tourism. Iturup, the largest of the Kuril Islands, has "snowy subtropics", nine active volcanoes, waterfalls, thermal springs, hot lakes and the Ostrovnoy regional reserve. Shikotan, popular with “wild” hikers, has quaint bays, mountains, seal rookeries and bird colonies. And Cape Edge of the World, where you can meet the freshest dawn in Russia.

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” 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, Russian President 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 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 in solving the territorial issue important principles legitimacy and justice, including respect for past international agreements, become. And that's it. There was no further movement.

As for the policy of 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 Restoring Japan's Sovereignty over the Northern Territories developed rules according to which Russians would live on the islands after they were handed over to the Japanese. “Residents of Russian origin who have lived for more than 5 years after recovery in Japan, if they have own desire have the opportunity to obtain Japanese citizenship after passing the appropriate individual verification,” the document reads.

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.

In view of recent events, many inhabitants of the planet are interested in where the Kuril Islands are located, as well as to whom they belong. If there is still no concrete answer to the second question, then the first can be answered quite unambiguously. The Kuril Islands are a chain of islands approximately 1.2 kilometers long. It runs from the Kamchatka Peninsula to an island landmass called Hokkaido. A kind of convex arc, consisting of fifty-six islands, is located in two parallel lines, and also separates the Sea of Okhotsk from the Pacific Ocean. The total territorial area is 10,500 km 2. On the south side, the state border between Japan and Russia is stretched.

The lands in question are of inestimable economic and military-strategic importance. Most of them are considered part of the Russian Federation and belong to the Sakhalin region. However, the status of such components of the archipelago, including Shikotan, Kunashir, Iturup, as well as the Habomai group, is disputed by the Japanese authorities, which classifies the listed islands as part of the Hokkaido prefecture. Thus, you can find the Kuril Islands on the map of Russia, but Japan plans to legalize the ownership of some of them. These territories have their own characteristics. For example, the archipelago belongs entirely to the Far North, if you look at legal documents. And this is despite the fact that Shikotan is located in the same latitude as the city of Sochi and Anapa.

Kunashir, Cape Stolbchaty

Climate of the Kuril Islands

Within the area under consideration, moderate maritime climate which is more likely to be called cool than warm. The main impact on climatic conditions is exerted by baric systems, which usually form over the northern part of the Pacific Ocean, the cold Kuril Current, and the Sea of Okhotsk. The southern part of the archipelago is covered by monsoon atmospheric flows, for example, the Asian winter anticyclone also dominates there.

Shikotan Island

It should be noted that the weather on the Kuril Islands is quite changeable. The landscapes of the local latitudes are characterized by less heat supply than the territories of the corresponding latitudes, but in the center of the mainland. The average minus temperature in winter is the same for each island included in the chain, and ranges from -5 to -7 degrees. In winter, prolonged heavy snowfalls, thaws, increased cloudiness and blizzards often occur. In summer, temperature indicators vary from +10 to +16 degrees. The further south the island is located, the higher the air temperature will be.

The main factor influencing the summer temperature index is the nature of the hydrological circulation characteristic of coastal waters.

If we consider the components of the middle and northern group of islands, it is worth noting that the temperature of coastal waters there does not rise above five to six degrees, therefore, these territories are characterized by the lowest summer rate for the Northern Hemisphere. During the year, the archipelago receives from 1000 to 1400 mm of precipitation, which is evenly distributed over the seasons. You can also talk about everywhere excess moisture. On the southern side of the chain in summer, the humidity index exceeds ninety percent, due to which fogs dense in consistency appear. If you carefully consider the latitudes where the Kuril Islands are located on the map, we can conclude that the area is particularly difficult. It is regularly affected by cyclones, which are accompanied by excessive precipitation, and can also cause typhoons.

Simushir Island

Population

Territories are populated unevenly. The population of the Kuril Islands lives year-round in Shikotan, Kunashir, Paramushir and Iturup. There is no permanent population in other parts of the archipelago. In total, there are nineteen settlements, including sixteen villages, an urban-type settlement called Yuzhno-Kurilsk, as well as two large cities, including Kurilsk and Severo-Kurilsk. In 1989, the maximum value of the population was recorded, which was equal to 30,000 people.

The high population density at the time Soviet Union due to subsidies from those regions, as well as a large number of military personnel who inhabited the islands of Simushir, Shumshu, and so on.

By 2010, the rate had dropped significantly. In total, 18,700 people occupied the territory, of which approximately 6,100 live within the Kuril District, and 10,300 in the South Kuril District. The rest of the people occupied the local villages. The population has decreased significantly due to the remoteness of the archipelago, but the climate of the Kuril Islands also played its role, which not every person can withstand.

Uninhabited Ushishir Islands

How to get to the Kuriles

The easiest way to get here is by air. The local airport called Iturup is considered one of the most important aviation facilities built from scratch in post-Soviet times. It was built and equipped in accordance with modern technological requirements, so it was given the status of an international air point. The first flight, which later became regular, was accepted on September 22, 2014. They became the plane of the company "Aurora", which arrived from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. There were fifty passengers on board. This event was negatively perceived by the Japanese authorities, who attribute this territory to their country. Therefore, disputes about who owns the Kuril Islands continue to this day.

It is worth noting that a trip to the Kuriles must be planned in advance. Route planning should take into account that the total archipelago includes fifty-six islands, among which Iturup and Kunashir are the most popular. There are two ways to get to them. It is most convenient to fly by plane, but tickets should be bought a few months before the scheduled date, since there are quite a few flights. The second way is a trip by boat from the port of Korsakov. The journey takes from 18 to 24 hours, but you can buy a ticket only at the box office of the Kuriles or Sakhalin, that is, online sales are not provided.

Urup is an uninhabited island of volcanic origin

Interesting Facts

Despite all the difficulties, life on the Kuril Islands is developing and growing. The history of the territories began in 1643, when several sections of the archipelago were surveyed by Marten Fries and his team. The first information received by Russian scientists dates back to 1697, when V. Atlasov's campaign across Kamchatka took place. All subsequent expeditions led by I. Kozyrevsky, F. Luzhin, M. Shpanberg and others were aimed at systematic development of the area. After it became clear who discovered the Kuril Islands, you can familiarize yourself with several interesting facts related to the archipelago:

To get to the Kuriles, a tourist will need a special permit, since the zone is a border zone. This document is issued exclusively by the border department of the FSB of Sakhalinsk. To do this, you will need to come to the institution at 9:30 - 10:30 with your passport. The permit will be ready the very next day. Therefore, the traveler will definitely stay in the city for one day, which should be taken into account when planning a trip.
Due to the unpredictable climate, visiting the islands, you can get stuck here for a long time, because in case of bad weather, the airport of the Kuril Islands and their ports stop working. Frequent obstacles are high clouds and nebula. Wherein we are talking not about a couple of hour flight delays. The traveler should always be prepared to spend an extra week or two here.
All five hotels are open for guests of the Kuriles. The hotel called "Vostok" is designed for eleven rooms, "Iceberg" - three rooms, "Flagman" - seven rooms, "Iturup" - 38 rooms, "Island" - eleven rooms. Reservations must be made in advance.
Japanese lands can be seen from the windows of local residents, but the best view opens on Kunashir. To verify this fact, the weather must be clear.
The Japanese past is closely connected with these territories. Japanese cemeteries and factories remain here, the coast from the Pacific Ocean is densely lined with fragments of Japanese porcelain, which existed even before the war. Therefore, here you can often meet archaeologists or collectors.
It is also worth understanding that the disputed Kuril Islands, first of all, are volcanoes. Their territories consist of 160 volcanoes, of which about forty remain active.
The local flora and fauna is amazing. Bamboo grows here along the highways, magnolia or mulberry tree can grow near the Christmas tree. The lands are rich in berries, blueberries, lingonberries, cloudberries, princesses, redberries, Chinese magnolia vines, blueberries and so on grow abundantly here. Locals say that you can meet a bear here, especially near the Tyati Kunashir volcano.
Almost every local resident has a car at his disposal, but there are no gas stations in any of the settlements. Fuel is delivered inside special barrels from Vladivostok and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
Due to the high seismicity of the region, its territory is built up mainly with two- and three-story buildings. Houses with a height of five floors are already considered skyscrapers and a rarity.
Until it is decided whose Kuril Islands, the Russians living here, the duration of the vacation will be 62 days a year. Residents of the southern ridge can enjoy a visa-free regime with Japan. This opportunity uses about 400 people a year.

The Great Kuril Arc is surrounded by underwater volcanoes, some of which regularly make themselves felt. Any eruption causes a resumption of seismic activity, which provokes a “seaquake”. Therefore, local lands are subject to frequent tsunamis. The strongest tsunami wave about 30 meters high in 1952 completely destroyed the city on the island of Paramushir called Severo-Kurilsk.

The last century was also remembered for several natural disasters. Among them, the most famous was the 1952 tsunami that occurred in Paramushir, as well as the 1994 Shikotan tsunami. Therefore, it is believed that such a beautiful nature of the Kuril Islands is also very dangerous for human life, but this does not prevent local cities from developing and the population from growing.

After 1855 until 1945 (90 years) these islands were Japanese. Modern Russia justifies territorial seizures as a result of wars even in the 21st century.

Back in the 17th century, there were Russian expeditions to the South Kuril Islands, but only under Peter I at the beginning of the 18th century, Russia laid claim to these islands and began to take tribute from the Ainu, local residents. Japan also considered these islands to be its own and also tried to take tribute from the Ainu, and only in 1855 was the first border treaty between Russia and Japan (Shimodsky treatise) concluded. Under this agreement, the islands of Iturup, Kunaship, Shikotan and Habomai were ceded to Japan, and the rest of the Kuriles to Russia. After 1855 until 1945 (90 years) these islands were Japanese.

In 1875, under the Treaty of St. Petersburg, the Kuril Islands are fully included in Japan. In exchange, Japan recognizes Sakhalin Island as part of Russia. In 1905, after the defeat of Russia in the Russo-Japanese War, the Treaty of Portsmouth was concluded, according to which the southern part of Sakhalin Island was ceded to Japan, the Kuril Islands were Japanese and remained Japanese.

Throughout World War II, the Neutrality Pact was in force between the USSR and Japan. On the night of August 8-9, 1945, the USSR, fulfilling its obligations to the allies, entered the war against Japan, the Manchurian operation began against the million-strong Kwantung Army. August 14 - Japan officially accepts the terms of surrender and informs the allies about this, but hostilities on the Japanese side did not stop. Only three days later, the Kwantung Army received an order from its command to surrender, which began on August 20.

On August 18, the Kuril landing operation was launched, during which Soviet troops occupied the Kuril Islands. The Kuril operation ended on September 5, after the signing of the act of surrender of Japan (September 2, 1945).

In 1951, the Allies and Japan signed the San Francisco Peace Treaty. Japan renounces claims to the Kuril Islands. Later, the Japanese government stated that the islands of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai, being "originally Japanese territories", were not included in the term "Kuril Islands", which appeared in the text of the agreement.

The treaty was preliminarily prepared by the US and British governments before the conference began. The treaty says nothing about the sovereignty of the USSR over the Kuriles. The Soviet delegation proposed amendments, as well as 8 new articles.

The Soviet proposals provided for the recognition of the sovereignty of the USSR over South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, the withdrawal of the armed forces of the allied powers from Japan within 90 days after the signing of the treaty. The Soviet proposals were not put up for discussion. In view of serious claims to the draft treaty, the representatives of the USSR refused to sign it.

In 1956, in the Joint Declaration of the USSR and Japan, Moscow agreed to the transfer of the islands of Shikotan and Habomai to Japan after the conclusion of a peace treaty. However, the Japanese government demanded the transfer of all 4 islands, as a result, the signing of the agreement did not take place.

In 2005, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his readiness to resolve the territorial dispute in accordance with the provisions of the Soviet-Japanese declaration of 1956, that is, with the transfer of Habomai and Shikotan to Japan, but the Japanese side did not compromise.

Khrushchev in 1955 abandoned a military base in Finland on the Porkkala Udd peninsula, 30 km west of Helsinki. In 1954, the USSR returned Port Arthur to China. If under Khrushchev the issue with the islands had been resolved, the problem would not exist, now no one would remember these islands.

Some write that when transferring 4 islands to Russia, access to the Pacific Ocean will be difficult. This is not true. The shortest route from Vladivostok to the Pacific Ocean lies through the ice-free Tsugaru Strait between the islands of Hokkaido and Honshu. This strait is not blocked by the territorial waters of Japan.

To date, the Russian leadership has practically abandoned the Joint Declaration of 1956 and V. Putin's proposal of 2005 and refuses to discuss the issue of ownership of the disputed islands, referring to the fact that the islands went to the USSR as a result of victory in World War II, i.e. modern Russia justifies territorial gains as a result of wars even in the 21st century.

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