In Moscow, they should feel their importance. Today they are bargaining for a lot from Russia: for the "correct position" on Bashar al-Assad in Syria - investments and influence in the Middle East from Saudi Arabia; for the pacification of Donbass and the return of Crimea to Ukraine - the lifting of economic sanctions from the West; for finally transferring Kuril Islands - economic and humanitarian aid from Japan. And although Russia, according to President Putin, does not trade in interests and territories, a compromise with Japan is still possible. Not least thanks to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Despite the shouts from Washington, he put national interests above the "club" - as a member of the G8, Japan supported not only international sanctions against Russia, but also the country's exclusion from the club of developed democracies. But in the G7, Tokyo was the only one trying to develop relations with Moscow, while Berlin and Paris mediated in the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, and Washington was distracted by the Middle East, in particular Syria.
In May, Abe brought his Russian counterpart an "eight-point plan." Even the leaks in the media did not disclose details, but in general terms they talked about cooperation in energy, industry, agriculture, high technologies, healthcare, in the field of humanitarian exchange, urban environment, as well as cooperation of small and medium-sized businesses. But even in this form, the layout was understandable: Russia opens the Japanese market for its traditional export - raw materials, while Japan provides technology, knowledge and investment for the Russian Far East. Moscow responded to the proposal and presented 49 projects to partners.
Several months passed, and Abe again wished to meet with Putin - this time at the second Eastern Economic Forum, which is taking place in Vladivostok. Japanese media outlets, notably The Japan Times, Mainichi Shinbum and NHK, have clarified that Abe will arrive with a new way of thinking, called a "new approach." What does it consist in?
In the 1990s, Tokyo made economic ties with Russia contingent on resolving the territorial dispute over the South Kuriles. According to the well-known formula - chairs in the morning, money in the evening. Then there were attempts to exchange not all the chairs at once, but one by one, but the furniture - all the same forward. Now the Japanese authorities have decided to take the risk: we give you money to build confidence, and in the evening we want to get chairs.
Apparently, Abe set out to do what none of his predecessors could do. If Putin, whom he invited to visit his small homeland in Yamaguchi Prefecture, shares his desire, then Abe will go down in history as the prime minister who proclaims in the Russian manner: "The Kuriles are ours!" He has already re-read Washington with his too frequent visits to Russia, so he will not take his will. But before the next talks, the Japanese prime minister once again showed how far he is ready to go: in the Japanese government, he established a special position of commissioner for the development of relations with Russia, which was occupied by the Minister of Economy Hiroshige Seko. Now Russia must accept the pass and respond by appointing a curator of joint projects on its part - it could be First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov or Minister of Economy Alexei Ulyukaev.
However, the "new thinking" has not completely outlived the old attitudes. As soon as the influential publication Mainichi Shinbum announced that the inhabitants of the South Kuriles would be allowed to live on the islands, after the establishment of Japan's sovereignty over them, the Secretary General of the Japanese Cabinet of Ministers, Suga, immediately denied the concession in question. But obviously, whatever the point in a dispute that has been going on for more than 70 years, Abe is not alone in facing a dissenting elite and the public.
Compromise or "frostbite ears"?
Japan's flirtations with Russia are explained by pragmatic goals: Tokyo, in addition to the islands, needs to wedge itself into the alliance of Moscow and Beijing so that the notorious turn to the East of Russia does not turn into a turn exclusively towards China. This is part of the regional, Asia-Pacific policy, which is aimed at weakening Chinese influence, finding balance and parity. Therefore, economic incentives for Russia, which needs markets, technology and investment, is only a means to achieve its own goals: from resolving territorial differences to balancing China and limiting Chinese expansion.
A dusty compromise would be acceptable for Moscow: according to the Soviet-Japanese declaration on the end of the war in 1956, the USSR was ready, in exchange for a peace treaty, to transfer the island of Shikotan and the Habomai ridge to Japan. Under pressure from the United States, Tokyo refused to make peace, claiming Kunashir and Iturup. The failed deal already contained a formula that still suits the Russian leadership.
Choosing between "giving up all the islands" or "half", the Kremlin is inclined towards a "half" solution. The ideal scenario assumes that "neither side will feel at a loss, neither side will feel either defeated or lost," explained his vision to Bloomberg russian President.
However, even if the master of the Kremlin and his Japanese counterpart achieve a relationship of trust, how can we explain to the Russians the need to transfer the islands to another state?
Recent history does not suggest any logic. The last two years have shown that for the annexation of Crimea, Russians are ready to endure a radical deterioration in living standards and a rollback of all economic indicators ten years ago. So why should they give up the islands for a small economic aid - a medical center in Vladivostok, the latest Japanese technology, LNG terminals and new production facilities? This does not fit into the Russian character, which can be partly explained by the saying: "to spite my grandmother, I will frostbitten my ears."
According to a 2016 VTsIOM poll, 53% of Russians are convinced that the South Kuriles will always belong to Russia. So, it will be possible to justify the compromise in power only by referring to the "wise" decision of the USSR, where the country, according to many, has forever left all the best.
But here, too, a nuance must be outlined: a peace treaty with Russia plus two islands does not suit the Japanese authorities, they want to "squeeze" everything. However, what will Moscow get as a result of a possible compromise, apart from economic aid?
Japan, by and large, as it was from the world of the G7, will remain economically and politically integrated into the Western world. Russia will not be able to make Tokyo its ally either globally or regionally. Moreover, the territorial dispute, which has been smoldering for decades, does not pose any significant problem for Moscow. We can safely assume that if the status quo persists for another seventy years, then Russia will not lose anything.
All rhetoric on this issue resembles diplomatic curtsies that are needed only for one thing - balancing geopolitical interests in the Asia-Pacific region, where Japan is opposing the emergence of Chinese hegemony, and Russia is breaking free from the clutches of the tiger, which sees it as a raw material appendage and a junior partner. Moscow is not averse to playing on Washington's nerves, splitting the unity of the world's leading economies.
But if Moscow has nowhere to rush, then does Abe have enough time to carry out his plan? He has led the Japanese government since 2012. For as long as he was, rarely did anyone hold on to power in the land of the rising sun. Perhaps, in the fourth term, Putin will no longer meet with him at the Eastern Economic Forum, but by the end of 2016 the Russian president intends to pay an official visit to Tokyo and, presumably, not empty-handed.
Why can't Russia afford to accommodate Japan's territorial claims? Sergei Luzyanin, director of the RAS Institute for the Far East, and Semyon Bagdasarov, director of the Center for the Study of the Middle East and Central Asia, answered this question to RIA Novosti.
1.
The islands undoubtedly belong to Russia, Semyon Bagdasarov believes.
"There are many treaties and agreements, they often contradict each other. But the main thing is still different: yes, Russia occupied these islands by force. But before, during the Russo-Japanese war, Japan also took them away from Russia by force. These are our islands, which were once attached to Russian Empire, and giving them away is pointless, "says the expert.
According to him, there can be no question of Russia giving any country at least part of its territory, including the Kuril Islands. If you give in to Tokyo's demands, it will cause irreparable damage to the authority of the Russian state, Semyon Bagdasarov argues.
2.
The transfer of at least one island to Japan will create East Asia a dangerous precedent for revising the results of World War II, Sergei Luzyanin is convinced.
"In particular, this concerns the documents of the 1951 San Francisco Peace Conference, when an agreement was signed between the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition and Japan limiting the sovereignty of Tokyo exclusively to the Japanese islands - there is no question of any Kuriles," he says.
Creating a similar use case can have dangerous consequences for the whole world and, in any case, does not in any way meet Russian interests, the expert emphasizes.
3.
"The transfer of part of the Kuril Islands to Japan will indirectly mean a small tactical victory for the United States, which was, is and will be Japan's military and political ally," said Sergei Luzyanin.
Despite the fact that Tokyo demonstrates the independence of its foreign policy, Washington retains many levers with which it can always exert pressure on its ally. Despite the fact that in this alliance, Japan is always a slave - at least due to constitutional restrictions that do not allow this country to increase its defense budget, he believes.
"The transfer of the islands to Japan will become such a gift not only to Japan, but also to the United States, a tangible psychological blow to Russia," says Luzyanin.
4.
Both experts agree that Russia's abandonment of two or more Kuril Islands will serve to weaken the country's regional security.
"The Soviet Union in the east had a powerful defense system that stretched from the Kuriles to Vladivostok and beyond. The facilities of this system were based, among other things, on the Kuril Islands. During the collapse of the USSR, it was destroyed. But if now we abandon the islands, Russia will finally lose the opportunity recreating a similar system protecting the country's eastern borders, "says Semyon Bagdasarov.
"The islands are, among other things, strategic straits, there are Russian military bases nearby, which are now being strengthened and expanded in the wake of the general modernization of the country's defense forces. And the concession of a part of the islands could seriously undermine the process of strengthening the Russian security system in this part of the Pacific Ocean." - says Sergei Luzyanin.
5.
"In the coastal waters of the Kuril Islands there are huge sea riches - fish, seafood. Why on earth should this be given to someone?" - Semyon Bagdasarov wonders.
"The transfer of the islands will inevitably affect the amount of marine biological resources that Russia owns. Losing a basin so rich in them is simply an unacceptable waste, especially in the difficult current economic conditions," agrees Sergei Luzyanin.
6.
The population of the Kuriles is small, but it is - russian citizens, and it is unacceptable to create a situation in which they become hostages of interstate disputes, Semyon Bagdasarov is convinced.
"Joint development of the islands - for God's sake. But this process should be treated with caution, just as with caution should be approached to the development of the Far Eastern lands by citizens of China. It is necessary to very carefully summarize the legislative framework for such projects in order to avoid a situation where local residents may be people there. second grade, "he says.
According to Baghdasarov, first of all, it is necessary to take care of how to inhabit these lands not by foreigners, but by Russians. One of the options, he sees the provision of land plots throughout Far East compatriots who want, but cannot leave the nation-states that were formed after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
"On the one hand, the enthusiasm of the pro-Western liberals will undoubtedly follow. But, on the other hand, it is also undoubtedly the outrage of nationalist groups, especially the extreme left. This will ultimately create unnecessary tension and may not have the best effect on trust in the authorities," He says.
According to Luzyanin, when in 1956 the Soviet Union promised to give Japan two islands, the Khrushchev USSR was hardly threatened by any waves of protest from the population. In today's Russia, the situation is fundamentally different, and in no case should we forget about this, the expert believes.
Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed to Japan to conclude a peace treaty by the end of 2018 without preconditions. The Russian leader made this statement at a plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum. According to Putin, on the basis of a peace treaty, the two countries will be able "as friends" to resolve all controversial issues "with which we have not been able to cope for 70 years."
He proposed to postpone the settlement of the territorial dispute over the ownership of the Kuril Islands for later. “You can immediately write in this agreement that we will strive to resolve these issues. I am sure we will do it someday, ”Putin added.
Previously proposed to conclude a peace treaty with Russia and japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe... He has not yet given an answer to the new proposal of his Russian colleague. “We intend to continue to conduct tight negotiations in accordance with our course, which is to sign a peace treaty, resolving the issue of ownership of the four islands. In this respect, our position remains unchanged, ”the Japanese Foreign Ministry commented on Putin's proposal.
Will Russia and Japan finally be able to put an end to World War II and sign a peace treaty? AiF.ru found out this from valery Kistanova, Head of the Center for Japanese Studies, Institute for Far Eastern Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences.
Gleb Ivanov, AiF.ru: - Valery Olegovich, what prevented the two countries from concluding a peace treaty in the 70 years that have passed since the end of World War II?
Valery Kistanov: - The notorious territorial problem interfered. All these years, Japan has demanded the return of 4 southern Kuril islands, which it considers its original territories.
In 1956, the USSR and Japan negotiated a peace treaty. Then the Japanese were inclined to conclude it on the terms of the return of two of the four islands: Shikotan and Habomai. But then the Americans intervened. They threatened that if the contract was concluded on such terms, they would not return Okinawa to the Japanese. The Japanese played back and began to demand all four islands again.
Since then, the Japanese establishment cannot imagine concluding a peace treaty with Russia without solving the territorial problem. And this means for them the return of all four islands.
- What changed Putin's proposal?
“If we decipher what our president said, we get the following:“ There is no need to link the conclusion of a peace treaty with a territorial problem. ” In fact, he clarified our usual position. The problem is that the Japanese position on this issue is fundamentally different from our approach. Therefore, there will be no peace treaty before the end of the year. This I guarantee you. In the coming years, this will not happen either, because in Japan no politician will agree to abandon claims to the islands. This will mean political death for him.
- Abe said earlier that he was ready to conclude a peace treaty on the condition of "the immediate return of the two islands." What does this mean and can it be called a softening of the Japanese position?
- The Japanese have never refused to return all four islands. Under Abe, they simply declared their readiness to return them, as they say, "in installments." Immediately after the conclusion of the contract - two islands, and later - two more. Habomai and Shikotan can be returned according to the Soviet-Japanese declaration of 1956, where it is written that the USSR "as a gesture of goodwill" is ready to hand over the two islands of Tokyo, but only, I stress, after the conclusion of a peace treaty.
In fact, Putin recognized this declaration after a long and complex history in the attitude of our authorities to this document. In times Gromyko we canceled this declaration, Gorbachev recognized her, when Yeltsin there were a lot of negotiations, Medvedev said: "Not an inch of native land." When Putin came for a third term, he said that it was necessary to find a way out of the impasse, and proposed to push away from the declaration.
After that, the Japanese considered that they already had two islands in their pocket: they say, Putin recognized Japanese rights to them, although before that we had refused to even discuss this issue for a long time. After that, Abe's position was formed: we get two islands at once and we are negotiating the return of two more. Moreover, it is desirable that Russia recognized Japan's sovereignty over them. This is their "softening" of the position.
This, of course, does not suit us. For Russia, the return of Kunashir and Iturup is a revision of the results of the Second World War. We want Japan to recognize the outcome of the war and conclude a peace treaty. And only after that we will negotiate the territory.
- In exchange for the islands, the Japanese are offering injections into the Russian economy. However, Japan is one of the key US allies. They are following the sanctions imposed on Russia over the return of Crimea. What kind of economic cooperation can we talk about then?
- The Japanese, of course, cannot do anything without looking back at Washington. They are heavily dependent on him in the military and commercial spheres. Therefore, they are ready to cooperate with Russia within certain limits, as long as it does not irritate Washington.
Abe's proposed cooperation is not of any global nature. There are no projects out there that would allow our trade volumes to skyrocket. And then, Japanese business is not particularly interested in the Russian economy. We have a bad investment climate. The only thing that really interests Japan is energy resources. We supply them with gas, oil, non-ferrous metals, aluminum. They send us cars in return. Our trade volume is scanty: $ 17 billion. With South Korea it is already higher. Japanese investments in Russia are only $ 2 billion. In the Far East, their investments account for only 2% of all foreign investments. This is very small.
So we must admit that the Japanese hopes that we will give them the islands as a token of gratitude for economic aid have little to do with reality.
Why all the talk about the possible transfer of the Kuriles does not make sense yet.
The Japanese seem to have already decided everything. Themselves. They have already handed over the Kuril Islands to themselves, and they expect only a formal announcement of this from the visit of the Russian President to Japan. At least the psychological picture in today's Japan is exactly that, many observers argue. Then they ask themselves: but is Vladimir Putan ready to make such an announcement? And what will be the disappointment of the Japanese when the Russian president says nothing about the transfer of the islands?
Or will he say? Maybe the Japanese know something that we Russians don't know?
What can the Japanese demand?
The main leitmotif in the Japanese press and Japanese discussions about the Kuril Islands is the readiness to exchange investments for the islands. They call it "zero option": they say, the islands are so and so ours, but the Russians need to sweeten the bitterness of the loss of territories. They are doing badly in the economy, so the multibillion-dollar Japanese investments will come in handy for the Russians. And the cherry on top of this cake will be the signing of a peace treaty, which, they say, will end the state of war between Japan and Russia.
And, in fact, what are the legal grounds for the Japanese to dispute the ownership of the islands? What do they have other than constant stubborn pressure?
"The Japanese made a claim to the islands immediately after the conclusion of the San Francisco Treaty between the allies and Japan, but there is no need to talk about any legal grounds," said German Gigolaev, scientific secretary of the Institute of General History (IVI) RAS, in a conversation with Constantinople. since the USSR did not sign then, in 1951, this peace treaty with Japan, then on this basis they put forward their claims. Well, the ears, probably, as always, stick out from the US State Department - they asked the Japanese to put forward their claims, and they put forward them. "
That's all the reason: give it back, because we want to, and the owner ordered ...
True, there were voices that Tokyo might consider signing a peace treaty without transferring four (more precisely, three loosely packed) islands from the Kuril chain. Voices were also heard that the Japanese government was ready to be satisfied with two of them. The authoritative Japanese newspaper "Kyodo" published this version with reference to a source in the cabinet of ministers.
However, then these versions were refuted, and the picture remained the same: Japan should get everything! By the way, in the variant of the compromise with two islands, the strategy is aimed at all four. It's purely a matter of tactics. The same article in "Kyodo" directly states that the transfer of the two islands will be only the "first phase" of the settlement of the territorial issue. Similarly, the option of joint Russian-Japanese management disappears. southern part Kuril: The government firmly denied the Nikkei report back in October.
Thus, Tokyo's position remains unchanged, and any compromise options are useless and meaningless: the winner, as they say, takes everything.
And the winner, of course, in any exchange of islands for any financial "buns" will - and will be announced - the Japanese. For money is no more than money, and territory is always no less than territory. Let us recall what place in the Russian national consciousness is occupied by Alaska with the history of its sale. And after all, it is clear, understandable that in the middle of the 19th century it was an unprofitable, inconvenient, practically unsettled land by Russians, which one way or another would be taken away by the British or Americans simply by the fact of its gradual settlement. And what kind of borders could stop them if gold had been discovered there earlier, when Alaska was still under Russian jurisdiction!
So it seems to be both right and inevitable - even though they received money, and not just lost the land - Alaska had to be sold. But at least someone thanks Tsar Alexander II for this today?
Kurile Islands. Near the island of Kunashir. Fishing. Photo: Vyacheslav Kiselev / TASS
What can the Japanese give?
The only thing that in the minds of the people can justify the transfer of the country's territory to another state is, perhaps, only an exchange for other territories. As, for example, they did this with the Chinese, straightening the status of individual islands on the Amur. Yes, some land was given, but also received, and even a little more. But what land can the Japanese give us for exchange? Is that the island of Okinawa with American military bases? It is unlikely - hardly among the Japanese politicians there is at least one capable of organizing such a "move" ...
So, Japan has no land for us. Is there any money?
And it depends on what. Just recently, $ 10 billion was received for a 19.5% stake in Rosneft. In total, the corporation promised "the overall effect, taking into account the capitalized synergies between PJSC" NK "Rosneft" and PJSC ANK "Bashneft", in the amount of more than 1.1 trillion rubles (17.5 billion dollars), cash receipts to the budget in the fourth quarter 2016 will amount to 1,040 billion rubles (16.3 billion dollars) ".
Igor Sechin called this deal the largest in the history of the country. But these are just shares of just one state corporation, of which there is far from one in Russia. And besides, as noted by a number of observers, sold at a fierce discount to the true value of the company.
Attention, the question: how much money would Japan be ready to pay for our islands? Even if we are talking about a tenfold higher amount - with international reserves of $ 1.248 trillion, it can find it relatively painlessly - is it worth the candle? What economic effect will Japan get from the southern Kuril ridge? It is clear that there will certainly be some effect - at least from the exploitation of marine resources in the adjacent water area. But the problem is that money is given - if given - by completely different people, far from the fishing industry.
Until the first shout of the owner ...
However, it is not about money - even if they were really given to us. What can you buy with them? The most valuable thing in the world today for Russia is technology and machine tools. Will the Japanese give them to us? You can be sure - no. Serious technology is closed to us for reasons of secrecy. A similar problem is with machine tools: yes, we need them after the total destruction of industry in the 90s, much more important is their production technology. At one time, the USSR already made a mistake when, after the war, it took out German machines to its territory as a requisition. Rather, it was a forced measure - there were virtually no good machines in the USSR even before the war, and even more so after. But only in this way the industry turned out to be tied to the already morally outdated models, but Germany, forcedly "undressed" in this respect, was forced to, but extremely effectively, modernized its machine park.
But even if we assume that the Japanese will somehow bypass other people's restrictions on this issue - and these are primarily American restrictions dictated, among other things, by interests and national security - how long can they pretend to be "noble"? Until the very first independent movement of Russia, which Washington would not like. For example, the final capture of Aleppo. The coalition of Western countries has already threatened us with new sanctions for this and kept the old ones. Will the Japanese be able to disobey their main allies? Never!
Thus, everything turns out to be simple: even if Russia gives up the islands in exchange for money or technology, very soon it will have neither one nor the other. And islands, of course.
What is Russia losing?
From a purely material point of view, the rhenium volcano Kudryavy alone on the Iturup Island, which annually throws out this valuable metal for defense needs worth 70 million dollars, makes the loss of the islands a very wasteful act. In Alaska, at least there was an excuse - the then did not know russian authorities neither gold nor oil in this distant land. There is no such excuse for the Kurils.
What happens if you give up the islands?
"Nothing good will happen," the historian Gigolaev replies. "The area of \u200b\u200binternational waters in the Sea of \u200b\u200bOkhotsk, which is not covered by our national jurisdiction, will immediately increase. Plus, several straits are blocked for our warships to leave the Sea of \u200b\u200bOkhotsk through them into the open ocean."
Of course, fishing and seafood fishing in the surrounding water area provides a lot of income. At the same time, there is the right to limit this production in the Sea of \u200b\u200bOkhotsk for the same Japanese, Koreans, Chinese, because the possession of four islands makes this sea internal for Russia.
But these are still pleasant, but trifles against the background of what the loss of the islands can turn into in a geostrategic sense. This is what German Gigolaev pointed out.
The thing is that since World War II, Japan has not been a sovereign power in full sense the words. It is under US military and political control. And if tomorrow the Japanese get at least one of the contested islands, the day after tomorrow an American military base may appear on it. For example, with the missile defense system, which, as Tsargrad has already written more than once from the words of informed military experts, can quickly and painlessly be converted into a strike complex - just a canopy of Tomahawk cruise missiles. And no one can stop the Americans, let alone Tokyo in particular.
By the way, they are not particularly eager to prohibit. Moreover, at the level of both the prime minister, the government and the Foreign Ministry, they have already officially denied any attempts to make an exception from the security treaty with the United States regarding the South Kuril Islands, if Russia agrees to give them up. According to Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, the security treaty with the United States "applies and will apply to all territories and waters that are under the administration of Japan."
Accordingly, if desired, access to the Pacific Ocean for the Russian military fleet is blocked, because there are not straits that freeze in winter, which are now controlled by the Russian military, but will become American ones. This means that as soon as the threatened period begins - and who guarantees that this will never happen? - right there, the Pacific Fleet can be written off the balance sheet. Indeed, with the same success, a solid naval group led by an aircraft carrier can be based somewhere on Iturup on an American base.
We agree: the Japanese (or, more likely, their owners are Americans) came up with a beautiful option. Scraps of land, insignificant for the area of \u200b\u200bRussia, immediately deprive Russia of both rhenium, which is necessary in military production (in engine building, for example), and valuable resources of sea areas, and access to the ocean during a threatened period.
And this - in the complete absence of reasonable argumentation for their rights to these islands! And if, under these conditions, Moscow decides to transfer the islands, then something more terrible will happen than the loss of fish, rhenium and even going out into the ocean.
Because it will become clear to everyone: it is possible to pull out pieces from Russia even without any reasonable justification. That is, you can pull out pieces from Russia! From Russia! Can! She herself allowed ...
Since 1945, the authorities of Russia and Japan have not been able to sign a peace treaty due to a dispute over the ownership of the southern part of the Kuril Islands.
The Northern Territories Issue (北方 領土 問題 Hoppo: ryo: do Mondai) is a territorial dispute between Japan and Russia that Japan has considered unresolved since the end of World War II. After the war, all the Kuril Islands came under the administrative control of the USSR, however, a number of the southern islands - Iturup, Kunashir and the Small Kuril Ridge - were disputed by Japan.
In Russia, the disputed territories are part of the Kuril and South Kuril urban districts of the Sakhalin region. Japan claims four islands in the southern part of the Kuril ridge - Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai, referring to the bilateral Treatise on Trade and Frontiers of 1855. Moscow's position is that the southern Kuriles became part of the USSR (of which Russia became the successor) according to the results of the Second World War, and Russian sovereignty over them, which has the appropriate international legal framework, is beyond doubt.
The problem of the ownership of the southern Kuril Islands is the main obstacle to a complete settlement of Russian-Japanese relations.
Iturup (Japanese 択 捉 島 Etorofu) - island southern group Great ridge of the Kuril Islands, the largest island in the archipelago.
Kunashir(Ainu Black Island, Japanese 国 後 島 Kunashiri-to :) is the southernmost island of the Great ridge of the Kuril Islands.
Shikotan (Jap. 色 丹 島 Sikotan-to:?, in early sources Sikotan; name from the Ainu language: "shi" - large, significant; "kotan" - a village, city) - the largest island of the Small ridge of the Kuril Islands.
Habomai (Japanese 歯 舞 群島 Habomai-gunto ?, Suisho, “Flat Islands”) is the Japanese name for a group of islands in the northwest of the Pacific Ocean, together with Shikotan Island in Soviet and Russian cartography considered as the Small Kuril Ridge. The Habomai group includes the islands of Polonsky, Oskolki, Zeleny, Tanfilyev, Yuri, Demin, Anuchin and a number of small ones. Separated by the Soviet Strait from the island of Hokkaido.
History of the Kuril Islands
17th century
Before the arrival of the Russians and Japanese, the islands were inhabited by the Ainu. In their language, "kuru" meant "a man who came from nowhere", hence their second name "kurilians", and then the name of the archipelago.
In Russia, the first mention of the Kuril Islands dates back to 1646, when N.I. Kolobov spoke about the bearded people inhabiting the islands ainakh.
The Japanese received the first information about the islands during an expedition [source not specified 238 days] to Hokkaido in 1635. It is not known whether she actually got to the Kuriles or found out about them indirectly, but in 1644 a map was drawn up, on which they were designated under the collective name "thousand islands". Candidate geographical sciences T. Adashova notes that the map of 1635 “is considered by many scientists to be very approximate and even incorrect”. At the same time, in 1643, the islands were explored by the Dutch led by Martin Fries. This expedition drew up more detailed maps and described the lands.
XVIII century
In 1711, Ivan Kozyrevsky went to the Kuriles. He visited only 2 northern islands: Shumshu and Paramushira, but he questioned in detail the Ainu and Japanese who inhabited them, brought there by the storm. In 1719, Peter I sent an expedition to Kamchatka under the leadership of Ivan Evreinov and Fyodor Luzhin, which reached the island of Simushir in the south.
In 1738-1739, Martyn Spanberg walked along the entire ridge, mapping the islands he encountered on the map. In the future, the Russians, avoiding dangerous voyages to the southern islands, mastered the northern ones, taxing the local population with yasak. From those who did not want to pay it and went to distant islands, they took amanats - hostages from among close relatives. But soon, in 1766, the centurion Ivan Cherny from Kamchatka was sent to the southern islands. He was ordered to attract the Ainu citizenship without the use of violence and threats. However, he did not follow this decree, mocked them, poached. All this led to a revolt of the indigenous population in 1771, during which many Russians were killed.
The Siberian nobleman Antipov with the Irkutsk translator Shabalin achieved great success. They managed to win the favor of the Kuril people, and in 1778-1779 they managed to bring into citizenship more than 1,500 people from Iturup, Kunashira and even Matsumaya (now Japanese Hokkaido). In the same 1779, Catherine II, by decree, freed those who had accepted Russian citizenship from all taxes. But relations with the Japanese were not built: they forbade the Russians to go to these three islands.
In "Spatial Land Description Russian state… ”In 1787, a list of the 21 islands belonging to Russia was given. It included islands up to Matsumai (Hokkaido), the status of which was not clearly defined, since Japan had a city in its southern part. At the same time, the Russians did not have real control even over the islands south of Urup. There the Japanese considered the smokers as their subjects, actively used violence against them, which caused discontent. In May 1788, a Japanese merchant ship that came to Matsumai was attacked. In 1799, by order of the central government of Japan, two outposts were founded on Kunashir and Iturup, and they began to be guarded constantly.
19th century
In 1805, Nikolai Rezanov, a representative of the Russian-American Company, tried to resume negotiations on trade with Japan, who arrived in Nagasaki as the first Russian envoy. But he also failed. However, Japanese officials, who were not satisfied with the oppressive policy of the supreme power, made him understand with hints that it would be nice to conduct a forceful action in these lands, which could knock the situation off the ground. This was done on behalf of Rezanov in 1806-1807 by an expedition of two ships led by Lieutenant Khvostov and Warrant Officer Davydov. Ships were plundered, a number of trading posts were destroyed, and a Japanese village was burned down on Iturup. They were later tried, but the attack for some time led to a serious deterioration in Russian-Japanese relations. In particular, this was the reason for the arrest of Vasily Golovnin's expedition.
In exchange for the right of ownership of southern Sakhalin, Russia transferred all the Kuril Islands to Japan in 1875.
XX century
After the defeat in 1905 in russian-Japanese war Russia handed over the southern part of Sakhalin to Japan.
In February 1945, the Soviet Union promised the United States and Great Britain to start a war with Japan, subject to the return of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands to it.
February 2, 1946. Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on the inclusion of South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands in the RSFSR.
1947. Deportation of the Japanese and Ainu from the islands to Japan. 17,000 Japanese and an unknown number of Ainu were evicted.
November 5, 1952. A powerful tsunami struck the entire coast of the Kuril Islands, Paramushir suffered the most. A giant wave washed away the city of Severo-Kurilsk (formerly Kasivabara). It was forbidden to mention this catastrophe in the press.
In 1956, the Soviet Union and Japan adopted a Joint Treaty, officially ending the war between the two states and handing over Habomai and Shikotan to Japan. However, they did not succeed in signing the agreement: the United States threatened not to hand over the island of Okinawa to Japan if Tokyo abandons its claims to Iturup and Kunashir.
Kuril Islands Maps
Kuril Islands on an English map of 1893. Plans of the Kuril Islands, from sketches chiefly mand by Mr. H. J. Snow, 1893. (London, Royal Geographical Society, 1897, 54 × 74 cm)
Map fragment Japan and Korea - Location of Japan in the Western Pacific (1:30 000 000), 1945
Photomap of the Kuril Islands based on NASA satellite image, April 2010.
List of all islands
View of Habomai from Hokkaido
Green Island (志 発 島 Shibotsu-to)
Polonsky Island (Japanese 多 楽 島 Taraku-to)
Tanfiliev Island (水晶 島 Suisho-jima)
Yuri Island (Japanese 勇 留 島 Yuri-to)
Anuchin Island (秋 勇 留 島 Akiyuri-to)
Demina Islands (春 苅 島 Harukari-to)
Shards Islands
Kira rock
Cave Rock (Kanakuso) - on the rock a sea lion rookery.
Sail Rock (Hokoki)
Rock Candle (Rosoku)
Fox Islands (Todo)
Bump Islands (Kabuto)
Bank Dangerous
Watchtower Island (Homosiri or Muika)
Drying Rock (Odoke)
Reef Island (Amagi-sho)
Signal Island (貝殻 島 Kaigara-jima)
Rock Amazing (Hanare)
Seagull rock
