Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced his desire to "create a new history" of relations with Russia. Have we got a new friend? Unlikely. The history of Japan's territorial claims against the Russian Federation is well known to everyone. But right now, the sanctions and the confrontation between Russia and the West give Tokyo a non-illusory chance to return the Kuriles.

Now the Japanese are looking forward to the visit of Vladimir Putin, hoping that he will bring the signing of the peace treaty closer. This puts the Russian leader in a difficult situation: the country needs allies, but such a deal could once and for all destroy his image as a collector of Russian lands. Therefore, it is quite obvious: it is impossible to return the islands before the presidential elections. And then?

What exactly Vladimir Putin and Shinzo Abe spoke about during an informal meeting in Sochi on May 6 is not known for certain. However, before the visit, the Japanese prime minister made no secret of his intention to discuss the territorial issue. And now a return visit of the President of the Russian Federation is planned soon.

In early April, the Japanese Foreign Ministry developed the so-called "Blue Book" on diplomacy for 2016. It says that strengthening relations with Russia is in the national interest and contributes to the establishment of peace and prosperity in the Asian region. Thus, Japan officially proclaimed a course towards rapprochement with Russia.

This has already caused concern in the US. Not without reason, back in February, during a telephone conversation, Barack Obama advised Prime Minister Abe to reconsider the dates of his visit to Russia and expressed concern about the softening of Japan's position towards Moscow, while Western countries imposed anti-Russian sanctions "in an attempt to restore international order."

Attraction of unprecedented generosity

Why did Tokyo suddenly decide to extend the hand of friendship to Moscow? Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of Russia in Global Affairs magazine, believes that “the Chinese factor dominates relations between Japan and Russia; both countries are trying to balance the rise of China as the most important power in the region, and this is leading to a thaw.” By the way, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper recently wrote about this: “It is important for the heads of Russia and Japan to meet more often and move towards trusting relations also in order to stabilize the situation in Northeast Asia, a region where China is gaining influence and challenges continue. from the DPRK, which conducts missile and nuclear tests.

An important milestone in cooperation can be called the construction by Japan on the Pacific coast of Russia of a terminal for receiving liquefied natural gas. The enterprise with a capacity of 15 million tons, according to the plans of Gazprom, will be launched in 2018.

Everything would be fine, but the relations between the two countries are overshadowed by an unresolved territorial dispute. After the end of World War II, the USSR annexed four islands of the Kuril chain - Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Khabomai. In addition to fish, the islands are valuable minerals found in their bowels: gold and silver, polymetallic ores containing zinc, copper, vanadium, etc. It is not surprising that the Japanese consider them theirs and demand their return.

Back in December, the Japanese Prime Minister lamented: “70 years have passed since the end of the war, but, unfortunately, the northern territories have not been returned, the problem has not been resolved. We would like to continue persistent negotiations on the return of the northern territories, on the conclusion of a peace treaty. We will deal with this issue with all the forces of the government so that the innermost dream of the former inhabitants of the islands comes true.

Moscow's position is as follows: the islands became part of the USSR following World War II, and Russian sovereignty is beyond doubt. But is this position so irreconcilable?

In 2012, Vladimir Putin made an encouraging statement for the Japanese: the dispute must be resolved on the basis of a compromise. “Something like a hikiwake. “Hikiwake” is a term from judo when neither side managed to win,” the president said. What does it mean? Japan can return two of the four islands?

Such fears are justified. Suffice it to recall how in 2010, during the presidency of Dmitry Medvedev, Russia signed an agreement with Norway on the delimitation of maritime spaces in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean. As a result, the country has lost 90 thousand square kilometers in the Arctic. In the bowels of this territory, according to the estimates of the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD), there are deposits of hydrocarbons with a volume of at least 300 million cubic meters - almost 1.9 billion barrels of oil. Then the Norwegians rejoiced, and other countries, including Japan, immediately remembered their territorial claims against Russia. Is there any guarantee that this attraction of unprecedented generosity will not continue?

Wait for the next leader

One way or another, but now the Japanese media are full of optimism. “Prime Minister Abe seeks to resolve the problem of the “northern territories” while he is in power. For him, this is a chance to become the political leader of Japan, who will be able to move the problem that has existed for 70 years from the dead point, ”writes the Asahi Shimbun.

Abe, by the way, has his own interests in this: parliamentary elections will be held in the country this year, and he needs to strengthen his position. Meanwhile, Toyo Keizai publishes an interview with retired diplomat Yoshiki Mine, who claims: “Russia has already declared its readiness to return Habomai and Shikotan. At the same time, she put forward certain conditions on which we can agree. Russia's goals are very clear. The problem is what to do with the islands.” Mr. Mine believes that Japan should not waste time on trifles, but demand from Russia all the territories that once belonged to Japan, including Sakhalin. But not now, but after the change of leader in Russia. "I think it's better to wait for a politically strong leader who will be determined to solve this problem," says the Japanese diplomat. But the Russian political experience tells a different story: it is the weak leaders who hand out land right and left, and the strong never.

Meanwhile, in Moscow, so far, no signs have been given that could indicate the transition of the islands under the Japanese flag. Recently it became known that the government of the Russian Federation intends to invest 5.5 billion rubles in a new territory of advanced development "Kurils". The program involves the development of fishery and mining complexes. In the period from 2016 to 2018, enterprises in the field of aquaculture, a plant for the processing of aquatic biological resources and a mining complex will be located in the Kuril Islands. All this, of course, inspires confidence that the Russian leadership is not going to give the islands to Japan. Unless he develops the territory specifically for return, in order to get more bonuses for it.

Of course, for Putin's electoral potential, the distribution of Russian territories would be extremely harmful. And the presidential elections in Russia will be held in 2018. By the way, in the matter of relations with Japan, this date pops up with enviable regularity.

The following moment is also curious: in Japan, a scenario similar to the Crimean one is being considered for the annexation of the islands. Back in 2014, former Defense Minister Yuriko Koike said that a referendum on joining Japan should be held among the population of the Kuril Islands. And recently, the head of the Japanese Daichi New Party, Muneo Suzuki, suggested that the government lift sanctions on Russia in exchange for the islands. Lure, trade. Oh well...

(currently the Freeze Strait). De Vries mistakenly considered the island of Iturup to be the northeastern tip of Hokkaido, and Urup to be part of the American continent. On June 20, Dutch sailors landed on Urup for the first time. On June 23, 1643, de Vries erected a wooden cross on the flat top of the high mountain of Urupa Island and declared the land to be the property of the Dutch East India Company.

In Russia, the first official mention of the Kuril Islands dates back to 1646, when the Cossack Nekhoroshko Ivanovich Kolobov, a member of Ivan Moskvitin's expedition to the Sea of ​​Okhotsk (Lama) spoke about the bearded Ainu inhabiting the islands. New information about the Kuril Islands appeared after the campaign of Vladimir Atlasov to Kamchatka in 1697, during which the Russians first saw the northern Kuril Islands from the southwestern coast of Kamchatka. In August 1711, a detachment of Kamchatka Cossacks led by Danila Antsiferov and Ivan Kozyrevsky landed for the first time on the northernmost island of Shumshu, defeating a detachment of local Ainu here, and then on the second island of the ridge - Paramushir.

In 1738-1739, a scientific expedition took place under the leadership of the captain of the Russian fleet Martyn Petrovich Shpanberg. This expedition was the first to map the Lesser Kuril Ridge (the islands of Shikotan and Habomai). As a result of the expedition, the atlas "General Map of Russia" was compiled with the image of 40 islands of the Kuril archipelago. After the publication in Europe in the 1740s of the news about the discovery of the Kuril Islands by Russian sailors, governments of other powers requested permission from the Russian authorities to visit the islands of this area with their ships. In 1772, the Russian authorities placed the Kuril Islands under the control of the chief commander of Kamchatka, and in 1786, Empress Catherine II issued a decree on the protection ("preservation") of the rights to "lands open to Russian navigators", among which was called the "ridge of the Kuril Islands, regarding Japan". This decree was published in foreign languages. After publication, not a single state challenged Russia's rights to the Kuril Islands. On the islands, state signs-crosses and copper plaques with the inscription "Land of Russian possession" were installed.

19th century

General map of the State of Japan, 1809

On February 7, 1855, Japan and Russia signed the first Russian-Japanese treaty - the Shimoda Treaty on Trade and Borders. The document established the border of countries between the islands of Iturup and Urup. The islands of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and the Habomai group of islands departed to Japan, and the rest were recognized as Russian possessions. That is why February 7 has been celebrated annually in Japan as Northern Territories Day since 1981. At the same time, questions about the status of Sakhalin remained unresolved, which led to conflicts between Russian and Japanese merchants and sailors.

Russo-Japanese War

Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands on a 1912 map

Up: Agreement on the entry of the USSR into the war against Japan Down below: Map of Japan and Korea published by the US National Geographic Society, 1945. Detail. The signature in red under the Kuril Islands reads: "In 1945, in Yalta, it was agreed that Russia would return Karafuto (Karafuto Prefecture - the southern part of Sakhalin Island) and the Kuriles."

On February 2, 1946, in accordance with the Decree of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces, the Yuzhno-Sakhalin Region was formed in these territories as part of the Khabarovsk Territory of the RSFSR, which on January 2, 1947 became part of the newly formed Sakhalin Region as part of the RSFSR.

The history of the Kuriles belonging to the Russian-Japanese treaties

Joint Declaration of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Japan (1956). Article 9

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Japan agreed to continue, after the restoration of normal diplomatic relations between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Japan, negotiations on the conclusion of a Peace Treaty.

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

On January 19, 1960, Japan signed the Treaty on Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan with the United States, thereby extending the “Security Pact”, signed on September 8, 1951, which was the legal basis for the presence of American troops on Japanese territory. On January 27, 1960, the USSR stated that since this agreement was directed against the USSR and the PRC, the Soviet government refused to consider the transfer of the islands to Japan, since this would lead to an expansion of the territory used by American troops.

Throughout the second half of the 20th century, the issue of belonging to the southern group of the Kuril Islands Iturup, Shikotan, Kunashir and Khabomai (in the Japanese interpretation - the issue of the "northern territories") remained the main stumbling block in Japanese-Soviet (later Japanese-Russian) relations. At the same time, until the end of the Cold War, the USSR did not recognize the existence of a territorial dispute with Japan and always considered the southern Kuril Islands as an integral part of its territory.

On April 18, 1991, during a visit to Japan, Mikhail Gorbachev for the first time actually acknowledged the existence of a territorial problem.

In 1993, the Tokyo Declaration on Russian-Japanese Relations was signed, which states that Russia is the legal successor of the USSR and all agreements signed between the USSR and Japan will be recognized by both Russia and Japan. It was also recorded the desire of the parties to resolve the issue of the territorial belonging of the four southern islands of the Kuril chain, which in Japan was regarded as a success and, to a certain extent, gave rise to hopes for a resolution of the issue in favor of Tokyo.

XXI Century

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

On December 14, 2004, US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld expressed readiness to assist Japan in resolving the dispute with Russia over the southern Kuriles.

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.

On August 16, 2006, a Japanese fishing schooner was detained by Russian border guards. The schooner refused to obey the commands of the border guards, warning fire was opened on it. During the incident, one crew member of the schooner was fatally shot in the head. This caused a sharp protest from the Japanese side, it demanded the immediate release of the body of the deceased and the release of the crew. Both sides said the incident took place in their own territorial waters. This is the first recorded death in 50 years of the dispute over the islands.

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

On July 2, 2007, in order to reduce tension between the two countries, Japanese Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki proposed, and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Naryshkin accepted, Japan's proposals for assistance in the development of the Far East region. It is planned to develop nuclear energy, lay optical Internet cables across Russia to connect Europe and Asia, develop infrastructure, as well as cooperation in the field of tourism, ecology and security. This proposal was previously considered in June 2007 at a G8 meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On May 21, 2009, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, during a meeting of the upper house of parliament, called the southern Kuriles "illegally occupied territories" and said that he was waiting for proposals from Russia on approaches to solving this problem. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko commented on this statement as "illegal" and "politically incorrect".

On June 11, 2009, the lower house of the Japanese parliament approved amendments to the law "On special measures to facilitate the resolution of the issue of the Northern Territories and the like", which contain a provision on Japan's ownership of the four islands of the South Kuril ridge. The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement calling such actions by the Japanese side inappropriate and unacceptable. On June 24, 2009, a State Duma statement was published, in which, in particular, the opinion of the State Duma was stated that under the current conditions, efforts to solve the problem of a peace treaty, in fact, had lost both political and practical perspective and would make sense only in case of disavowal of the amendments adopted by the Japanese parliamentarians. On July 3, 2009, the amendments were approved by the Upper House of the Japanese Diet.

On September 14, 2009, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said he hoped to make progress in negotiations with Russia on the southern Kuriles "over the next six months to a year".

On September 23, 2009, at a meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Hatoyama spoke of his desire to resolve the territorial dispute and conclude a peace treaty with Russia.

February 7, 2010 On the day of February 7, since 1982, Japan has celebrated the Day of the Northern Territories (as the southern Kuriles are called). Cars with loudspeakers run around Tokyo, from which demands are made to return the four islands to Japan and the music of military marches. Another highlight of the day is a speech by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama to members of the movement for the return of the northern territories. This year, Hatoyama said that Japan was not happy with the return of only two islands and that he would make every effort to return all four islands within the current generations. He also noted that it is very important for Russia to be friends with such an economically and technologically advanced country as Japan. There were no words that these were “illegally occupied territories”.

On April 1, 2010, Andrei Nesterenko, spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, made a comment in which he announced the approval on April 1 by the Government of Japan of changes and additions to the so-called. "Basic course to promote the solution of the problem of the northern territories" and stated that the repetition of unfounded territorial claims against Russia cannot benefit the dialogue on the conclusion of the Russian-Japanese peace treaty, as well as the maintenance of normal contacts between the southern Kuril Islands, which are part of the Sakhalin regions of Russia, and Japan.

On September 11, 2011, Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Nikolai Patrushev visited the southern Kuril Islands, where he held a meeting with the leadership of the Sakhalin Region, and visited the frontier post on Tanfilyev Island, closest to Japan. At a meeting in the village of Yuzhno-Kurilsk on Kunashir Island, issues of ensuring the security of the region, the progress of construction of civil and border infrastructure facilities, security issues during the construction and operation of the port berth complex in Yuzhno-Kurilsk and the reconstruction of Mendeleevo Airport were discussed. Osamu Fujimura, Secretary General of the Government of Japan, said that Nikolai Patrushev's visit to the southern Kuril Islands causes deep regret in Japan.

On February 14, 2012, the Chief of the Russian General Staff of the Armed Forces, Army General Nikolai Makarov, announced that the Russian Defense Ministry would create two military camps in the southern Kuril Islands (Kunashir and Iturup) in 2013.

On October 26, 2017, Frants Klintsevich, First Deputy Chairman of the Defense and Security Committee of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation, announced that Russia plans to create a naval base on the Kuril Islands.

Basic position of Russia

The position of both countries on the issue of ownership of the islands. Russia considers all of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands to be its territory. Japan considers the southern Kuriles its territory, the northern Kuriles and Sakhalin - the territory of Russia.

Moscow's principled position is that the southern Kuril Islands became part of the USSR, of which Russia became the successor, are an integral part of the territory of the Russian Federation on legal grounds following the results of the Second World War and enshrined in the UN Charter, and Russian sovereignty over them, which has a corresponding international -legal confirmation, no doubt. According to media reports, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation in 2012 said that the problem of the Kuril Islands could be resolved in Russia only through a referendum. Subsequently, the Russian Foreign Ministry officially refuted the raising of the question of any referendum: “This is a rude distortion of the words of the minister. We regard such interpretations as provocative. No sane politician would ever put this issue to a referendum." In addition, the Russian authorities once again officially declared the unconditional indisputability of the belonging of the islands to Russia, stating that in connection with this, the question of any referendum cannot be, by definition. On February 18, 2014, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation stated that "Russia does not consider the situation with Japan on the issue of borders as some kind of territorial dispute." The Russian Federation, the minister explained, proceeds from the reality that there are generally recognized and enshrined in the UN Charter results of the Second World War. On August 22, 2015, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, in connection with his visit to Iturup Island, formulated the position of Russia, stating that the Kuril Islands "are part of the Russian Federation, are included in the subject of the Russian Federation called the Sakhalin Region, and therefore we have visited, are visiting and will visit the Kuriles" .

Base position of Japan

Japan's basic position on this issue is formulated in four points:

(1) The Northern Territories are the centuries-old territories of Japan that continue to be under the illegal occupation of Russia. The Government of the United States of America also consistently supports Japan's position.

(2) In order to resolve this issue and conclude a peace treaty as quickly as possible, Japan is vigorously continuing negotiations with Russia on the basis of the agreements already reached, such as the Japan-Soviet Joint Declaration of 1956, the Tokyo Declaration of 1993, the Irkutsk Statement of 2001, and the Japan- Russian action plan 2003.

(3) According to the Japanese position, if the Northern Territories are confirmed to belong to Japan, Japan is ready to be flexible in terms of the time and procedure for their return. In addition, since the Japanese citizens living in the Northern Territories were forcibly evicted by Joseph Stalin, Japan is ready to come to terms with the Russian government so that the Russian citizens living there will not suffer the same tragedy. In other words, after the return of the islands to Japan, Japan intends to respect the rights, interests and desires of the Russians now living on the islands.

(4) The Government of Japan has called on the people of Japan not to visit the Northern Territories outside of the visa-free procedure until the territorial dispute is resolved. Likewise, Japan cannot allow any activity, including economic activity by third parties, that could be considered subject to Russian “jurisdiction”, nor allow activity that would imply Russian “jurisdiction” over the Northern Territories. Japan has a policy of taking appropriate measures to prevent such activities.

Original text (English)

Japan's Basic Position

(1) The Northern Territories are inherent territories of Japan that continues to be illegally occupied by Russia. The Government of the United States of America has also consistently supported Japan's position.

(2) In order to solve this issue and to conclude a peace treaty as soon as possible, Japan has energetically continued negotiations with Russia on the basis of the agreements and documents created by the two sides so far, such as the Japan-Soviet Joint Declaration of 1956, the Tokyo Declaration of 1993, the Irkutsk Statement of 2001 and the Japan-Russia Action Plan of 2003.

(3) Japan's position is that if the attribution of the Northern Territories to Japan is confirmed, Japan is prepared to respond flexibly to the timing and manner of their actual return. In addition, since Japanese citizens who once lived in the Northern Territories were forcibly displaced by Joseph Stalin, Japan is ready to forge a settlement with the Russian government so that the Russian citizens living there will not experience the same tragedy. rights, interests and wishes of the Russian current residents on the islands.

(4) The Japanese government has requested the Japanese people not to enter the Northern Territories without using the non-visa visit frameworks until the territorial issue is resolved. Similarly, Japan cannot allow any activities, including economic activities by a third party, which could be regarded as submitting to Russian “jurisdiction,” nor allow any activities carried out under the presumption that Russia has “jurisdiction” in the Northern Territories. Japan is of the policy to take appropriate steps to ensure that this does not happen. .

Original text (Japanese)

日本の基本的立場

⑴北方領土は、ロシアによる不法占拠が続いていますが、日本固有の領土であり、この点については例えば米国政府も一貫して日本の立場を支持しています。政府は、北方四島の帰属の問題を解決して平和条約を締結するという基本的方針に基づいて、ロシア政府との間で強い意思をもって交渉を行っています。

⑵ 北方 領土 問題 の 解決 に 当たって 我 が 国 として 、 、 、） 北方 領土 の 日本 へ 帰属 が 確認 さ れる のであれ ば 実際 の 返還 時期 態様 態様 は 、 柔軟 に 対応 、 2） 領土 現在 に に に に に に に に に に に に AH 居住 し て いる ロシア 人 について は 、 その 権 、 利益 及び 希望 は 、 北方 返還 後 も 尊重 し て いく こと と て い。。。。。。。 HI

⑶ 我 が 国固 有 の 領土 である 領土 に対する ロシア による 不法 占拠 続い て いる 状況 の 中 で 、 三 国 の 民間 人 が 当該 で 活動 を 行う を 含め " 」に 服し た か の ごとき 行為 行う こと 、 または 、 あたかも 領土 領土 に対する の「 管轄 権 」前提 と し た か の ごとき を こと 等 は 北方 領土" 容認 でき ませ ん。 したがっ て 日本 国 政府 は 広く 日本 国民 に対して 、 、 1989 年 （元年） の 閣議 で 、 北方 領土 問題 の まで 間 、 ロシア の 不法 占拠 下 北方 領土 に に に に に に に に に に に に に に に に に に に に に に に に に に に に に に に に に に に に に に にA することを行わないよう要請しています。

⑷また、政府は、第三国国民がロシアの査証を取得した上で北方四島へ入域する、または第三国企業が北方領土において経済活動を行っているという情報に接した場合、従来から、しかるべく事実関係を確認の上、申入れを行ってきています 。

Other opinions

Defense aspect and danger of armed conflict

In connection with the territorial dispute over the ownership of the southern Kuriles, there is a danger of a military conflict with Japan. Currently, the Kuriles are defended by the 18th machine gun and artillery division (the only one in Russia), and Sakhalin is protected by a motorized rifle brigade. These formations are armed with 41 T-80 tanks, 120 MT-LB transporters, 20 coastal anti-ship missile systems, 130 artillery systems, 60 anti-aircraft weapons (Buk, Tunguska, Shilka complexes), 6 Mi-8 helicopters.

As written in the Law of the Sea:

The state has the right to temporarily suspend peaceful passage through certain sections of its territorial waters, if this is urgently required by the interests of its security.

However, the restriction of Russian shipping - except for warships in conflict - in these straits, and even more so the introduction of fees, would be contrary to some provisions of the generally recognized in international law (including that recognized in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which Japan signed and ratified) the right of innocent passage. especially since Japan does not have archipelagic waters [ ] :

If a foreign merchant ship complies with the above requirements, the coastal state must not impede innocent passage through territorial waters and is obliged to take all necessary measures for the safe implementation of innocent passage - to announce, in particular, for general information about all dangers to navigation known to it. Foreign ships should not be subject to any fees for passage, with the exception of fees and charges for services actually rendered, which should be collected without any discrimination.

Further, almost the rest of the water area of ​​the Sea of ​​Okhotsk freezes and the ports of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk freeze, and, consequently, navigation without icebreakers is still impossible here; the Laperouse Strait, which connects the Sea of ​​Okhotsk with the Sea of ​​Japan, is also clogged with ice in winter and is navigable only with the help of icebreakers:

The Sea of ​​Okhotsk has the most severe ice regime. Ice here appears at the end of October and lasts until July. In winter, the entire northern part of the sea is covered with thick floating ice, sometimes freezing into a vast area of ​​immovable ice. The boundary of the fixed fast ice extends into the sea for 40-60 miles. A constant current carries ice from the western regions to the southern part of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. As a result, an accumulation of floating ice forms near the southern islands of the Kuril ridge in winter, and the La Perouse Strait is clogged with ice and navigable only with the help of icebreakers. .

At the same time, the shortest route from Vladivostok to the Pacific Ocean lies through the ice-free Sangara Strait between the islands of Hokkaido and Honshu. This strait is not blocked by the territorial waters of Japan, although it can be included in the territorial waters unilaterally at any time.

Natural resources

There are zones of possible oil and gas accumulation on the islands. The reserves are estimated at 364 million tons of oil equivalent. In addition, gold is possible on the islands. In June 2011, it became known that Russia was proposing to Japan to jointly develop oil and gas fields located in the area of ​​the Kuril Islands.

A 200-mile fishing zone adjoins the islands. Thanks to the South Kuril Islands, this zone covers the entire water area of ​​the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, with the exception of a small coastal water area near about. Hokkaido. Thus, in economic terms, the Sea of ​​Okhotsk is actually an inland sea of ​​Russia with an annual fish catch of about three million tons.

Positions of third countries and organizations

As of 2014, the United States considers that Japan has sovereignty over the disputed islands, while noting that Article 5 of the US-Japanese Security Treaty (that an attack on either side in Japanese-administered territory is considered a threat to both sides) does not apply to these islands, as not controlled by Japan. The position of the Bush Jr. administration was similar. Whether the U.S. position was previously different is disputed in the academic literature. It is believed that in the 1950s the sovereignty of the islands was linked to the sovereignty of the Ryukyu Islands, which had a similar legal status. In 2011, the press service of the US Embassy in the Russian Federation noted that this US position has existed for a long time and certain politicians only confirm it.

see also

• Liancourt (islands disputed between Japan and South Korea)
• Senkaku (islands disputed between Japan and China)

The conflict over the Kuril Islands began long before World War II.

The dispute over the southernmost Kuril Islands - Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Khabomai - has been a point of tension between Japan and Russia since they were taken over by the Soviet Union in 1945. More than 70 years later, Russian-Japanese relations are still not normal due to the ongoing territorial dispute. To a large extent, it was historical factors that prevented the solution of this issue. These include demographics, mentality, institutions, geography, and economics, all of which encourage tough policies rather than willingness to compromise. The first four factors contribute to the persistence of the stalemate, while the economy in the form of oil policy is associated with some hope of a resolution.

Russia's claims to the Kuriles date back to the 17th century, which occurred as a result of periodic contacts with Japan through Hokkaido. In 1821, a de facto border was established, according to which Iturup became Japanese territory, and Russian land began from Urup Island. Subsequently, according to the Shimodsky Treaty (1855) and the St. Petersburg Treaty (1875), all four islands were recognized as the territory of Japan. The last time the Kuriles changed their owner as a result of the Second World War - in 1945 in Yalta, the Allies, in fact, agreed to transfer these islands to Russia.

The dispute over the islands became part of Cold War politics during the negotiations for the San Francisco Peace Treaty, Article 2c of which forced Japan to renounce all of its claims to the Kuril Islands. However, the refusal of the Soviet Union to sign this agreement left these islands in a state of limbo. In 1956, a joint Soviet-Japanese declaration was signed, which de facto meant the end of the state of war, but failed to resolve the territorial conflict. After the ratification of the US-Japan Security Treaty in 1960, further negotiations were stopped, and this continued until the 1990s.

However, after the end of the Cold War in 1991, there seemed to be a new opportunity to resolve this issue. Despite the tumultuous events in world affairs, the positions of Japan and Russia on the Kuriles have not changed much since 1956, and the reason for this situation was five historical factors that were outside the Cold War.

The first factor is demographic. Japan's population is already declining due to low birth rates and aging, while Russia's population has been declining since 1992 due to excessive drinking and other social ills. This shift, together with the decline in international influence, has led to the emergence of retrospective tendencies, and both nations are now basically trying to resolve this issue by looking backwards rather than forwards. Given such attitudes, one can conclude that the aging populations of Japan and Russia are depriving Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Vladimir Putin of the opportunity to negotiate because of firmly entrenched views on the issue of the Kuriles.

Context

Is Russia ready to return two islands?

Sankei Shimbun 10/12/2016

Military construction in the Kuriles

The Guardian 06/11/2015

Is it possible to agree on the Kuril Islands?

BBC Russian service 05/21/2015
All this also plays into the hands of the mentality and perception of the outside world, which are formed on the basis of how history is taught, and more broadly on the basis of how it is presented by the media and public opinion. For Russia, the collapse of the Soviet Union was a major psychological blow, accompanied by a loss of status and power as many former Soviet republics seceded. This has significantly altered Russia's borders and created significant uncertainty about the future of the Russian nation. It is well known that in times of crisis, citizens often display stronger patriotic feelings and feelings of defensive nationalism. The Kuriles dispute fills a void in Russia and also provides an opportunity to speak out against the perceived emotionally historical injustice committed by Japan.

The perception of Japan in Russia was largely shaped by the issue of the Kuril Islands, and this continued until the end of the Cold War. Anti-Japanese propaganda became common after the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, and it was reinforced by Japanese intervention during the Russian Civil War (1918-1922). This led many Russians to believe that as a result, all previously concluded treaties were annulled. However, Russia's victory over Japan in World War II ended the previous humiliation and reinforced the symbolic meaning of the Kuril Islands, which came to represent (1) the irreversibility of the results of World War II and (2) Russia's status as a great power. From this point of view, the transfer of territory is seen as a revision of the outcome of the war. Therefore, control over the Kuriles retains an important psychological significance for the Russians.

Japan is trying to define its place in the world as a "normal" state, located next to an increasingly powerful China. The question of the return of the Kuril Islands is directly linked to the national identity of Japan, and these territories themselves are perceived as the last symbol of defeat in World War II. The Russian offensive and the capture of Japan's "inalienable territory" helped reinforce the victim mentality that became the prevailing narrative after the end of the war.

This attitude is reinforced by the Japanese conservative media, which often supports the government's foreign policy. In addition, nationalists often use the media to viciously attack academics and politicians who hint at a compromise on the issue, leaving little room for manoeuvre.

This, in turn, has an impact on the political institutions of both Japan and Russia. In the 1990s, President Boris Yeltsin's position was so weak that he feared possible impeachment if the Kuril Islands were handed over to Japan. At the same time, the central Russian government was weakened as a result of the growing influence of regional politicians, including the two governors of the Sakhalin region - Valentin Fedorov (1990 - 1993) and Igor Fakhrutdinov (1995 - 2003), who actively opposed the possible sale of the Kuriles to Japan. They relied on nationalist sentiments, and this was enough to prevent the completion of the treaty and its implementation in the 1990s.

Since President Putin came to power, Moscow has brought regional governments under its influence, but other institutional factors have also contributed to the stalemate. One example is the idea that the situation should mature, and then some issue or problem can be solved. During the initial period of his rule, President Putin was able, but not willing, to negotiate with Japan over the Kuriles. Instead, he decided to devote his time and energy to resolving the Sino-Russian border conflict through the issue of the Kuril Islands.

Since returning to the presidency in 2013, Putin has become increasingly dependent on the support of nationalist forces, and it is unlikely that he will be ready to cede the Kuriles in any meaningful way. Recent events in Crimea and Ukraine clearly demonstrate how far Putin is willing to go to defend Russia's national status.

Japanese political institutions, although different from Russian ones, also support a hard line in the Kuril negotiations. As a result of the reforms carried out after the end of World War II, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) occupies a dominant position in Japan. With the exception of the period from 1993 to 1995 and from 2009 to 2012, the LDP had and continues to have a majority in the national legislative assembly, and in fact its party platform for the return of the four southern islands of the Kuril chain since 1956 has been an integral part of national politics.

In addition, as a result of the real estate crash of 1990-1991, the Liberal Democratic Party nominated only two effective prime ministers, Koizumi Junichiro and Shinzo Abe, both of whom rely on the support of nationalists to maintain their positions. Finally, regional politics in Japan plays an important role, and elected politicians in Hokkaido are pushing the central government to take a assertive stance in this dispute. Taken together, all these factors do not contribute to a compromise that would include the return of all four islands.

Sakhalin and Hokkaido emphasize the importance of geography and regional interests in this dispute. Geography influences how people see the world and how they observe policy making and implementation. The most important Russian interests are in Europe, followed by the Middle East and Central Asia, and only after that Japan. As one example, Russia devotes much of its time and effort to the issue of NATO expansion to the east, to eastern Europe, as well as to the negative consequences associated with the events in Crimea and Ukraine. As far as Japan is concerned, the alliance with the United States, China, and the Korean Peninsula take precedence over relations with Moscow. The Japanese government must also consider public pressure to resolve issues with North Korea over kidnapping and nuclear weapons, which Abe has promised to do on several occasions. As a result, the issue of the Kuriles is often relegated to the background.

Probably the only factor contributing to a possible resolution of the Kuril issue is economic interests. After 1991, both Japan and Russia entered a period of prolonged economic crisis. The Russian economy reached its lowest point during the crisis of its national currency in 1997, and is currently facing serious difficulties due to the collapse in oil prices and economic sanctions. However, the development of oil and gas fields in Siberia, in the process of which Japanese capital and Russian natural resources are combined, contributes to cooperation and a possible resolution of the issue of the Kuriles. Despite the sanctions imposed, 8% of Japan's oil consumption in 2014 was imported from Russia, and the increase in oil and natural gas consumption is largely due to the consequences of the disaster at the nuclear power plant in Fukushima.

In their totality, historical factors largely determine the continued stagnation in resolving the issue of the Kuril Islands. The demographics, geography, political institutions, and attitudes of the citizens of Japan and Russia all contribute to a tough negotiating position. Oil policy provides some incentive for both nations to resolve disputes and normalize relations. However, so far this has not been enough to break the impasse. Despite the possible change of leaders around the world, the main factors that have driven this dispute to a standstill are likely to remain unchanged.

Michael Bacalu is a member of the Council on Asian Affairs. He received a master's degree in international relations from Seoul University, South Korea, and a bachelor's degree in history and political science from Arcadia University. The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author as an individual and do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization with which he has ties.

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

Recently, Shinzo Abe announced that he would annex the disputed islands of the South Kuril chain to Japan. “I will solve the problem of the northern territories and conclude a peace treaty. As a politician, as a prime minister, I want to achieve this at all costs,” he promised his compatriots.

According to Japanese tradition, Shinzo Abe will have to do hara-kiri if he doesn't keep his word. It is quite possible that Vladimir Putin will help the Japanese prime minister live to a ripe old age and die a natural death. Photo by Alexander Vilf (Getty Images).

In my opinion, everything goes to the fact that the long-standing conflict will be settled. The time for establishing decent relations with Japan was chosen very well - for the empty hard-to-reach lands, which their former owners now and then look nostalgically, you can get a lot of material benefits from one of the most powerful economies in the world. And the lifting of sanctions as a condition for the transfer of the islands is far from the only and not the main concession that our Foreign Ministry is now seeking, I am sure.

So the quite expected surge of quasi-patriotism of our liberals, directed at the Russian president, should be prevented.

I have already had to analyze in detail the history of the islands of Tarabarov and Bolshoy Ussuriysky on the Amur, the loss of which Moscow snobs cannot come to terms with. The post also discussed the dispute with Norway over maritime territories, which was also settled.

I also touched upon the secret negotiations between the human rights activist Lev Ponomarev and the Japanese diplomat about the "northern territories", filmed on video and posted online. Generally speaking, one of this video it is enough for our caring citizens to bashfully swallow the return of the islands to Japan, if it takes place. But since concerned citizens will definitely not keep silent, we must understand the essence of the problem.

background

February 7, 1855 Shimodsky treatise on trade and borders. The now disputed islands of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and the Habomai group of islands have been ceded to Japan (therefore, February 7 is annually celebrated in Japan as Northern Territories Day). The question of the status of Sakhalin remained unresolved.

May 7, 1875 Petersburg treaty. Japan transferred the rights to all 18 Kuril Islands in exchange for the entire Sakhalin.

August 23, 1905- Treaty of Portsmouth resultsRusso-Japanese War.Russia ceded the southern part of Sakhalin.

February 11, 1945 — Yalta conference. THE USSR, US and UK reached a written agreement on the entry of the Soviet Union into the war with Japan, subject to the return of South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands to it after the end of the war.

February 2, 1946 on the basis of the Yalta agreements in the USSR Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk region was created - on the territory of the southern part of the island Sakhalin and Kuril Islands. January 2, 1947 she was merged with Sakhalin Oblast Khabarovsk Territory, which expanded to the borders of the modern Sakhalin Region.

Japan enters the Cold War

September 8, 1951 The Treaty of San Francisco was signed between the Allied Powers and Japan. Regarding the now disputed territories, it says the following: "Japan renounces all rights, titles and claims to the Kuril Islands and to that part of Sakhalin Island and the islands adjacent to it, sovereignty over which Japan acquired under the Portsmouth Treaty of September 5, 1905."

The USSR sent a delegation to San Francisco headed by Deputy Foreign Minister A. Gromyko. But not in order to sign a document, but to voice their position. The said clause of the contract was formulated as follows:"Japan recognizes the full sovereignty of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics over the southern part of Sakhalin Island with all the islands adjacent to it and the Kuril Islands and renounces all rights, titles and claims to these territories."

Of course, in our wording, the treaty is specific and more in line with the spirit and letter of the Yalta agreements. However, the Anglo-American version was adopted. The USSR did not sign it, Japan did.

Today, some historians believe that The USSR had to sign the San Francisco Peace Treaty in the form in which it was proposed by the Americans This would strengthen our negotiating position. “We should have signed a contract. I don’t know why we didn’t do this - perhaps because of vanity or pride, but above all, because Stalin overestimated his capabilities and the degree of his influence on the United States, ”N.S. wrote in his memoirs .Khrushchev. But soon, as we shall see later, he himself made a mistake.

From today's standpoint, the lack of a signature under the notorious treaty is sometimes considered almost a diplomatic failure. However, the international situation of that time was much more complicated and was not limited to the Far East. Perhaps, what seems to someone a loss, in those conditions became a necessary measure.

Japan and sanctions

It is sometimes erroneously believed that since we do not have a peace treaty with Japan, we are in a state of war. However, this is not at all the case.

December 12, 1956 The exchange of letters took place in Tokyo, marking the entry into force of the Joint Declaration. According to the document, the USSR agreed to "the transfer of the Habomai Islands and the Shikotan Islands to Japan, however, that the actual transfer of these islands to Japan will be made after the conclusion of a peace treaty between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Japan."

The parties came to this wording after several rounds of lengthy negotiations. Japan's initial proposal was simple: a return to Potsdam - that is, the transfer of all the Kuriles and South Sakhalin to it. Of course, such a proposal by the losing side of the war looked somewhat frivolous.

The USSR was not going to cede an inch, but unexpectedly for the Japanese, Habomai and Shikotan suddenly offered. This was a reserve position, approved by the Politburo, but announced prematurely - the head of the Soviet delegation, Ya.A. Malik, was acutely worried about N.S. On August 9, 1956, during a conversation with his counterpart in the garden of the Japanese embassy in London, the reserve position was announced. It was she who entered the text of the Joint Declaration.

It must be clarified that the influence of the United States on Japan at that time was enormous (however, as now). They closely monitored all her contacts with the USSR and, undoubtedly, were the third participant in the negotiations, although invisible.

At the end of August 1956, Washington threatened Tokyo that if, under a peace treaty with the USSR, Japan renounces its claims to Kunashir and Iturup, the United States will forever retain the occupied island of Okinawa and the entire Ryukyu archipelago. The note included a wording that clearly played on the national feelings of the Japanese: “The US government has come to the conclusion that the islands of Iturup and Kunashir (along with the islands of Habomai and Shikotan, which are part of Hokkaido) have always been part of Japan and should rightly be considered as belonging to Japan ". That is, the Yalta agreements were publicly disavowed.

The affiliation of the "northern territories" of Hokkaido, of course, is a lie - on all military and pre-war Japanese maps, the islands have always been part of the Kuril ridge and have never been designated separately. However, the idea was well received. It was on this geographical absurdity that entire generations of politicians in the Land of the Rising Sun made their careers.

The peace treaty has not yet been signed - in our relations we are guided by the Joint Declaration of 1956.

Issue price

I think that even in the first term of his presidency, Vladimir Putin decided to settle all disputed territorial issues with his neighbors. Including with Japan. In any case, back in 2004, Sergey Lavrov formulated the position of the Russian leadership: “We have always fulfilled and will continue to fulfill our obligations, especially ratified documents, but, of course, to the extent that our partners are ready to fulfill the same agreements . So far, as we know, we have not been able to reach an understanding of these volumes as we see it and as we saw it in 1956.

“Until the ownership of all four islands by Japan is clearly determined, a peace treaty will not be concluded,” responded the then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. The negotiation process has again reached an impasse.

However, this year we again remembered the peace treaty with Japan.

In May, at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, Vladimir Putin said that Russia was ready to negotiate with Japan on the disputed islands, and the solution should be a compromise. That is, none of the parties should feel like a loser. “Are you ready to negotiate? Yes, ready. But we were surprised to hear recently that Japan has joined some kind of sanctions - and here Japan, I don’t really understand - and is suspending the negotiation process on this topic. So we are ready, is Japan ready, I haven’t learned for myself, ”said the President of the Russian Federation.

It seems that the pain point is found correctly. And the negotiation process (I hope, this time in offices tightly closed from American ears) has been in full swing for at least six months. Otherwise, Shinzo Abe would not have made such promises.

If we fulfill the terms of the 1956 Joint Declaration and return the two islands to Japan, 2,100 people will have to be resettled. All of them live on Shikotan, only a frontier post is located on Habomai. Most likely, the problem of the presence of our armed forces on the islands is being discussed. However, for complete control over the region, the troops deployed on Sakhalin, Kunashir and Iturup are quite enough.

Another question is what reciprocal concessions we expect from Japan. It is clear that the sanctions should be lifted - this is not even discussed. Perhaps access to credits and technologies, expansion of participation in joint projects? Not excluded.

Be that as it may, Shinzo Abe faces a difficult choice. The conclusion of the long-awaited peace treaty with Russia, spiced with "northern territories", would certainly have made him the politician of the century in his homeland. It will inevitably lead to tension in relations between Japan and the United States. I wonder what the Prime Minister would prefer.

And we will somehow survive the internal Russian tension that our liberals will inflate.

The Habomai group of islands is labeled "Other Islands" on this map. These are several white spots between Shikotan and Hokkaido.
____________________

Disputes over the four South Kuril Islands, which currently belong to the Russian Federation, have been going on for quite some time. This land, as a result of agreements and wars signed at different times, changed hands several times. Currently, these islands are the cause of the unresolved territorial dispute between Russia and Japan.

Discovery of the islands

The issue of opening the Kuril Islands is controversial. According to the Japanese side, the Japanese were the first to set foot on the land of the islands in 1644. The map of that time with the designations “Kunashiri”, “Etorofu” and others applied to it is carefully preserved in the National Museum of Japanese History. And the Russian pioneers, according to the Japanese, first came to the Kuril ridge only during the time of Tsar Peter I, in 1711, and on the Russian map of 1721 these islands are called "Japanese Islands".

But in reality, the situation is different: firstly, the Japanese received the first information about the Kuriles (from the Ainu language - “kuru” means “a person who came from nowhere”) from the local residents of the Ainu (the oldest non-Japanese population of the Kuril Islands and the Japanese Islands) during an expedition to Hokkaido in 1635. Moreover, the Japanese did not reach the Kuril lands themselves due to constant conflicts with the local population.

It should be noted that the Ainu were hostile to the Japanese, and initially they treated the Russians well, considering them their "brothers", because of the similarity in appearance and methods of communication between Russians and small peoples.

Secondly, the Kuril Islands were discovered by the Dutch expedition of Maarten Gerritsen de Vries (Vries) in 1643, the Dutch were looking for the so-called. "Golden Lands" The Dutch did not like the land, and they sold a detailed description of them, a map to the Japanese. It was on the basis of Dutch data that the Japanese compiled their maps.

Thirdly, the Japanese at that time did not own not only the Kuriles, but even Hokkaido, only in its southern part there was their stronghold. The Japanese began to conquer the island at the beginning of the 17th century, and the struggle against the Ainu went on for two centuries. That is, if the Russians were interested in expansion, then Hokkaido could become a Russian island. This was facilitated by the good attitude of the Ainu towards the Russians and their enmity towards the Japanese. There are records of this fact. The Japanese state of that time did not officially consider itself the sovereign of not only Sakhalin and the Kuril lands, but also Hokkaido (Matsumae) - this was confirmed in his circular by the head of the Japanese government, Matsudaira, during the Russian-Japanese negotiations on the border and trade in 1772.

Fourthly, Russian explorers visited the islands before the Japanese. In the Russian state, the first mention of the Kuril lands dates back to 1646, when Nekhoroshko Ivanovich Kolobov gave a report to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich about the campaigns of Ivan Yuryevich Moskvitin and spoke about the bearded Ainu inhabiting the Kuriles. In addition, Dutch, Scandinavian and German medieval chronicles and maps report the first Russian settlements in the Kuriles of that time. The first reports about the Kuril lands and their inhabitants reached the Russians in the middle of the 17th century.

In 1697, during the expedition of Vladimir Atlasov to Kamchatka, new information about the islands appeared, the Russians explored the islands up to Simushir (an island of the middle group of the Great Kuril Islands).

18th century

Peter I knew about the Kuril Islands, in 1719 the tsar sent a secret expedition to Kamchatka led by Ivan Mikhailovich Evreinov and Fedor Fedorovich Luzhin. The marine surveyor Evreinov and the surveyor-cartographer Luzhin had to determine whether there was a strait between Asia and America. The expedition reached the island of Simushir in the south and brought local residents and rulers to the Russian state.

In 1738-1739, the navigator Martyn Petrovich Shpanberg (a Dane by origin) traveled along the entire Kuril ridge, mapped all the islands he encountered, including the entire Lesser Kuril ridge (these are 6 large and a number of small islands that are separated from the Greater Kuril ridge by the South - Kuril Strait). He explored the lands up to Hokkaido (Matsumaya), bringing the local Ainu rulers to the Russian state.

In the future, the Russians avoided sailing to the southern islands, mastered the northern territories. Unfortunately, at that time, abuses against the Ainu were noted not only by the Japanese, but also by the Russians.

In 1771, the Lesser Kuril Ridge was withdrawn from Russia and passed under the protectorate of Japan. The Russian authorities, in order to rectify the situation, sent the nobleman Antipin with the translator Shabalin. They were able to persuade the Ainu to restore Russian citizenship. In 1778-1779, Russian envoys brought over 1.5 thousand people from Iturup, Kunashir and even Hokkaido into citizenship. In 1779, Catherine II freed those who accepted Russian citizenship from all taxes.

In 1787, a list of the Kuril Islands up to Hokkaido-Matsumai was given in the "Extensive land description of the Russian state ...", the status of which has not yet been determined. Although the Russians did not control the lands south of Urup Island, the Japanese operated there.

In 1799, by order of the sei-taishogun Tokugawa Ienari, he headed the Tokugawa Shogunate, two outposts were built on Kunashir and Iturup, and permanent garrisons were placed there. Thus, the Japanese secured the status of these territories within Japan by military means.

Space image of the Lesser Kuril Ridge

Agreements

In 1845, the Japanese Empire unilaterally announced its power over all of Sakhalin and the Kuril ridge. This naturally caused a violent negative reaction from the Russian Emperor Nicholas I. But, the Russian Empire did not have time to take action, the events of the Crimean War prevented it. Therefore, it was decided to make concessions and not bring the matter to war.

On February 7, 1855, the first diplomatic agreement between Russia and Japan was concluded - Shimoda Treaty. It was signed by Vice Admiral E. V. Putyatin and Toshiakira Kawaji. According to the 9th article of the treatise, "permanent peace and sincere friendship between Russia and Japan" was established. Japan moved the islands from Iturup and to the south, Sakhalin was declared a joint, indivisible possession. Russians in Japan received consular jurisdiction, Russian ships received the right to enter the ports of Shimoda, Hakodate, Nagasaki. The Russian Empire received the most favored nation treatment in trade with Japan and received the right to open consulates in ports open to Russians. That is, in general, especially given the difficult international situation of Russia, the treaty can be assessed positively. Since 1981, the Japanese have celebrated the signing of the Shimoda Treaty as the Day of the Northern Territories.

It should be noted that in fact the Japanese received the right to the "Northern Territories" only for "permanent peace and sincere friendship between Japan and Russia", the most favored nation treatment in trade relations. Their further actions de facto annulled this agreement.

Initially, the provision of the Shimoda Treaty on the joint ownership of the island of Sakhalin was more beneficial for the Russian Empire, which was actively colonizing this territory. The Japanese Empire did not have a good fleet, so at that time it did not have such an opportunity. But later, the Japanese began to intensively populate the territory of Sakhalin, and the question of its ownership began to become more and more controversial and acute. The contradictions between Russia and Japan were resolved by signing the St. Petersburg Treaty.

St. Petersburg Treaty. It was signed in the capital of the Russian Empire on April 25 (May 7), 1875. Under this agreement, the Empire of Japan transferred Sakhalin to Russia in full ownership, and in exchange received all the islands of the Kuril chain.

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

As a result of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 and Treaty of Portsmouth On August 23 (September 5), 1905, the Russian Empire, in accordance with the 9th article of the agreement, ceded to Japan the south of Sakhalin, south of 50 degrees north latitude. Article 12 contained an agreement on the conclusion of a convention on fishing by the Japanese along the Russian coasts of the Sea of ​​Japan, the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and the Bering Sea.

After the death of the Russian Empire and the beginning of foreign intervention, the Japanese occupied Northern Sakhalin and participated in the occupation of the Far East. When the Bolshevik Party won the Civil War, Japan did not want to recognize the USSR for a long time. Only after the Soviet authorities in 1924 canceled the status of the Japanese consulate in Vladivostok and in the same year the USSR recognized Great Britain, France and China, the Japanese authorities decided to normalize relations with Moscow.

Beijing Treaty. On February 3, 1924, official negotiations between the USSR and Japan began in Beijing. Only on January 20, 1925, the Soviet-Japanese convention on the basic principles of relations between countries was signed. The Japanese undertook to withdraw their forces from the territory of Northern Sakhalin by May 15, 1925. The declaration of the government of the USSR, which was attached to the convention, emphasized that the Soviet government did not share political responsibility with the former government of the Russian Empire for the signing of the Portsmouth Peace Treaty of 1905. In addition, the agreement of the parties was enshrined in the convention that all agreements, treaties and conventions concluded between Russia and Japan before November 7, 1917, except for the Portsmouth Peace Treaty, should be revised.

In general, the USSR made great concessions: in particular, Japanese citizens, companies and associations were granted the rights to exploit natural resources throughout the territory of the Soviet Union. On July 22, 1925, a contract was signed to provide the Empire of Japan with a coal concession, and on December 14, 1925, an oil concession in Northern Sakhalin. Moscow agreed to this agreement in order to stabilize the situation in the Russian Far East in this way, since the Japanese supported the Whites outside the USSR. But in the end, the Japanese began to systematically violate the convention, create conflict situations.

During the Soviet-Japanese negotiations that took place in the spring of 1941 regarding the conclusion of a neutrality treaty, the Soviet side raised the question of liquidating Japan's concessions in Northern Sakhalin. The Japanese gave their written consent to this, but delayed the implementation of the agreement for 3 years. Only when the USSR began to gain the upper hand over the Third Reich did the Japanese government agree to the implementation of the agreement given earlier. So, on March 30, 1944, a protocol was signed in Moscow on the destruction of the Japanese oil and coal concessions in Northern Sakhalin and the transfer to the Soviet Union of all Japanese concession property.

February 11, 1945 at the Yalta Conference three great powers - the Soviet Union, the United States, Great Britain - reached an oral agreement on the entry of the USSR into the war with the Empire of Japan on the terms of the return of South Sakhalin and the Kuril ridge to it after the end of World War II.

In the Potsdam Declaration dated July 26, 1945, it was said that Japanese sovereignty would be limited only to the islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku and other smaller islands, which the victorious countries would indicate. The Kuril Islands were not mentioned.

After the defeat of Japan, on January 29, 1946, by Memorandum No. 677 of the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Powers by the American General Douglas MacArthur, the Chisima Islands (Kuril Islands), the Habomadze Islands (Habomai) and the island of Shikotan (Shikotan) were excluded from Japanese territory.

According to San Francisco Peace Treaty dated September 8, 1951, the Japanese side renounced all rights to South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. But the Japanese argue that Iturup, Shikotan, Kunashir and Khabomai (the islands of the Lesser Kuril ridge) were not part of the Tisima Islands (Kuril Islands) and they did not refuse them.

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

Further agreements

joint declaration. On October 19, 1956, the Soviet Union and Japan adopted a Joint Declaration. The document ended the state of war between the countries and restored diplomatic relations, and also spoke of Moscow's consent to the transfer of the Habomai and Shikotan islands to the Japanese side. But they were to be handed over only after the signing of the peace treaty. However, later Japan was forced to refuse to sign a peace treaty with the USSR. The United States threatened the Japanese not to give up Okinawa and the entire Ryukyu archipelago if they gave up their claims to the other islands of the Lesser Kuril chain.

After Tokyo signed the Cooperation and Security Treaty with Washington in January 1960, extending the American military presence on the Japanese islands, Moscow declared that it refused to consider the issue of transferring the islands to the Japanese side. The statement was substantiated by the security of the USSR and China.

In 1993 was signed Tokyo Declaration about Russian-Japanese relations. It said that the Russian Federation is the legal successor of the USSR and recognizes the 1956 agreement. Moscow expressed its readiness to start negotiations on Japan's territorial claims. In Tokyo, this was assessed as a sign of the coming victory.

In 2004, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sergei Lavrov, made a statement that Moscow recognizes the 1956 Declaration and is ready to negotiate a peace treaty based on it. In 2004-2005, this position was confirmed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

But the Japanese insisted on the transfer of 4 islands, so the issue was not resolved. Moreover, the Japanese gradually increased their pressure, for example, in 2009, the head of the Japanese government at a government meeting called the Lesser Kuril Ridge "illegally occupied territories." In 2010-early 2011, the Japanese got so excited that some military experts began to talk about the possibility of a new Russo-Japanese war. Only a spring natural disaster - the consequences of a tsunami and a terrible earthquake, the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant - cooled the ardor of Japan.

As a result, the loud statements of the Japanese led to the fact that Moscow announced that the islands are the territory of the Russian Federation legally following the results of the Second World War, this is enshrined in the UN Charter. And the Russian sovereignty over the Kuriles, which has the appropriate international legal confirmation, is beyond doubt. Plans were also announced to develop the economy of the islands and strengthen the Russian military presence there.

The strategic importance of the islands

economic factor. The islands are economically underdeveloped, but they have deposits of valuable and rare earth metals - gold, silver, rhenium, titanium. The waters are rich in biological resources, the seas that wash the shores of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands are one of the most productive areas of the World Ocean. The shelves, where hydrocarbon deposits have been found, are also of great importance.

political factor. The cession of the islands will sharply lower Russia's status in the world, and there will be a legal opportunity to review other results of the Second World War. For example, they may demand to give the Kaliningrad region to Germany or part of Karelia to Finland.

military factor. The transfer of the islands of the South Kuril chain will provide the naval forces of Japan and the United States with free access to the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. It will allow our potential adversaries to exercise control over strategically important strait zones, which will drastically impair the deployment of the forces of the Russian Pacific Fleet, including nuclear submarines with intercontinental ballistic missiles. This will be a strong blow to the military security of the Russian Federation.