Disputes about the four South Kuril Islands, which are currently under the Russian Federation, have been conducted for quite some time. This land as a result of the agreements signed at different times and the wars passed from hand to hand several times. Currently, these islands are the cause of an unresolved territorial dispute between Russia and Japan.

Opening of Islands

The question of the opening of the Kuril Islands is controversial. According to the Japanese side, the Japanese first stepped on the Earth of the islands in 1644. The map of that time with the designations of the "Kunasiri", Etorofu, etc., was carefully preserved at the National Museum of Japanese history. And the Russian pioneers consider the Japanese, for the first time came to Kuril's ridge only during the times of Tsar Peter I, in 1711, and on the Russian map of 1721 these islands are called "Japanese Islands".

But in reality, the case is different: first, the first information about Kurilh (from the Language of Ainov - "Kuru" means "a person who has come from nowhere") the Japanese received from the locals of the Ainov (the oldest Nevapon population of Kuril and Japanese islands) during the expedition on Hokkaido in 1635. And before the Kuril lands themselves, the Japanese because of in constant conflicts with the local population did not get.

It should be noted that the Ains were hostile to the Japanese, and the Russians originally treated them well, considering them with their "brothers", due to the similarities in the appearance and methods of communication of Russians with small nations.

Secondly, the Kuril Islands opened the Dutch expedition of Maarten Geritsen de Frisa (Frieza) in 1643, the Dutch was looking for t. N. "Golden Earth". The Dutch land did not like, and they sold their details of their description, the map of the Japanese. It is based on the Dutch data that the Japanese and made their cards.

Thirdly, the Japanese at that time did not owners not only as smoking, but even Hokkaido, only on his southern part there were their support item. The Japanese began the conquest of the island at the beginning of the 17th century, and the fight against Aina was two centuries. That is, if the Russians were interested in expansion, then Hokkaido could become a Russian island. This was easier for a good ratio of Ainov to Russian and their hostility to the Japanese. There are records about this fact. The Japanese state of that time officially did not consider himself sovereign not only Sakhalin and Kuril lands, but Hokkaido (Matsumaea) was confirmed by the head of the Government of Japan Matsudayra in his circular during the Russian-Japanese negotiations on the border and trade in 1772.

Fourth, Russian researchers visited the Islands before the Japanese. In the Russian state, the first mention of the Kuril lands is refers to 1646, when Non-good Ivanovich Kolobov gave the report of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich about the campaigns of Ivan Yurevich Moskvitin and spoke about the inhabiting chickens of bearded Aina. In addition, the Dutch, Scandinavian and German medieval chronicles and maps report about the first Russian settlements on the smoke of that time. The first reports of the Kuril lands and their inhabitants reached Russians in the middle of the XVII century.

In 1697, in the course of the expedition, Vladimir Atlasov, new information about the islands appeared on Kamchatka, the Russians explored the islands to Simushira (the island of the middle group of a large ridge of the Kuril Islands).

XVIII century

Petr I knew about the Kuril Islands, in 1719 the king sent a secret expedition to Kamchatka under the leadership of Ivan Mikhailovich Jewinov and Fedor Fedorovich Luzin. The marine geodesist of the Jews and the geodesist-cartographer of Luzhin should have been determined whether there is a strait between Asia and America. The expedition reached the south to the island of Simushir and led the locals and rulers to the oath to the Russian state.

In 1738-1739, Mardhin Petrovich Shppberg (by the origin of the Dane) passed along the entire Kuril ridge, the eased is the ones on the map, including all the small Kuril Rud (these are 6 large and a number of small islands that are separated from the big Kuril ridge South -Curily strait). He explored the land up to Hokkaido (Matsumay), leading to the local Aynian rulers to the oath of the Russian state.

In the future, the Russians avoided swimming in the southern islands, mastered the northern territories. Unfortunately, at this time, abuses are noted in relation to the Ainov not only from the Japanese, but also by the Russians.

In 1771, the Small Kuril Ridge was derived from Russia and moved under the Protectorate of Japan. The Russian authorities to correct the situation were sent by the nobleman of Antipin with the translator Shabalin. They were able to incline Ainov to restore Russian citizenship. In 1778-1779, Russian envoys led to the citizenship of more than 1.5 thousand people with ITIPU, Kunashir and even Hokkaido. In 1779, Ekaterina II released the Russian citizenship from all filters.

In 1787, a list of Kuril Islands was brought to Hokkaido-Matsumay, which was not yet defined. Although the rules of the south of the island of the Russians are not controlled, the Japanese acted there.

In 1799, by decree of Sayia Taisoigun Tokugawa Jenari, he headed Sögunat Tokugawa, two outpost were built on Kunashir and ITUPU, there were constant garrisons there. Thus, the Japanese military method secured the status of these territories in Japan.

Space Snapshot of Small Kuril Rud

Contracts

In 1845, the Japanese empire unilaterally reported his power over all Sakhalin and Kuril's garth. This naturally caused a violent negative reaction from the Russian emperor Nikolai I. But, the Russian Empire did not have time to take action, the events of the Crimean War were prevented. Therefore, it was decided to make concessions and not bring the case before the war.

On February 7, 1855, the first diplomatic agreement between Russia and Japan was concluded - Simonian treaty. He was signed by Vice-Admiral E. V. Putiatin and Tosiakira Kavadzi. According to the 9th article of the treatise, "permanent peace and sincere friendship between Russia and Japan" was established. Japan moved the islands from ITUP and south, Sakhalin declared joint, inseparable possession. Russians in Japan received consular jurisdiction, Russian ships received the right to enter the ports of the Simer, Hakodate, Nagasaki. The Russian empire received the regime of the greatest favored in trade with Japan and received the right to open consulates in open to Russian ports. That is, in general, especially considering the serious international situation of Russia, the contract can be assessed positively. Since 1981, the Japanese is the day of signing the Simoda Treaty noted as "Northern Territories".

It should be noted that in fact the Japanese received the right to "northern territories" only for the "permanent peace and sincere friendship between Japan and Russia", the most favored personality regime in trading relations. Their further actions of de facto canceled this agreement.

Initially, the position of the Simoda Treaty on joint ownership of Sakhalin Island was more profitable for the Russian Empire, which led an active colonization of this territory. The Japanese empire had a good fleet, so at that time did not have such an opportunity. But later, the Japanese began to intensively populate the territory of Sakhalin, and the question of his belonging began to acquire an increasingly controversial and acute character. Russia's contradictions and Japan were resolved by the signing of the St. Petersburg Treaty.

St. Petersburg Treaty. He was signed in the capital of the Russian Empire on April 25 (May 7) of 1875. Under this agreement, the Japanese empire passed the Sakhalin of Russia in full property, and in exchange received all the islands of Kuril Ridge.

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

As a result of the Russian-Japanese war 1904-1905 and Portsmouth peace treaty On August 23 (September 5), 1905, the Russian Empire, according to the 9th article of the Agreement, gave way to Japan South Sakhalin, south of 50 degrees of northern latitude. The article 12 was an agreement on the conclusion of the Fishing Convention by the Japanese along the Russian shores of Japanese, Okhotsk and Bering Seas.

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

Peking contract. On February 3, 1924, Official negotiations of the USSR and Japan began in Beijing. Only on January 20, 1925, the Soviet-Japanese convention on the basic principles of relations between countries were signed. The Japanese pledged to bring their strength from the territory of Northern Sakhalin by May 15, 1925. In the Declaration of the Government of the USSR, which was attached to the Convention, it was emphasized that the Soviet government does not share political responsibility with the former Government of the Russian Empire for the signing of the Portsmouth Peace Group 1905. In addition, the Convention was enshrined the Agreement of the Parties that all agreements concluded between Russia and Japan until November 7, 1917 agreements, treaties and conventions, except for the Portsmouth Peace Treaty, should be revised.

In general, the USSR went to large concessions: in particular, the Japanese subjects, companies and associations were granted the right to operate raw material wealth throughout the Soviet Union. On July 22, 1925, a contract was signed on the provision of the Japanese Empire of the coal concession, and on December 14, 1925, the oil concession in Northern Sakhalin. Moscow went to this agreement to stabilize the situation in the Russian Far East, since the Japanese supported White Guards outside the USSR. But as a result, the Japanese began to systematically violate the Convention, create conflict situations.

In the course of the Soviet-Japanese negotiations, which took place in the spring of 1941 on the conclusion of a neutrality agreement, the Soviet side was raised to the liquidation of Japan's concessions in Northern Sakhalin. The Japanese gave their written consent to this, but they delayed the fulfillment of the agreement for 3 years. Only when the USSR began to win over the Third Reich, the Japanese government went to perform a given an agreement. Thus, on March 30, 1944, Moscow signed a protocol on the destruction of Japanese oil and coal concessions in Northern Sakhalin and the transfer of the Japanese concession property to the Soviet Union.

February 11, 1945 at the Yalta Conference Three great powers - the Soviet Union, the United States, the United Kingdom - reached a spectacular agreement on the use of the USSR in the war with the Japanese empire on the context of him after the end of the Second World War of Southern Sakhalin and Kuril Ridge.

In Potsdam Declaration Dated July 26, 1945 it was said that the Japanese sovereignty would be limited only to the Islands Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Sikoku and other smaller islands, which will indicate the winners. The Kuril Islands were not mentioned.

After the defeat of Japan, January 29, 1946 by Memorandum No. 677 of the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Howser by American General Douglas Makartur from the Japanese territory were excluded Islands of Tiscima (Kuril Islands), a group of the islands of Habena "and Sycotan Island (Shikotan).

According to San Francisian peace treaty Of September 8, 1951, the Japanese side refused to have all rights to South Sakhalin and Kuril Islands. But the Japanese argue that ITUURUP, Shikotan, Kunashir and Khaboma (Islands of the Small Kuril Rud) to the islands of Tiscima (Kuril Islands) were not and they did not refuse them.

Negotiations in Portsmouth (1905) - from left to right: from the Russian side (long-round table) - planx, Nabokov, Witte, Rosen, Korostovets.

Further agreements

Joint Declaration. On October 19, 1956, the Soviet Union and Japan adopted a joint declaration. The document was terminated by the state of the war between the countries and restored diplomatic relations, and also spoke of the consent of Moscow for the transfer of the Japanese side of the Islands of Habmioma and Shikotan. But they were supposed only after the signing of a peace treaty. However, later, Japan was forced to abandon the signing of a peace treaty from the USSR. The United States threatened the Japanese not to give Okinawa and the entire Ryuku archipelago if they refuse complaints about other islands of the Small Kuril Ridge.

After in January 1960, Tokyo signed an agreement with Washington on cooperation and security, extinguishing the military presence of Americans in the Japanese Islands, Moscow stated that refuses to consider the issue of the transfer of the Islands to the Japanese side. The application was substantiated by the security issue of the USSR and China.

In 1993 was signed Tokyo Declaration About Russian-Japanese relations. It said that the Russian Federation is a successor of the USSR and recognizes the 1956 Agreement. Moscow expressed his readiness to begin negotiations on the territorial claims of Japan. In Tokyo, this was evaluated as a sign of the upcoming victory.

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

But the Japanese insisted on the transfer of 4 islands, so the question was not solved. And gradually the Japanese strengthened their pressure, so, in 2009, the head of the Government of Japan at a meeting of the government called the Small Kuril Rud "illegally occupied territories". In the 2010 beginning of 2011, the Japanese "hesitated" that some military experts began to talk about the possibility of a new Russian-Japanese war. Only the spring natural catastrophe is the consequences of the tsunami and a terrible earthquake, the accident at Fukushima NPPs - cooled by the dust of Japan.

As a result, the high-profile statements of the Japanese led to the fact that Moscow announced that the islands were the territory of the Russian Federation on legal grounds for the Second World War, this was enshrined in the UN Charter. And Russian sovereignty over smokers, having appropriate international legal confirmation, is not subject to question. Also declared plans for the development of the economy of the islands and the strengthening of the military presence of Russia.

Strategic importance of the islands

Economic factor. Islands are economically small, but they have deposits of valuable and rare earth metals - gold, silver, rhenium, titanium. Waters are rich in bioresours, the sea that wash the shores of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands are among the most productive areas of the World Ocean. The shelves, where the hydrocarbon deposits are found.

Political factor. The concession of the islands will sharply reduce the status of Russia in the world, the legal opportunity will arise to revise other results of World War II. For example, may require to give the Kaliningrad region of Germany or part of Karelia Finland.

Military factor. The transfer of the islands of South Kuril ridge will provide Japan's naval forces and the US free access to the Okhotsk Sea. Let us allow our potential opponents to carry out control over strategically important pouring zones, which dramatically worsens the possibility of deploying the forces of the Pacific Fleet of the Russian Federation, including the APL with intercontinental ballistic missiles. It will be a strong blow to the military security of the Russian Federation.

(Currently, the freezing of frieze). De Fryz by mistake, considered the island of the ITUURUP NORTH-EAST tip of Hokkaido, and a masping part of the American continent. On June 20, Dutch sailors for the first time landed on Urupe. On June 23, 1643, de Fris installed on the flat top of the high mountain of Urupa Island a wooden cross and announced this land with the property of the Dutch East India company.

In Russia, the first official mention of the Kuril Islands belongs to 1646, when the Cossack is not good Ivanovich Kolobov, a participant in the Expedition of Ivan Moskvin to the Okhotsk (Lamsk) Sea, spoke about the inhabiting islands of Bearded Aina. The new information about the Kuril Islands appeared after the voyage of Vladimir Atlasov in Kamchatka in 1697, during which the Russians from the south-west coast of Kamchatka were first seen the Northern Kuril Islands. In August 1711, a detachment of Kamchatka Cossacks under the leadership of Danili Antsiferov and Ivan Kozyrevsky first landed on the very Northern Island of Schosha, smashing the detachment of local Ainov, and then on the second island of the ridge - Paramushire.

In 1738-1739, a scientific expedition took place under the leadership of the captain of the Russian fleet Martyn Petrovich Shppberg. This expedition first caused a small Kuril Rud (Island Shikotan and Habomai). According to the results of the expedition, the Atlas "General Map of Russia" was compiled with the image of 40 islands of the Kuril archipelago. After publications in Europe in the 1740s, the news of the opening of the Kuril Islands in the opening of the Russian navigators, for visiting their ships of the islands of this area of \u200b\u200bthe government, other powers requested permission from the Russian authorities. In 1772, the Russian authorities attributed the Kuril Islands under the management of the chief commander of Kamchatka, and in 1786, Empress Ekaterina II issued a decree on the protection ("preservation") of the rights to "land, Russian open-air", among whom "Kuril Islands" concerning Japan. " This decree was published in foreign languages. After the publication, no state challenged the rights of Russia to the Kuril Islands. Covers and copper boards with the inscription "Earth of Russian Ownership" were installed on the islands.

XIX century

General Map of the Japanese state, 1809

On February 7, 1855, Japan and Russia signed the first Russian-Japanese treaty - the Simoian tract about trade and borders. The document established the border of countries between the islands of ITUURUP and VRP. The islands of ITUURUP, Kunashir, Shikotan and a group of Haboma Islands, and the rest were recognized as Russian possessions. That is why February 7 in Japan is annually celebrated as the Day of Northern Territories since 1981. At the same time, questions remained unresolved questions about the status of Sakhalin, which led to conflicts between Russian and Japanese merchants and sailors.

Russian-Japanese war

Sakhalin and Kuril Islands on the 1912 card

Up: Agreement on the accession of the USSR in the war against Japan
Down below: Map of Japan and Korea, published by the US National Geographical Society, 1945 fragment. Signature with a red font under the Kuril Islands reads: "In 1945, in Yalta, it was agreed that Russia would return to himself Karafuto (Karafuto Prefecture - the southern part of Sakhalin Island) and Kuriles."

On February 2, 1946, in accordance with the decree of the Presidium of the USSR, the USSR in these territories was formed by the South Sakhalin region 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.

History of accessories smoked in Russian-Japanese contracts

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's negotiations on the conclusion of a peace treaty.
At the same time, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, going to meet the wishes of Japan and taking into account the interests of the Japanese state, agrees to the transfer of Japan of the Islands of the Habomai and Islands of Sycotan in order, however, that the actual transmission of these Isles of Japan will be made after the conclusion of a peace treaty between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Japan .

On January 19, 1960, Japan signed an agreement on cooperation and security between the United States and Japan with the United States, thereby reducing the "security pact", signed on September 8, 1951, which was a legal basis for staying American troops in Japanese territory. On January 27, 1960, the USSR stated that since this agreement was directed against the USSR and the PRC, the Soviet government refuses to consider the transfer of the islands of Japan, since this will expand the territory used by American troops.

The whole second half of the 20th century is the question of belonging to the southern group of the Kuril Islands ITUURUP, Shikotan, Kunashir and Habomai (in Japanese interpretation - the question of the "Northern Territories") remained the main stumbling block in the 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 South Kuril Islands as an integral part of its territory.

On April 18, 1991, during a visit to Japan, Mikhail Gorbachev first actually recognized the presence of a territorial problem.

In 1993, the Tokyo Declaration on Russian-Japanese relations was signed, which states that Russia is the successor of the USSR and all agreements signed between the USSR and Japan will be recognized as Russia and Japan. The aspirations of the parties were also recorded to solve the issue of the territorial affiliation of the four southern islands of the Kuril ridge, which in Japan was regarded as success and, to a certain extent, gave rise to hope for solving 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 in Japan, as Russia as the USSR State Recognizes Declaration of 1956 as an existing and ready to maintain territorial negotiations with Japan on its basis. Such a question aroused a lively discussion among Russian politicians. Vladimir Putin supported the position of the Foreign Ministry, replacing that Russia "will fulfill all the obligations assumed" only "in such volumes in which these agreements are ready to carry out our partners." Japanese Prime Minister Junitiro Koizumi said that Japan was not satisfied with the transfer of only two islands: "If the belonging of all islands will not be determined, there will be no peace treaty." At the same time, the Japanese prime minister promised to show flexibility in determining the timing of the transmission of the islands.

On December 14, 2004, US Secretary of Defense Donald Ramsfeld expressed his willingness to help Japan in resolving a dispute with Russia for the southern smoked.

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

On August 16, 2006, the Japanese fishing schooner was detained by Russian border guards. Shhun refused to obey the teams of border guards, preventive fire was opened. During the incident, one member of the Schooner crew was a deadly wound in the head. It caused a sharp protest of the Japanese side, she demanded immediate issuance of the body of the deceased and liberation of the crew. Both sides stated that the incident occurred in their own territorial waters. For 50 years of dispute around the islands, this is the first fixed death rate.

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 Parliament spoke in order to divide with Russia in half the southern part of the controversial Kuril Islands. There is a point of view that this way the Japanese side hopes to solve the long-standing problem in Russian-Japanese relations. However, immediately after the statement of Taro ASO, the Japanese Foreign Ministry disavowed his words, emphasizing that they were incorrectly interpreted.

On July 2, 2007, to reduce the tension between the two countries, the secretary of the Cabinet of Ministers of Japan Yasuchis Siodzaki proposed, and the Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Naryshkin accepted the suggestions of Japan on help in the development of the Far Eastern region. It is planned to develop nuclear energy, lay optical Internet cables through the territory of Russia for communication in Europe and Asia, develop infrastructure, as well as cooperation in the field of tourism, ecology and security. Earlier, this proposal was considered in June 2007 at a meeting in the framework of the G8 between the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On May 21, 2009, the Prime Minister of Japan Taro ASO, during the meeting of the Upper House of Parliament, called the Southern Chickens "illegally occupied territories" and stated that it would be expected from Russia proposals of approaches to solving this problem. The official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia Andrei Nesterenko commented on this statement as "illegal" and "politically incorrect."

On June 11, 2009, the Lower Chamber of the Japanese Parliament approved amendments to the law "On special measures to promote the issue of the Northern Territories and similar to him", which contains a provision on Japan's four-rude islands belonging. The Russian Foreign Ministry made a statement in which such actions of the Japanese side called inappropriate and unacceptable. On June 24, 2009, the statement of the State Duma was published, in which, in particular, the opinion of the State Duma was stated that in the current conditions of efforts to address the problem of a peace treaty, in fact, lost both political and practical perspective and will make sense Only in case of disavavating the amendments taken by Japanese parliamentarians. On July 3, 2009, the amendments were approved by the Upper Chamber of the Japanese Parliament.

On September 14, 2009, the Prime Minister of Japan Yukio Hatoyama said that it hopes to make progress in negotiations with Russia about the southern smokers "for the coming six months-year."

On September 23, 2009, at a meeting with the President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev Katoyama said the desire to solve the territorial dispute and conclude a peace treaty with Russia.

February 7, 2010. On February 7, since 1982, the Day of Northern Territories is held in Japan (southern chickens are called). Through Tokyo, machines with loudspeakers, of which the requirements of Japan are distributed to Japan and the Music Music Music. The event of this day is the performance of the Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama to the participants of the movement for the return of the northern territories. This year, Hatoyama said that Japan was not satisfied with the return of only two islands and that he would attach the maximum effort to return all four islands during the lifetime of the current generations. He also noted that Russia is very important to be friends with such an economically and technologically developed country as Japan. The words that this "illegally occupied territories" did not sound.

On April 1, 2010, the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia Andrei Nesterenko made a comment on which he reported on April 1 by the Government of Japan's changes and additions to t. "The main rate for promoting the problem of the Northern Territorial Problems" and stated that the repetition of unreasonable territorial claims to Russia could not benefit the dialogue on the conclusion of the Russian-Japanese peace treaty, as well as maintaining normal contacts between the Southern Kuril Islands, which are part of Sakhalin Areas of Russia, and Japan.

On September 11, 2011, the 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 border shop at the next to Japan Tangflisheva. At the meeting in the village of Yuzhno-Kurilsk on the island of Kunashir, issues of ensuring the safety of the region, the construction of civil and border infrastructure facilities was discussed, security issues were considered during the construction and operation of the port moisture complex in South Kurilsk and the reconstruction of Mendeleevo Airport. The Secretary General of the Government of Japan, Osamu Fujimur, said that the visit of Nicholas Patrushev to the Southern Kuril Islands causes deep regret with Japan.

On February 14, 2012, the head of the Russian General Staff Army General Nikolai Makarov said that the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation will create two military towns on the South Kurila Islands (Kunashir and ITUP) in 2013.

On October 26, 2017, the First Deputy Chairman of the Committee of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation for Defense and Security Franz Klintsevich said that Russia plans to create a navy-sea fleet on the Kuril Islands.

Basic position of Russia

The position of both countries on the issue of the islands belonging. Russia considers all Sakhalin and smoke in its territory. Japan believes the southern chickens of its territory, northern Kuriles and Sakhalin - the territory of Russia.

The fundamental position of Moscow is that the Southern Kuril Islands entered the USSR, the successor of which was Russia, are an integral part of the territory of the Russian Federation on legal grounds for the Second World War and enshrined in the UN Charter and Russian sovereignty over them with the corresponding international Direct confirmation is not subject to question. According to media reports, the Russian Foreign Minister in 2012 stated that the problem of the Kuril Islands could be solved in Russia only by the referendum. Subsequently, the Russian Foreign Ministry officially denied the formulation of a question about any referendum: "It is a rude allocation of words of the minister. We regard such interpretations as provocative. None of a sensible politician will never put this question for a referendum. " In addition, the Russian authorities once again officially declared the unconditional indisputability of the affiliation of the islands of Russia, stating that in connection with this, the question of any referendum could not stand by definition. On February 18, 2014, the Russian Foreign Minister stated that "Russia does not consider the situation with Japan on the borders as a territorial dispute." The Russian Federation explained the minister, it comes from reality, which is commonly recognized and enshrined in the UN Charter results of World War II. On August 22, 2015, Dmitry Medvedev Prime Minister, in connection with his visit to the island, ITUURUP formulated the position of Russia, stating that the Kuril Islands "are part of the Russian Federation, entering the subject of the Russian Federation called the Sakhalin region, and therefore we visited, visit and let's visit Kuriles."

Basic position of Japan

The basic position of Japan on this problem is formulated in four points:

(1) Northern territories are century-old territories of Japan, continuing to be under illegal occupation of Russia. The Government of the United States of America also consistently supports Japan's position.
(2) To solve this issue and, if possible, to quickly enter into a peace treaty, Japan is energetically continuing negotiations with Russia on the basis of agreements already achieved, such as the Japan-Soviet Japan Declaration of 1956, the Tokyo Declaration of 1993, Irkutsk Statement 2001 and the Japanese Russian Action Plan 2003.
(3) According to the Japanese position, in case of confirmation of the belonging to the northern territories to Japan, Japan is ready to flexibly approach the time and order of their return. In addition, since Japanese citizens who lived in the northern territories were forcibly evaluated by Joseph Stalin, Japan is ready to come to an agreement with the Russian government so that Russian citizens living there are not the same tragedy. In other words, after the return of Japan islands, Japan intends to respect the rights, interests and desires of the now living on the Russians of Russians.
(4) The Government of Japan called on the population of Japan not to visit the northern territories outside the disorder procedure to the resolution of the territorial dispute. Similarly, Japan cannot admit any activities, including the economic activities of third parties, which could be considered as subordination of the "jurisdiction" of Russia, as well as allow the activities that would suggest "jurisdiction" of Russia over the northern territories. Japan adheres to appropriate measures to prevent such activities.

Original text (eng.)
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 Asible, Japan Has Energetically Continued Negotiations 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. In other words, after the return of the islands to Japan, Japan intends to respect the Rights, Interests and Wishes of the Russian Current Residents on the Islands.
(4) The Japanese Government Has Requested Japanese People Not to Enter The Northern Territories without Using The Non-Visa Visit Frameworks Until The Territorial Issue is Resolved. Similarly, Japan can not 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 (Yap.)
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に当たって, 我我国国としては, 1) 北方領土の日本への帰属が確認されるのであればば実際の返還の時期及び態様についてはは柔軟に対応する, 2) 北方領土に現在住しているいる人人住民についてははその人人人利益利益希望希望は北方領土返還後も十分尊重していくとしていますます.
⑶ 我が国固有の領土である北方領土に対するロシアロシアによる法占拠占拠が続いている状況の中中中で第国国の人人人当該地域で経済活動をううことを含め北方北方領土あたかもロシア側の「権権」に服したかのごとき為為をううことこと, またはまたはあたかも北方に対するに対するのの管轄管轄」をを前提としたかのごとき為ををうことこと等は北方領土問題に対するが国国の立場と相容れず容認できませんんしたがってて日本国政府はは広く日本国民に対して, 1989 年 (平成元年) の閣議了解でで北方領土の解決までまで間間ロシア領土にに入域入域入域入域入域入域入域入域することわ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 about the belonging of the southern smoked, there is a danger of military conflict with Japan. Currently, Kuriles protect the 18th machine gun-artillery division (the only one in Russia), and Sakhalin is a motorized rifle brigade. These compounds are in service with 41 Tank T-80, 120 conveyors of MT-LB, 20 coastal complexes of anti-restaurant missiles, 130 artsystem, 60 anti-aircraft products ("beech" complexes, "Tunguska", "Shilka"), 6 Mi-8 helicopters.

As recorded in the sea:

The state has the right to temporarily suspend a peaceful passage through certain sections of its territorial water, if this ultimately requires the interests of its security.

However, the restriction of Russian shipping - besides the warships in conflict - in these straits, and even more so the commissioning of the board would contradict certain provisions of the international law (including recognized in the UN Convention on the Law of the Law, which Japan signed and ratified) the right of peaceful passage, Especially since Japan has no archipelago water [ ] :

If a foreign trade vessel complies with these requirements, the coastal state should not interfere with the peaceful passage through the territorial waters and is obliged to take all necessary measures to safely implement a peaceful passage - to declare, in particular, for general information about all the dangers known to it for shipping. Foreign courts should not be addressed by any fees for the passage, with the exception of fees and fees for actually rendered services that should be charged without any discrimination.

Further, almost the rest of the water area of \u200b\u200bthe Okhotsk Sea freezes and freezes the ports of the Sea of \u200b\u200bOkhotsk, and, therefore, shipping without icebreakers is still impossible; The strait of the lapere, connecting the Okhotsk Sea with Japanese, in the winter is also clogged with ice and shipping only with icebreakers:

The Sea of \u200b\u200bOkhotsk is the most severe ice mode. Ice here appears at the end of October and keeps July. In winter, the entire northern part of the sea is covered with powerful floating ice, sometimes fatigue in the extensive area of \u200b\u200bmotionless ice. The border of the stationary coastal solder extends to the sea at 40-60 miles. The constant course takes ice from Western regions to the southern part of the Sea of \u200b\u200bOkhotsk. As a result, near the southern islands of the Kuril ridge, a cluster of floating ice is formed in winter, and the strait of the laper is clogged with ice and shipping only with icebreakers. .

At the same time, the shortest path from Vladivostok in the Pacific Ocean lies through the non-freezing Sangan shed between Hokkaido and Honshu Islands. This strait is not overlapped by the territorial waters of Japan, although it can be included in the composition of territorial waters unilaterally at any time.

Natural resources

On the islands there are zones of possible oil and gas. Reserves are estimated at 364 million tons in the oil equivalent. In addition, gold is possible on the islands. In June 2011, it became known that Russia invites Japan to jointly master the oil and gas fields located in the Kuril Islands area.

The islands adjoin the 200-mile fishing area. Thanks to the South Room Islands, this zone covers the entire water area of \u200b\u200bthe Okhotsk Sea, with the exception of the area of \u200b\u200ba small coastal water area. Hokkaido. Thus, in the economic plan, the Okhotsk Sea is actually the inner sea of \u200b\u200bRussia with the annual catch of fish about three million tons.

Positions of third countries and organizations

For 2014, the United States believes that Japan has sovereignty over the controversial islands, while noting that Article 5 of the US-Japanese Safety Treaty (that an attack on any of the parties on the territory managed by Japan is considered to be a threat to both parties) does not apply To these islands, as not manageable by Japan. The position of the Bush junior administration was similar. There was a dispute in the academic literature earlier, there is a dispute in academic literature. It is believed that in the 1950s, the sovereignty of the islands was linked to the sovereignty of the islands of Ryuku, who had similar legal status. In 2011, the press service of the US Embassy in the Russian Federation noted that this position of the United States has long and individual politicians only confirm it.

Prehistory

The Kuril archipelago is the islands chain between Kamchatka and the Japanese Island of Hokkaido. It forms two ridges. The largest of the islands of the Big Kuril Ridge - ITUURUP, Paramushir, Kunashir. The biggest island of the Small Kuril Ridge is Shikotan.

Initially, the islands were inhabited by the tribes of Ainov. The first information about the Kuril Islands was obtained by the Japanese during the expedition of 1635-1637. In 1643, they were examined by the Dutch (headed by Martin de Frise). The first Russian expedition (under the leadership of V.V. Atlasov) reached the northern part of Kuril in 1697. In 1786, the Decree of Catherine II, the Kuril archipelago was included in the Russian Empire.

On February 7, 1855, Japan and Russia signed a Simoian treatise, according to which ITUURUP, Kunashir and the islands of the Small Kuril Ridge were deployed to Japan, and the rest of the Curiles were recognized by Russian. Sakhalin was declared joint ownership - "unrequited" territory. However, some unresolved questions about the status of Sakhalin led to conflicts between Russian and Japanese merchants and sailors. The contradictions of the parties were permitted in 1875 with the signing of the St. Petersburg Treaty on the exchange of territories. In accordance with him, Russia handed over Japan all the Kuril Islands, and Japan refused complaints about Sakhalin.

On September 5, 1905, a portsmouth peace treaty was signed according to the results of the Russian-Japanese war, according to which Japan has passed the part of Sakhalin south of the 50th parallels.

Return Islands

At the final stage of World War II, during the Yalta Conference in February 1945, the USSR called the return of Sakhalin and Kuril Islands among the conditions for the start of hostilities against Japan. This decision was enshrined in the Yalta Agreement between the USSR, the United States and the United Kingdom of February 11, 1945 (the Crimean Agreement of the Three Great Powers on the Far East issues). On August 9, 1945, the USSR joined the war against Japan. From August 18 to September 1, 1945, the Soviet troops conducted a Kuril landing operation, which led to the surrender of Japanese garrisons on the archipelago.

On September 2, 1945, Japan signed an act of unconditional surrender, adopting the terms of the Potsdam Declaration. According to the document, the Japanese sovereignty was limited to the islands of Honshu, Kyushu, Sikoku and Hokkaido, as well as the less large islands of the Japanese archipelago.

On January 29, 1946, the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces in Japan, the American General Douglas MacArtur notified the Government of Japan on excluding from the country of the Kuril Islands. On February 2, 1946, the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Kuril Islands are included in the USSR.

According to the San Francisian peace treaty of 1951, concluded between the countries of the Anti-Hitler Coalition and Japan, Tokyo refused to have all rights, law quantities and claims to the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin. However, the Soviet delegation did not sign this document, as it was not agreed by the question of the conclusion from the territory of Japan the occupying troops. In addition, it was not written in the contract, what kind of islands of the Kuril archipelago were speeching and in whose favor, Japan refuses them.

This was the main reason for the existing territorial problem, which is still the main obstacle to the conclusion of a peace treaty between Russia and Japan.

The essence of disagreements

The principal position of the USSR and Russia consisted of and is that "the belonging of the South Kuril Islands (ITUURUP, KUNASHIR, Shikotan and Khabomai) is based on the generally recognized results of the Second World War and an unshakable post-war international legal basis, including the UN Charter. Thus, Russian sovereignty over them has the relevant international legal clearance and is not subject to doubt "(statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation of February 7, 2015).

Japan, referring to the Simed Treatise of 1855, argues that ITUURUP, Kunashir, Shikotan and a number of small islands never belonged to the Russian Empire and considers their inclusion in the USSR illegal. In addition, according to the Japanese side, these islands are not part of the Kuril archipelago and therefore they do not fall under the term "Kuril Islands", which was used in the San Francis Group of 1951. Currently, the controversial islands is called in Japanese political terminology. " Northern Territories. "

Declaration of 1956

In 1956, the USSR and Japan concluded a joint declaration, formally proclaimed the end of the war and restored bilateral diplomatic relations. In it, the USSR agreed to transfer Japan Shikotan Island and uninhabited islands (leaving ITUURUP AND KUNASHIR) after the conclusion of a full-fledged peace treaty. The declaration was ratified by the parliaments of two states.

However, in 1960, the Japanese government began to sign a security agreement with the United States, which provided for the preservation of the American military presence in the Japanese territory. In response, the USSR annulled the obligations taken in 1956 at the same time, the Soviet Union stated the transfer of the islands by the implementation of Japan two conditions - by signing the peace treaty and the conclusion of foreign troops from the country.

Before the early 1990s. The Soviet side did not mention the Declaration of 1956, although the Prime Minister of Japan Kakuway Tanaka tried to return to its discussion during a visit to Moscow in 1973 (the first Soviet-Japanese summit).

Activation of dialogue in the 1990s.

The situation began to change with the beginning of the restructuring of the 1980s, the USSR recognized the presence of a territorial problem. According to the results of the visit to Japan, President of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev in April 1991, a provision for the parties to continue negotiations on the normalization of relations and a peaceful settlement, including territorial issues, was included in the joint communiqué.

The presence of a territorial problem was confirmed in the Tokyo Declaration, signed following the results of the negotiations between the President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin and the Japan Prime Minister Morihiro Khosokawa in October 1993, the document recorded the desire of the parties to decide on the territorial affiliation of the controversial islands.

In the Moscow Declaration (November 1998), President Yeltsin and Prime Minister Caidzo Training "confirmed the determination to make every effort to enter into a peace treaty by 2000." Then the Russian side first expressed the opinion that it is necessary to create conditions and a favorable atmosphere for "joint economic and other activities" on southern smokes without prejudice to the legal positions of both sides.

Modern stage

In 2008, Japanese politicians began to introduce the term "illegally occupied northern territories" in relation to the islands of ITUURUP, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habmioma. In June 2009, the Parliament of Japan adopted amendments to the law on special measures to facilitate the solution of the "Northern Territories" problem, in accordance with which the Japanese government agencies are prescribed to make maximum efforts for the speedy return of "Japanese Nefs".

Visiting the islands of the top officials of Russia causes a negative reaction to Tokyo (Dmitry Medvedev visited Islands in 2010 as president, in 2012 and 2015 as the chairman of the government; in the first two times he was on Kunashir, the last on this). Japanese leaders periodically make a "inspection of the northern territories" from the board of an aircraft or boat (the first such inspection was made by Prime Minister Zenko Suzuki 1981).

The territorial issue is regularly discussed at Russian-Japanese negotiations. Especially often he raised the administration of Sindis Abe, who once again occupied the post of Prime Minister in 2012. However, it was not yet possible to finally bring the position.

In March 2012, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said that according to the territorial issue it is necessary to "achieve an acceptable compromise or something like" HikivaCe "(" draw ", a term of judo). In May 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister - Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe agreed on the need to develop a dialogue in the "constructive key, without emotional surplus, public controversy" and agreed on the "new approach" to solving bilateral problems, but the details of the agreements were not reported.

The conflict for the Kuril Islands began long before the Second World War.

The dispute about the most southern Kuril Islands - Ilupa, Kunashir, Shikotana and Habomai - is a point of tension in relations between Japan and Russia from the moment when they were captured by the Soviet Union in 1945. After more than 70 years, Russian-Japanese relations can still be called normal due to the continued territorial dispute. To a large extent, the historical factors prevented the decision of this issue. These include demography, mentality, institutes, geography and economics - all this stimulates holding a tough policy, and not ready to compromise. The first four factors contribute to the preservation of a deadlock situation, while the economy in the form of oil policy is associated with a certain hope for permission.

Claims of Russia on Kuriles go back to the 17th century, which happened as a result of periodic contacts with Japan through Hokkaido. In 1821, the border was de facto, in accordance with which ITUURUP was the Japanese territory, and the Russian land began with the island of a masculine. Subsequently, on the Simion Treatise (1855) and St. Petersburg Treaty (1875), all four islands were recognized by the territory of Japan. The last time, the Kuriles changed their owner according to the results of the Second World War - in 1945 in Yalta Allies, in fact, agreed to convey these islands of Russia.

The dispute over the islands was part of the Cold War policy during negotiations on the conclusion of the San Francisian peace treaty, article 2C of which forced Japan to abandon all his claims on the islands of Kuril Rud. However, the refusal of the Soviet Union to sign this agreement left these islands in a state of uncertainty. In 1956, a joint Soviet-Japanese declaration was signed, which de facto meant the completion of the state of the war, but could not resolve the territorial conflict. After ratification in 1960, the US-Japanese security contract further negotiations were discontinued, and so continued until the 1990s.

However, after the end of the Cold War in 1991, it seemed to have a new opportunity to resolve this issue. Despite the rapid events in global affairs, the position of Japan and Russia on the issue of Kurilah did not undergo a special change compared with 1956, and the reason for this provision was five historical factors that were beyond the Cold War.

The first factor is demographic. The population of Japan is already reduced due to the low birth rate and aging, while the population of Russia decreases since 1992 due to excessive use of alcohol and due to other social agers. This shift together with the weakening of international influence led to the emergence of trends facing past, and both nations are mainly trying to allow this question, looking back, and not forward. In the presence of such installations, we can conclude that the aging population of Japan and Russia deprive the Prime Minister of Sindis Abe and President Vladimir Putin the ability to negotiate due to the firmly rooted views regarding the question of Kurilla.

Context

Russia is ready to return two islands?

Sanway Simbun 10/12/2016

Military Construction on Kurilla

The Guardian 11.06.2015

Is it possible to agree on the Kuril Islands?

Russian service BBC 21.05.2015
All this is also on the hand of the mentality and perception of the external world, which are formed on the basis of how history is taught, and in a broader sense, on the basis of how it is presented by the media and public opinion. For Russia, the collapse of the Soviet Union turned out to be a strong psychological impact, accompanied by the loss of status and power, since many former Soviet republics separated. This significantly changed the borders of Russia and created significant uncertainty about the future of the Russian nation. It is well known that during crises, citizens often show stronger patriotic feelings and feelings of protective nationalism. The scope of Kurilch fills the emptiness existing in Russia, and also is a reason to oppose the perceived emotionally historical injustice, perfect Japan.

The perception of Japan in Russia was largely formed under the influence of the question of the Kuril Islands, and so continued until the end of the Cold War. Antiappon Propaganda became the usual phenomenon after the Russian-Japanese war of 1904-1905, and it was strengthened by the Japanese intervention during the civil war in Russia (1918-1922). This forced many Russians to believe that as a result, all the contracts previously prisoners were annulled. However, Russia's victory over Japan in World War I was committed to the previous humiliation and strengthened the symbolic meaning of the Kuril Islands, which began to personify (1) irreversibility of the results of the Second World War and (2) Russian status as a great power. From this point of view, the transmission of the territory is considered as a revision of the results of war. Therefore, control over smokers retains important psychological importance for Russians.

Japan is trying to determine its place in the world as a "normal" state located next to China's increasing strength. The question of the return of the Kuril Islands is directly connected with 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 seizure of the "integral territory" of Japan contributed to strengthening the mentality of the victim, which became the prevailing narrative after the end of the war.

Such a relationship is enhanced by Japanese conservative media, which often support the external government policy. In addition, the nationalists often use the mass media for a fierce attack on representatives of the academic world and politicians who hint at the possibility of reaching a compromise on this issue, and as a result there is little space for maneuver.

This, in turn, has an impact on political institutions of both Japan and Russia. In the 1990s, the position of President Boris Yeltsin was so weak that he was afraid of a possible impeachment if the Kuril Islands would be transferred to Japan. At the same time, the Central Russian Government was weakened as a result of strengthening the influence of regional politicians, including two governors of the Sakhalin Oblast - Valentina Fedorova (1990-1993) and Igor Fakhrutdinova (1995-2003), which actively opposed the possible sale of Kuril Japan. They made a bet on nationalist feelings, and this turned out to be sufficient to prevent the completion of the work on the contract and its implementation in the 1990s.

After Putin's president came to power, Moscow subordinated to its influence regional governments, but other institutional factors also contributed to the preservation of the waters. One example is the idea that the situation should mature, and then some kind of question or problem can be solved. In the initial period of his reign, President Putin had the opportunity, but did not have the desire to negotiate with Japan about smoking. Instead, he decided to spend time and energy to solve the Chinese-Russian border conflict due to the issue of the Kuril Islands.

After returning to the presidency in 2013, Putin became increasingly dependent on the support of nationalist forces, and it is unlikely that he will be ready to give the chickens in some meaningful sense. Recent events in Crimea and Ukraine clearly demonstrate how far Putin is ready to go to protect the national status of Russia.

Japanese political institutions, although they differ from Russian, also support a tough behavior in negotiations against Kuril. As a result of the reforms held after the end of World War II, the dominant position in Japan is occupied by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). With the exception of the period from 1993 to 1995 and since 2009 to 2012, the LDP had and continues to have a majority in the National Legislative Assembly, and, in fact, its party platform about the return of four South Islands Kuril Ridge since 1956 is an integral part of national policies.

In addition, as a result of the collapse of the real estate market in 1990-1991, the Liberal Democratic Party put forward only two effective prime ministers - Koizumi Dzunyitiro and Sinzo Abe, and both of them rest on the support of nationalists to maintain their positions. And finally, regional politics in Japan plays an important role, and elected politicians on the island of Hokkaido pushing the central government to take an assertive position in this dispute. Taken together, all these factors do not contribute to the achievement of such a compromise, which would provide for the return of all four islands.

Sakhalin and Hokkaido emphasize the importance of geography and regional interests in this dispute. Geography has an impact on how people see the world, as well as how they are watching the formation and implementation of policies. The most important Russian interests are Europe, then follow the Middle East and Central Asia, and only after that Japan. Here is one example - Russia dedicates a significant part of the time and efforts to expand NATO to the east, to the eastern part of Europe, as well as negative consequences associated with the events in the Crimea and in Ukraine. As for Japan, for her alliance with the United States, China and the Korean peninsula have a greater priority than relations with Moscow. The Japanese government should also take into account the pressure of the public, which requires solving issues with North Korea regarding the abduction of people and nuclear weapons, which Abe promised several times. As a result, the question of Kurilla is often postponed to the background.

Probably the only factor contributing to the possible permission of the issue of smokers is economic interests. After 1991 and Japan, Russia entered the period of a long economic crisis. The Russian economy reached the lowest point during the crisis of its national currency in 1997, and at present it faces serious difficulties due to the collapse of oil prices and the entered economic sanctions. However, the development of oil and gas fields in Siberia, in the process of which japanese capital and Russian natural resources are associated, contributes to cooperation and possible permission of the issue of smoke. Despite the imposed sanctions, 8% of Japan's oil consumed in 2014 was imported from Russia, and an increase in oil and natural gas consumption is largely related to the consequences of a disaster on a nuclear power plant in Fukushima.

In its aggregate, historical factors largely determine the continuation of stagnation in solving the issue of the Kuril Islands. Demographics, geography, political institutions and the attitude of citizens of Japan and Russia - all this contributes to the formation of a tough position in the negotiations. Oil policies provide some incentives to both nations to resolve controversial issues and normalization of relations. However, so far it turned out to be not enough to get out of the dead end. Despite the possible shift of leaders worldwide, the main factors that launched this dispute into a dead end is most likely to remain unchanged.

Michael Bakalu is a member of Asian Affairs Council on Asian Affairs. He received a master's degree in international relations at Seoul University, South Korea, as well as a bachelor's degree in history and political sciences of Arcadia University (Arcadia University). Views and opinions expressed in this article belong exclusively to its author as a private person and do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization with which he has connections.

Insurance materials contain estimates of exclusively foreign media and do not reflect the position of the EOSMI's editorial office.

Everyone knows about the claims of Japan on the southern chickens, but not everyone knows the history of the Kuril Islands and their role in Russian-Japanese relations. This article will be devoted to this.

Before moving to the history of the question, it is worth telling why the southern chickens for Russia are so important.
1. Strategic position. It was in non-freezing deep-water straits between the South-Rie Islands that the submarines can go to the Pacific Ocean in the underwater position at any time of the year.
2. In the world there is the world's largest field of rare metal mine, which is used in superscripts for space and aircraft. The global mining in 2006 was 40 tons, while the volcano curly ejects 20 tons of rhenium every year. This is the only place in the world where rhenium is in pure form, and not in the form of impurities. 1 kg of rhenium depending on purity costs from 1000 to 10 thousand dollars. There is no other field of rhenium in Russia (in Soviet times he was mined in Kazakhstan).
3. The reserves of other mineral resources of southern smoked are: hydrocarbons - about 2 billion tons, gold and silver - 2 thousand tons, titanium - 40 million tons, iron - 270 million tons
4. The southern chickens are one of 10 places in the world, where, due to the turbulence of water, due to the meeting of warm and cold marchs, it takes rise from the sea day of feed for fish. It attracts huge herds of fish. The cost of seafood produced here exceeds $ 4 billion a year.

Briefly note the key dates of the 17-18th century in Russian history associated with the Kuril Islands.

1654 or, according to other data 1667-1668 - Swimming the detachment led by the Cossack Mikhail Stadichin near the Northern Kuril Island Alaid. In general, from Europeans, Kuril was first at 1643. The expedition of the Dutchman Martin Moritz de Frise, who caused to the map of ITUURUP and Mr., but these islands were not fixed for Holland. Fris is so confused during his journey, which accepted a typical one for the tip of the North American continent. The name de Frise is now the shed between a typical and ITUURUP 1.

1697 Siberian Cossack Vladimir Atlasov headed the expedition to Kamchatka to conquer local tribes and put them. The description of the Kuril Islands heard from Kamchadalov was based on the earliest Russian card of Kuril, compiled by Semen Remezov in 1700. 2.

1710 The Yakut administration, guided by the instructions of Peter I "On the conduct of a Japanese state and a bidding with him," prescribes Kamchatsky Claudists, "Having done the courts, which is decent, for overflows to the sea of \u200b\u200bland and people with all sorts of measures, how to dwell; And you will be in that land. People and those people of the great sovereign under the royal high-spirited hand again as me, with all sorts of measures, on the stationary, to bring and Yasak with them with great junction, and that land to teach a special drawing. " 3.

1711 "The detachment led by Ataman Danil Antsifer and Esuul Ivan Kozyrevsky examines the Northern Kuril Islands - Schisha and Kunashir 4. Low-lived Ains tried to provide resistance to the Cossacks, but were broken.

1713 Ivan Kozyrevsky heads the second expedition to the Kuril Islands. At Paramushire Aina gave the Cossacks three battles, but were broken. For the first time in history, they smoked their residents paid Yasak and recognized the power of Russia 5. After that, Kozyrevsky's campaign was made by the "Drawing Map of the Kamchadal Nose and Sea Islands". On this map, for the first time, the Kuril Islands from Kamchatka Cape Shovel to the Japanese Island Hokkaido. She is also attached to the description of the islands and the ains - the people who inhabited the smoke. Moreover, in the descriptions attached to the final "drawing", Kozyrevsky also reported a number of information about Japan. Everything else, he found out that the Japanese were forbidden to float the north of Hokkaido Island. And that "ITUURIUS AND MORRATIVE SAIRS LIVE AND NOT IN ADVANCE". Also independent were the inhabitants of another major island of Kuril Ridge - Kunashir 6.

1727 Ekaterina I claims the "Senate's opinion" about the eastern Islands. It was indicated for the need to "take the possession of the island, in Kamchatka lying, the castle of the Earth, they concern those to Russian possession and not subject to anyone. The eastern Sea is warm, not an ice-bearing ... and maybe in the future to make commerce with Japan or Chinese Korea in the future "7.

1738-1739 - The Kamchatka Expedition of Martyn Shppberg was held, during which the entire ridge of the Kuril Islands was passed. For the first time in Russian history, contact with the Japanese on their territory was held on their territory - on anchor parking at the island of Honsu, the navigators acquired products from the locals. After this expedition, the Kuril map was published, which in 1745 entered the satin of the Russian Empire 9, which was published in Russian, French and Dutch. In the 18th century, when not all territories on the earth's ball were examined by the European countries, which established "international law" (which, however, concerned only the countries of Europe), gave advantage of the right to own "new lands", if the country has existed a priority in the publication Maps of the respective territories 10.

1761 The Senate Decree of August 24 permits the free fishing of the marine animal on the smokers with a return to the treasury of the 10th part of the production (PSZ-XV, 11315). During the second half of the 18th century, the Russians are mastering the Kuril Islands and create settlements on them. They existed on the islands of Schoshu, Paramushir, Simushir, Mr., ITUURUP, Kunashir 11. It is regularly going to Yasak from local residents.

1786 On December 22, December 22, 1786, the Collegium of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire had to officially declare the belonging to the land of the Russian crown open on the Pacific Ocean. The reason for the decree was "attempts by the Anglic trade industrial trading on the production of trade and crafts of the beasts on the eastern Sea" 12. In fulfillment of the decree was drawn up to the highest name of the note on "Announcement through Russian ministers with the courts of all marine European powers that these openings of the Earth could not otherwise be recognized as the empire of your belongings." Among the territories included in the Russian Empire, the Kuril Islands, concerning Japan, open by Captain Shppberg and Walton "13.

In 1836, the law and historian of international law Henry Viton published the classic work of the "Basics of International Law", where, among other things, the issues of ownership of new lands were considered. Witon highlighted the following conditions by the acquisition by the state the right to the new territory 14:

1. Chief opening
2. Proliferation-pricudation
3. Long continuous area ownership

As we see, by 1786, Russia has carried out all these three conditions against Kuril. Russia was the first to publish a map of the territory, including in foreign languages, the first there was its own settlements there and began to collect Yasak from the locals, and her ownership of smoke was not interrupted.

Above the only Russian actions were described in relation to Kuril in the 17-18 century. Let's see what Japan took in this direction.
Now the northern Island of Japan is Hokkaido. However, he was not always Japanese. The first Japanese colonists appeared on the southern coast of Hokkaido in the 16th century, but the administrative design of their settlements was received only in 1604, when the administration of the principality of Matsumae was established here (in Russia, then Matmai was called). The main population of Hokkaido at the time was Aina, the island was considered as a non-phase territory, and the Principality of Matsumae (which was not at all hocquido, but only his southern part) was considered "independent" from the central government. The principality was very small in numbers - by 1788 his population was only 26.5 thousand people 15. Fully in Japan Hokkaido entered only in 1869
If Russia had more actively mastered the chickens, then the Russian settlements could appear on the Hokkaido itself - from the documents it is known that at least in 1778-1779 from the residents of the northern shore of Hokkaido, the Russians collected Yasak 16.

Japanese historians for the approval of their priority in the opening of Kuril point to dated 1644 "Map of Syo period", on which the group of the islands of Habomai, Islands Shikotan, Kunashir and ITUURUP. However, it is unlikely that this card was compiled by the Japanese according to the results of the expedition to ITUURUP. After all, by that time, the successors of Sögun Tokugawa continued his course to isolation of the country, and in 1636 the law was published, according to which the Japanese was forbidden to leave the country, as well as to build ships suitable for distant swimming pools. As Japan, Anatoly Koshkin writes, "Syo period" "is not so much a card in the true sense of the word, how much like a picture plan-scheme, most likely made by any of the Japanese without a personal acquaintance with the islands, by Ain's stories." 17 .

At the same time, the first attempts of the Principality of Matsumaa to arrange a Japanese factor in the nearest to Hokkaido Island Kunashir belong only to 1754, and in 1786 the official of the Japanese government of Tokunai was examined by ITUUP and Mr. Anatoly Koshkin notes that "neither the principality of Matsumae, nor the Central Japanese government, without having official relations with any of the states, could not put forward claims to the" exercise of sovereignty "over these territories. In addition, as evidenced by the documents and recognition of Japanese scientists, the Government of Bakufu (the sewing rate) considered Kuriles of "Alien Earth". Therefore, the above-mentioned actions of Japanese officials on southern smoke can be viewed as an arbitrary, which is recommended in the interests of seizing new possessions. Russia also in the absence of official claims to the Kuril Islands on the part of other states on the then laws and according to the generally accepted practice included newly open lands to their state, oving the rest of the world. " eighteen

The colonization of the Kuril Islands was complicated by two factors - the complexity of the supply and total lack of people in the Russian Far East. By 1786, the southern outpost of the Russians was a small village on the south-west coast about. Itupuru, where three Russians settled and a few Ainov, who gone from Urup 19. This could not not take advantage of the Japanese, who began to show an increased interest in the smokers. In 1798, at the southern tip of the island, ITUURUP Japanese overturned the index pillars of the Russians and put the pillars with the inscription: "Etorofu is the ownership of great Japan." In 1801, the Japanese landed on Urupe and signed an index pillar, on which the inscription from nine hieroglyphs was cut out: "Olyazvele Island belongs to Great Japan." twenty
In January 1799, small Japanese military units were exhibited in fortified camps at two points on Itupe: in the area of \u200b\u200bthe modern Gulf, good start (Nabo) and in the area of \u200b\u200bthe modern city of Kurilsk (Xian) 21. Russian colony on Urupe Chakhla, and in May 1806, Japanese messengers of Russians on the island did not find - there were only a few Ain 22.

Russia was interested in establishing trade with Japan, and on October 8, 1804 on the ship "Nadezhda" (participating in the world expedition I.F. Kruzenshtern) Russian ambassador, a valid Stat adviser Nikolai Rezanov arrived in Nagasaki. The Japanese government pulled the time, and to meet with the inspector of secret supervision K. Tyama Rezanov managed only six months later - on March 23, 1805. In an offensive form, the Japanese refused to trade with Russia. Most likely, this was caused by the fact that the Western Europeans held in Japan set up the Japanese government of Anti-Russian. For its part of the rezanov made a sharp statement: "I, the undersressed all-demanding sovereign of Emperor Alexander 1st, the real chamber and Kavaleire Nikolai Rezanov declare the Japanese government: ... so that the Japanese Empire further stretches his northern tip of the island of the Mattie, alone The north belongs to my sovereign "23

As for the anti-Russian sentiments, which were warmed by Western Europeans, the very demonstrative history of the graph of Moritz-August, Benyovsky, who was exiled to Kamchatka for participating in hostilities on the side of Polish confederates. There in May 1771, together with confederates, he captured the Galiot "Saint Peter" and sailed to Japan. There he handed out the Dutch several letters, which they in turn were transferred to Japanese and delivered to the Japanese authorities. One of them was later widely known as "Beniovsky Warning". Here it is:

"High and noble gentlemen officers of the glorious Republic of the Netherlands!
Brutal fate, wearing me for a long time, recently led me to Japanese waters. I went ashore in the hope that I could be able to meet here with your Excellencies and get your help. I truly are very distressed that it was not possible to talk to you personally, for I have important information that I wanted to inform you. High respect, which I feed on your glorious state, encourages me to inform you that this year two Russians and one frigate, fulfilling a secret order, made swimming around the shores of Japan and listed their observations on the map, preparing for the attack on Matsuma And the islands adjacent to it, located at 41 ° 38 'north latitude, the offensive scheduled for the next year. To this end, on one of the Kuril Islands, which is closer to the others to Kamchatka, built a fortress and trained shells, artillery and provincial warehouses.
If you manage to talk to you personally, I would tell more than what can be entrusted with paper. Let your Excellencies accept those precautionary measures that are considered necessary, but as your uninterest and the zealous benevolence of your glorious state, I would advise you to have a cruiser at the ready.
On this, let me be recompresented and remain as follows, your submissive servant.
Baron Aladar Bengugo, Army military leader in captivity.
July 20, 1771, on the island of USM.
P.S. I left a kamchatka card on the shore, which can serve you benefit. "

In this document, there is not a word of truth. "Causes bewilderment, which goal was haunted by Beniovsky, telling such fake information to the Dutch men," said Donald Keen's American researcher. - In unreliability, there can be no doubt. Far from any aggressive intentions against Japan, the Russians strained every effort to preserve their Pacific possessions ... Benyovsky, undoubtedly, knew the real state of affairs, but the love of the truth never came into the number of His virtues. Maybe he expected to heal in front of the Dutch, exposing the fictional conspiracy of the Russians in front of them. "24

However, back to Nikolay Rezanov. After unsuccessful negotiations in Japan, Rezanov headed with the inspection in Russian colonies in the North-West Coast of America and the Aleutian Islands.
From the Aleutian Oh-Va Unlaska, where one of the office of the Russian-American company was located, he writes 1805 by 1805 by Alexander I letter 25:

The effort of American institutions and a lustration of the trial, we can and the Japanese to force to the discovery of the bargaining, whom the people very much want to have. I don't think that your Majesty implies to me in a crime when having worthy employees, what are the tails and Davydov, and by which I am built by the court for the next year, to the shores of Japanese to ruin them on Matsama, to oust them from Sakhalin and disseminate them on the shores Fear, in order to take between those fisheries, and Lisha 200,000 is food, the sooner to force them to open the bargaining with us to which they will be obliged. Meanwhile, I heard that they even dare to establish a factor in Urupe. Will Your, the mean-speed sovereign, with me, punish me as a criminal, that without causing the commandments, I proceed to the case; But I will still reproach me more to reproach me, if I miss the time I miss the time and not sacrifice the glory of your own, but when I see that I can prompt the execution of the great of your imperial majesty of intentions.

So, the rezans in the interests of the state under their responsibility took an important decision - to arrange a military operation against Japan. He commissioned her lieutenant to Nikolai Tail and Michman Gabriel Davydov, who was in the service of the Russian-American company. To do this, the "Juno" frigate and the tender "Avos" were transferred to their command. The task of officers was made to make swimming for Sakhalin and Kurilah and find out whether the Japanese really penetrating these islands, oppress the smokers given to the Russian citizenship. In case of confirmation of these information, the officers have undergone the Japanese "to drive". That is, it was about the defense of the territories belonged to the Russian Empire from the illegal actions of the Japanese.

In South Sakhalin, who visited tails and Davydov twice, they eliminated the Japanese settlement, burned two small vessels and several merchants from Matsumae captured. In addition, the local Ainsky Starbow of the Tails issued a diploma of the adoption of Sakhalin residents to the citizenship of Russia and protected the Russian emperor. At the same time, the tails waters down on the shore of the bay of two Russian flags (cancer and state) and landed several sailors who founded the settlement that existed until 1847. In 1807, the Japanese military settlement on Itupe was eliminated by the Russian expedition. There were also a captured Japanese, with the exception of two, left as translators 26.
Through the captured prisoners passed its requirements to the Japanese authorities 27:

"Russia's neighborhood with Japan made a friendly connections to the true well-being of this last empire, for which the embassy was sent to Nagasaki; But the refusal of it, offensive to Russia, and the distribution of Japanese trafficking on the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin, Yako, the ownership of the Russian Empire, forced this power to use the other measures, which will show that Russians can always repair Japanese trade as long as not be notified Throughout the residents of Uruup or Sakhalin about the desire of trade with us. Russians, causing now so much harm of the Japanese empire, wanted them to show only through the fact that nursing countries can always be in harm from them, and that the further stubbornness of the Japanese government can completely deprive him of these lands "

It is characteristic that the Dutch, by transferring the Japanese to the Ultimatum Tail, added from themselves that the Russians threaten to conquer Japan and send priests to circulate the Japanese to Christianity 28.

The order of rezanov who gave the tail and Davydov in 1807, so he could not protect them from punishment for uncoordinated with the Central Government. In 1808, the Admiralty Collegium acknowledged the Tail and Davydov guilty of self-all-friendly violation of government instructions on the purely peaceful development of relations with Japan and the earliests against the Japanese. As a punishment, the awards of officers for the courage and courage were canceled with Sweden. It is worth noting that the punishment is very soft. Perhaps this was caused by the fact that in the Russian government understood the correctness of the actions of officers who actually expel the invaders from the Russian territory, but they could not not punish them due to the violation of the instructions.
In 1811, Captain Vasily Golotan, landed on Kunashira to replenish water and food replenishment, was captured by the Japanese as a group of sailors. The head was located in the world swimming, in which he went in 1807 from Kronstadt, and the purpose of the expedition, as he wrote in his memoirs was "the opening and inventory of little-known land of the eastern edge of the Russian Empire" by the Japanese, he was accused of violating the principles of self-insulation of the country And together with his comrades, he spent over two years in captivity.
The incident with the capture of the head of the Government of the Segun intended to be used in order to force the Russian authorities to bring official apologies for the Tail Raid and Davydov on Sakhalin and Kuriles. Instead of apologizes, the Irkutsk governor sent the governor of the segun on the o-ve Edz clarification that these officers had taken their actions without the consent of the Russian government. This turned out to be sufficient to free the head and other prisoners.
The monopoly right to master the Kuril Islands belonged to the Russian-American company (Cancer) created in 1799. Its main efforts were aimed at Colonization of Alaska, as the region is significantly richer than smoke. As a result, by the 1820s, the actual border on the smoke was established in the southern tip of the island of the mask, where there was a settlement of cancer 30.
This fact confirms the Decree of Alexander I dated September 1, 1821 "On the limits of swimming and order of seaside interchanges along the coast of Eastern Siberia, North-West America and the islands of Aleutian, Kurilian and so on." In the first two points of this decreases (PSZ-XXVII, N28747):

1. Manufacture of whale trading and fishing and all the industry on the islands, in ports and bays and in general throughout the North-West Bank of America, ranging from Bering Strait to 51 "northern latitudes, also on the islands of Aleutian and the eastern shore of Siberia; since According to the islands of Kurilsky, that is, from the same Bering Strait to the Southern Cape of Urup Islands, and it is up to 45 "50" northern latitudes, it is provided for the use of the only Russian subject.
2. By this, it is prohibited by every foreign ship not only to pester to the shores and islands, subject to Russia, in the previous article designated; But even approach in a distance of less than a hundred italian miles. A confiscation with all loads will be disturbed by the prohibition.

Nevertheless, as A.Yu notes. Carpenters, Russia could claim at least at least the island of ITUURUP, because Japanese settlements were only in the southern and central part of the island, and the northern part remained eminent 31.

Russia took the following attempt to establish trade with Japan in 1853. On July 25, 1853, the Russian ambassador to Eutemy Putyatin arrived in the country of the rising sun. As in the case of Rezanov, the negotiations began only six months - January 3, 1854 (the Japanese wanted to get rid of Putitatin, taking it to Izmor). The issue of trade with Japan was important for Russia, because The population of the Russian Far East grew, and was much cheaper to supply it from Japan than from Siberia. Naturally, in the negotiations of Putyatin also had to solve the issue of territorial dressing. On February 24, 1853, he received an "additional instruction" from the Russian Foreign Ministry. Here is an excerpt from it 32:

By this item about the borders of our desire to be as condescending (not rational, but our interests) bearing in mind that the achievement of another goal - trade benefits is substantial importance.
From the islands of the Kurilskiy South, Russia belonging, there is an Island island that we could restrict ourselves, appointing it to the last point of Russian possessions to the south, - so that from our side the southern tip of this island was (as and now it is essentially there is) border With Japan, and so that the northern tip of the island of IUTUP is considered from the Japanese side.
When starting negotiations on clarification of the border possessions of our and Japanese, the question of the island of Sakhalin is important.
This island has a special meaning for us because it lies against the very mouth of the Amur. Power, which will own the sim island, will own the key to Amur. The Japanese government, no doubt, will stand tight for its rights, if not on the whole island, that it will be difficult to back up sufficient arguments, - then at least on the southern part of the island: In the Bay of Aniva, the Japanese has fishing, delivering food to many Residents of their islands, and one by one of this circumstance, they cannot be expected not to value the point.
If the government of their negotiations with you will be compliant with the other requirements, the requirements of trade, "then you can have a fasciance of the southern tip of Sakhalin Island, but this should be limited to this fascination, i.e. In no case we can not recognize their rights to other parts of Sakhalin Island.
With explanations about all this, it will be useful for you to put the Japanese government in the form of the position in which this island is located, with the impossibility of the Japanese to maintain their rights to it, - the rights that are not recognized by anyone - the is the is the island may become in the short time The extraction of any strong marine power, the neighborhood of which will hardly be the Japanese so profitable and so safe as the neighborhood of Russia, whom the inevitability of them is tested by centuries.
In general, it is desirable that you have this question about Sakhalin in accordance with the existing benefits of Russia. If you meet insurmountable from the Japanese government the obstacles to the recognition of our rights to Sakhalin, then it is better to leave the case in the current position ( those. Inspected - Statehistory.).
In general, giving you this additional instructions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not prescribe it to the indispensable execution, knowing quite that in such a distant distance can not be prescribed by unconditional and indispensable.
Your Excellency remains therefore complete freedom of action.

So, we see, in this document it is recognized that the actual border between Russia and Japan passes through the southern tip of Urup. The main task of Putyatina becomes at least rejecting the claims of Japan on all Sakhalin, and as a maximum - to force the Japanese to admit it completely Russian, because This island has a strategic importance.
Putyatin, however, decided to go on and in his message to the Supreme Council of Japan from November 18, 1853, he proposed to hold the border between ITUURUP and Kunashir. As A. Koshkin notes, the Japanese government, at that moment the pressure from the United States and Western European countries who wanted the opening of Japan to trade was afraid that Russia could join them, and therefore did not exclude the possibilities of excommodation in which all islands, including the most Southern - Kunashir, recognized by Russian. In 1854, "Japan was compiled" a map of the most important maritime borders of the Great Japan ", on which its northern border was conducted on the North Coast of Hokkaido. Those. Under the favorable circumstances, Putyatin could return Russia to ITUUP and Kunashir 33.

However, the negotiations went to a dead end, and in January 1854 Putyatin decided to interrupt them and return to Russia to learn about the Crimean War. It was important because The Anglo-French squadron operated at the Pacific coast of Russia.
March 31, 1854 Japan signed a trade agreement with the United States. Putyatin again went to Japan to achieve the establishment of relations with Japan at no lower rather than with the United States.
Negotiations were again delayed, and on December 11, 1854, they were complicated by the fact that as a result of the Tsunami, the "Diana" frigate, on which Putyatin arrived (during the second arrival in Japan, he specially sailed only on one ship so that the Japanese did not have the impression that Russia wants to demonstrate strength), crashed, the team was on the shore and the Russian ambassador was fully dependent on the Japanese. Negotiations took place in the city of Simoda.

As a result of the disadvantage of the Japanese on the issue of Sakhalin, Putyatin, for the sake of signing an agreement with Japan, went to the maximum compromise. On February 7, 1855, the Simoian treatise was signed, according to which Sakhalin was recognized in unrequited, and Russia recognized the rights of Japan on Habomai, Shikotan, Kunashir and ITUURUP. Thus, the situation with southern smoke, de facto has already existed for many years, was officially recognized. However, because The legally, these 4 islands were part of the Russian Empire, which was officially announced in 1786, many historians of the Russian ambassador reproach now for the fact that the southern chickens were given to Japan without any compensation and that he should have defended until the end at least The largest of them is the island of ITUURUP 34. According to a prisoner agreement, three Japanese ports - Nagasaki, Sima and Hakodate opened for trade with Russia. In accurately, according to the Japanese-American Treaty, the Russians in these ports received the right of exterritoriality, i.e. They could not be judged in Japan.
In an excuse of Putyatina, it is worth noting that negotiations were conducted at the time when there was no telegraph connection between Japan and St. Petersburg, and he could not promote the government. And the path that by the sea is that by land from Japan in St. Petersburg only in one direction occupied a little less than a year. In such conditions, Putyatin had to take full responsibility for himself. From the moment of its arrival in Japan, the negotiations lasted 1.5 years before signing the simulated treatise, so it is clear that Putyatin really did not want to leave with anything. And since the instructions received gave him the opportunity to make concessions on the southern smokers, then he did, after having tried to bargain for ITUURUP.

The problem of using Sakhalin, caused by the absence of a Russian-Japanese border on it, demanded its decision. On March 18, 1867, a "temporary agreement on Sakhalin Island" was signed, compiled on the basis of "proposals for a temporary agreement on joint residence" of the Russian side. Under this contract, both parties could move freely throughout the island and build construction on it. It was a step forward, because Earlier, although the island was considered unrequited, the Russians did not use the southern part of the Sakhalin, which the Japanese considered their own. After this agreement, by order of the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia M. Korsakov in the vicinity of the bay of the Bouss, Military post Muravyvsky was founded, which turned into a center for the development of Russian southern Sakhalin. It was the southernmost post on Sakhalin, and he was located significantly south of Japanese posts 35.
The Japanese at that time did not have the opportunity to actively master Sakhalin, so this agreement was more profitable for Russia than for Japan.

Russia sought to solve the problem of Sakhalin finally and fully obtain him in his own possession. To do this, the royal government was ready to give way part of the Kuril Islands.

Foreign Ministry of Russia authorized the Military Governor A.E. Crowna and E.K. Burtsy, appointed by the Russian attorney in China, continue negotiations on Sakhalin. For them, instructions were prepared. Bossiu was prescribed to convince the Japanese Foreign Ministry to send his representatives to Nikolaevsk or Vladivostok to finalize the issue of Sakhalin based on the establishment of the Laperose Strait, Sakhalin Exchange on the Vrup with the surrounding islands and the preservation of Japanese rights to fishing.
Negotiations began in July 1872. The Japanese government stated that the concession of Sakhalin will be perceived by the Japanese people and foreign states as the weakness of Japan and the vruip of the surrounding islands will be insufficient compensation 35.
Negotiations started in Japan went hard and with interruptions. In the summer of 1874, they were resumed in the summer of 1874, when one of the most educated people of the then Japan, Enoto Taiaki, arrived in the Russian capital in the rank of emergency and authorized ambassador.

On March 4, 1875, Enomoto spoke for the first time to refuse Sakhalin for compensation in the form of all Kuril Islands - from Japan to Kamchatka 36. At this time, the situation in the Balkans, the war with Turkey aggravated (which, as during the Crimean War, could again support England and France) became more real, and Russia was interested in solving Far Eastern problems as soon as possible, incl. Sakhalin.

Unfortunately, the Russian government did not show proper perseverance and did not estimate the strategic importance of Kuril, who closed the exit to the Pacific Ocean from the Sea of \u200b\u200bOkhotsk, and agreed to the requirements of the Japanese. On April 25 (May 7), 1875 in St. Petersburg, Alexander Mikhailovich Gorchakov, from Russia and Enomoto Takeaki by Japan, a treaty was signed in which Japan refused his rights to Sakhalin in exchange for the concession of Russia of all Kuril Islands. Also, in this contract, Russia allowed Japan's courts without paying trade and customs duties for 10 years to visit the port of Korsakov in South Sakhalin, where the Japanese consulate was established. Japanese ships, merchants and fish workers were provided with the regime of the greatest favored in the ports and waters of the Sea of \u200b\u200bOkhotsk and Kamchatka 36.

This agreement is often called exchange rate, but in fact it is not about the exchange of territories, because Japan did not have a strong presence on Sakhalin and real opportunities to keep it, - the refusal of the rights to Sakhalin became simple formality. In fact, we can say that in the contract of 1875, the delivery of smoked without any real compensation was recorded.

The next point in the history of the Kuril question is the Russian-Japanese war. Russia lost this war and in the Portsmouth peace treaty of 1905 gave way to Japan southern part of Sakhalin in the 50th parallel.

This contract has the important legal importance that he actually ceased to the contract of 1875. After all, the meaning of the "exchange" contract was in refusing to Japan from the rights to Sakhalin in exchange for Kuriles. At the same time, on the initiative of the Japanese side, the Protocols of the Portsmouth Treaty were included in the condition that all previous Russian-Japanese agreements are annulled. Thus, Japan deprived himself legal right to own the Kuril Islands.

The contract of 1875, which is regularly referred to as the Japanese side in disputes about the accessories of Kuril, after 1905 it became just a historical monument, and not a document that is legally binding. Not excess will be reminded that, attacking Russia, Japan also violated the paragraph 1 of the Simoian Treatise of 1855 - "From now on, there will be a permanent world and sincere friendship between Russia and Japan."

The next key point is the Second World War. On April 13, 1941, the USSR signed a neutrality pact with Japan. It was concluded for 5 years from the moment of ratification: from April 25, 1941 to April 25, 1946, it was possible to denounce him for the year before the expiration.
The United States was interested in the USSR entry into the war with Japan to accelerate her defeat. Stalin, as a condition, put forward the requirement that after the victory over Japan, Kuriles and South Sakhalin will move to the Soviet Union. Not everything in the American leaderships were agreed with these requirements, but Roosevelt agreed. The reason, apparently, became his sincere concern that after the end of the Second World War, the USSR and the United States remained good relations achieved during military cooperation.
The transfer of smoke and southern Sakhalin was recorded in the Yalta Agreement of the Three Great Powers on the Far East on February 11, 1945. 37 It is worth paying attention to that paragraph 3 of the Agreement sounds like this:

The leaders of the three great powers - the Soviet Union, the United States of America and the United Kingdom - agreed that in two or three months after the succession of Germany and the end of the war in Europe, the Soviet Union will enter the war against Japan on the side of the Allies, provided:
…
3. Transfer to the Soviet Union of the Kuril Islands.

Those. We are talking about the transfer of all the Kuril Islands without exception, incl. Kunashir and ITUPU, who left Japan in the Simed Treatment of 1855

On April 5, 1945, the USSR denounced the Soviet-Japanese neutrality pact, and on August 8 declared the war of Japan.

September 2 was signed an act of the surrender of Japan. South Sakhalin with Kuriles moved to the USSR. However, after an act of surrender, there was still a peace treaty, in which new boundaries would be fixed.
Franklin Roosevelt, who was benevolently believed to the USSR, died on April 12, 1945, and the anti-Soviet confused Truman came to replace him. On October 26, 1950, American considerations were transferred to the UN to the Soviet representative in the UN in the conclusion of a peace treaty with Japan. In addition to the details unpleasant for the USSR, the American troops on the territory of Japan for an indefinite time in Japan, they were revised by the Yalta Agreement, according to which South Sakhalin and Kuriles moved to the USSR 38.
In fact, the United States decided to remove the USSR from the process of coordinating a peace treaty with Japan. In September 1951, a conference was to be held in San Francisco, at which a peace treaty between Japan and allies should have been signed, but the United States did everything so that the USSR invalidates for himself to participate in the conference (in particular, the conference did not receive invitations PRC, DPRK, Mongolia and Vietnam, on what the USSR insisted and what was principled for him) - then with Japan a separate peace treaty would be concluded in its American formulation without taking into account the interests of the Soviet Union.

However, these calculations of Americans were not justified. The USSR decided to use the conference in San Francisco to expose the separatic nature of the contract.
Among the amendments to the project of a peace treaty proposed by the Soviet delegation were the following 39:

Point "C" shall be amended as follows:
"Japan recognizes the full sovereignty of the Union of Soviet Socialist republics on the southern part of Sakhalin Island with all the islands adjacent to it and the Kuril Islands and refuses all rights, law upon and claims for these territories."
Under article 3.
Stand the article as follows:
"The sovereignty of Japan will be applied to the territory consisting of Honshu Islands, Kyushu, Sikoku, Hokkaido, as well as Ryuku, Bonin, Rosario, Volkano, Pares, Markus, Tsushima and other islands, which were part of Japan until December 7, 1941, With the exception of those territories and islands, which are indicated in Art. 2.

These amendments were rejected, but not to take into account the USA's Yalta agreements could not. The Treaty Text was included in the Treaty that "Japan refuses all rights, law quantities and claims to the Kuril Islands and on that part of Sakhalin Islands and the islands adjacent to him, the sovereignty of which Japan acquired on the Portsmouth Treaty of September 5, 1905. 40. From a philistine point of view, it may seem that this is the same as the Soviet amendments. From a legal point of view, the situation is different - Japan refuses complaints about Kuriles and South Sakhalin, but does not recognize the sovereignty of the USSR over these territories. With such a wording, an agreement was signed on September 8, 1951 between the countries of the Anti-Hitler Coalition and Japan. Representatives of the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and Poland, who participated in the conference, refused to sign it.

Modern Japanese historians and politicians disagree in estimates in the text of the Peace Treaty of Japan's refusal of refusal from southern Sakhalin and Kuril Islands. Some require the abolition of this point of the contract and the return of all the Kuril Islands right up to Kamchatka. Others are trying to prove that the South Room Islands (Kunashir, ITUURUP, Habomaia and Shikotan) are not included in the concept of "Kuril Islands", from which Japan refused to the San Francis. The latter circumstance is refuted as a current cartographic practice, when the whole group of the islands - from Kunashira to Schoshuy on the maps is called the Kuril Islands and the texts of Russian-Japanese negotiations on this issue. Here, for example, an excerpt from the negotiations of Putyatina with Japanese authorized in January 1854. 41

« Putyatin: For a long time, the Kuril Islands belonged to us and now Russian bosses are now. The Russian-American company annually sends the ships to buying fur annually and, while the Russians have had their own settling before, but since he is now busy with the Japanese, then we have to talk about it.
Japanese side: We thought all Kuril Islands long-stayed by Japan, but since most of Of these, one after the other has passed, then these islands have nothing to say. ITUP Always considered our and we believed this business solved, as well as Sakhalin or Krafts Island, although we do not know how far the last stretches to the north ... "

From this dialogue, it can be seen that the Japanese in 1854 did not share the chickens on the "northern" and "southern" - and recognized the right of Russia to most of the islands of the archipelago, with the exception of some of them, in particular, ITUPU. Funny fact - the Japanese claimed all Sakhalin to belong to them, but at the same time he did not have his geographical map. By the way, by operating the same argument, Russia could claim Hokkaido on the grounds that in 1811 V.M. The head in his "comments on the Kuril Islands" counted about. Matsmai, i.e. Hokkaido, to smokers. Moreover, as already noted above, at least in 1778-1779, the Russians collected Russians from the residents of the Northern Beach of Hokkaido.

The non-marketability of relations with Japan prevented the establishment of trade, solving issues in the field of fisheries, and also contributed to the involvement of this country into the US anti-Soviet policies. In early 1955, the USSR representative in Japan appealed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mamor Sigamitsa with a proposal to begin negotiations on the normalization of Soviet-Japanese relations. On June 3, 1955, Soviet-Japanese negotiations began in London in the building of the Soviet Embassy. The Japanese delegation as a condition for the conclusion of a peace treaty put forward obviously unacceptable requirements - on the "Islands of Habomai, Shikotan, the Tisima Archipelago (Kuril Islands) and the southern part of the Island of Karafuto (Sakhalin)".

In fact, the Japanese understood the impracticability of these conditions. The secret instruction of the Japanese Foreign Ministry provided for three stages of the extension of territorial requirements: "First require the transfer of Japan of all Kuril Islands with a further discussion; Then, somewhat retreating, to seek Japan's concessions to the South Kuril Islands in "historical reasons", and, finally, to insist at least on the transfer of Japan Habomai Islands and Shikotan, making this requirement to the indispensable condition for the successful completion of the negotiations. "
That the ultimate goal of diplomatic bargaining was the ultimate goal and Shikotan, the Japanese Prime Minister repeatedly said repeatedly. So, during a conversation with the Soviet representative in January 1955, Hatoyama said that "Japan will insist during negotiations on the transfer of Habomai and Shikotan Islands." No other areas of speech were 42.

Such a "soft" position of Japan was not satisfied with the United States. So, for this reason, in March 1955, the American government refused to accept the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs in Washington.

Khrushchev was ready to make concessions. On August 9 in London during an informal conversation, the head of the Soviet delegation A.Ya. Malik (during the war years he was the Ambassador of the USSR in Japan, and then in the rank of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs - the representative of the Soviet Union in the UN) suggested a Japanese diplomat in the rank after Sunyiti Matsumoto to convey Japan Islands of Habomai and Shikotan, but only after signing a peace treaty.
This is what evaluation this initiative gave one of the members of the Soviet delegation on the London Negotiations, afterwards Academician RAS S. L. Tikhvinsky 43:

"I. A. Malik, sharply surviving the dissatisfaction with Khrushchev slow down negotiations and without consulting with the rest of the delegation, prematurely expressed in this conversation with Matsumoto I had the approved Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee from the very beginning of the negotiations (i.e. N. S. Khrushchev himself) Position without having exhausted until the end of the negotiation protection of the main position. His statement immediately caused bewilderment, and then joy and further exorbitant demands from the Japanese delegation ... The decision N. S. Khrushcheva refuses Japan from sovereignty over the part of the Kuril Islands was a rampant, voluntarist actor ... The concession of Japan's part of the Soviet territory, to which without permission The Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the Soviet people went to Khrushchev, destroyed the international legal framework for Yalta and Potsdam agreements and contradicted the San Francisian peace treaty, in which Japan's refusal was recorded from southern Sakhalin and Kuril Islands ... "

As becomes clear from this quotation, the Japanese perceived the Malik initiative as weakness and put forward other territorial requirements. Negotiations stopped. It satisfied the United States. In October 1955, J. Dulles in the note was warned by the Government of Japan that the expansion of economic relations and the normalization of relations with the USSR "may be an obstacle to the implementation of the Japanese Assistance Program developed by the US Government."

Inside Japan, in the conclusion of a peace treaty, first of all, fishermen were interested in which it was necessary to obtain licenses for fish catch in the Kuril area. This process is greatly hampered by the lack of diplomatic relations between the two countries, which, in turn, was associated with the lack of a peace treaty. Negotiations resumed. Serious pressure on the government of Japan provided the United States. Thus, on September 7, 1956, the State Department sent a Memorandum to the Government of Japan, which stated that the United States does not recognize any decision confirming the sovereignty of the USSR over the territories from which Japan refused to a peace treaty.

As a result of complex negotiations, the joint Declaration of the USSR and Japan was signed on October 19. It proclaimed the cessation of the state of the war between the USSR and Japan, the restoration of diplomatic relations. Item 9 declaration read 44:

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's negotiations on the conclusion of a peace treaty.
At the same time, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, going to meet the wishes of Japan and taking into account the interests of the Japanese state, agrees to the transfer of Japan of the Islands of the Habomai and Islands of Sycotan in order, however, that the actual transmission of these Isles of Japan will be made after the conclusion of a peace treaty between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Japan .

However, as we know, the signing of a peace treaty did not take place. Japanese Prime Minister Hatoim Itiro, who signed the Declaration, resigned, and the new office headed Kish Nobusuké, a politician, who was openly discovered by pro-American. The Americans in August 1956, the mouths of the Secretary of State Allen Dulles, disclaimed that if the Japanese government recognizes the Soviet Curil Islands, then the United States will forever preserve the island of Okinawa and the entire Ryukuy archipelago, which were then under the US control 45.

On January 19, 1960, Japan signed up with the United States "Treaty on interaction and security between the United States and Japan", according to which the Japanese authorities allowed the Americans to enjoy the military bases over the next 10 years on their territory, to maintain land, air-air and naval forces . On January 27, 1960, the USSR government stated that since this agreement was directed against the USSR and the PRC, the Soviet government refuses to consider the transfer of the islands of Japan, since this will expand the territory used by American troops.

Now Japan, Japan applies not only to Shikotan and Habomai, but also to Ituupu and Kunashir, referring to the bilateral treatise on trade and borders of 1855 - therefore the signing of a peace treaty on the basis of the 1956 declaration is impossible. However, if Japan refused to require the requirement for ITUURUP and Kunashir and signed a peace treaty, should Russia have to fulfill the terms of the declaration and give Shikotan and Habomai? Consider this question more.

On April 13, 1976, the United States unilaterally adopted a law on the preservation of fish stocks and fisheries management, in accordance with which, from March 1, 1977, they pushed the border of its fishing zone from 12 to 200 sea miles from the coast, setting the hard rules of access to her foreign Fishermen. Following the United States during 1976, adopting relevant laws, unilaterally installed 200-mile fishing or economic zones of United Kingdom, France, Norway, Canada, Australia and a number of other countries, including developing.
In the same year by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of December 10, "On temporary measures to preserve living resources and regulating fisheries in marine areas adjacent to the USSR coast", the Soviet Union also established sovereign rights over fish and other bioresours in its 200-mile coastal zone 46 .
New realities were recorded in the UN Convention on the US Law of 1982. The concept of the "exceptional economic zone" was introduced, the width of which should not exceed 200 sea miles. Article 55 of the Convention provides that the coastal state in the exclusive economic zone has "sovereign rights to intelligence, develop and preserve natural resources both alive and non-residential, in the waters covering the seabed, on the seabed and in its depths, as well as in The objectives of the management of these resources, and in relation to other activities on the economic intelligence and development of the specified zone, such as the production of energy through the use of water, flows and winds. At the same time, it in this zone carries out jurisdiction against "the creation and use of artificial islands, installations and structures; marine scientific research; protection and conservation of the marine environment »47.

Earlier, in 1969, the Vienna Convention was adopted on the right of international treaties.
Article 62 "Indigenous Change of Circumstances" of this Convention says (Outlook Outlook) 48:

1. On a fundamental change that occurred in relation to the circumstances existing at the conclusion of the contract, and which did not foresee the participants, it is impossible to refer both to the basis for termination of the contract or exit from it, except in cases where:
a) the presence of such circumstances amounted to a significant basis for the consent of the participants at the obligation of the contract for them; and
b) the consequence of changes in circumstances fundamentally changes the scope of obligationsStill to be fulfilled under the contract.
2. A fundamental change in circumstances cannot be referred to as a basis for termination of the contract or exit from it:
but) if the contract establishes the border; or
b) If such a fundamental change refers to the contract member is the result of a violation of this participant or obligations under the Agreement, or another international obligation taken to themselves towards any other member of the Treaty.
3. If, in accordance with previous items, the participants have the right to refer to a fundamental change in circumstances as on the basis for terminating the contract or exit from it, it is also entitled to refer to this change as a basis for suspension of the contract.

The introduction of the 200-mile economic zone is the circumstance that radically changes the scope of obligations. One thing to transmit the islands when I didn't go about any 200-mile exclusive zone, and another thing is when this zone appeared. However, it is possible to assume that the 1956 declaration falls under paragraph 2a, i.e. Under the establishment of the border? In the Declaration, we are talking about sovereignty over the territories of Sushi, while the border takes place between the marine states by sea. After the transmission of Japan islands, an additional agreement would need to define the maritime border.
Thus, it can be argued that the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982, which was signed and the USSR and Japan is a fundamental change, subject to paragraph 1B of Article 62 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of International Treaties. Those. Russia is not obliged to fulfill the condition of the 1956 Declaration on the transfer of Habomai and Shikotan, if suddenly Japan agreed to sign a peace treaty.

On November 14, 2004, the then Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov on the air of the NTV television channel made a statement that Russia recognizes the Declaration of 1956 "as an existing" declaration.
The next day, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia is always ready to fulfill its obligations, especially as it concerns ratified documents. But these obligations will be performed "only in those volumes in which our partners are willing to carry out the same arrangements."
On May 24, 2005, deputies of the Sakhalin Regional Duma published an open appeal by Sergei Lavrov before his trip to Japan, where they pointed out that the 1956 Declaration is no longer obligatory:

"However, in 1956, there were no internationally recognized 200-mile economic zones, the initial point of the reference of which is in this case the coast of the Kuril Islands. Thus, now, in the case of transmission of the territory, the transmission object is already not only and not how much the island, how many inseparable economic zones, which only smuggled seafood give up to 1 billion US dollars per year. Did the appearance in the world after 1956 marine economic zones not significant change in the situation? "

Summarizing, briefly note the main points.

1. The Portsmouth Treaty of 1905 annuls the contract of 1875, so references to it as a legal document are not valid. The reference to the Simed Treatise of 1855 is irrelevant, because Japan has violated this contract by attacking Russia in 1904
2. The transfer of southern Sakhalin and smoked to the Soviet Union was recorded in the Yalta Agreement of February 11, 1945. The refund of these territories can be considered as restoring historical justice, and as a legal military trophy. This is a completely normal practice that has a huge number of examples in history.
3. Japan may not recognize the sovereignty of Russia over these territories, but also legal rights on them does not have - its refusal of requirements for South Sakhalin and Kurila is recorded in a peaceful agreement signed in San Francisco in 1951
4. Indications of the Japanese to the fact that Habomai, Shikotan, Kunashir and Itupuroup are not included in the Kuril Islands (and, it means that they do not fall under the agreement of 1951), they do not correspond to geographic science, nor the history of previous Russian-Japanese negotiations.
5. After signing the UN Convention on the Maritime Law 1982 and legalizing in the international law of 200-mile exclusive zone, following the 1956 Declaration becomes optional for Russia. Its possible fulfillment today, as they stated Putin and Lavrov - no obligation, but the gesture of goodwill.
6. The southern chickens have important strategic and economic importance, so there can be no talk that it's just a landclone, which is not sorry.
7. Kuril Islands - from Alaid to Kunashir and Habomai - Russian Earth.

* Anatoly Koshkin. Russia and Japan. Contact nodes. M.: Veva, 2010. P. 405-406.

Russian-Japanese disagreements around the Kuril Islands. History of the Kuril Islands