The problem of the southern islands of the Kuril chain is the history of the issue. The dispute between Russia and Japan over the islands is unlikely to be broken. Who wants to go to Japan

The problem of the Kuril Islands

group 03 History

The so-called "disputed territories" include the islands of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Khabomai (the Lesser Kuril Ridge consists of 8 islands).

Usually, when discussing the problem of disputed territories, three groups of problems are considered: historical parity in the discovery and development of the islands, the role and significance of the Russian-Japanese treaties of the 19th century that established the border between the two countries, and the legal force of all documents regulating the post-war order of the world. It is especially interesting in this matter that all the historical treaties of the past, to which Japanese politicians refer, have lost their force in today's disputes, not even in 1945, but back in 1904, with the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, because international law says: a state of war between states terminates the operation of all and all treaties between them. For this reason alone, the entire “historical” layer of the Japanese side's argument has nothing to do with the rights of today's Japanese state. Therefore, we will not consider the first two problems, but focus on the third.

The very fact of Japan's attack on Russia in the Russo-Japanese War. was a gross violation of the Treaty of Shimoda, which proclaimed "permanent peace and sincere friendship between Russia and Japan." After Russia's defeat, the Treaty of Portsmouth was signed in 1905. The Japanese side demanded from Russia as an indemnity the island of Sakhalin. The Treaty of Portsmouth terminated the exchange agreement of 1875, and also stated that all trade agreements between Japan and Russia would be canceled as a result of the war. This annulled the Shimoda Treaty of 1855. Thus, by the time of the conclusion on January 20, 1925. convention on the basic principles of relations between Russia and Japan, in fact, there was no existing bilateral agreement on the ownership of the Kuril Islands.

The issue of restoring the rights of the USSR to the southern part of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands was discussed in November 1943. at the Tehran Conference of the Heads of the Allied Powers. at the Yalta Conference in February 1945. the leaders of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain finally agreed that after the end of the Second World War, South Sakhalin and all the Kuril Islands would pass to the Soviet Union, and this was the condition for the USSR to enter the war with Japan - three months after the end of the war in Europe.

February 2, 1946 followed by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, which established that all land with its bowels and waters in the territory of South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands is state property of the USSR.

On September 8, 1951, 49 states signed a peace treaty with Japan in San Francisco. The draft treaty was prepared during the Cold War without the participation of the USSR and in violation of the principles of the Potsdam Declaration. The Soviet side proposed to carry out demilitarization and ensure the democratization of the country. The USSR, and with it Poland and Czechoslovakia, refused to sign the treaty. However, Article 2 of this treaty states that Japan waives all rights and title to Sakhalin Island and the Kuril Islands. Thus, Japan itself renounced its territorial claims to our country, backing it up with its signature.

But later, the United States began to assert that the San Francisco Peace Treaty did not indicate in whose favor Japan renounced these territories. This laid the foundation for the presentation of territorial claims.

1956, Soviet-Japanese negotiations on the normalization of relations between the two countries. The Soviet side agrees to cede the two islands of Shikotan and Habomai to Japan and offers to sign a Joint Declaration. The declaration assumed first the conclusion of a peace treaty and only then the "transfer" of the two islands. The transfer is an act of goodwill, a willingness to dispose of one's own territory "in meeting the wishes of Japan and taking into account the interests of the Japanese state." Japan, on the other hand, insists that the “return” precede the peace treaty, because the very concept of “return” is the recognition of the illegality of their belonging to the USSR, which is a revision not only of the results of the Second World War, but also the principle of the inviolability of these results. American pressure played its part, and the Japanese refused to sign a peace treaty on our terms. The subsequent security treaty (1960) between the United States and Japan made it impossible for Japan to transfer Shikotan and Habomai. Our country, of course, could not give the islands to American bases, nor could it bind itself to any obligations to Japan on the issue of the Kuriles.

On January 27, 1960, the USSR announced that, since this agreement was directed against the USSR and the PRC, the Soviet government refused to consider the transfer of these islands to Japan, since this would lead to the expansion of the territory used by American troops.

At present, the Japanese side claims that the islands of Iturup, Shikotan, Kunashir and the Habomai ridge, which have always been Japanese territory, are not included in the Kuril Islands, which Japan abandoned. The US government, regarding the scope of the “Kuril Islands” concept in the San Francisco Peace Treaty, stated in an official document: “They do not include, and there was no intention to include (in the Kuriles) the Khabomai and Shikotan ridges, or Kunashir and Iturup, which previously always were part of Japan proper and therefore should rightly be recognized as being under Japanese sovereignty."

A worthy answer about the territorial claims to us from Japan gave in due time: "The borders between the USSR and Japan should be considered as the result of the Second World War."

In the 90s, at a meeting with the Japanese delegation, he also strongly opposed the revision of borders, while emphasizing that the borders between the USSR and Japan were "legal and legally justified." Throughout the second half of the 20th century, the issue of belonging to the southern group of the Kuril Islands Iturup, Shikotan, Kunashir and Khabomai (in the Japanese interpretation - the issue of the "northern territories") remained the main stumbling block in Japanese-Soviet (later Japanese-Russian) relations.

In 1993, the Tokyo Declaration on Russian-Japanese Relations was signed, which states that Russia is the successor of the USSR and that all agreements signed between the USSR and Japan will be recognized by Russia and Japan.

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

On December 14, 2004, US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld expressed his readiness to assist Japan in resolving the dispute with Russia over the South Kuriles. Some observers see this as a US rejection of neutrality in the Japanese-Russian territorial dispute. Yes, and a way to divert attention from their actions at the end of the war, as well as maintain equality of forces in the region.

During the Cold War, the United States supported the position of Japan in the dispute over the South Kuril Islands and did everything to ensure that this position was not softened. It was under pressure from the United States that Japan revised its attitude towards the Soviet-Japanese declaration of 1956 and began to demand the return of all disputed territories. But at the beginning of the 21st century, when Moscow and Washington found a common enemy, the US stopped making any statements about the Russian-Japanese territorial dispute.

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

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

To be sure, Tokyo's position on Russia has undergone some changes. She abandoned the principle of "inseparability of politics and economics", that is, the rigid linkage of the territorial problem with cooperation in the field of the economy. Now the Japanese government is trying to pursue a flexible policy, which means gently promoting economic cooperation and solving the territorial problem at the same time.

The main factors to be taken into account when solving the problem of the Kuril Islands

· the presence of the richest reserves of marine biological resources in the waters adjacent to the islands;

· underdevelopment of infrastructure on the territory of the Kuril Islands, the virtual absence of its own energy base with significant reserves of renewable geothermal resources, the lack of own vehicles to ensure freight and passenger traffic;

· proximity and practically unlimited capacity of seafood markets in neighboring countries of the Asia-Pacific region; the need to preserve the unique natural complex of the Kuril Islands, maintain local energy balance while maintaining the purity of the air and water basins, and protect the unique flora and fauna. When developing a mechanism for the transfer of islands, the opinion of the local civilian population should be taken into account. Those who stay should be guaranteed all rights (including property), and those who leave should be fully compensated. It is necessary to take into account the readiness of the local population to accept the change in the status of these territories.

The Kuril Islands are of great geopolitical and military-strategic importance for Russia and affect the national security of Russia. The loss of the Kuril Islands will damage the defense system of the Russian Primorye and weaken the defense capability of our country as a whole. With the loss of the islands of Kunashir and Iturup, the Sea of ​​Okhotsk ceases to be our inland sea. The Kuril Islands and the water area adjacent to them is the only ecosystem of its kind that has the richest natural resources, primarily biological ones. The coastal waters of the South Kuril Islands and the Lesser Kuril Ridge are the main habitats for valuable commercial fish and seafood species, the extraction and processing of which is the basis of the economy of the Kuril Islands.

The principle of the inviolability of the results of the Second World War should form the basis of a new stage in Russo-Japanese relations, and the term "return" should be forgotten. But perhaps it is worth letting Japan create a museum of military glory on Kunashir, from which Japanese pilots bombed Pearl Harbor. Let the Japanese more often remember what the Americans did to them in response, and about the US base in Okinawa, but they feel the tribute of the Russians to the former enemy.

Notes:

1. Russia and the problem of the Kuril Islands. Tactics of upholding or surrender strategy. http:///analit/

3. The Kuriles are also Russian land. http:///analit/sobytia/

4. Russia and the problem of the Kuril Islands. Tactics of upholding or surrender strategy. http:///analit/

7. Modern Japanese historians on the development of the South Kuril Islands (beginning of the 17th - beginning of the 19th century) http://proceedings. /

8. The Kuriles are also Russian land. http:///analit/sobytia/

Table of contents

There is also a diametrically opposite point of view regarding the US role in the foreign policy of Russia and Japan. The famous American scientist Raymond L. Garthoff argued that the American leadership was not sufficiently informed about the intricacies of the geographical borders of the South Kuriles, so the borders of the Soviet occupation were drawn so that the islands of Shikotan and Habomai were attached to the South Kuriles, and not to Hokkaido, as it should The author believes that the United States has never taken any definite position in relations between Russia and Japan. For her, only a complete settlement of relations between them is important.

The first work in Soviet historical science that covers all aspects of Soviet-Japanese relations since 1917. to the present day, this is a collective monograph edited by Doctor of Historical Sciences I.A. Latysheva.

A notable milestone in the historiography of the problem was the work of Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor A.A. Koshkin. He pays much attention to the analysis of the agreements signed by the allied powers in 1943-1945, showing that Japan's current policy towards Russia is a policy based on the militaristic past of our Far Eastern neighbor.

Today, there are a number of rather complex problems in relations between Russia and Japan.

Firstly, this is the absence of a peace treaty, due to the unresolved territorial issue.

However, on the pages of the press one can come across an opinion that Russia does not need such an agreement. Doctor of Law A.N. Nikolaev in his article notes that “It is quite possible to do without a peace treaty with Japan, because we did without a similar treaty with Germany. The main thing has already been done: back in 1956, the Soviet Union and Japan made a joint statement on ending the state of war and restoring diplomatic relations.

Most researchers believe that the problem exists and needs to be addressed. In essence, all recipes for resolving the issue boil down to either Russia's renunciation of the Kuril ridge, or the preservation of rights to them. The arguments of supporters of the return of the islands to Japan can be summarized as follows:

The norms of international law and the image of Russia as a civilized state dictate the need to return the islands as a correction of a historical mistake made, and free of charge, because bidding on this issue would humiliate two great peoples. The logic of history requires the completion of the dismantling begun in Europe. The Yalta system, besides, Russia announced at the official level that it no longer considers its relations with Japan as the relationship of the winner and the vanquished.

The return of the islands will make it possible to radically improve trade and economic relations with Japan. This will contribute to the success of the reforms and open up new opportunities for Russia to integrate into the economic structures of the Asia-Pacific region and thereby improve the living standards of the population, which is the main and long-term goal of any country.

Opponents of resolving the territorial issue in favor of Japan believe that:

The return of the islands sets a precedent for many other territorial claims, which will significantly complicate its geopolitical situation.

The economic damage from the return of the islands will exceed the possible benefits from cooperation with Japan, which is no longer interested in Russia as a source of raw materials and energy carriers or a potential market for its high-tech goods.

Researchers find very weighty arguments in defense of their interests.

Highlighting the main points related to the fate of these islands, which have a certain impact on the national security of Russia and its defensive potential, Makeev notes that the loss of these islands forms a serious gap in the unified defense system of the Russian Primorye, reduces the security of the forces of the Pacific Fleet and the possibility of their deployment in the Pacific ocean.

Japan's demands to give her the Kuril Islands, according to Gamazkov, are dictated by economic interests. He notes that a strong magnetic anomaly is observed in the Kuril Strait, suggesting that iron ore deposits are located here at a shallow depth.

Japan seeks to expand its territory, Medvedev believes, hence the territorial demands.

The foundations of the source study foundation of the study were: Joint agreements, periodicals, texts of the Yalta agreement of the USA, USSR and Great Britain on the Far East.

An integrated approach to the study of sources, their critical analysis, comparisons and generalizations of the results obtained made it possible to study the nature of relations between Russia and Japan.

The methodological basis of the work is determined by the principles of historicism and scientific objectivity. The methods of analysis, synthesis, and generalization serve as practical means of research.

aim Our research is to study the origins and causes of the territorial problem in the relationship between Russia and Japan.

Based on this, the following tasks:

Find out when and by whom the Kuril Islands were discovered and developed;

Determine the significance of the Kuril Islands in relation to Russia and Japan in the 19th century;

To identify the belonging of the territories we are considering as a result of the Russian-Japanese war (1904-1905);

Analyze the transfer of the Kuril ridge to Russia as a result of the Second World War (1939-1945)4

To highlight the Kuril problem in the 50s of the XX century.

Consider how relations between Russia and Japan are developing today;

Consider existing positions on the territorial issue.

The first European expedition that found itself near the Kuril and Sakhalin coasts was the expedition of the Dutch navigator M.G. Friz in 1643. He not only explored and mapped the southeast of Sakhalin and the South Kuriles, but also proclaimed Urup a possession of Holland, which, however, remained without any consequences. Russian explorers also played a huge role in the study of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands.

First, in 1646, the expedition of V.D. Poyarkov discovered the northwestern coast of Sakhalin, and in 1697, V.V. Atlasov learned about the existence of the Kuril Islands. Already in the 10s. 18th century the process of studying and gradually joining the Kuril Islands to the Russian state begins. The success of Russia in the development of the Kuriles became possible thanks to the enterprise, courage and patience of D.Ya. Antsiferov, I.P. Kozyrevsky, I.M. Evreinov, F.F. Luzhin, M.P. .Shabalin, G.I. Shelikhov and many other Russian explorers - explorers. Simultaneously with the Russians, who were moving along the Kuriles from the north, the Japanese began to penetrate into the South Kuriles and the extreme south of Sakhalin. Already in the second half of the XVIII century. here appear Japanese trading posts and fishing, and since the 80s. 18th century - scientific expeditions begin to work. Mogami Tokunai and Mamiya Rinzo played a special role in Japanese research. At the end of the XVIII century. research off the coast of Sakhalin was carried out by a French expedition under the command of J.-F. Laperouse and an English expedition under the command of V.R. Broughton.

The first Russian settlements in the Kuriles of that time are reported by Dutch, Scandinavian and German medieval chronicles and maps. The first reports about the Kuril lands and their inhabitants reached the Russians in the middle of the 17th century.

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

Decrees of 1779, 1786 and 1799 - confirmed the entry of the Kuril Islands, including the southern ones into the Russian Empire.

The Decree of 1786 is of the greatest importance. It was published on the basis of an aide-mémoire prepared by the President of the Board of Commerce A. Vorontsov and a member of the Board of Foreign Affairs A. Bezborodko, and assigned Russia vast possessions in Asia, including the Kuril Islands.

The decree, in particular, said: "As a generally accepted rule, those peoples who made the first discovery of these have the right to unknown lands, as in the old days ....... it was usually done that any European people who found unknown land, they put their own sign on it ...., in which all the proof of the right to take possession consisted, then as a result of this they must undeniably belong to Russia: ... The ridge of the Kuril Islands ". The provisions of the Decree of 1786 were confirmed in 1799.

Thus, in accordance with official Russian documents at the end of the 18th century, the entire Kuril Ridge was considered as part of the territory of Russia.

Of the 3 main conditions developed by G. Viton, the presence of which gave the state a "legal title", Russia at the end of the 18th century had almost all of their elements in its assets. This is the observance of the provision on the "First Discovery", repeated description and mapping, including official editions of maps, installation of cross signs with inscriptions, notification of other states (Decree of 1786). Conducting research, including geological exploration and economic development of the Kuriles through the introduction of fish and game fishing there, experiments with agriculture, the foundation of settlements and winter quarters, fully meets the provision on "first development - first occupation."

Administrative management of the islands from Kamchatka, systematic collection of daniyasak from local residents.

By the end of the 18th century, Russia, in accordance with the then existing norms of international law, had sufficient grounds to consider the entire Kuril Range as its own territory. At the same time, not a single Japanese legislative act of the 18th and early 19th centuries is known that would speak of the inclusion of the southern Kuriles in Japan.

Based on the above, the following conclusions can be drawn. The Kuril Islands were discovered in 1643 by a European expedition led by Martin Guerriteson de Vries. But there were no such consequences. Russian travelers and navigators played a huge role in studying them.

In 1874, with the arrival in St. Petersburg of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Russia, Enomoto Takeaki, negotiations began again. He brought two projects to resolve the main problem of the negotiations - the possession of the island of Sakhalin. According to the first, in exchange for South Sakhalin, Russia had to cede Urup Island with the adjacent islands to Japan and compensate for Japanese real estate on Sakhalin. According to the second, Japan was to receive all the Kuril Islands. On May 7, 1875, the Russian Chancellor A. M. Gorchakov and the Japanese envoy Enomoto Takeaki signed the Treaty between Russia and Japan, called the Treaty of St. Petersburg. In his Art. 1 said: “His Majesty the Emperor of Japan, for himself and his heirs, cedes to His Majesty the Emperor of Russia part of the territory of Sakhalin Island, which he now owns ... From now on, the aforementioned Sakhalin Island will completely belong to the Russian Empire, and the border line between the empires of Russia and Japan will be pass in these waters through the Strait of La Perouse. Article 2 stated: “In return for the cession of Russia’s rights to Sakhalin Island ... His Majesty the All-Russian Emperor for himself and his heirs cedes to His Majesty the Emperor the Japanese group of islands called the Kurils ... This group includes the 18 islands indicated below, namely 1. Shumshu, 2. Alaid, 3. Paramushir, 4. Makanrushi, 5. Onekotan, 6. Harimkotan, 7. Ekarma, 8. Shiashkotan, 9. Mussir, 10. Raikoke, 11. Matua, 12. Rastua, 13 The islets of Sredneva and Ushisir, 14. Ketoi, 15. Simusir, 16. Broughton, 17. The islets of Cherpoy and Brother Cherpoev, 18. Urup, so that the border line between the Russian and Japanese empires in these waters will pass through the strait located between the cape Shovel of the Kamchatka Peninsula and Shumshu Island. According to other articles of the St. Petersburg Treaty, all residents of the ceded territories were given the right to retain their former citizenship or return to their homeland, but at the same time they fell under the jurisdiction of the country to which the corresponding territory passed. In the ports of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and Kamchatka, Japan received the same rights for navigation, trade and fishing as countries that had the status of the most favored nation. In addition, Japanese ships calling at the port of Korsakov were exempted from port dues and customs duties for a period of 10 years. The Japanese consulate was also opened there. The Russian side paid over 112,000 rubles to Japan for real estate in South Sakhalin.

The Russo-Japanese treaty of 1875 caused mixed responses in both countries. Many in Japan condemned him, believing that the Japanese government had exchanged Sakhalin, which was of great political and economic importance, for the "small ridge of pebbles" that they imagined the Kuriles to be. Others simply stated that Japan had exchanged "one part of its territory for another." The famous Japanese writer and publicist Shimei Futabatei (1864-1909) wrote: “Public opinion was seething. Feelings that had lurked in me since early childhood, the feelings of a man of the Restoration, boiled up in me. Public indignation at the treaty and my feelings merged into one. In the end, I decided that the greatest danger to Japan's future is Russia." S. Futabatei believed that the day would come when Japan would fight Russia.

Similar assessments were heard from the Russian side: many believed that both territories belonged to Russia by the right of the discoverer. The Treaty of 1875 did not become an irrevocable act of territorial delimitation between Russia and Japan and could not prevent further conflicts between the two sides.

As for the Russian Foreign Ministry of the Russian-Japanese treaty of 1875, it was quite high, since the Russian government counted on improving foreign trade relations with Japan after the solution of the Sakhalin problem. The cession of the Kuril Islands was not seen as serious, as the government of the Russian Empire underestimated their strategic importance.

Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that the situation with the Kuriles, which had existed for many years, took on an official character with the adoption of the Shimodsky Treaty of 1855. Its result was that Sakhalin was not divided, and Japan, in turn, received the rights to Habomai, Shikotan, Kunashir and Iturup.

As for the St. Petersburg tract, here it was about the exchange of the Kuril Islands for Sakhalin, i.e. practical surrender of the Kuriles without any compensation. The next point in Russo-Japanese relations was the Russo-Japanese War.

By imposing on Russia the unfair, predatory Treaty of Portsmouth, Japan thereby crossed out the previous treaties concluded with Russia and completely lost any right to refer to them. Completely untenable, therefore, the attempts of the ruling circles of Japan to use the Shimoda treaty, trampled by the Japanese military, to justify their territorial claims to the Soviet Union.

While recalling the first Russian-Japanese treaties, Japan at the same time prefers to "forget" the barbaric aggression committed by Japanese imperialism against our country - the Japanese intervention in the Soviet Far East in 1918-1922. The Japanese invaders first occupied Vladivostok, and then occupied Primorye and the Amur region, Transbaikalia and Northern Sakhalin (which remained under Japanese occupation until 1925). Japan concentrated in the Soviet Far East 11 infantry divisions (out of 21 it had at that time) numbering about 175 thousand people, as well as large warships and marines.

The Japanese intervention inflicted deep wounds on the Soviet people and enormous destruction on the Soviet country. According to the calculations of a special commission, the damage from the management of the Japanese interventionists in the Soviet Far East amounted to a colossal amount of several tens of billions of rubles. This shameful action is now actually hushed up in Japan, the younger generation of Japanese, who continue to be frightened by the "Soviet threat", knows almost nothing about the Japanese intervention against Soviet Russia. References to it in Japanese textbooks are kept to a minimum.

Having intervened in Soviet Russia, Japan finally deprived itself of any moral right to refer to the treaties of 1855 and 1873, which it itself annulled.

Thus, we can conclude that Japan, as a result of the Russo-Japanese War, received the desired territories in the Far East. Japan achieved the predatory exclusion of a number of the Kuril Islands from Russia, despite previous peace treaties. But one can also say that the Treaty of Portsmouth was not entirely competent, because by attacking Russia, Japan violated the first paragraph of the Shimodsky Treaty of 1855 - "From now on, let there be permanent peace and sincere friendship between Russia and Japan." Also, the treaty of 1905 practically terminated the treaty of 1875, to which the Japanese are trying to refer. Because its meaning was that Japan was giving up Sakhalin in exchange for the Kuriles. The route of 1875 between Japan and Russia becomes, most likely, a historical monument, and not a document on which to rely. The next stage in Russo-Japanese relations will be World War II.

On February 11, 1945, the leaders of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain signed an agreement in Crimea that 2-3 months after the surrender of Germany and the end of the war in Europe, the USSR would enter the war against Japan on the side of the allies on the condition: “Restoration of the rights belonging to Russia, violated by the perfidious attack of Japan in 1904, namely the return of the southern part of Sakhalin Island and all the islands adjacent to it; transfer of the Kuril Islands” The heads of government of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain put their signatures under this agreement, in which they stated that the claims of the USSR should be satisfied.

At the time of taking office, Truman was informed about the secret work on the creation of the atomic bomb. Truman had no doubt that the entry of the Soviet Union into the war would finally convince Japan of the inevitability of its complete defeat, and then atomic weapons would not be needed. However, the idea of ​​removing the USSR from the post-war settlement in East Asia did not give him rest. Truman's well-known statement on this subject: "If the bomb goes off, which I think it will, I will certainly have a club for these guys."

On August 6 and 8, 1945, without any military necessity, the Americans dropped two atomic bombs on the peaceful, densely populated Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. However, this did not force Japan to capitulate. The Japanese government hid from the people the message about the use of the atomic bomb by the Americans and continued to prepare for a decisive battle on its territory. In strict accordance with the promises made in the Crimea, exactly three months after the surrender of Germany, the government of the USSR on August 8 declared war on Japan. On August 9, at an emergency meeting of the Supreme Council for the Direction of the War, Japanese Prime Minister Suzuki declared: the entry of the Soviet Union into the war this morning puts us completely in a hopeless situation and makes it impossible to continue the war.

On September 2, 1945, in Tokyo Bay, on board the American battleship Missouri, representatives of the allied nations, including Soviet Lieutenant General K.N. Derevyanko and representatives of Japan signed a historic pact on the unconditional surrender of Japan.

The US issues two official statements in August 1945: General Order No. 1 and US Initial Policy in Japan after Surrender. Japan was defined as consisting of the islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku, and those smaller individual islands as defined by the Cairo Declaration. With its declaration of intent, Washington openly introduced an ideological element into the US-Soviet struggle for influence in the postwar world.

The package of the peace treaty with Japan developed by the United States included a provision stating that Japan renounces all rights, titles and claims to the Kuril Islands and to that part of Sakhalin Island and the islands adjacent to it, sovereignty over which Japan acquired under the Treaty of Portsmouth. But this provision puts the question of South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands as if in limbo, since according to this treaty, Japan renounces South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, but at the same time does not recognize the sovereignty of the USSR over these territories. And this happened when South Sakhalin and all the Kuril Islands, in accordance with the Yalta Agreement, had already been officially included in the USSR.

Thus, the United States foresaw in the San Francisco Treaty the absence of a genuine peace settlement between Japan and the USSR, because such a settlement was supposed to include the final resolution of all problems, including territorial ones. On July 12, 1951, a joint American-British draft of a peace treaty with Japan was published.

The head of the Soviet delegation A.A. Gromyko, speaking on September 5, stressed that the American-British draft treaty is not satisfied by any state that, not in words but in deeds, stands for the establishment of a lasting peace. So Moscow refused to join the signing of the peace treaty.

Thus, agreements were worked out at the Yalta and Potsdam conferences, according to which the USSR pledged to go to war with Japan, subject to the return of its rights to the southern part of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. Fulfilling its allied duty, the USSR declares war on Japan. After the capitulation of Japan, the United States embarks on a path of fierce opposition to Soviet influence. Only in 1956, thanks to the political and social forces of Japan, diplomatic relations between the United States and Japan were restored.

As historians note, for the Soviet Union the “Kuril issue” was closed once and for all, as the head of the Soviet Foreign Ministry A.A. Gromyko. And only short-sightedness and lack of competence, and perhaps the desire to outplay diplomatically the Japanese of the last Soviet - Gorbachev - Shevardnadze and, especially, the first leaders of the Russian Federation - Yeltsin - Kozyrev, led to the fact that they again began to discuss it at the official level to the indescribable joy of the Japanese, Americans and all the open and hidden ill-wishers of our country inside it and abroad.

Thus, we can conclude that in the 50s of the XX century, another stage in the history of the Kuril Islands passed. In 1956, N.S. Khrushchev signed the Moscow Declaration. Her attitude is ambivalent. On the one hand, the state of war was ended and an attempt was made to establish diplomatic and consular relations with Japan. On the other hand, the USSR announced its agreement to transfer the islands of Hamboy and Sikotan to Japan, but after the conclusion of a peace treaty. But the Japanese violated the terms of the declaration and entered into an agreement on military cooperation with the United States, which secured the presence of American armed forces in Japan. For all the short-sightedness of Khrushchev's statements, it was about "transfer" and not "return", that is, readiness to dispose of his territory as an act of goodwill, which does not create a precedent for revising the results of the war. This declaration has become a "stumbling block" in our relations with the Japanese today.

In Japan, these territories are simply called "Northern Territories", making it clear that they belong to Japan and there is nothing to argue about.

What arguments does Japan put forward? The position of Japan is based, first of all, on the assertion that historically the four islands of Urup, Iturup, Habomai and Shikotan are primordially Japanese land and remain so, despite their occupation by the USSR in 1945. At the same time, they refer to the Synod Treaty of 1855, according to which the Russian-Japanese border in the area of ​​the Kuril Islands was established between the island of Urup and Iturup, and Iturup and the islands to the south of it were recognized as the possessions of Japan, and Urup and the islands to the north - Russia.

In international legal terms, the position of Japan is based on a legalistic argument, namely, these 4 islands are not part of the Kuril Islands, but a continuation of Hokkaido. Consequently, Japan declares, signing the peace treaty, she did not renounce these islands. Thus, Japan bases its claims on the assertion that the islands are not part of the Kuriles. If we turn to the history of the signing of the San Francisco Treaty between Japan and the United States, we will see that the American draft peace treaty left the territorial issue open, because there was no precise definition of the boundaries of the Kuril Islands.

The territorial issue was officially announced on October 19, 1951. Kumao Nishimura, Head of the Treaty Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, at a meeting of the special committee on a peace treaty of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of Japan, clarified the concept of "Kuril Islands", stating: "I believe that the territorial limits of the Kuril Islands, which are referred to in the agreement, include both the Northern Kuriles and southern Kuril Islands

But even in Japan there are scientists who have an opinion that differs from the official point of view, for example, the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper published the opinion of professors S. Muroyama and H. Wada, who express doubts about the validity of the statement of the Japanese Foreign Ministry that the concept The "Kuril Islands", which Japan renounced under the San Francisco Peace Treaty, do not include the islands of Kunashir and Iturup, that the Japanese Foreign Ministry's reference to the Synod Treaty of 1885 in order to confirm the official position is untenable, because, as they believe, at that time during In all diplomatic documents, Kunashir and Iturup are included in the concepts of the Kuril Islands, and the Japanese Foreign Ministry referred to the Japanese text of the treatise, which is a translator's mistake.

Today, the media often hear allegations that the USSR allowed the forcible seizure of the islands belonging to Japan, and the question of their return is raised, and all kinds of historical evidence and sociological surveys are conducted in favor of this.

N.S. Khrushchev was one of the first to make such an assessment in his memoirs: “If we had previously given a correct assessment of the conditions that had developed after the defeat of Japanese militarism and would have signed a peace treaty developed by the American side without our participation, but taking into account our interests, we would immediately open an embassy. We were invited to sign a peace treaty with Japan, but we refused. An ambiguous situation has developed that continues to this day.

Thus, the position of our state, like that of Japan, is quite justified, but it must be remembered that the disputed territories belong to us. And the fate of these territories depends on the policy of our state.

http://archive.mid.ru//bl.nsf

Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus
educational institution
“Vitebsk State University named after P.M. Masherova"
History department
Department of General History and World Culture
Course work
The problem of belonging to the southern
Kuril Islands
Student 24 gr.
K.N. Lebedev
Supervisor:
Senior Lecturer
E.V. Gapionok

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 3
CHAPTER 1 BACKGROUND OF THE TERRITORIAL DISPUTES 5
CHAPTER 2 THE PROBLEM OF TERRITORIAL DIVISION IN THE PERIOD 1950s - 2000s. ten
CHAPTER 3 THE QUESTION OF DISPUTED TERRITORIES IN THE XXI CENTURY BASIC POSITIONS OF THE PARTIES. fifteen
CHAPTER 4 SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND MILITARY-STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOUTHERN KURIL ISLANDS. DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION WITH JAPAN
ISLANDS. 20
CONCLUSION 23
LIST OF USED SOURCES 25

INTRODUCTION

The global crisis at the beginning of the 21st century has exacerbated unresolved problems in international relations, one of which is the issue of "disputed territories" between Russia and Japan. This problem has existed for more than a dozen years and specifically concerns the ownership of the southern Kuril Islands. The unresolved issue of territorial delimitation hinders the development of bilateral relations across the entire spectrum of cooperation, from the economy to issues of cultural ties, which is also manifested in relations within the G8, one of the most authoritative organizations of our time, in which both states are members. Until recently, the diplomatic conflict risked moving into a more acute phase, and this attracted the attention of the entire world community, since the Russian Federation and Japan are key states not only in Asia, but also in the world. The tragic events of March 2011, associated with the strongest earthquake and tsunami in the history of Japan, as well as the subsequent accident at the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant, stopped the growth of tension between the states, however, made the urgency of the "territorial issue" more than ever.
During the period of its existence, this problem has gone through the following stages: 1) discovery, first development, original ownership of free territories (from the end of the 17th century to the middle of the 19th century); 2) search for mutually acceptable solutions through the negotiation process with the conclusion of agreements without the direct use of military force (1855 - early twentieth century); 3) settlement of territorial disputes with the help of military force (1904-1945); 4) search for a compromise on the issue of territorial delimitation.
Kuril Islands - islands in the Pacific Ocean from the south of Kamchatka to about. Hokkaido (Japan). The Great Kuril Ridge is about
30 islands, including the largest Paramushir, Onekotan, Simushir, Urup, Iturup, Kunashir. The Lesser Kuril Ridge lies southeast of about. Kunashir. In its composition, Fr. Shikotan and a group of small islands - Shards, Mayachny, Polonsky, Zeleny, Antsiferova and others - called by the Japanese by the common word Habomai. Administratively, the Kuril Islands are part of the Sakhalin Region. RF. Before the arrival of the Russians and the Japanese, the islands were inhabited by the Ainu. It is believed that the name of the archipelago came from their self-name "kuru" ("man"). According to another version, the name goes back to the Russian “to smoke”, that is, to smoke - there are about 160 volcanoes on the islands, including 39 active ones. To date, four southern islands are “disputed”: Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and the Habomai group of islands. In Japanese interpretation - "northern territories".
The aim of the work is to consider the history of the problem of belonging to the southern Kuril Islands, based on these sources and views on their significance in the studies of historians.
To achieve the set goal, the following tasks were set before the work:

Consider the history of the territorial dispute. This includes the period from the XVII - p.p. XX centuries, including the history of the development and subsequent division of the islands between Japan and Russia (in the XX century - the USSR).
To study the dynamics of the problem of territorial delimitation in the period ser. 1950s - 2000s; trace changes in the positions of the parties and the factors that influenced these changes.
To study the state of the issue of disputed territories that has developed in the 21st century. Show the basic positions of the parties on this issue.
Consider the socio-economic and military-strategic development of the southern Kuril Islands. Show the problems of cooperation with Japan in the development and use of the economic potential of the islands.

When writing the work, mainly documentary sources were used. In addition, the materials of information resources of the state bodies of the Russian Federation and Japan were widely used: the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, the website of the Japanese Embassy in Russia, the website of the President of the Russian Federation, and the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Also, materials of periodicals and monographic studies of Russian and Japanese authors were taken to describe the issue.

CHAPTER 1
BACKGROUND
TERRITORIAL DISPUTES

A description of the history of the conflict should begin with the first mention of the islands. The Japanese, during an expedition to Hokkaido in 1635, received information about the Kuriles inhabited by the Ainu, but they did not reach the islands themselves. In 1643, the Kuril Islands were surveyed by the Dutch expedition of Maarten Gerritsen de Vries, who compiled the first detailed map of the Small Ridge. Not finding the "Golden Lands" here, Fries sold the map of the Empire of Japan. Based on the data of Dutch researchers, a map was compiled, where the islands were designated under the collective name "Thousand Islands". In 1644, a map was published in the Empire of Japan with the toponyms "Kunashiri", "Etorofu", confirming that the Japanese set foot on the land of the Kuril Islands in this very year, the map is stored in the National Museum of Japanese History.

Map of Japan of the Shoho era in 1644. The Kuril Islands are not shown as a ridge, but are interconnected into one whole.
The first information about the islands was brought to Russia by Ivan Yuryevich Moskvitin, a explorer, the first European to reach the shores of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, the ataman of foot Cossacks. In his notes, he mentioned the "bearded" Ainu who inhabited these territories. Moskvitin's campaigns opened the way to the Far East for subsequent Russian explorers. One of the outstanding pioneers is Atlasov Vladimir Vladimirovich (c. 1652 - 1711). In his "Tales" you can also find information about the Kuriles. He explored the islands up to Simushir in the south. Further expeditions (I. Kozyrevsky in 1711, I. Evreinov and F. Luzhin in 1719, M. Spanberg in 1738–39) contributed to the systematic development of the territory.
By 1779, a significant part of the indigenous population of the Kurils, as well as Fr. Matsumai (now Hokkaido) took Russian citizenship and were exempted from all taxes by decree of Catherine II. In the "Extensive land description of the Russian state ..." in 1787, the Kuril Islands were included in the list of territories belonging to Russia, up to about. Hokkaido, whose status has not been determined, since Japan had a city in its southern part. However, the Russian government did not have real control over these territories, the Japanese were actively developing their presence on the islands.
From the instructions of the Admiralty Board to the head of the first Russian round-the-world expedition, Captain 1st Rank G.I. Mulovsky about its tasks. (April 1787)
"12. When separating the captain himself, according to the above, to describe the Kuril Islands, instructing him to prescribe the following:
1) Go around by swimming and describe all the small and large Kuril Islands from Japan to Kamchatskaya Lopatka, most likely put them on the map and formally classify everything from Matmay to that Lopatka as the possession of the Russian state, placing or strengthening coats of arms and burying medals in decent places with an inscription on Russian and Latin, meaning his journey or acquisition ... ".
In 1799, four islands (Shikotan, Habomai, Iturup and Kunashir) came under the protectorate of Japan. “... Then the principality of Nambu founded outposts in Nemuro, on Kunashir and on Iturup, and the principality of Tsugaru - in Savara and Furuibetsu on Iturup, and both of them guarded the mentioned territories. In April of the 1st year of the Bunka era (1804), two principalities were ordered to carry guards in these places constantly ... ". Thus, the status of these lands as part of the Japanese Empire was secured by military method. .
On January 26 (February 7), 1855, Japan and Russia signed the first Russian-Japanese treaty - the Shimoda Treaty on Trade and Borders. He established the border of the countries between the Iturup and Urup islands: all the Southern Kuriles (Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai) retreated to Japan. “As for the island of Crafto [Sakhalin],” the document said, “it remains undivided between Russia and Japan, as it has been until now.” The treaty was of particular importance for the Russian Empire, given the difficult situation in international relations associated with the outbreak of the Crimean War, as well as the aggressive policy of the United States, England, France and Holland in relations with Japan.
On May 7, 1875, the Treaty of St. Petersburg was signed, according to which Russia transferred to Japan the rights to 18 Kuril Islands in exchange for the refusal of the Japanese side from Sakhalin. In 1895, the Petersburg Treaty was confirmed, but since. both treaties (1855 and 1875) obligated countries to develop peaceful, good-neighbourly relations, they became invalid after Japan attacked Russia in 1904.
The history of relations between Russia and Japan in the twentieth century. It is, first of all, a history of conflicts. The first half of the last century was the years of political enmity: the Russo-Japanese war (1904-1905), Japanese intervention in Siberia to the Far East (1918-1922), armed clashes, military conflicts and local wars in the area of ​​Lake Khasan ( 1938), the Khalkhin Gol River (1939), many border conflicts and finally the Soviet-Japanese War (1945).
In 1905, as a result of the Russo-Japanese War, the Treaty of Portsmouth was signed. From the Peace Treaty between Russia and Japan of August 23 (September 5), 1905:
"Article IX
The Russian Imperial Government cedes to the Imperial Japanese Government in perpetual and complete possession the southern part of Sakhalin Island and all the islands adjacent to it, as well as all public buildings and imuments located there. The fiftieth parallel of northern latitude is taken as the limit of the ceded territory.
That is, a new border was established, along which the southern part of about. Sakhalin, as well as all the Kuril Islands, were recognized as territories of Japan.

Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands on a 1912 map.
On January 20, 1925, the Beijing Treaty was signed by the governments of the USSR and Japan. Diplomatic relations were established between the countries. "The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics agrees that the treaty concluded at Portsmouth on 5 September 1905 remains in full force", but refuses to acknowledge "political responsibility" for this treaty.
On April 13, 1941, the Neutrality Pact was signed between the USSR and Japan. On June 22, 1945, Germany attacked the Soviet Union, but despite the allied relations between the Reich and the Japanese Empire, the latter did not renounce the Neutrality Pact and did not declare war on the USSR.
On February 11, 1945, at the Yalta Conference, the leaders of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain came to an agreement that after the surrender of Germany and the end of the war in Europe, the USSR would enter the war against Japan on the side of the allies, including under such conditions as:
"2. Restoration of the rights belonging to Russia, violated by the perfidious attack of Japan, in 1904, namely: a) the return of the southern part of the island to the Soviet Union. Sakhalin and all adjacent islands ... 3. Transfer of the Kuril Islands to the Soviet Union. On April 5, 1945, the Government of the USSR issued a Statement on the denunciation of the Neutrality Pact, concluded on April 13, 1941. The reason for the denunciation was the following: “Germany attacked the USSR, and Japan, an ally of Germany, is helping the latter in its war against the USSR. In addition, Japan is at war with the United States and England, which are allies of the Soviet Union. .
On July 26, 1945, as part of the Potsdam Conference, the leaders of the United States, Great Britain and China adopted the Potsdam Declaration, which demanded the unconditional surrender of Japan and determined that “Japanese sovereignty will be limited to the islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku and those smaller islands that the Allies indicate ". On August 8, the USSR joined the Declaration and declared war on Japan.
The southern Kuriles were occupied by Soviet troops in August-September during the Kuril landing operation, which was finally completed on September 5, 1945, after the signing of the Japanese Surrender Act on September 2. This fact today gives the Japanese the opportunity to talk about the "illegal occupation" of territories by Soviet troops, but only at an unofficial level.
On January 29, 1946, Memorandum No. 677 of the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Powers was issued to the Japanese Imperial Government, which proposed to wrest from Japan, among other things, the “Kuril (Chishima) Islands, the Habomai (Khabomadze) Islands Group, including the Sushio, Yuri , Akiyuri, Shibotsu and Taraku), as well as the island of Shikotan.
In accordance with the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of February 2, 1946, it was decided "to form the South Sakhalin Region on the territory of South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands with the center in the city of Toyohara with its inclusion in the Khabarovsk Territory of the RSFSR" . However, the main thing was not done - officially (at the international level) territorial relations with Japan were not formalized.
In September 1951, the San Francisco Conference was held, at which the United States and Great Britain proposed a draft peace treaty with Japan. Speaking at a conference on September 5, the head of the Soviet delegation, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR A. Gromyko, stated that the USSR considers the draft peace treaty unfair to the Soviet Union, since it is limited to mentioning Japan's renunciation of rights, titles and claims in the territory of southern Sakhalin and Kuril Islands, "silent about the historical belonging of these territories and the indisputable obligation of Japan to recognize the sovereignty of the Soviet Union in these territories of the USSR." Thus, Gromyko pointed out that the United States and Great Britain actually refused to fulfill the obligations assumed under the Yalta Agreement.
Since Soviet counter-proposals were blocked by the votes of numerous American allies, the USSR refused to sign a peace treaty with Japan on September 8 on the proposed terms. Japan, having accepted these conditions, with its signature officially recorded the rejection of the Kuril Islands.
Thus, one can notice a number of facts that made the conflict possible and which today can be interpreted by the disputing parties in different ways. Particular attention should be paid to the agreement of 1855 (the Shimoda Treaty), on the provisions of which Japan's basic position in the dispute is based. On the other hand, the San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1951 occupies an important place. In their views on these documents, the parties drastically diverge, putting one of them at the forefront and at the same time recognizing the second as inferior.

CHAPTER 2
THE PROBLEM OF TERRITORIAL DIVISION IN THE PERIOD OF ser. 1950s - 2000s.

The San Francisco Peace Treaty recorded Japan's renunciation of sovereignty over the Kuril Islands, but did not define a new nationality over them. In addition, it did not provide a list of islands torn away from Japan. These factors, as well as the fact that the Soviet Union did not sign the treaty, created the ground for the emergence of a territorial dispute between Japan and the USSR.
Formally, both states continued to be at war. In an effort to resolve the situation, the USSR and Japan held separate negotiations, which took place with difficulties, interrupted and resumed, and took about a year and a half - from June 1955 to October 1956 - but did not lead to the conclusion of a peace treaty. The parties settled on an intermediate option - the Joint Declaration, which partly solved the problem of the fate of the two islands. From the Joint Declaration of the USSR and Japan of October 19
1956:
"nine. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Japan agreed to continue negotiations on the conclusion of a peace treaty after the restoration of normal diplomatic relations between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Japan.
At the same time, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, meeting the wishes of Japan and taking into account the interests of the Japanese state, agrees to the transfer of the Habomai Islands and the Shikotan Islands to Japan, however, that the actual transfer of these islands to Japan will be made after the conclusion of a peace treaty between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Japan ." .
At the same time, S. Matsumoto from the Japanese side and Deputy Foreign Minister A. Gromyko from the USSR exchanged letters expressing the consent of the parties after the restoration of diplomatic relations to continue negotiations on the conclusion of a peace treaty, including the territorial issue.
However, soon Washington intervened in relations between Moscow and Tokyo, not interested in normalizing them. US Secretary of State A. Dulles told his Japanese counterpart that if Japan renounces its claims to Kunashir and Iturup, the US will not liberate Okinawa and the entire Ryukyu archipelago, occupied as a result of World War II. This led to the fact that Japan began to openly demand the transfer of all four islands to it: Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and the Habomai Islands.
On January 19, 1960, Japan signed the "Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security Guarantees" with the United States, which regulated the presence of US troops in Japan. In response, the Soviet government stated that “... it cannot help the transfer of these islands to Japan to expand the territory used by foreign troops.<…>(And) only on the condition of the withdrawal of all foreign troops from the territory of Japan and the signing of a peace treaty between the USSR and Japan, the islands of Habomai and Shikotan will be transferred to Japan. The Japanese side responded to this statement that the Japanese-American treaty could not affect the agreements between the USSR and Japan established in 1956, since at that time foreign troops were already on the territory of Japan.
Despite the tough positions, the parties did not stop looking for ways to resolve the problem, which was reflected in the joint Japanese-Soviet statement of 1973, which expressed intentions to "continue negotiations on a peace treaty" .
Early 80s It was marked by a sharp deterioration in relations between the USSR and Japan, a close ally of the United States, which was associated with a new round of the Cold War and the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan. At the same time, the campaign "for the return of the northern territories" was intensified, within the framework of which in 1981 the "Northern Territories Day - February 7" was established (the day the Shimoda Treaty of 1855 was signed). Trips to inspect the "northern territories" by members of the cabinet of ministers and even by the Prime Minister of Japan became more frequent. On February 16, 1981, in a statement by the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the attention of the Japanese government was drawn to the fact that the campaign of territorial claims against the Soviet Union "has recently acquired a character bordering on hostility" and that such steps by the Japanese government "can only be qualified as deliberately aimed at worsening Soviet-Japanese relations".
The position of the USSR at that time was that there was no "unresolved territorial problem" in Soviet-Japanese relations. Tokyo's minimum task was to induce the Soviet leadership to recognize the existence of the territorial issue and go to discuss it. To this end, Japan declared the principle of "inseparability of politics and economics", according to which the development of Japanese-Soviet economic relations was made directly dependent on the resolution of the territorial issue. This led to a stagnation in economic cooperation between states.
To reduce the level of tension in the Far East, Moscow decided to resume direct dialogue with Japan. In 1986, the new Foreign Minister E. Shevardnadze paid an official visit to Tokyo. However, at that time, the Japanese direction in M. Gorbachev's policy had not yet departed from the principles of previous years. Thus, receiving the Japanese delegation, Shevardnadze stated: “As for the so-called “territorial issue”, the Soviet side considers this issue resolved on the appropriate historical and international legal basis.” .
But already in 1989-1990, when the economic situation in the USSR deteriorated sharply, the idea of ​​receiving material compensation from Japan for the transfer of the islands spread in government circles. However, she immediately met with stiff resistance among the deputies of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Gorbachev "disowned" the idea of ​​selling the islands, but at the same time expressed his readiness to discuss the whole range of issues, including the peace treaty and, in its context, the issue of the border.

Disputed Islands with Russian and Japanese Names.
M. Gorbachev was the first in post-war history to recognize the existence of a "territorial issue" with Japan and expressed his readiness to discuss it at official negotiations. The joint statement following his visit to Japan included a clause stating that the parties "carried out thorough and in-depth negotiations on the entire range of issues related to the development and conclusion of a peace treaty between the USSR and Japan, including the problem of territorial demarcation, taking into account the positions of the parties on ownership Habomai Islands, Shikotan Islands, Kunashir Islands and Iturup Islands. As an achievement, the promise of the President of the USSR to establish a visa-free regime for visiting the four South Kuril Islands by Japanese citizens was perceived in Tokyo, as well as to reduce the number of Soviet military contingents stationed on these islands.
One of the reasons why Gorbachev could not make the deal "Kurils for loans" was the position of B. Yeltsin. The latter sought to seize the initiative in negotiations with the Japanese government. In general, the plans of Yeltsin and his team and the plans of Gorbachev's team boiled down to one thing - to turn the South Kuriles into an object of bargaining with Japan. The only difference was that Gorbachev sought to receive Japanese assistance as soon as possible to save "perestroika", while Yeltsin persuaded the Japanese, providing financial support to Russia, to wait with receiving the islands. This was precisely what the so-called "Yeltsin's five-stage plan" was aimed at, according to which the territorial dispute was to be resolved in favor of Japan after 15-20 years.
The meaning of Yeltsin's plan boiled down to the following. At the first stage, it was supposed to move away from the position taken by the USSR and recognize the existence of a dispute between countries. This was supposed to contribute to the establishment of the corresponding public opinion in the USSR. Then - in 3-5 years (the second stage) it was supposed to declare the islands free for Japanese business. The third stage is the demilitarization of the islands in 5-7 years. At the fourth stage, the parties must sign a peace treaty. At the same time, the following options for resolving the territorial dispute were proposed: 1. The islands will be under the common protectorate of the two countries; 2. Islands are given the status of free territories; 3. Transfer of the islands to Japan.
After the collapse of the USSR, the Russian government began to lean towards the early conclusion of a peace treaty in order to receive material assistance. However, the protest movement unfolding at that time in Russia against the transfer of the islands forced Yeltsin to change his plan of action. Therefore, his visit to Japan in the fall of 1993 did not bring radical decisions on the issue of the South Kuriles. The "Tokyo Declaration" spoke only of the recognition by the Russian government of the existence of the "territorial problem" and declared the intention of the parties to seek ways to solve it. Despite the insistence of the Japanese side, the text of the document did not include confirmation of the validity of the clause of the Soviet-Japanese joint declaration, which spoke of the possibility of transferring the two islands to Japan after the signing of the peace treaty. Thus, the position of the Russian government in the Japanese direction was inconsistent.
In November 1997, a high-level meeting was held in Krasnoyarsk between the Prime Minister of Japan R. Hashimoto and the President of the Russian Federation B.N. Yeltsin. An agreement was reached that, "based on the Tokyo Declaration, make every effort to conclude a peace treaty before the year 2000" (Krasnoyarsk agreement). At a summit meeting in Kavanagh (April 1998), Japanese Prime Minister R. Hashimoto put forward the so-called "Kavana proposal" aimed at resolving the issue of ownership of the four islands, the answer to which was the "Moscow proposal" put forward by the Russian side during a visit to Russia by Prime Minister K. Obuchi (November 1998). However, the positions of the parties did not coincide, which did not allow the implementation of the Krasnoyarsk agreement on the conclusion of a peace treaty until 2000.
In September 1999, the earlier decision on the maximum ease of visiting the islands of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai by Japanese citizens from among their former residents and members of their families came into force.
Thus, having considered the dynamics of Soviet-Japanese (later - Russian-Japanese) relations in the second half of the twentieth century, we can conclude the following. The lack of clear, consistent and coordinated positions of the parties on the issue of territorial demarcation, the dependence of government policy on public sentiment in such a sensitive issue, as well as interference in bilateral relations by third countries, led to a delay in resolving the problem and deepening contradictions between the parties. However, despite numerous problems, positive developments in the issue of conflict settlement can be noted. Such as the official recognition by the Russian leadership of the existence of a “territorial dispute”, the adoption of joint declarations stipulating the intentions of the parties to negotiate to resolve the issue, the establishment of a visa-free regime for visiting the islands by former residents, as well as members of their families.

CHAPTER 3
THE QUESTION OF DISPUTED TERRITORIES IN THE XXI CENTURY
BASIC POSITIONS OF THE PARTIES.

New hopes for a quick solution to the "territorial issue" appeared in Japan after the arrival of the new Russian President V. Putin. Following a working meeting between Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister of Japan Y. Mori in Irkutsk on March 25, 2001, the Irkutsk Statement of the President of Russia and the Prime Minister of Japan was signed on the further continuation of negotiations on the problem of a peace treaty, which expressed mutual intention to intensify the negotiation process based on the documents adopted so far, including the Joint Declaration of the USSR and Japan in 1956 .
A new version of the "compromise" was proposed by Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori in Irkutsk. He also divided the entire process of transferring the islands into two periods, but according to a slightly different principle than in the “Yeltsin plan”. First - the conclusion of an agreement on the transfer of Shikotan and Habomai and the signing of a peace treaty between Japan and Russia, and then - negotiations on the other two islands. This would mean the actual recognition by Russia of Japanese sovereignty over all the islands, which immediately caused controversy in the media. In Japan, this option also did not suit many, since it did not involve the simultaneous transfer of all four islands. In addition, it was not clear whether the Russian side accepted the offer. But soon the situation was clarified by the harsh statement of the new Prime Minister of Japan, Junichiro Koizumi, who demanded that Russia transfer all four "disputed islands", and even before the conclusion of a peace treaty.
On November 14, 2004, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, on the eve of the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Japan, stated that Russia, as the successor state of the USSR, recognizes the 1956 Declaration as existing and is ready to conduct territorial negotiations with Japan on its basis. This formulation of the question caused a lively discussion among Russian politicians. Vladimir Putin supported the Foreign Ministry's position, stipulating that Russia "will fulfill all its obligations" only "to the extent that our partners are ready to fulfill these agreements." Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said in response that Japan was not satisfied with the transfer of only two islands: "If the ownership of all the islands is not determined, the peace treaty will not be signed." At the same time, the Japanese prime minister promised to show flexibility in determining the timing of the transfer of the islands.
In 2009-2010, the Japanese government repeatedly made harsh statements about the issue of the "northern territories", which subsequently led to an aggravation of relations between states. So on May 21, 2009, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, during a meeting of the upper house of parliament, called the southern Kuriles "illegally occupied territories" and said that he was waiting for proposals from Russia on approaches to solving this problem. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko commented on this statement as "illegal" and "politically incorrect." June 11, 2009. The lower house of the Japanese parliament approved amendments to the law "On special measures to assist in resolving the issue of the Northern Territories and similar ones", which contain a provision on the ownership of four islands of the South Kuril ridge by Japan. The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement calling such actions by the Japanese side inappropriate and unacceptable. June 24, 2009 was published
etc.................

The issue of ownership of the Kuril Islands is as ancient as the Russian-Japanese relations themselves, however, despite its age, it still remains relevant. "First Unofficial" figured out how the Kuril issue developed throughout its history.

The problem of ownership of the Kuril Islands is no less than 230 years old. During this time, the disputed territories were part of both states claiming them, for some time they were jointly owned. At the moment, the situation is as follows: the entire Kuril ridge is part of Russia, but the Japanese side does not agree with this state of affairs.

The Kuril Islands are valuable primarily for the minerals that are hidden in their bowels. There are deposits of rare earth metals, which are practically indispensable in the chemical, nuclear, steel and oil industries, mechanical engineering and radio electronics, as well as in the production of explosives. For example, in the Kuril Islands there is a rich deposit of rhenium - an extremely refractory metal and resistant to chemical reagents. Rhenium is used in the manufacture of high-octane commercial gasoline, self-cleaning electrical contacts, and jet engines. Being part of the alloy, rhenium enhances the strength of the part, so its use is necessary in the manufacture of everything that should be heavy-duty: space satellites, rockets, aircraft. The total resources of gold in the Kuril Islands are estimated at 1867 tons, silver - 9284 tons, titanium - 39.7 million tons, iron - 273 million tons.

In the waters surrounding the Kuril Islands, there are a large number of commercial fish, crabs, mollusks and squids, which form the basis of the Japanese diet.

For Russia, the geopolitical significance of the South Kuril Islands is especially important as control points for the situation in the Pacific Ocean. The ice-free straits between the islands of the southern ridge are very valuable to our fleet.

A long time ago

In 1707, together with the announcement of the annexation of Kamchatka to Russia, Peter the Great issued a decree on surveying the surrounding areas - the Kuril Islands and Japan. On August 1, 1711, Danila Antsiferov and Ivan Kozyrevsky, with a detachment of 50 Cossacks and one Japanese guide, who had once suffered a shipwreck, left Bolsheretsk and headed for the Kuril Islands. They explored the island of Shumshu and Paramushir. In 1713 and 1721 two more expeditions took place. In total, five islands of the Kuril chain were surveyed. Then, after the death of Peter, members of the Bering expedition made a topographic survey of the Kuril Islands and the northern coast of Japan, the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and Kamchatka.

For some time, the Russians and the Japanese managed to ignore each other's presence on the islands: Russian and Japanese merchants "entered" the future disputed territory from different ends and established trade contacts with the local population - the Ainu.

On May 4, 1786, Tokunai (a representative of the Japanese principality of Matsumae), having arrived in the Kuriles, met with the Russian expedition and asked who they were and where they came from. One of the Russians, whose surname in Japanese sources is rendered as "Ijuyo" (which most likely corresponds to the Russian surname "Ezhov" written in katakana), replied that he and 60 other people arrived on Urup Island to fish and hunt. Tokunai then asked if the Russians were aware that the Japanese government banned foreigners from entering the country. Ijuyo answered him: “We know. However, this is not Japan. There are no Japanese government bodies on Iturup or Urup.”

In 1798, a Japanese expedition set up pillars with the inscription "the possession of great Japan" on Iturup, overturning the Russian border pillars already standing there. In 1800, a government official Kondo arrived at Iturup and established a kind of Japanese prefecture there. Since the Russians preferred to make Urup their campsite, the strait between the two islands became a kind of dividing line between the two states. But in 1807, the Russians also left Urup, and since then the Japanese garrison, consisting of 30 Japanese soldiers, has constantly been on the island.

For some time, the Kuril issue lost its relevance: the Russian Empire was busy with events in Europe. Negotiations resumed only in 1855 with the conclusion of the first official diplomatic agreement between Russia and Japan - the Shimoda Treaty. The second article of the agreement stated that “from now on, the borders between Russia and Japan will pass between the islands of Urup and Iturup. The whole island of Iturup belongs to Japan, and the island of Urup and the rest of the Kuril Islands to the north are the possession of Russia. Sakhalin remained jointly owned by the two countries.

The problem of post-war settlement

On February 11, 1945, the USSR, the USA and Great Britain signed an agreement under which the USSR undertook, after the surrender of Germany, to enter the war with Japan on the side of the allies already at war with her. Stalin agreed to wage war with Japan only on condition that all Russian losses in the Portsmouth peace be compensated. The return of the southern part of Sakhalin Island to the Soviet Union and the transfer of the Kuril Islands were stipulated.

On July 26, 1945, China, the United States, and Great Britain adopted the Potsdam Declaration outlining the terms of Japan's surrender. One of its conditions was the implementation of the Cairo Declaration of December 3, 1943, which provided for the limitation of Japanese sovereignty to the islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku.

In its act of surrender on September 2, 1945, Japan unconditionally recognized the Potsdam Declaration and the Cairo Declaration mentioned therein. It would seem that the solution to the issue has been found and there is nothing more to argue about.

However, during the preparation of the peace treaty with Japan, relations between the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition cooled, and at the insistence of the United States, the text of the San Francisco peace treaty was as general as possible and contained very little specifics. For example, Japan had to renounce all rights to the Kuril Islands, but under whose jurisdiction they should go, the contract was not spelled out.

In 1956, the USSR and Japan again found themselves at the negotiating table, which resulted in the Soviet-Japanese Declaration of October 19, 1956, according to which the state of war ended between the two states (more than 10 years after the end of hostilities!) And good neighborly relations were established. The USSR, demonstrating its desire to improve relations with its eastern neighbor as soon as possible, offered Japan two of the disputed four islands - Shikotan and Habomai. Unfortunately, the signing of the peace agreement did not take place: one of the conditions for the transfer of the islands was the withdrawal of all foreign troops from the territory of the Japanese state. However, the American military base is still located on about. Okinawa is not going to move yet.

The current state of affairs

Since 1956, there has been no significant progress in resolving the Kuril issue. Russia and Japan periodically hold bilateral meetings at different levels, during which they decide to "continue to negotiate." For Russia, at the moment, the concept of 1956 is working - the transfer of two islands in exchange for reciprocal concessions. Not so long ago, a representative of the Japanese government spoke about the potential possibility of the Japanese side agreeing to such a scenario, but no official statements were made. Moreover, Japan's main line on the issue of the Kuril Islands remains very rigid: the islands of the South Kuril chain are considered "illegally occupied" and must be returned to Japan as its "original territories."

Most likely, in the next few years the problem of belonging to the Kuril Islands will not be resolved. The outcome of negotiations on this issue will depend on the geopolitical situation in the Far East region. It is likely that the emergence of a new strong player will force the parties to unite and come to a common denominator as soon as possible.

In preparing this article, materials from the following monographs were used:

1. Nakamura Shintaro Japanese and Russians. From the history of contacts. M. 1983
2. Ponomarev S.I. Starting point - 1945// Collection of documents for parliamentary hearings on the issue of "Soviet-Japanese Declaration of 1956 and the problems of national security of the Russian Federation". Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. 2001
3. Territorial issue in the Afro-Asian world. / Ed. D.V. Streltsov. M. 2013 (Chapter 1, 1.2)

Since 1945, the authorities of Russia and Japan have not been able to sign a peace treaty because of a dispute over the ownership of the southern part of the Kuril Islands.

The Northern Territories Issue (北方領土問題 Hoppo: ryō:do mondai) is a territorial dispute between Japan and Russia that Japan considers unresolved since the end of World War II. After the war, all the Kuril Islands came under the administrative control of the USSR, but a number of the southern islands - Iturup, Kunashir and the Lesser Kuril Ridge - are disputed by Japan.

In Russia, the disputed territories are part of the Kuril and Yuzhno-Kuril urban districts of the Sakhalin region. Japan lays claim to four islands in the southern part of the Kuril chain - Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai, referring to the bilateral Treatise on Trade and Borders of 1855. Moscow's position is that the southern Kuriles became part of the USSR (of which Russia became the successor) according to the results of the Second World War, and Russian sovereignty over them, which has the appropriate international legal design, is beyond doubt.

The problem of ownership of the southern Kuril Islands is the main obstacle to the complete settlement of Russian-Japanese relations.

Iturup(Jap. 択捉島 Etorofu) is an island of the southern group of the Great Ridge of the Kuril Islands, the largest island of the archipelago.

Kunashir(Ainu Black Island, Japanese 国後島 Kunashiri-to:) is the southernmost island of the Great Kuril Islands.

Shikotan(Jap. 色丹島 Sikotan-to: ?, in early sources Sikotan; name from the Ainu language: "shi" - large, significant; "kotan" - village, city) - the largest island of the Lesser Ridge of the Kuril Islands.

Habomai(Jap. 歯舞群島 Habomai-gunto ?, Suisho, “Flat Islands”) is the Japanese name for a group of islands in the northwest Pacific Ocean, together with Shikotan Island in Soviet and Russian cartography, considered as the Lesser Kuril Ridge. The Habomai group includes the islands of Polonsky, Oskolki, Zeleny, Tanfiliev, Yuri, Demin, Anuchin and a number of small ones. Separated by the Soviet Strait from the island of Hokkaido.

History of the Kuril Islands

17th century
Before the arrival of the Russians and the Japanese, the islands were inhabited by the Ainu. In their language, “kuru” meant “a person who came from nowhere,” from which their second name “smokers” came from, and then the name of the archipelago.

In Russia, the first mention of the Kuril Islands dates back to 1646, when N. I. Kolobov spoke about the bearded people inhabiting the islands Ainakh.

The Japanese first received information about the islands during an expedition [source not specified 238 days] to Hokkaido in 1635. It is not known whether she actually got to the Kuriles or learned about them indirectly, but in 1644 a map was drawn up on which they were designated under the collective name "thousand islands". Candidate of Geographical Sciences T. Adashova notes that the map of 1635 "is considered by many scientists to be very approximate and even incorrect." Then, in 1643, the islands were surveyed by the Dutch, led by Martin Fries. This expedition made more detailed maps and described the lands.

18th century
In 1711, Ivan Kozyrevsky went to the Kuriles. He visited only 2 northern islands: Shumshu and Paramushir, but he asked in detail the Ainu and Japanese who inhabited them and the Japanese brought there by a storm. In 1719, Peter I sent an expedition to Kamchatka led by Ivan Evreinov and Fyodor Luzhin, which reached Simushir Island in the south.

In 1738-1739, Martyn Spanberg walked along the entire ridge, putting the islands he met on the map. In the future, the Russians, avoiding dangerous voyages to the southern islands, mastered the northern ones, taxed the local population with yasak. From those who did not want to pay it and went to distant islands, they took amanats - hostages from among close relatives. But soon, in 1766, the centurion Ivan Cherny from Kamchatka was sent to the southern islands. He was ordered to attract the Ainu into citizenship without the use of violence and threats. However, he did not follow this decree, mocked them, poached. All this led to a rebellion of the indigenous population in 1771, during which many Russians were killed.

Great success was achieved by the Siberian nobleman Antipov with the Irkutsk translator Shabalin. They managed to win the favor of the Kuril people, and in 1778-1779 they managed to bring into citizenship more than 1500 people from Iturup, Kunashir and even Matsumaya (now Japanese Hokkaido). In the same 1779, Catherine II by decree freed those who accepted Russian citizenship from all taxes. But relations were not built with the Japanese: they forbade the Russians to go to these three islands.

In the "Extensive land description of the Russian state ..." of 1787, a list was given from the 21st island belonging to Russia. It included islands up to Matsumaya (Hokkaido), whose status was not clearly defined, since Japan had a city in its southern part. At the same time, the Russians had no real control even over the islands south of Urup. There, the Japanese considered the Kurilians their subjects, actively used violence against them, which caused discontent. In May 1788, a Japanese merchant ship that had come to Matsumai was attacked. In 1799, by order of the central government of Japan, two outposts were founded on Kunashir and Iturup, and guards began to be constantly guarded.

19th century
In 1805, a representative of the Russian-American Company, Nikolai Rezanov, who arrived in Nagasaki as the first Russian envoy, tried to resume negotiations on trade with Japan. But he also failed. However, the Japanese officials, who were not satisfied with the despotic policy of the supreme power, hinted to him that it would be nice to carry out a forceful action in these lands, which could push the situation off the ground. This was carried out on behalf of Rezanov in 1806-1807 by an expedition of two ships led by Lieutenant Khvostov and midshipman Davydov. Ships were plundered, a number of trading posts were destroyed, and a Japanese village was burned on Iturup. Later they were tried, but the attack for some time led to a serious deterioration in Russian-Japanese relations. In particular, this was the reason for the arrest of Vasily Golovnin's expedition.

In exchange for the right to own southern Sakhalin, Russia transferred to Japan in 1875 all the Kuril Islands.

20th century
After the defeat in 1905 in the Russo-Japanese War, Russia transferred the southern part of Sakhalin to Japan.
In February 1945, the Soviet Union promised the United States and Great Britain to start a war with Japan on the condition that Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands be returned to it.
February 2, 1946. Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on the inclusion of South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands in the RSFSR.
1947. Deportation of Japanese and Ainu from the islands to Japan. Displaced 17,000 Japanese and an unknown number of Ainu.
November 5, 1952. A powerful tsunami hit the entire coast of the Kuriles, Paramushir suffered the most. A giant wave washed away the city of Severo-Kurilsk (formerly Kasivabara). The press was forbidden to mention this catastrophe.
In 1956, the Soviet Union and Japan agreed to a Joint Treaty formally ending the war between the two states and ceding Habomai and Shikotan to Japan. Signing the treaty, however, failed: the United States threatened not to give Japan the island of Okinawa if Tokyo renounces its claims to Iturup and Kunashir.

Maps of the Kuril Islands

The Kuril Islands on an English map of 1893. Plans of the Kuril Islands, from sketches chiefly mand by Mr. H. J. Snow, 1893. (London, Royal Geographical Society, 1897, 54×74 cm)

Map fragment Japan and Korea - Location of Japan in the Western Pacific (1:30,000,000), 1945

Photomap of the Kuril Islands based on a NASA space image, April 2010.

List of all islands

View of Habomai from Hokkaido
Green Island (志発島 Shibotsu-to)
Polonsky Island (Jap. 多楽島 Taraku-to)
Tanfiliev Island (Jap. 水晶島 Suisho-jima)
Yuri Island (勇留島 Yuri-to)
Anuchina Island
Demina Islands (Japanese: 春苅島 Harukari-to)
Shard Islands
Kira Rock
Rock Cave (Kanakuso) - a rookery of sea lions on a rock.
Sail Rock (Hokoki)
Candle Rock (Rosoku)
Fox Islands (Todo)
Bump Islands (Kabuto)
Can Dangerous
Watchtower Island (Homosiri or Muika)

Drying Rock (Odoke)
Reef Island (Amagi-sho)
Signal Island (Jap. 貝殻島 Kaigara-jima)
Amazing Rock (Hanare)
Seagull rock