Will Putin give Japan the disputed islands? Kurile Islands. Dispute between Japan and Russia

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

Discovery of the islands

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

18th century

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

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

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

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

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

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

Space image of the Lesser Kuril Ridge

Agreements

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Further agreements

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

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

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

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

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

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

The strategic importance of the islands

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

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

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

On the question of Japan's claims to our Kuriles

Japanese politicians "push on the pedal" time after time, initiating conversations with Moscow on the subject that, they say, "it's time to return the Northern Territories to the Japanese masters."

We didn't react much to Tokyo's hysteria before, but now it seems we need to respond.

To begin with, a picture with text, which better than any analytical articles represents Japan's real position at the time when she was winner Russia. Now they are whining panhandling, but as soon as they feel their strength, they immediately begin to play "king of the hill":

Japan took away a hundred years ago our Russian lands- half of Sakhalin and all the Kuril Islands as a result of the defeat of Russia in the war of 1905. Since then, the famous song “On the Hills of Manchuria” has remained, which still in Russia reminds of the bitterness of that defeat.

However, times have changed, and Japan itself has become defeatist in World War II, which personally started against China, Korea and other Asian countries. And, overestimating its strength, Japan even attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor in December 1941 - after that, the United States entered the war against Japan and its ally Hitler. Yes Yes, Japan was an ally of Hitler but little is remembered about that today. Why? Who did not like History in the West?

As a result of its own military disaster, Japan signed in September 1945 the "Act on unconditional surrender"(!), where in text it is clearly stated that "We hereby pledge that the Japanese Government and its successors will faithfully fulfill the conditions" Potsdam Declaration". And in that Potsdam Declaration» clarified that « Japanese sovereignty will be limited to the islands Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku and themes smaller islands that we will indicate". And where are the "northern territories" that the Japanese demand "back" from Moscow? In general, what kind of territorial claims against Russia can be discussed in Japan, which deliberately went for aggression in alliance with Hitler?

– Having a purely negative attitude towards any transfer of any islands to Japan, it should still be fair to explain: the tactics of recent years, which is perfectly clear to professionals, are as follows - do not deny outright the promises of the previous authorities, speak only about the fidelity of the 1956 Declaration, that is only about Habomai and Shikotane, thus excluding from the problem Kunashir and Iturup, which appeared under pressure from Japan in the negotiations in the mid-90s, and, finally, to accompany the words about the "loyalty" of the Declaration with such wording that today does not strictly coincide with the position of Japan.

- 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 accordance with 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 itself, but also of the principle of the inviolability of these results.

- Satisfaction of Japanese claims to "return" the islands would mean a direct undermining of the principle of indisputability of the results of World War II and would open up the possibility of questioning other aspects of the territorial status quo.

– The “complete and unconditional surrender” of Japan is fundamentally different from a simple surrender in terms of legal, political and historical consequences. A simple "surrender" means an acknowledgment of defeat in hostilities and does not affect the international legal personality of the defeated power, no matter what losses it may suffer. Such a state retains its sovereignty and legal personality and itself, as a legal party, negotiates peace terms. “Complete and unconditional surrender” means the cessation of the existence of a subject of international relations, the dismantling of the former state as a political institution, the loss of sovereignty and all power powers that pass to the victorious powers, which themselves determine the conditions for peace and the post-war structure and settlement.

– In case of "total and unconditional surrender" with Japan, then Japan retained the former emperor, which is used to assert that Japan's legal personality was not interrupted. However, in reality, the source of the preservation of imperial power is different - it is the will and decision of the Winners.

- US Secretary of State J. Byrnes pointed out to V. Molotov: "Japan's position does not withstand criticism that it cannot consider itself bound by the Yalta agreements, since it was not a party to them." Today's Japan is a post-war state, and the settlement can proceed solely from the post-war international legal basis, especially since only this basis has legal force.

- In the "Soviet-Japanese Declaration of October 19, 1956", the readiness of the USSR to "transfer" the islands of Habomai and Shikotan to Japan was recorded, but only after the conclusion of the Peace Treaty. It's about not about "return", but about "transfer", that is, about the readiness to dispose of as act of goodwill its territory, which does not create a precedent for revising the results of the war.

- The United States exerted direct pressure on Japan during the Soviet-Japanese negotiations in 1956 and did not stop at ultimatum: The United States stated that if Japan signs a "Peace Treaty" with the USSR, in which it agrees to recognize South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands as part of the territory of the USSR, " The United States will keep the Ryukyu Islands in perpetuity."(Okinawa).

- The signing of the "Soviet-Japanese Declaration", according to the reckless plan of N. Khrushchev, was supposed to keep Japan from concluding a military cooperation treaty with the United States. However, such an agreement between Tokyo and Washington followed on January 19, 1960, and according to it perpetual stay of American armed forces on Japanese territory.

- On January 27, 1960, the Soviet government announced "a change in circumstances" and warned that "only subject to the withdrawal of all foreign troops from the territory of Japan and the signing of the Peace Treaty between the USSR and Japan, the islands of Habomai and Shikotan will be transferred to Japan".

These are the considerations about the Japanese "Wishlist".

Kuriles: not four bare islands

Recently, the "question" about the South Kuriles has been raised again. The media of disinformation are fulfilling the task of the current government - to inspire the people that we do not need these islands. The obvious is hushed up: after the transfer of the South Kuriles to Japan Russia will lose a third of the fish, our Pacific Fleet will be locked up and will not get free access to the Pacific Ocean, it will be necessary to revise the entire border system in the east of the country etc. As a geologist who has worked in the Far East, Sakhalin for 35 years and has been to the South Kuriles more than once, I am especially outraged by the lie about "four bare islands" supposedly representing the South Kuriles.

Let's start with the fact that the South Kuriles are not 4 islands. They include o. Kunashir, about. Iturup And all the islands of the Lesser Kuril Ridge. The latter includes Fr. Shikotan(182 sq. km), about. Green(69 sq. km), about. Polonsky(15 sq. km), about. Tanfiliev(8 sq. km), about. Yuri(7 sq. km), about. Anuchin(3 sq. km) and many smaller islands: about. Demina, about. shards, about. watchdog, about. Signal and others. Yes, to the island Shikotan usually includes islands Grieg And Aivazovsky. The total area of the islands of the Lesser Kuril Ridge is about 300 sq. km, and all the islands of the South Kuriles - over 8500 sq. km. The fact that the Japanese, and after them "our" democrats and some diplomats call the island habo mai, is about 20 islands.

The bowels of the South Kuriles contain a large complex of minerals. Its leading elements are gold and silver, the deposits of which have been explored on about. Kunashir. Here, at the Prasolovsky deposit, in some areas the content gold reaches a kilogram or more, silver– up to 5 kg per ton of rock. The predicted resources of the North Kunashir ore cluster alone are 475 tons of gold and 2160 tons of silver (these and many other figures are taken from the book "The Mineral Raw Material Base of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands at the Turn of the Third Millennium" published last year by the Sakhalin Book Publishing House). But, apart from Fr. Kunashir, other islands of the South Kuriles are also promising for gold and silver.

In the same Kunashir, polymetallic ores are known (Valentinovskoye deposit), in which the content zinc reaches 14%, copper - up to 4%, gold– up to 2 g/t, silver– up to 200 g/t, barium– up to 30%, strontium- until 3 %. Stocks zinc are 18 thousand tons, copper- 5 thousand tons. On the islands of Kunashir and Iturup there are several ilmenite-magnetite placers with a high content of gland(up to 53%), titanium(up to 8%) and increased concentrations vanadium. Such raw materials are suitable for the production of high-grade vanadium iron. In the late 60s, Japan offered to buy Kuril ilmenite-magnetite sands. Is it because of the high content of vanadium? But in those years, not everything was sold and bought, there were values more expensive than money, and transactions were by no means always accelerated by bribes.

Of particular note are the recently discovered rich accumulations of ore in the South Kuriles. rhenium, which goes to the details of supersonic aircraft and missiles, protects the metal from corrosion and wear. These ores are modern ejecta from volcanoes. The ore continues to accumulate. It is estimated that only one Kudryavy volcano on about. Iturup takes out 2.3 tons of rhenium per year. In places, the content of this valuable metal in the ore reaches 200 g/t. Will we give it to the Japanese too?

From non-metallic minerals, we single out deposits sulfur. Now this raw material is one of the scarcest in our country. Deposits of volcanic sulfur have long been known in the Kuriles. The Japanese developed it in many places. Soviet geologists explored and prepared for development a large sulfur deposit Novoye. Only on one of its sites - Western - industrial reserves of sulfur are more than 5 million tons. On the islands of Iturup and Kunashir there are many smaller deposits that can attract entrepreneurs. In addition, some geologists consider the region of the Lesser Kuril Ridge to be promising for oil and gas.

In the South Kuriles there are very scarce in the country and very valuable thermal mineral waters. The most famous of them are the "Hot Beach" springs, in which waters with a high content of silicic and boric acids have a temperature of up to 100 o C. There is a balneary. Similar waters - in the North Mendeleevsky and Chaikinsky sources on about. Kunashir, as well as in a number of places on about. Iturup.

And who hasn't heard about the thermal waters of the Southern Kuriles? In addition to being a tourism destination, this thermal power raw materials, the importance of which has recently been increasing due to the ongoing energy crisis in the Far East and the Kuril Islands. So far, a geothermal hydroelectric power station using underground heat is operating only in Kamchatka. But it is possible and necessary to develop high-potential coolants - volcanoes and their derivatives - on the Kuril Islands. To date, on about. Kunashir has explored the Hot Beach steam-hydrotherm deposit, which can provide the city of Yuzhno-Kurilsk with heat and hot water (partially, the steam-water mixture is used to heat the military unit and state farm greenhouses). On about. Iturup explored a similar field - Ocean.

It is also important that the South Kuril Islands is a unique testing ground for studying geological processes, volcanism, ore formation, studying giant waves (tsunamis), and seismicity. There is no second such scientific testing ground in Russia. And science, as you know, is a productive force, the fundamental basis for the development of any society.

And how can one call the South Kuriles "bare islands" if they are covered with almost subtropical vegetation, where there are many medicinal herbs and berries (aralia, lemongrass, redberry), the rivers are rich red fish(chum salmon, pink salmon, sima), fur seals, sea lions, seals, sea otters live on the coast, shallow water is dotted with crabs, shrimps, trepangs, scallops?

Isn't all of the above known in the government, in the embassy of the Russian Federation in Japan, "our" democrats? I think that the arguments about the possibility of transferring the South Kuriles to Japan - not from stupidity, but from meanness. Some figures like Zhirinovsky offer to sell our islands to Japan and name specific amounts. Russia sold Alaska on the cheap, also considering the peninsula "unnecessary land." And now the US gets a third of its oil from Alaska, more than half of its gold, and much more. So still sell cheap, gentlemen!

How Russia and Japan will divide the Kuriles. We answer eight naive questions about the disputed islands

Moscow and Tokyo, possibly as close as ever to the solution of the problem of the South Kuril Islands - this is the opinion of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. For his part, Vladimir Putin explained that Russia was ready to discuss this issue only on the basis of the Soviet-Japanese declaration of 1956 - according to it, the USSR agreed to transfer to Japan only two the smallest South Kuril Islands - Shikotan and coming Habomai. But left behind large and inhabited islands Iturup And Kunashir.

Will Russia agree to a treaty and where did the “Kuril issue” come from? Viktor Kuzminkov.

1. Why do the Japanese claim the Kuriles at all? After all, they abandoned them after the Second World War?

- Indeed, in 1951, the San Francisco Peace Treaty was concluded, where it was stated that Japan refuses from all claims to the Kuril Islands, - agrees Kuzminkov. - But a few years later, in order to get around this moment, the Japanese began to call four islands - Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai - northern territories and deny that they belong to the Kuril ridge (but, on the contrary, belong to the island of Hokkaido). Although on the pre-war Japanese maps they were designated precisely as the South Kuriles.

2. Still, how many disputed islands - two or four?

- Now Japan claims all four of the above islands - in 1855, the border between Russia and Japan passed through them. But immediately after the Second World War - both in San Francisco in 1951 and in 1956 at the signing of the Soviet-Japanese declaration - Japan disputed only Shikotan and Habomai. At that time, they recognized Iturup and Kunashir as the Southern Kuriles. It is about returning to the positions of the 1956 declaration that Putin and Abe are now talking about.

3. Is it true that Gorbachev promised to give the Kuriles to the Japanese?

“When Japan increased its demands from two to four islands in the 1960s, the USSR closed discussions on this issue,” recalled the Japanologist. - 30 years the head of the Soviet Foreign Ministry Gromyko said that we have no unresolved territorial issues with Japan. And if they want to discuss something, then let them first remove all American bases from their territory.

The position changed only under Gorbachev. New Foreign Minister Shevardnadze began to say that if Japan raises this issue, then, therefore, there is a problem. In 1991, Gorbachev was the first of the Soviet leaders to recognize the existence of a territorial dispute over the four islands, and in 1993 Yeltsin signed the Tokyo Declaration, according to which it was first necessary to resolve the "Kuril dispute" and only then sign a peace treaty. This was a concession to the position of Japan, since our position has always been - first a peace treaty, and then we discuss territorial issues.

4. What are the southern Kuriles rich in?

– Firstly, Iturup has the world's largest oil field rhenium(the rarest and most expensive metal used in rocket science and supersonic aviation. - "KP"). You need to extract it on a volcano, which is not easy, but with the task at hand, you can make good money on it.

Second, it's great fish fishing, which is now the basis of the economy of the Kurils.

Thirdly, these are outstanding natural beauty. There is no doubt that the Japanese, having received these islands, will make them a tourist mecca with thermal springs.

5. What is the role of the islands from a military point of view?

– Huge. Next to them are non-freezing deep-sea straits that connect the Sea of Okhotsk with the Pacific Ocean. And, by the way, they are suitable for the movement of submarines, - says Viktor Kuzminkov. – Moreover, if Shikotan and Habomai, which are located slightly away from the main ridge, do not greatly affect the borders, then the transfer of Iturup and Kunashir to Japan would deprive Russia of the most convenient exit from the Sea of Okhotsk to the Pacific Ocean. After all, the northern Kuril straits are too shallow and not suitable for the fleet.

In addition, according to the military, Japanese radar stations in the Kuril Islands would significantly increase their coverage compared to being located in Hokkaido.

6. Will Japan be able to place military bases in the Kuriles?

– Japanese newspapers are already reporting that Abe promised Putin not to let the US military into the Kuril Islands. But this just an attempt to calm the Russian side. In three years, Abe will leave, and a new prime minister will come, who will decide differently. We remember how the Americans' promise to Gorbachev not to deploy NATO in Eastern Europe turned out. Yes and with the Japanese there was already such a precedent: in the late 1950s, their prime minister Nobusuke Kishi (by the way, Shinzo Abe's grandfather) strengthened relations with the United States, although Khrushchev agreed with the previous head of government that this would not happen. So I would not take all the current promises of the Japanese seriously.

7. What will a peace treaty with Japan give us?

“We need to separate two things. Peace treaty and agreement on the demarcation of borders. In fact, neither we nor Japan need a peace treaty. According to the same declaration in 1956, Russia and Japan withdrew from the state of war. Japan needs a peace treaty only in order to solve territorial issues under its cover.

If we talk about benefits for Russia, then, in my opinion, there are none,” Viktor Kuzminkov believes. – Should we wait for the growth of trade or Japanese investments in Russia? A joint business should have an economic motivation, not a political one. And Japanese companies will come to Russia when the investment climate here improves.

Break the alliance between Japan and the United States? Unreal. America was, is and will be Japan's No. 1 power.

Moreover, Japan will never agree to the transfer of only two islands. Such an agreement would be political suicide for Shinzo Abe. They are ready only for the “2 + 2” scheme, that is, for the following sequence: the transfer of Shikotan and Habomai to Japan - the signing of a peace treaty - the continuation of negotiations on Iturup and Kunashir.

8. Are there alternative options? For example, joint activities in the southern Kuriles?

- Joint management in the Kuriles was discussed, but I believe that this is a stillborn project, - the expert commented. - Japan will demand for itself such preferences that will call into question the sovereignty of Russia in these territories.

Similarly, the Japanese are not ready to agree to the lease of the islands from Russia (such an idea was also voiced) - they consider the northern territories to be their ancestral land.

In my opinion, the only real option for today is the signing of a peace treaty, which means little to both countries. And the subsequent creation of a commission on the delimitation of borders, which will sit for at least 100 years, but will not come to any decision.

HELP "KP"

The total population of the South Kuril Islands is about 17 thousand people.

Island group Habomai(more than 10 islands) - uninhabited.

On the island Shikotan– 2 settlements: Malokurilskoye and Krabozavodskoye. There is a cannery. In the Soviet years, it was one of the largest in the USSR. But now little is left of its former power.

On the island Iturup- the city of Kurilsk (1600 people) and 7 settlements. In 2014, the Iturup International Airport was opened here.

On the island Kunashir- Yuzhno-Kurilsk settlement (7700 people) and 6 smaller settlements. Here is a geothermal power plant and more than a hundred military facilities.

Pavel Shipilin. Kuril Islands - Japanese national idea

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23 , 14:08

The Kuril landing operation of the Red Army in the Kuriles entered the history of operational art. It was studied in many armies of the world, but almost all experts came to the conclusion that the Soviet landing forces had no prerequisites for an early victory. Success was ensured by the courage and heroism of the Soviet soldier. American failure in the Kuril Islands

On April 1, 1945, American troops, supported by the British Navy, landed on the Japanese island of Okinawa. The US command expected to seize a bridgehead for the landing of troops on the main islands of the empire with one lightning strike. But the operation lasted almost three months, and the losses among American soldiers turned out to be unexpectedly high - up to 40% of the personnel. The resources spent were incommensurable with the result and forced the US government to think about the Japanese problem. The war could last for years, and cost the lives of millions of American and British soldiers. The Japanese were convinced that they would be able to resist for a long time and even put forward conditions for the conclusion of peace.

The Americans and the British were waiting for what the Soviet Union would do, which, at the Allied conference in Yalta, had committed itself to open hostilities against Japan.

The Western allies of the USSR had no doubt that the same long and bloody battles awaited the Red Army in Japan as in the West. But the commander-in-chief of the troops in the Far East, Marshal of the Soviet Union Alexander Vasilevsky did not share their opinion. On August 9, 1945, the Red Army went on the offensive in Manchuria and inflicted a crushing defeat on the enemy in just a few days.

On August 15, Emperor Hirohito of Japan was forced to announce his surrender. On the same day, American President Harry Truman drew up a detailed plan for the surrender of Japanese troops, and sent it for approval to the allies - the USSR and Great Britain. Stalin immediately drew attention to an important detail: the text did not say that the Japanese garrisons on the Kuril Islands should capitulate to the Soviet troops, although until recently the American government agreed that this archipelago should pass to the USSR. Considering that the rest of the points were spelled out in detail, it became clear that this was not an accidental mistake - the United States was trying to put the post-war status of the Kuriles in question.

Stalin demanded that the US President make an amendment, and drew attention to the fact that the Red Army intended to occupy not only all the Kuril Islands, but also part of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. It was impossible to rely only on Truman's good will; the troops of the Kamchatka defensive region and the Petropavlovsk naval base were ordered to land troops on the Kuril Islands.

Why countries fought for the Kuril Islands

From Kamchatka, in good weather, one could see Shumshu Island, which was only 12 kilometers from the Kamchatka Peninsula. This is the extreme island of the Kuril archipelago - a ridge of 59 islands, 1200 kilometers long. On the maps, they were designated as the territory of the Japanese Empire.

The development of the Kuril Islands by Russian Cossacks began in 1711. At that time, the belonging of this territory to Russia did not raise doubts among the international community. But in 1875, Alexander II decided to consolidate peace in the Far East and handed over the Kuriles to Japan in exchange for her refusal to claim Sakhalin. These peace-loving efforts of the emperor were in vain. After 30 years, the Russo-Japanese War nevertheless began, and the agreement became invalid. Then Russia lost and was forced to recognize the conquest of the enemy. Japan left not only the Kuriles, but it also received the southern part of Sakhalin.

The Kuril Islands are unsuitable for economic activity, so for many centuries they were considered practically uninhabited. There were only a few thousand inhabitants, mostly representatives of the Ainu. Fishing, hunting, subsistence farming - these are all sources of livelihood.

The beginning of the Kuril landing operation

At the Yalta Conference in 1945, the Allies decided to take Korea under joint guardianship, and recognized the right of the USSR to the Kuril Islands. The United States even offered assistance in taking possession of the archipelago. As part of the secret Hula Project, the Pacific Fleet received American landing craft.

On April 12, 1945, Roosevelt died, and the attitude towards the Soviet Union changed, as the new President Harry Truman was wary of the USSR. The new American government did not deny possible military operations in the Far East, and the Kuril Islands would become a convenient springboard for military bases. Truman sought to prevent the transfer of the archipelago to the USSR.

Due to the tense international situation, Alexander Vasilevsky (commander-in-chief of the Soviet troops in the Far East) received an order: “using the favorable situation that developed during the offensive in Manchuria and Sakhalin Island, take the northern group of the Kuril Islands. Vasilevsky did not know that such a decision was made due to the deterioration of relations between the US and the USSR. It was ordered to form a battalion of marines within 24 hours. The battalion was headed by Timofey Pochtarev. There was little time to prepare the operation - only a day, the key to success was the close interaction of the forces of the army and navy. Marshal Vasilevsky decided to appoint Major General Alexei Gnechko as commander of the operation. According to the memoirs of Gnechko: “I was given complete freedom of initiative. And this is quite understandable: the command of the front and the fleet was a thousand kilometers away, and it was impossible to count on the immediate coordination and approval of my every order and order.

The most difficult was the first stage of the operation - the capture of the island of Shumshu. It was considered the northern gate of the Kuril archipelago, and Japan paid special attention to the fortification of Shumshu. 58 pillboxes and pillboxes could shoot through every meter of the coast. In total, there were 100 artillery installations, 30 machine guns, 80 tanks and 8.5 thousand soldiers on the island of Shumshu. Another 15 thousand were on the neighboring island of Paramushir, and they could be transferred to Shumshu within a few hours.

The Kamchatka defensive region consisted of only one rifle division. Units were dispersed throughout the peninsula. All in one day, August 16, they had to be delivered to the port. In addition, it was impossible to transport the entire division through the first Kuril Strait - there were not enough ships. Soviet troops and sailors had to act in extremely difficult conditions. First, land on a well-fortified island, and then fight a superior enemy without military equipment. All hope was on the “surprise factor”.

The first stage of the operation

It was decided to land the Soviet troops between Capes Kokutai and Kotomari, and then capture the center of defense of the island, the Kataoka naval base, with a blow. In order to mislead the enemy and disperse forces, they planned a diversion strike - a landing in Nanagawa Bay. The day before the operation began shelling the island. The fire could not cause much harm, but General Gnechko set other goals - to force the Japanese to withdraw their troops from the coastal territory, where the landing of landing troops was planned. Part of the paratroopers under the leadership of Pochtarev became the core of the detachment. By nightfall, the loading onto the ships was completed. On the morning of August 17, the ships left Avacha Bay.

The advance detachment reached the island in full force, and at first they did not meet any resistance. Yesterday, the Japanese leadership withdrew troops deep into the island to protect them from shelling. Using the surprise factor, Major Pochtarev decided to capture enemy batteries at Cape Katamari with the help of his companies. He led this attack personally.

The second stage of the operation

The terrain was flat, so it was impossible to approach imperceptibly. The Japanese opened fire, the advance stopped. It remained to wait for the rest of the paratroopers. With great difficulty and under Japanese fire, the bulk of the battalion was brought to Shumshu, and the offensive began. The Japanese troops had by this time recovered from the panic. Major Pochtarev ordered to stop frontal attacks, and assault groups were formed in a combat situation.

After several hours of battle, almost all the pillboxes and bunkers of the Japanese were destroyed. The outcome of the battle was decided by the personal courage of Major Pochtarev. He stood up to his full height and led the soldiers behind him. Almost immediately he was wounded, but did not pay attention to her. The Japanese began to retreat. But almost immediately the troops pulled up again, and began a counterattack. General Fusaki ordered to recapture the dominant heights at any cost, then cut the landing forces into pieces and throw them back to the sea. Under the cover of artillery, 60 tanks went into battle. Ship strikes came to the rescue, and the destruction of the tanks began. Those vehicles that could break through were destroyed by the forces of the Marines. But the ammunition was already running out, and then horses came to the aid of the Soviet paratroopers. They were allowed to swim ashore, loaded with ammunition. Despite heavy shelling, most of the horses survived and delivered ammunition.

The fighting on the island continued with the onset of twilight - it was important not to allow the enemy to regroup, to bring up reserves. In the morning, the Japanese capitulated by flying a white flag.

After the storming of Shumshu Island

On the day of the landing on the island of Shumshu, Harry Truman recognized the USSR's right to the Kuriles. In order not to lose face, the United States demanded that the attack on Hokkaido be abandoned. Stalin left Japan its own territory.

Tsutsumi Fusaki delayed negotiations. He allegedly did not understand the Russian language and the document that needed to be signed.

On August 20, Pochtarev's detachment received a new order - to land on Paramushir Island. But Pochtarev no longer took part in the battle, he was sent to the hospital, and in Moscow they had already decided to give the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

When Soviet ships entered the second Kuril Strait, the Japanese suddenly opened fire in the crossfire. Then the Japanese kamikaze went on the attack. The pilot threw his car directly at the ship, firing continuously. But the Soviet anti-aircraft gunners thwarted the Japanese feat.

Upon learning of this, Gnechko again ordered to go on the attack - the Japanese hung out white flags. General Fusaki said that he had not given the order to fire on the ships and proposed to return to the discussion of the disarmament act. Fusaki fidgeted, but the general agreed to personally sign the disarmament act. He avoided even uttering the word "surrender" in every possible way, because for him, as a samurai, it was humiliating.

The garrisons of Urup, Shikotan, Kunashir and Paramushir capitulated without putting up resistance. It came as a surprise to the whole world that Soviet troops occupied the Kuriles in just one month. Truman approached Stalin with a request to locate American military bases, but was refused. Stalin understood that the US would try to gain a foothold if they got the territory. And he turned out to be right: the United States immediately after the war, Truman made every effort to include Japan in its sphere of influence. On September 8, 1951, a peace treaty was signed in San Francisco between Japan and the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition. The Japanese abandoned all conquered territories, including Korea. According to the text of the treaty, the Ryukyu archipelago was transferred to the UN, in fact, the Americans established their own protectorate. Japan also renounced the Kuril Islands, but the text of the agreement did not say that the Kuril Islands were transferred to the USSR. Andrei Gromyko, Deputy Foreign Minister (at that time), refused to put his signature on a document with such wording. The Americans refused to amend the peace treaty. This is how a legal incident turned out: de jure they ceased to belong to Japan, but their status was never fixed.

In 1946, the northern islands of the Kuril archipelago became part of the South Sakhalin region. And it was undeniable.

In 2006, the Federal Target Program "Social and Economic Development of the Kuril Islands for 2007-2015" was adopted. The main goals of the program are to improve the living standards of the population, solve energy and transport problems, and develop fisheries and tourism. At the moment, the volume of FTP is 21 billion rubles. The total amount of funding for this program / including budgetary and non-budgetary sources / is almost 28 billion rubles. In the coming years, the main funds will be directed to the creation and development of a system of roads, airports and seaports. The main attention will be paid to such facilities as the Iturup airport, the sea terminal on the island of Kunashir, the cargo-passenger complex in the Bay of Kitovy on the island of Iturup, and others. including 3 kindergartens in Kunashir, a hospital with a clinic in Iturup, a hospital in Shikotan, as well as a number of housing and communal services.

The Kuril Islands are a chain of islands between the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Japanese island of Hokkaido, separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the Pacific Ocean. They are part of the Sakhalin region. Their length is about 1200 km. The total area is 10.5 thousand square meters. km. To the south of them is the state border of the Russian Federation with Japan. The islands form two parallel ridges: the Greater Kuril and the Lesser Kuril. Includes 30 large and many small islands. They are of great military-strategic and economic importance.

The territory of the North Kuril urban district includes the islands of the Greater Kuril ridge: Atlasova, Shumshu, Paramushir, Antsiferova, Makanrushi, Onekotan, Kharimkotan, Chirinkotan, Ekarma, Shiashkotan, Raikoke, Matua, Rasshua, Ushishir, Ketoi and all the small islands located nearby. The administrative center is the city of Severo-Kurilsk.

The Southern Kuril Islands include the islands of Iturup, Kunashir / belong to the Greater Kuril ridge /, Shikotan and the Habomai ridge / belong to the Lesser Kuril ridge /. Their total area is about 8.6 thousand square meters. km.

Iturup, located between the islands of Kunashir and Urup, is the largest island in the Kuril archipelago in terms of area. Area - 6725 sq. km. The population is about 6 thousand people. Administratively, Iturup is part of the Kuril City District. The center is the city of Kurilsk. The basis of the economy of the island is the fishing industry. In 2006, the most powerful fish factory in Russia "Reidovo" was launched on the island, processing 400 tons of fish per day. Iturup is the only place in Russia where a deposit of rhenium metal has been discovered; since 2006, gold deposits have been explored here. Burevestnik Airport is located on the island. In 2007, within the framework of the Federal Target Program, the construction of a new Iturup International Airport began here, which will become the main air harbor in the Kuriles. The runway is currently under construction.

Kunashir is the southernmost of the Kuril Islands. Area - 1495.24 sq. km. The population is about 8 thousand people. The center is the urban-type settlement of Yuzhno-Kurilsk /population 6.6 thousand people/. It is part of the South Kuril urban district. The main industry is fish processing. The entire territory of the island is a border zone. Civil and military transportation on the island is carried out by Mendeleevo Airport. For several years, reconstruction was carried out there in order to improve air communication between Kunashir and the neighboring islands of the Kuril chain, Sakhalin and other Russian regions. On May 3, 2012, permission was received to put the airport into operation. The work was carried out in accordance with the Federal target program "Socio-economic development of the Kuril Islands / Sakhalin region / for 2007-2015". As a result of the project, the airfield was reconstructed to receive An-24 aircraft, and the engineering support of the airport was brought to the requirements of the NGEA and FAP standards.

On Iturup and Kunashir, the only large formation of the Russian Armed Forces on the islands of the Kuril ridge is deployed - the 18th machine-gun-artillery division.

On the islands of Kunashir and Iturup, under the influence of the Kuril volcanic zone, volcanoes of various sizes stretch. Countless rivers, waterfalls, hot springs, lakes, meadows and bamboo thickets can be attractive for the development of tourism on the islands.

Shikotan is the largest island in the Lesser Ridge of the Kuril Islands. Area - 225 sq. km. The population is more than 2 thousand people. Included in the South Kuril urban district. Administrative center - with. Malokurilskoye. There is a hydrophysical observatory on the island, fishing and marine animal production are also developed here. Shikotan is partially located on the territory of the state nature reserve of federal significance "Small Kuriles". The island is separated by the South Kuril Strait from Kunashir Island.

Habomai is a group of islands that, together with Shikotan Island, form the Lesser Kuril Ridge. The Habomai include the islands of Polonsky, Shards, Zeleny, Tanfiliev, Yuri, Demina, Anuchin and a number of small ones. Area - 100 sq. km. Included in the South Kuril urban district. The straits between the islands are shallow, filled with reefs and underwater rocks. There are no civilians on the islands - only Russian border guards.

Kuril Landing Operation The Red Army's operation in the Kuril Islands has entered the history of operational art. It was studied in many armies of the world, but almost all experts came to the conclusion that the Soviet landing forces had no prerequisites for an early victory. Success was ensured by the courage and heroism of the Soviet soldier. American failure in the Kuril Islands

On April 1, 1945, American troops, supported by the British Navy, landed on the Japanese island of Okinawa. The US command expected to seize a bridgehead for the landing of troops on the main islands of the empire with one lightning strike. But the operation lasted almost three months, and the losses among American soldiers were unexpectedly high - up to 40% of the personnel. The resources spent were incommensurable with the result and forced the US government to think about the Japanese problem. The war could last for years, and cost the lives of millions of American and British soldiers. The Japanese were convinced that they would be able to resist for a long time and even put forward conditions for the conclusion of peace.

The Americans and the British were waiting for what the Soviet Union would do, which, at the Allied conference in Yalta, had committed itself to open hostilities against Japan.
The Western allies of the USSR had no doubt that the same long and bloody battles awaited the Red Army in Japan as in the West. But the commander-in-chief of the troops in the Far East, Marshal of the Soviet Union Alexander Vasilevsky did not share their opinion. On August 9, 1945, the Red Army went on the offensive in Manchuria and inflicted a crushing defeat on the enemy in just a few days.

On August 15, Emperor Hirohito of Japan was forced to announce his surrender. On the same day, American President Harry Truman drew up a detailed plan for the surrender of Japanese troops, and sent it for approval to the allies - the USSR and Great Britain. Stalin immediately drew attention to an important detail: the text did not say that the Japanese garrisons on the Kuril Islands should capitulate to the Soviet troops, although until recently the American government agreed that this archipelago should pass to the USSR. Given that the rest of the points were spelled out in detail, it became clear that this was not an accidental mistake - the United States was trying to put the post-war status of the Kuril Islands into question.

Why countries fought for the Kuril Islands

In the 1930s, rapid construction began on the archipelago, mainly military - airfields and naval bases. The Empire of Japan was preparing to fight for dominance in the Pacific Ocean. The Kuril Islands were to become a springboard for both the capture of Soviet Kamchatka and the attack on American naval bases (the Aleutian Islands). In November 1941, these plans began to be implemented. It was the shelling of the American naval base at Pearl Harbor. After 4 years, the Japanese managed to equip a powerful defense system on the archipelago. All available places for landing on the island were covered by firing points, there was a developed infrastructure underground.
The beginning of the Kuril landing operation
At the Yalta Conference in 1945, the Allies decided to take Korea under joint guardianship, and recognized the right of the USSR to the Kuril Islands. The United States even offered assistance in taking possession of the archipelago. As part of the secret Hula Project, the Pacific Fleet received American landing craft.
On April 12, 1945, Roosevelt died, and the attitude towards the Soviet Union changed, as the new President Harry Truman was wary of the USSR. The new American government did not deny possible military operations in the Far East, and the Kuril Islands would become a convenient springboard for military bases. Truman sought to prevent the transfer of the archipelago to the USSR.

Naval artilleryman Timofey Pochtarev received his first combat experience back in the Finnish War. With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he fought in the Baltic, defended Leningrad, and participated in the battles for Narva. He dreamed of returning to Leningrad. But fate and command decreed otherwise. The officer was assigned to Kamchatka, to the headquarters of the coastal defense of the Petropavlovsk naval base.
The most difficult was the first stage of the operation - the capture of the island of Shumshu. It was considered the northern gate of the Kuril archipelago, and Japan paid special attention to the fortification of Shumshu. 58 pillboxes and pillboxes could shoot through every meter of the coast. In total, there were 100 artillery installations, 30 machine guns, 80 tanks and 8.5 thousand soldiers on the island of Shumshu. Another 15 thousand were on the neighboring island of Paramushir, and they could be transferred to Shumshu within a few hours.

The first stage of the operation

The commanders were instructed to observe radio silence and blackout. The weather conditions were difficult - fog, because of this, the ships arrived at the place only at 4 am, although they planned at 11 pm. Because of the fog, some ships could not come close to the island, and the remaining meters of the Marines sailed, with weapons and equipment.
The advance detachment reached the island in full force, and at first they did not meet any resistance. Yesterday, the Japanese leadership withdrew troops deep into the island to protect them from shelling. Using the surprise factor, Major Pochtarev decided to capture enemy batteries at Cape Katamari with the help of his companies. He led this attack personally.

The second stage of the operation

From the island of Paramushir, the Japanese transferred forces of 15 thousand people. The weather improved, and the Soviet planes were able to take off on a combat mission. The pilots attacked the piers and piers where the Japanese were unloading. While the forward detachment repelled the Japanese counteroffensive, the main forces launched a flank attack. By August 18, the island's defense system was completely broken. There was a turning point in the battle. When Soviet ships entered the second Kuril Strait, the Japanese suddenly opened fire in the crossfire. Then the Japanese kamikaze went on the attack. The pilot threw his car directly at the ship, firing continuously. But the Soviet anti-aircraft gunners thwarted the Japanese feat.