Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the second time this year, at which he will again raise the issue of resolving the territorial dispute around the South Kuril Islands. This time, Abe will come with specific economic assistance projects for the Russian Far East. Is Moscow ready to respond to this with territorial concessions? What could be the compromise?
New thinking with old ambitions
In Moscow they must feel their importance. Today they are trading a lot from Russia: for the “correct position” on Bashar al-Assad in Syria - investments and influence in the Middle East from Saudi Arabia; for the pacification of Donbass and the return of Crimea to Ukraine - the lifting of economic sanctions from the West; for finally transferring Kuril Islands— economic and humanitarian assistance from Japan. And although Russia, according to President Putin, does not trade interests and territories, a compromise with Japan is still possible. Thanks in no small part to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
In defiance of the shouts from Washington, he put national interests above the “club” ones - being a member of the G8, Japan supported not only international sanctions against Russia, but also the country’s exclusion from the club of developed democracies. But in the G7, Tokyo was the only one trying to develop relations with Moscow, while Berlin and Paris acted as mediators in resolving the Ukrainian crisis, and Washington was distracted by the Middle East, in particular Syria.
In May, Abe brought his Russian counterpart an “eight-point plan.” Even media leaks did not reveal details, but in in general terms they talked about cooperation in energy, industry, agriculture, high technology, healthcare, in the field of humanitarian exchange, urban environment, as well as cooperation of small and medium-sized businesses. But even in this form, the layout was clear: Russia opens the Japanese market for its traditional export - raw materials, while Japan provides technology, knowledge and investment for the Russian Far East. Moscow responded to the proposal and presented 49 projects to partners.
Several months passed, and Abe again wanted to meet with Putin - this time at the second Eastern Economic Forum, which is taking place in Vladivostok. Japanese media, including The Japan Times, Mainichi Shinbum and NHK, have explained that Abe will arrive with a new way of thinking, called the “new approach.” What does it consist of?
In the 1990s, Tokyo made economic ties with Russia dependent on the resolution of the territorial dispute over the South Kuril Islands. According to the well-known formula - chairs in the morning, money in the evening. Then there were attempts to exchange not all the chairs at once, but one at a time, but the furniture went ahead anyway. Now the Japanese authorities have decided to take a risk: we will give you money to strengthen trust, and in the evening we want to get chairs.
Apparently, Abe set out to do something that none of his predecessors had been able to do. If Putin, whom he invited to visit his small homeland in Yamaguchi Prefecture shares his aspiration, then Abe will go down in history as the prime minister who will proclaim in the Russian manner: “The Kuril Islands are ours!” He has already contradicted Washington with his too frequent visits to Russia, so he will not lose his will. But before the next negotiations, the Japanese prime minister once again showed how far he was ready to go: in the Japanese government he established a special position of commissioner for the development of relations with Russia, which was filled by Economics Minister Hiroshige Seko. Now Russia must accept the pass and respond by appointing a curator of joint projects for its part - this could be First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov or Minister of Economy Alexey Ulyukaev.
However, the “new thinking” has not completely outlived the old attitudes. As soon as the influential publication Mainichi Shinbum reported that the residents of the Southern Kuril Islands would be allowed to live on the islands after the establishment of Japanese sovereignty over them, the Secretary General of the Japanese Cabinet Suga immediately denied the concession in question. But it is clear that, whatever the point in the dispute that has been going on for more than 70 years, Abe will not be alone in facing a dissenting elite and public.
Compromise or “freeze my ears”?
Japan's flirtations with Russia are explained by pragmatic goals: Tokyo, in addition to the islands, needs to wedge itself into the alliance of Moscow and Beijing so that the notorious turn to the East of Russia does not turn into a turn exclusively to China. This is part of the regional, Asia-Pacific policy, which is aimed at weakening Chinese influence, finding balance and parity. Therefore, economic incentives for Russia, which needs markets, technology and investment, are only a means to achieve its own goals: from resolving territorial disputes to balancing China and limiting Chinese expansion.
A dusty compromise would be acceptable to Moscow: according to the Soviet-Japanese declaration on ending the war in 1956, the USSR was ready to transfer the island of Shikotan and the Habomai ridge to Japan in exchange for a peace treaty. Under pressure from the United States, Tokyo refused to make peace, laying claim to Kunashir and Iturup. The failed deal already contained a formula that still suits the Russian leadership today.
Choosing between “give up all the islands” or “half”, the Kremlin is inclined towards a “half” solution. Perfect option assumes that “neither side will feel at a loss, neither side will feel defeated or a loser,” the Russian president explained his vision to Bloomberg.
However, even if the owner of the Kremlin and his Japanese colleague achieve a trusting relationship, how can we explain to the Russians the need to transfer the islands to another state?
No logic recent history doesn't tell. The last two years have shown that for the annexation of Crimea, Russians are ready to endure a dramatic deterioration in living standards and a rollback of all economic indicators ten years ago. So why should they give up the islands for a little economic assistance - a medical center in Vladivostok, the newest Japanese technology, LNG terminals and new production? This does not fit into the Russian character, which can partly be explained by the saying: “to spite my grandmother I will freeze my ears.”
According to a VTsIOM survey conducted in 2016, 53% of Russians are convinced that the Southern Kuril Islands will always belong to Russia. So the authorities will be able to justify themselves for a compromise only by referring to the “wise” decision of the USSR, where the country, according to many, forever left all the best.
But here, too, it is necessary to highlight a nuance: the peace treaty with Russia plus two islands does not suit the Japanese authorities, they want to “squeeze out” everything. However, what will Moscow receive as a result of a possible compromise, besides economic assistance?
Japan, according to by and large, as it was from the G7 world, will remain integrated economically and politically into the Western world. Russia will not be able to make Tokyo its ally either globally or regionally. Moreover, the territorial dispute, which has been smoldering for decades, does not pose any significant problem for Moscow. We can safely assume that if the status quo continues for another seventy years, Russia will not lose anything.
All the rhetoric on this issue is reminiscent of diplomatic curtseys, which are needed for only one thing - balancing geopolitical interests in the Asia-Pacific region, where Japan is countering the emergence of Chinese hegemony, and Russia is escaping from the clutches of the tiger, which sees it as a raw materials appendage and a junior partner. Moscow is not averse to playing on Washington’s nerves, splitting the unity of the world’s leading economies.
But if Moscow has nowhere to rush, then does Abe have enough time to implement his plan? He has headed the Japanese government since 2012. Rarely has anyone held power in the land of the rising sun for as long as he has. Perhaps, in his fourth term, Putin will no longer meet with him at the Eastern Economic Forum, but by the end of 2016, the Russian president intends to visit Tokyo on an official visit and, presumably, not empty-handed.
Ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin's official trip to Japan and his meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, talk about the transfer of the Kuril Islands has resumed in both countries. In Russia they talk about this with concern and indignation. In Japan with a mixture of hope and disbelief. On the eve of his trip to Japan, Vladimir Putin gave an interview to Japanese journalists. They directly asked him several times whether this trip meant that he would hand over the Kuril Islands to Japan? Will he start with two or give away all four at once? Telegraph tried to understand from the president’s answers what we can expect on December 15th.
Putin immediately said that he hoped to establish friendly and trusting relations with Japan, but it was too early to raise the issue of transferring the islands. He cited the example of China, with which, according to the president, all territorial disputes have been resolved, since trusting and friendly relations have been established with China.
“We... with our friends in China, have been negotiating border issues for 40 years. And there were also issues related to certain territories. Today we characterize Russian-Chinese relations as relations of strategic partnership, and even a special strategic partnership. We have never had such a level of trust with the People's Republic of China as we do now. China is our largest trade and economic partner in the country dimension. We are implementing huge, multi-billion dollar joint projects,” the Russian President gave an example.
At the same time, Putin noted that there are no such trusting and friendly relations with Japan yet. Japan has joined the sanctions policy; in addition, it has certain allied relations that prevent our countries from developing bilateral relations. “Japan has imposed economic sanctions against us. Do you understand the difference or not? Why? As a result of events in Ukraine or Syria? Where is Japan and Japanese-Russian relations, where is Syria and the events in Ukraine? This means that Japan has some allied obligations. We respect this, but we need to understand the degree of freedom of Japan and what Japan itself is ready to do,” the president said.
Still, Putin does not reject the possibility of conducting joint economic activities on the disputed islands: “As for the islands of the southern Kuril ridge, here different variants possible. We are ready to consider working together on one island, or two, or three, or four. Conditions are important..."
When asked by Japanese journalists under whose jurisdiction such activities would be carried out, Putin replied that they should not rush to think that it was under Japanese jurisdiction. “But if this is the case from the first step, then there is no need for a second step, because the issue can be considered closed. We didn’t agree that way,” the president said.
According to the president, the ground for trust in relations between the two countries can be prepared by political steps, as well as large-scale joint economic activity and resolving issues of a humanitarian nature, for example, visa-free trips for the Japanese to the Kuril Islands to “cemeteries and native places.”
On December 6, Putin was asked not to give the Kuril Islands to the Japanese by almost four dozen representatives of the scientific community and deputies of the Sakhalin region. In their open letter, they wrote: “The idea persistently imposed on Russian society and the leadership of our country by Japanese propaganda is that territorial concessions or their promises in the future (such as recognition of the “potential sovereignty of Japan” over the supposedly “disputed islands”) will lead to abundant “yen rains” will fall on our country, is a deep misconception... In political terms, any concessions to Japanese territorial advances or promises thereof will certainly lead to the activation of revanchist forces in Japan, which, as is known, make claims not only on the group of southern islands, but also on the entire Kuril archipelago, as well as the southern half of Sakhalin."
Two more political scientists, Anatoly Wasserman and Nurali Latypov, addressed Vladimir Putin with an open letter in 2013, where they proposed their way to resolve the issue with the Kuril Islands: “We propose to give Japan maximum rights to the South Kuril Islands.” economic activity, but maintain Russia’s sovereignty.”
In Japan, meanwhile, they believe that Putin will not transfer any islands to them. All his words are also just propaganda, but only for the Japanese for the sake of their economic support. “I think Putin has neither the desire nor the strength to resolve the territorial issue... Putin demands dialogue and economic cooperation from Japan,” said Niigata University professor Shigeki Hakamada in an interview with The Asahi Shimbun newspaper (quoted by InoSMI). According to the professor, the outcome of the meeting will be only rosy messages that both sides will be able to interpret in their favor.
Orientalist and political scientist Timur Dugarzhapov told Telegraph that now good time for interaction between both countries. “In this regard, good opportunities are opening up for the president of our country to finally conclude a peace treaty. And also to expand economic cooperation,” says the political scientist. In his opinion, Japan needs connections with the continent, and Russia needs economic support. And if the negotiations are successful, then it doesn’t matter how many islands from the Kuril ridge Russia will give to Japan, the main thing is “to jointly develop the territories of the Far East on the basis of good neighborly relations.” So Dzhugardzhapov will not be surprised if Vladimir Putin voices “rather radical proposals.”
In September, after an interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin to Bloomberg, in which he stated that Russia is ready for a compromise on the Kuril Islands, Telegraph already looked into the Kuril issue. One thing is clear: in Russia there is an ambivalent attitude towards this, but for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a positive solution to this issue is fundamental. He promised to solve it before the end of his term in 2018.
Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed that Japan conclude a peace treaty by the end of 2018 without preconditions. The Russian leader made this statement at a plenary meeting of the Eastern Economic Forum. According to Putin, on the basis of a peace treaty, the two countries will be able “as friends” to resolve all controversial issues “that we have not been able to cope with for 70 years.”
He proposed to postpone the settlement of the territorial dispute over the ownership of the Kuril Islands until later. “We can immediately stipulate in this agreement that we will strive to resolve these issues. I’m sure we will do this someday,” Putin added.
He previously proposed concluding a peace treaty with Russia Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe. He has not yet given a response to his Russian colleague’s new proposal. “We intend to continue to conduct close negotiations in accordance with our course, which is to sign a peace treaty, resolving the issue of ownership of the four islands. In this regard, our position remains unchanged,” the Japanese Foreign Ministry commented on Putin’s proposal.
Will Russia and Japan finally be able to put an end to World War II and sign a peace treaty? AiF.ru found this out from head of the Center Japanese studies Institute of Far Eastern Studies RAS Valery Kistanov.
Gleb Ivanov, AiF.ru: — Valery Olegovich, what prevented the two countries from concluding a peace treaty in the 70 years that have passed since the end of World War II?
Valery Kistanov: — The notorious territorial problem got in the way. All these years, Japan demanded the return of 4 South Kuril Islands, which she considers her ancestral territories.
In 1956, the USSR and Japan negotiated a peace treaty. Then the Japanese were inclined to conclude it on the terms of the return of two of the four islands: Shikotan and Habomai. But then the Americans intervened. They threatened that if the treaty was concluded on such terms, they would not return Okinawa to the Japanese. The Japanese retreated and began to reclaim all four islands.
Since then, the Japanese establishment cannot imagine concluding a peace treaty with Russia without solving the territorial problem. And this means for them the return of all four islands.
— What changed Putin’s proposal?
“If we decipher what our president said, we get the following: “There is no need to link the conclusion of a peace treaty with the territorial problem.” In fact, he clarified our usual position. The problem is that the Japanese position on this issue fundamentally does not coincide with our approach. Therefore, there will be no peace treaty until the end of the year. I guarantee you this. This will not happen in the coming years either, because no politician in Japan will agree to give up claims to the islands. This will mean political death for him.
— Abe previously said that he was ready to conclude a peace treaty on the condition of “the immediate return of the two islands.” What does this mean and can this be called a softening of the Japanese position?
— The Japanese never refused to return all four islands. Under Abe, they simply announced their readiness to return them, as they say, “in installments.” Immediately after the conclusion of the treaty - two islands, and later - two more. Habomai and Shikotan can be returned according to the Soviet-Japanese declaration of 1956, which states that the USSR “as a gesture of goodwill” is ready to transfer the two islands to Tokyo, but only, I emphasize, after the conclusion of a peace treaty.
In fact, Putin recognized this declaration after a long and complex history in the attitude of our authorities to this document. During times Gromyko we canceled this declaration, Gorbachev recognized her Yeltsin there were a lot of negotiations Medvedev said: “Not an inch of our native land.” When Putin came to his third term, he said that it was necessary to look for a way out of the deadlock, and proposed to build on the declaration.
After this, the Japanese considered that they already had the two islands in their pocket: they say that Putin recognized Japanese rights to them, although before that we for a long time refused to even discuss this issue. After this, Abe’s position developed: we get two islands at once and are negotiating the return of two more. Moreover, it is desirable for Russia to recognize Japan’s sovereignty over them. This is their “softening” of their position.
This, of course, does not suit us. For Russia, the return of Kunashir and Iturup is a revision of the results of World War II. We want Japan to recognize the outcome of the war and conclude a peace treaty. And only after that we will negotiate about the territory.
— In exchange for the islands, the Japanese are offering injections into the Russian economy. However, Japan is one of the US's key allies. They follow the sanctions imposed on Russia due to the return of Crimea. What kind of economic cooperation can we talk about then?
“The Japanese, of course, cannot do anything without looking at Washington. They depend heavily on him for military and commercial purposes. Therefore, they are ready to cooperate with Russia within certain limits, as long as it does not irritate Washington.
The cooperation proposed by Abe is not of any global nature. There are no projects there that would allow our trade volumes to skyrocket. And than, Japanese business The Russian economy is not particularly interesting. We have a bad investment climate. The only thing Japan is really interested in is energy resources. We supply them with gas, oil, non-ferrous metals, aluminum. They send us cars in return. Our trade volume is tiny: $17 billion. South Korea he's already bigger. Japanese investments in the Russian Federation are only $2 billion. In the Far East, their investments account for only 2% of all foreign ones. This is very little.
So we must admit: the Japanese hopes that we will give them the islands as a token of gratitude for economic assistance have little in common with reality.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Japan in mid-December. It is already clear in advance that the main content of the meeting, at least for the Japanese side, will be the issue of the Kuril Islands. Following the Second World War, the Southern Kuril Islands, occupied Soviet troops in September 1945, were incorporated into the USSR. But soon Japan demanded that four islands - Kunashir, Iturup, Shikotan and Habomai - be returned to them. At numerous negotiations, the USSR and Japan seemed to have initially agreed that only two smaller islands would be ceded to Japan. But the agreement was blocked by the United States, threatening the Japanese that if a peace treaty with the USSR was signed, they would not return the island of Okinawa, where their military base was located.
Russians and Japanese began almost at the same time to develop these lands, inhabited by the Ainu - the ancient and indigenous population of the Kuril Islands. Japan first heard about the “northern territories” only in the 17th century, around the same time Russian explorers spoke about them in Russia. Russian sources first mention the Kuril Islands in 1646, and Japanese sources - in 1635. Under Catherine II, signs were even installed on them with the inscription “Land of Russian Dominion.”Later, a number of interstate treaties were signed (1855, 1875) regulating the rights to this territory - in particular, the Shimoda Treaty. In 1905, after Russo-Japanese War, the islands finally became part of Japan along with South Sakhalin. Currently, for both the Russians and the Japanese, the issue of the Kuril Islands is a matter of principle.
After the collapse of the USSR, Russian public opinion is especially sensitive to any potential loss of at least some part of the territory. The recent transfer of a piece of land to China did not cause much indignation, since China is firmly perceived as our country’s main ally, and these lands along the Amur River meant little to the bulk of Russians. It’s a completely different matter - the Kuril Islands with their military base, blocking the entrance with Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Okhotsk. They are perceived as Russia's eastern outpost. According to a public opinion poll conducted by the Levada Center in May, 78% of Russians are against the transfer of the Kuril Islands to Japan, and 71% of Russians are against the transfer of only Habomai and Shikotan to Japan. To the fundamental question “What is more important: to conclude a peace treaty with Japan, receiving Japanese loans and technology, or to preserve two deserted small islands?” 56% also chose the second, and 21% - the first. So what will be the fate of the Far Eastern islands?
Version 1
Russia will give Japan the entire Kuril ridge
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has already held 14 (!) meetings with Vladimir Putin. This year alone, the Japanese Prime Minister visited Russia twice, in Sochi and Vladivostok, and proposed a plan for resolving the territorial issue there. In the event of the transfer of the islands, Japan promises to develop economic cooperation on 30 projects with a total value of $16 billion - in the field of energy, medicine, Agriculture, in urban planning, growth of small and medium-sized businesses. And also the construction of a gas pipeline to Japan from Sakhalin, the development of industry in the Far East, cultural contacts, and so on. Plus guarantees that if the Kuril Islands are transferred to it, no military contingent from the United States will be stationed there.
According to the Japanese Prime Minister, Russia reacted positively to this plan. Japanese loans, technology, etc. may become suitable negotiating terms. Moreover, according to a Levada Center poll, only slightly more than half of Russians – 55% – believe that the level of trust in Putin will decrease if he decides to return the Kuril Islands to Japan. 9% believe that his rating will increase, and 23% believe that it will remain at its current level.
Version 2
Russia will hand over Habomai and Shikotan to Japan
In early November, Chairman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko held negotiations with the leaders of the Japanese Parliament in Tokyo. Their goal was clearly the desire to outline the Russian position in advance. Matvienko unequivocally stated: “The Kuril Islands went to us as a result of the Second World War, which is recorded in international documents. And therefore Russia’s sovereignty over them is beyond doubt. There are things that Russia will never agree to. Limiting Russian sovereignty over the Kuril Islands, and even more so transferring them to the jurisdiction of Japan, is one of them. This is the position of all our people, here we have a national consensus.”
On the other hand, why not assume that Matvienko could play the role of a “bad cop” in classic scheme? So that the Japanese negotiators would then be more accommodating with the first person, who may well become a “good cop” and agree on favorable conditions. Even during his first presidential visit to Japan, Putin actually recognized the validity of the 1956 Declaration, and in 2001 a Russian-Japanese statement recognizing its legal force was published.
And the Japanese seem to be ready for this. According to a survey conducted by the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper, 57% of the country’s residents do not demand the absolute return of the entire Kuril ridge, but will be satisfied with a more flexible solution to the “territorial issue.”
Version 3
All islands of the Kuril chain will remain Russian
Last week, the Ministry of Defense announced the deployment of coastal missile systems “Bal” and “Bastion” in the Southern Kuriles - to the great disappointment of the Japanese authorities, who clearly did not expect anything like this. It is unlikely that our military would have carried the latest defense systems such a distance, knowing that the islands were being prepared for transfer to the Japanese.
In addition, the islands are of great strategic importance. As long as they belong to Russia, no foreign submarine can enter the Sea of Okhotsk undetected. If at least one island goes to Japan, then Russia will lose control over the straits and any warship will be able to get into the center of the Sea of Okhotsk without Moscow’s permission.
But the main guarantee that Moscow will never agree to exchange the Kuril Islands is not missile systems. The fact is that Tokyo has territorial claims following the Second World War not only to Moscow, but also to Seoul, and, most importantly, to Beijing. Therefore, even if we assume the unthinkable that the Russian authorities intend to carry out Nikita Khrushchev’s idea and give the Japanese a couple of islands in order to improve relations, you need to understand that a negative reaction from the Chinese and Koreans to this step will follow immediately. China, in response to such a geopolitical setback, may present its territorial claims to Russia, and the Zhongguo will have grounds for this. And Moscow understands this well. So the current political “round dances” around the Kuril Islands will not lead to serious consequences - most likely, the parties are simply letting each other off steam.
Responding to a comment from a journalist from the international information holding Bloomberg, “that the territory on the eastern flank does not concern you so much. You, for example, gave Tarabarov Island to China in 2004,” Putin said: “We didn’t give anything, these were territories that were disputed and regarding which we had been negotiating with the People’s Republic of China for 40 years.”
Well, of course they didn’t give it away! How they gave it away! And they gave it away more than once!
The first agreement between the USSR and the PRC on the Soviet-Chinese state border on its eastern part was signed by Gorbachev on May 16, 1991 and ratified by the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation on February 13, 1992. Although, according to the Declaration of Sovereignty of the Russian Federation of June 12, 1990, any changes in the territory of the Russian Federation could not occur without the will of the people, expressed through a referendum. But there was no referendum. The rulers never asked the citizens of the USSR and then the Russian Federation whether they wanted to give their land to the Chinese.
According to the agreement of 1991, the border was drawn along the fairway navigable rivers and the middle of the non-navigable. Before this, the border mainly ran along the Chinese coast, in accordance with earlier Russian-Chinese agreements. As a result of this agreement, Russia gave China approximately 600 islands on the Amur and Ussuri rivers, as well as 10 square kilometers land territory. Russia lost another one and a half thousand hectares of land in Primorye during the demarcation of the border in November 1995, according to the 1994 Agreement between Russia and the People's Republic of China on the Russian-Chinese state border on its Western part.
After Mikhail Gorbachev signed an agreement in 1991, according to which the border with China passed along the Amur channel, the Chinese began to dispute Russia’s ownership of the Bolshoi Ussuriysky and Tarabarov islands in the Khabarovsk region, as well as Bolshoi Island in the Amur region. Then Boris Yeltsin announced that these islands had become disputed. And they became controversial, partly due to the long-term efforts of the Chinese to change the course of the Amur. For example, for several years the Chinese filled up the Kazakevich channel in the Khabarovsk Territory with soil and sank a barge with stones in it. As a result, the Kazakevich channel became unnavigable.
Likewise, the Chinese, in violation of international treaties in unilaterally strengthened their bank of the Amur and erected about 600 kilometers of dams, which gradually led to a change in the river's fairway.
Well, the border guards from the Khasansky district of the Primorsky Territory, being real “patriots” of their country, in the 90s themselves went to Russian government with the initiative to move the border towards Russia, citing the fact that it is difficult for them to serve some areas of inaccessible terrain. And so they proposed to give these lands to China. 300 hectares! The Chinese did not refuse.
In 1991, then still Soviet Union agreed that one and a half thousand square meters. km of Soviet land will be developed jointly with China. That is, citizens of the USSR and China could cut hay on equal terms, and fish in the rivers adjacent to the islands. As a result, the Chinese began to use these islands alone. Soviet and then Russian border guards simply did not allow their citizens onto the islands. Five years later, the islands went to China.
On October 15, 2004, in Beijing, Putin signed the “Additional Agreement on the Russian-Chinese State Border on its Eastern Part,” which spoke of the voluntary, I emphasize voluntary, transfer to China of Tarabarov Island, part of the Bolshoi Ussuriysky Island in the Khabarovsk Territory and Bolshoy Island in the Chita Region . All these islands were of strategic importance for the state. A large fortified area and a border outpost were located on Bolshoy Ussuriysky, and above Tarabarov there was a take-off trajectory for military aircraft of the 11th Air Force and Air Defense Army (now the 3rd Air Force and Air Defense Command), which is stationed in Khabarovsk. In addition, on these islands there were dachas for Khabarovsk residents, hayfields... On the island. Big, with an area of 70 sq. km. in the Chita region, there was a border post and a fence was taking place drinking water for part of the region.
During the years of giving land to China, only two governors - Primorsky Territory Nazratenko and Khabarovsk Ishaev resisted the transfer to China Russian territories. Nazratenko wrote letters to Chernomyrdin asking for a revision of the 1991 border agreement with China and was going to erect a “Pillar of Shame” in the center of Vladivostok as a sign of protest, and Viktor Ishaev built a pontoon bridge connecting Khabarovsk with the island. Bolshoy Ussuriysk, where he built the chapel of the martyr-war Victor in memory of those who died defending the Far Eastern borders of Russia. Ishaeev also started excavation to connect the Tarabarov and Bolshoi Ussuri Islands, and the Chinese were not particularly allowed into the Khabarovsk Territory. “The territory is ours, Russian. So it was, is and will be,” said Ishaev. But in 2005, Putin, without asking the citizens of Russia, gave China the island of Tarabarov, half of the Bolshoi Ussuriysky island (half, apparently, only because the chapel built by Ishaev was on the island) and the Bolshoi island in the Chita region. A total of 337 sq. km.
Now on Yinlundao Island, as Tarabarov Island is now called, Chinese border guards are taking the oath.
The “deferred dispute” method, developed in the PRC back in the 70s, turned out to be very effective. This method comes down to taking border-territorial disputes beyond the scope of bilateral international relations and wait until “the conditions are ripe” to resolve the issue on terms acceptable to China. This time the Chinese did not wait long for conditions favorable to them to arrive. In 25 years, China received as much land from Russia as it could not get for a century and a half.
Now Japan is using exactly the same method of “postponed dispute”. And again Gorbachev, Yeltsin and Putin...
In the early nineties, the Japanese offered Russia money for the Kuril Islands - $28 billion. In just one year of official seafood fishing in the waters of the Kuril Islands, you can get more than 4 billion dollars, that is, in just 7 years, Japan would have quickly returned this money. Third (Extraordinary) Congress People's Deputies Russia (March-April 1991) accused Gorbachev of trying to sell part of the State territory to foreigners. The Kuril Islands were not sold, but during his visit to Japan, USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev recognized equal rights USSR and Japan in a dispute over the ownership of the Southern Kuril Islands.
Next was Russian President Boris Yeltsin’s five-stage plan to resolve the territorial problem between Russia and Japan. In particular, at one stage a joint protectorate of Russia and Japan over the Southern Kuril Islands was envisaged.
In 2001, at a meeting between President Putin and Prime Minister Mori, an informal agreement was concluded on the gradual transfer of the “Northern Territories” to Japan: first the Lesser Kuril Ridge and Shikotan Island, and only then the signing of a peace treaty. And the islands of Kunashir and Iturup will be given for joint economic use by Russia and Japan until their status is finalized. “I have information that during Putin’s visit (2001) some kind of memorandum was signed, which even provides for the holding of propaganda events by the Russian media, that is, this will not be Japanese propaganda, but the Japanese government will pay for Russian media information and relevant publications will be submitted, which will reflect the Japanese point of view and will be imposed on the public opinion of Russia,” said Boris Tkachenko, leading researcher at the Institute of History, Archeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East at the meeting Round table"Russian-Japanese territorial dispute: history, modernity, prospects for settlement."
Very well and briefly explained the essence of the peace treaty with Japan former governor Sakhalin region, and now deputy. Director of the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences Boris Fedorov: “We don’t really need a peace treaty. We have normal relations with Japan, and the '56 declaration opened up these relations. We did not have a peace treaty with Germany, but nevertheless the unification of Germany took place. And Germany is now our close partner in Europe. Japan needs this agreement, and for only one purpose - to fix the demand for the transfer of these 4 islands. President Putin adopted the formulation that was invented during Kozyrev’s time (Andrei Kozyrev - Russian Foreign Minister from 1990 to 1996, now a US citizen - E.M.). Now the wording “border demarcation” has come into fashion again, as was done on the Amur River with China. But here we are talking about revising the results of the Second World War and violating the integrity of Russian state. And according to the Constitution of the USSR and the RSFSR, which was in force in 1956, the territory of any republic cannot be transferred to another state without the consent of that republic. If we look at the area of the Southern Kuril Islands with water area, then in terms of area they make up Austria plus Greece. Or more than 50% of Japan's entire land area. Can you imagine what a large area we are talking about! That’s why the Japanese are trying to get these islands.”
Now the Kuril Islands are an exclusive economic zone Russian Federation in the Sea of Okhotsk, and also have deep-sea straits through which Russian fleet can go out into the open ocean. By giving the Kuril Islands to Japan, Russia will lose this priority.
After Putin gave Russian land to China in 2004, State Duma deputy Tamara Pletneva said: “We should not give up our land... Here is Putin’s trip again, again we don’t know anything about what he signed there, along what borders with China. Right next to you, please, is Japan with its claims...”
By the way, in the recommendations of the parliamentary hearings of the Sakhalin Regional Duma, adopted back in 2001, it was said: “The Government of the Russian Federation should prepare and submit a draft law on the denunciation of Part 2 of Article 9 of the Joint Declaration of the USSR and Japan of October 19, 1956 regarding the consent of the USSR to transfer to Japan of the islands of Habamai (Lesser Kuril Ridge) and Sikotan (Shikotan) after the conclusion of a peace treaty between the USSR (RF) and Japan. Stop the practice of granting foreign ships the right to extract marine resources in the South Kuril fishing area as infringing on the interests of Russian sailors. When preparing and discussing a draft peace treaty with Japan, proceed from the following: Russia does not need a peace treaty with Japan at the cost of territorial concessions. Organize an annual celebration of the day military glory Russia on September 3 in pursuance of the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the USSR of September 2, 1945 “On declaring September 3 as Victory Day in Japan.” But none of the recommendations of the Sakhalin Duma have been implemented by the Federal authorities so far.
Japan has now become active again. And Prime Minister Abe is more optimistic than ever in negotiations with Russia. In the same interview with Bloomberg, Putin said regarding negotiations with Japan: “We are not talking about some kind of exchange, about some kind of sales. It's about about finding a solution in which neither party will feel at a loss, neither party will feel defeated or a loser.”
I would like to remind President Putin of what he said in 2013: “It is directly written there (in the Constitution) that the state ensures the territorial integrity of the country, therefore any statements about the separation of any territories from the Russian Federation are unconstitutional.”
By the way, the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation now has Article 280.1 (“Public calls for actions aimed at violating the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation”). When the article was introduced, it meant primarily the Caucasus, and then the Crimea. However, any statements by politicians about the potential possibility of giving the Kuril Islands to Japan also fall under this article of the Criminal Code. And this is up to five years of real prison sentence. Although, of course, our president is inviolable...
