One of the first documents regulating Russian-Japanese relations was the Treaty of Shimoda, signed on January 26, 1855. According to the second article of the treatise, the border was established between the islands of Urup and Iturup - that is, all four now islands that Japan claims today were recognized as the possession of Japan.
Since 1981, the day of the conclusion of the Shimoda Treaty in Japan has been celebrated as “Northern Territories Day”. Another thing is that, relying on the Shimoda Treaty as one of the fundamental documents, Japan forgets about one important point. In 1904, Japan, having attacked the Russian squadron in Port Arthur and unleashed the Russo-Japanese War, itself violated the terms of the treaty, which provided for friendship and good neighborly relations between states.
The Shimoda Treaty did not determine the ownership of Sakhalin, where both Russian and Japanese settlements were located, and by the mid-70s a solution to this issue was ripe. The St. Petersburg Treaty was signed, which was assessed ambiguously by both sides. Under the terms of the agreement, all the Kuril Islands were now completely transferred to Japan, and Russia received full control over Sakhalin.
Then, as a result of the Russo-Japanese War, according to the Treaty of Portsmouth, the southern part of Sakhalin up to the 50th parallel went to Japan.
In 1925, a Soviet-Japanese convention was signed in Beijing, which generally confirmed the terms of the Portsmouth Treaty. As you know, the late 30s and early 40s were extremely tense in Soviet-Japanese relations and were associated with a series of military conflicts of varying scales.
The situation began to change by 1945, when the Axis powers began to suffer heavy defeats and the prospect of losing World War II became increasingly clear. Against this background, the question of the post-war world order arose. Yes, according to the conditions Yalta Conference, the USSR pledged to enter the war against Japan, and Southern Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands were transferred to the Soviet Union.
True, at the same time the Japanese leadership was ready to voluntarily cede these territories in exchange for the neutrality of the USSR and the supply of Soviet oil. The USSR did not take such a very slippery step. The defeat of Japan by that time was not a quick matter, but it was still a matter of time. And most importantly, by avoiding decisive action, the Soviet Union would actually be handing the situation in the Far East into the hands of the United States and its allies.
By the way, this also applies to the events of the Soviet-Japanese War and the Kuril Landing Operation itself, which was not initially prepared. When it became known about the preparations for the landing of American troops on the Kuril Islands, the Kuril landing operation was urgently prepared within 24 hours. Fierce fighting in August 1945 ended with the surrender of the Japanese garrisons in the Kuril Islands.
Fortunately, the Japanese command did not know the real number of Soviet paratroopers and, without fully using their overwhelming numerical superiority, capitulated. At the same time, the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk offensive. Thus, at the cost of considerable losses, Southern Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands became part of the USSR.
Statement Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe about the intention to resolve the territorial dispute over the Kuril Islands and again attracted the attention of the general public to the so-called “problem of the Southern Kurils” or “northern territories”.
Shinzo Abe's loud statement, however, does not contain the main thing - an original solution that could suit both sides.
Land of the Ainu
The dispute over the Southern Kuril Islands has its roots in the 17th century, when there were neither Russians nor Japanese on the Kuril Islands.
The indigenous population of the islands can be considered the Ainu, a people whose origins are still debated by scientists. The Ainu, who once inhabited not only the Kuril Islands, but also all the Japanese islands, as well as the lower reaches of the Amur, Sakhalin and the south of Kamchatka, have today turned into a small nation. In Japan, according to official data, there are about 25 thousand Ainu, and in Russia there are just over a hundred of them left.
The first mentions of the islands in Japanese sources date back to 1635, in Russian sources - to 1644.
In 1711, a detachment of Kamchatka Cossacks led by Danila Antsiferova And Ivan Kozyrevsky first landed on the northernmost island of Shumshu, defeating a detachment of local Ainu here.
The Japanese also showed more and more activity in the Kuril Islands, but no demarcation line and no agreements existed between the countries.
Kuriles - to you, Sakhalin— us
In 1855, the Shimoda Treaty on trade and borders between Russia and Japan was signed. This document for the first time defined the border of the possessions of the two countries in the Kuril Islands - it passed between the islands of Iturup and Urup.
Thus, the islands of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and the Habomai group of islands came under the rule of the Japanese emperor, that is, the very territories around which there is a dispute today.
It was the day of the conclusion of the Shimoda Treaty, February 7, that was declared in Japan as the so-called “Northern Territories Day”.
Relations between the two countries were quite good, but they were spoiled by the “Sakhalin issue.” The fact is that the Japanese claimed the southern part of this island.
In 1875, it was signed in St. Petersburg new agreement, according to which Japan renounced all claims to Sakhalin in exchange for the Kuril Islands - both Southern and Northern.
Perhaps, it was after the conclusion of the 1875 treaty that relations between the two countries developed most harmoniously.
Exorbitant appetites of the Land of the Rising Sun
Harmony in international affairs, however, the thing is fragile. Japan, emerging from centuries of self-isolation, was rapidly developing, and at the same time its ambitions were growing. The Land of the Rising Sun has territorial claims against almost all its neighbors, including Russia.
This resulted in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, which ended in a humiliating defeat for Russia. And although Russian diplomacy managed to mitigate the consequences of military failure, nevertheless, in accordance with the Portsmouth Treaty, Russia lost control not only over the Kuril Islands, but also over South Sakhalin.
This state of affairs did not suit not only Tsarist Russia, but also the Soviet Union. However, it was impossible to change the situation in the mid-1920s, which resulted in the signing of the Beijing Treaty between the USSR and Japan in 1925, according to which the Soviet Union recognized the current state of affairs, but refused to acknowledge “political responsibility” for the Portsmouth Treaty.
In subsequent years, relations between the Soviet Union and Japan teetered on the brink of war. Japan's appetite grew and began to spread to the continental territories of the USSR. True, the defeats of the Japanese at Lake Khasan in 1938 and at Khalkhin Gol in 1939 forced official Tokyo to slow down somewhat.
However, the “Japanese threat” hung like a sword of Damocles over the USSR during the Great Patriotic War.
Revenge for old grievances
By 1945, the tone of Japanese politicians towards the USSR had changed. There was no talk of new territorial acquisitions—the Japanese side would have been quite satisfied with maintaining the existing order of things.
But the USSR gave an undertaking to Great Britain and the United States that it would enter the war with Japan no later than three months after the end of the war in Europe.
The Soviet leadership had no reason to feel sorry for Japan - Tokyo behaved too aggressively and defiantly towards the USSR in the 1920s and 1930s. And the grievances of the beginning of the century were not forgotten at all.
On August 8, 1945, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan. It was a real blitzkrieg - the million-strong Japanese Kwantung Army in Manchuria was completely defeated in a matter of days.
On August 18, Soviet troops launched the Kuril landing operation, the goal of which was to capture the Kuril Islands. Fierce battles broke out for the island of Shumshu - this was the only battle of the fleeting war in which the losses of Soviet troops were higher than those of the enemy. However, on August 23, the commander of the Japanese troops in the Northern Kuril Islands, Lieutenant General Fusaki Tsutsumi, capitulated.
The fall of Shumshu became the key event of the Kuril operation - subsequently the occupation of the islands on which the Japanese garrisons were located turned into acceptance of their surrender.
Kurile Islands. Photo: www.russianlook.comThey took the Kuril Islands, they could have taken Hokkaido
On August 22, Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet troops in the Far East, Marshal Alexander Vasilevsky, without waiting for the fall of Shumshu, gives the order to troops to occupy the Southern Kuril Islands. The Soviet command is acting according to plan - the war continues, the enemy has not completely capitulated, which means we should move on.
The initial military plans of the USSR were much broader - Soviet units were ready to land on the island of Hokkaido, which was to become a Soviet zone of occupation. One can only guess how the further history of Japan would have developed in this case. But in the end, Vasilevsky received an order from Moscow to cancel the landing operation in Hokkaido.
Bad weather somewhat delayed the actions of Soviet troops in the Southern Kuril Islands, but by September 1, Iturup, Kunashir and Shikotan came under their control. The Habomai island group was completely taken under control on September 2-4, 1945, that is, after the surrender of Japan. There were no battles during this period - the Japanese soldiers resignedly surrendered.
So, at the end of World War II, Japan was completely occupied by the Allied powers, and the main territories of the country came under US control.
On January 29, 1946, Memorandum No. 677 of the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Powers, General Douglas MacArthur, excluded the Kuril Islands (Chishima Islands), the Habomai (Habomadze) group of islands, and Shikotan Island from Japanese territory.
On February 2, 1946, in accordance with the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Yuzhno-Sakhalin Region was formed in these territories as part of the Khabarovsk Territory of the RSFSR, which on January 2, 1947 became part of the newly formed Sakhalin Region as part of the RSFSR.
Thus, de facto, South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands passed to Russia.
Why didn't the USSR sign a peace treaty with Japan?
However, these territorial changes were not formalized by a treaty between the two countries. But the political situation in the world has changed, and yesterday’s ally of the USSR, the United States, turned into Japan’s closest friend and ally, and therefore was not interested in either resolving Soviet-Japanese relations or resolving the territorial issue between the two countries.
In 1951, a peace treaty was concluded in San Francisco between Japan and the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition, which the USSR did not sign.
The reason for this was the US revision of previous agreements with the USSR, reached in the Yalta Agreement of 1945 - now official Washington believed that the Soviet Union had no rights not only to the Kuril Islands, but also to South Sakhalin. In any case, this is exactly the resolution that was adopted by the US Senate during the discussion of the treaty.
However, in the final version of the San Francisco Treaty, Japan renounces its rights to South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. But here, too, there is a catch - official Tokyo, both then and now, states that it does not consider Habomai, Kunashir, Iturup and Shikotan to be part of the Kuril Islands.
That is, the Japanese are sure that they really renounced South Sakhalin, but they never renounced the “northern territories”.
The Soviet Union refused to sign a peace treaty not only because its territorial disputes with Japan were unresolved, but also because it did not in any way resolve similar disputes between Japan and the then USSR ally, China.
Compromise ruined Washington
Only five years later, in 1956, the Soviet-Japanese declaration on ending the state of war was signed, which was supposed to be the prologue to the conclusion of a peace treaty.
A compromise solution was also announced - the islands of Habomai and Shikotan would be returned to Japan in exchange for unconditional recognition of the sovereignty of the USSR over all other disputed territories. But this could happen only after the conclusion of a peace treaty.
In fact, Japan was quite happy with these conditions, but then a “third force” intervened. The United States was not at all happy about the prospect of establishing relations between the USSR and Japan. The territorial problem acted as an excellent wedge driven between Moscow and Tokyo, and Washington considered its resolution extremely undesirable.
It was announced to the Japanese authorities that if a compromise was reached with the USSR on the “Kuril problem” on the terms of the division of the islands, the United States would leave the island of Okinawa and the entire Ryukyu archipelago under its sovereignty.
The threat was truly terrible for the Japanese - we were talking about an area with more than a million people, which has the greatest historical significance for Japan.
As a result, a possible compromise on the issue of the Southern Kuril Islands melted away like smoke, and with it the prospect of concluding a full-fledged peace treaty.
By the way, control over Okinawa finally passed to Japan only in 1972. Moreover, 18 percent of the island’s territory is still occupied by American military bases.
Complete dead end
In fact, there has been no progress in the territorial dispute since 1956. IN Soviet period Having failed to reach a compromise, the USSR came to the tactic of completely denying any dispute in principle.
In the post-Soviet period, Japan began to hope that Russian President Boris Yeltsin, generous with gifts, would give up the “northern territories.” Moreover, such a decision was considered fair by very prominent figures in Russia - for example, Nobel laureate Alexander Solzhenitsyn.
Perhaps at this moment the Japanese side made a mistake, instead of compromise options like the one discussed in 1956, they began to insist on the transfer of all the disputed islands.
But in Russia the pendulum has already swung in the other direction, and those who consider the transfer of even one island impossible are much louder today.
For both Japan and Russia, the “Kuril issue” has become a matter of principle over the past decades. For both Russian and Japanese politicians, the slightest concessions threaten, if not the collapse of their careers, then serious electoral losses.
Therefore, Shinzo Abe’s declared desire to solve the problem is undoubtedly commendable, but completely unrealistic.
The name of the Kuril Islands does not come from the “smoking” volcanoes. It is based on the Ainu word “kur”, “kuru”, meaning “man”. This is how the Ainu, the indigenous inhabitants of the islands, called themselves, this is how they presented themselves to the Kamchatka Cossacks, and they called them “Kuril Islands”, “Kuril men”. This is where the name of the islands came from.
Ainu gave suitable name each island: Paramushir means “wide island”, Kunashir - “black island”, Urup “salmon”, Iturup - “big salmon”, Onekotan - “old settlement”, Paranay - “big river”, Shikotan - “ the best place" Most of the Ainu names have been preserved, although there were attempts on both the Russian and Japanese sides to rename the islands in their own way. True, neither side sparkled with imagination - both tried to assign serial numbers to the islands as names: First Island, Second, etc., but the Russians counted from the north, and the Japanese, naturally, from the south.
The Russians, like the Japanese, learned about the islands in the middle of the 17th century. First detailed information Vladimir Atlasov provided information about them in 1697. At the beginning of the 18th century. Peter I became aware of their existence, and expeditions began to be sent to the “Kuril Land” one after another. In 1711, the Cossack Ivan Kozyrevsky visited the two northern islands of Shumshu and Paramushir, and in 1719, Ivan Evreinov and Fyodor Luzhin reached the island of Simushir. In 1738-1739 Martyn Shpanberg, having walked along the entire ridge, put the islands he saw on the map. The study of new places was followed by their development - the collection of yasak from the local population, the attraction of the Ainu to Russian citizenship, which was accompanied, as usual, by violence. As a result, in 1771 the Ainu rebelled and killed many Russians. By 1779, they managed to establish relations with the Kurils and bring more than 1,500 people from Kunashir, Iturup and Matsumaya (present-day Hokkaido) into Russian citizenship. Catherine II exempted all of them from taxes by decree. The Japanese were not happy with this situation, and they forbade the Russians to appear on these three islands.
By and large, the status of the islands south of Urup was not clearly defined at that time, and the Japanese also considered them theirs. In 1799 they founded two outposts in Kunashir and Iturup.
At the beginning of the 19th century, after an unsuccessful attempt by Nikolai Rezanov (the first Russian envoy to Japan) to resolve this issue, Russian-Japanese relations only worsened.
In 1855, according to the Treaty of Shimoda, the island of Sakhalin was recognized as “undivided between Russia and Japan”, the Kuril Islands north of Iturup were the possessions of Russia, and the southern Kuril Islands (Kunashir, Iturup, Shikotan and a number of small ones) were the possessions of Japan. Under the treaty of 1875, Russia transferred all the Kuril Islands to Japan in exchange for an official renunciation of claims to Sakhalin Island.
In February 1945, at the Yalta Conference of the Heads of Power of the Anti-Hitler Coalition, an agreement was reached on the unconditional transfer of the Kuril Islands to the Soviet Union after the victory over Japan. By September 1945, Soviet troops occupied the Southern Kuril Islands. However, the Instrument of Surrender, signed by Japan on September 2, did not directly say anything about the transfer of these islands to the USSR.
In 1947, 17,000 Japanese and an unknown number of Ainu were deported to Japan from the islands that became part of the RSFSR. In 1951, Japan began to make claims to Iturup, Kunashir and the Lesser Kuril Ridge (Shikotan and Habomai), which were given to it under the Shimoda Treaty in 1855.
In 1956, diplomatic relations between the USSR and Japan were established and a Joint Agreement on the transfer of the islands of Shikotan and Habomai to Japan was adopted. However, the actual transfer of these islands must be made after the conclusion of a peace treaty, which has not yet been signed due to the remaining Japanese claims to Kunashir and Iturup.
The Kuril Islands chain is a special world. Each of the islands is a volcano, a fragment of a volcano, or a chain of volcanoes fused together at their bases. The Kuril Islands are located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, and there are about a hundred volcanoes in total, 39 of which are active. In addition, there are many hot springs. About ongoing movements earth's crust This is evidenced by frequent earthquakes and seaquakes that cause tidal waves of enormous destructive power - tsunamis. The last powerful tsunami was generated during the earthquake on November 15, 2006 and reached the coast of California.
The highest and most active of the Alaid volcanoes on Atlasov Island (2339 m). Actually, the entire island is the surface part of a large volcanic cone. The last eruption occurred in 1986. The volcano island has almost correct form and it looks incredibly picturesque in the middle of the ocean. Many find that its shape is even more correct than that of the famous one.
Near the eastern underwater slopes of the Kuril Islands there is a narrow deep-sea depression - the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench with a depth of up to 9717 m and an average width of 59 km.
The relief and nature of the islands are very diverse: bizarre shapes of coastal rocks, colorful pebbles, large and small boiling lakes, waterfalls. A special attraction is Cape Stolbchaty on Kunashir Island, rising like a sheer wall above the water and entirely consisting of columnar units - giant basalt five- and hexagonal pillars formed as a result of the solidification of lava, poured into the water column, and then raised to the surface.
Volcanic activity, warm and cold sea currents determine the unique diversity of flora and fauna of the islands, strongly elongated from north to south. If in the north, under harsh climate conditions, tree vegetation is represented by shrub forms, then on the southern islands coniferous and broad-leaved forests with a large number of vines grow; Kuril bamboo forms impenetrable thickets and wild magnolia blooms. There are about 40 endemic plant species on the islands. There are many bird colonies in the Southern Kuriles region; one of the main bird migration routes passes here. Salmon fish spawn in rivers. Coastal zone - rookeries for marine mammals. The underwater world is particularly diverse: crabs, squids and other mollusks, crustaceans, sea cucumbers, sea cucumbers, whales, killer whales. This is one of the most productive areas of the World Ocean.
Iturup is the largest of the Kuril Islands. On an area of about 3200 km 2 there are 9 active volcanoes, as well as the city and unofficial “capital” of the islands due to its central location, Kurilsk, founded in 1946 at the mouth of the river with the “speaking name” Kurilka.
Three administrative districts with centers in Yuzhno-Kurilsk (Kunashir).
Kurilsk (Iturup) and Severo-Kurilsk (Paramushir).
Most big Island:
Iturup (3200 km 2).
Numbers
Area: about 15,600 km2.Population: about 19,000 people. (2007).
The most high point: Alaid volcano (2339 m) on Atlasov Island.
Length Large Kuril ridge:
about 1200 km.
Length of the Lesser Kuril Ridge: about 100 km.
Economy
Mineral resources: non-ferrous metals, mercury, natural gas, oil, rhenium (one of the rarest elements in the earth's crust), gold, silver, titanium, iron.
Fishing for fish (chum salmon, etc.) and sea animals (seal, sea lion).
Climate and weather
Moderate monsoon, severe, with long, cold, stormy winters and short, foggy summers.Average annual precipitation: about 1000 mm, mostly in the form of snow.
A small number of sunny days occur in autumn.
Average temperature:-7°C in February, +10°C in July.
Attractions
■ Volcanoes, hot springs, boiling lakes, waterfalls.■ Atlasov Island: Alaid volcano;
■ Kunashir: Kurilsky Nature Reserve with Tyatya Volcano (1819 m), Cape Stolbchaty;
■ Rookeries of fur seals and seals.
Curious facts
■ In 1737, a monstrous wave about fifty meters high rose in the sea and hit the shore with such force that some rocks collapsed. At the same time, in one of the Kuril Straits, new rocky cliffs rose from under the water.■ In 1780, the ship “Natalia” was thrown by a tsunami deep into the island of Urup, 300 meters from the shore. The ship remained on dry land.
■ As a result of the earthquake on the island of Simushir in 1849, the water in the springs and wells suddenly disappeared. This forced the inhabitants to leave the island.
■ During the eruption of the Sarycheva volcano on the island of Matua in 1946, lava flows reached the sea. The glow could be seen 150 km away, and ash fell even in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The thickness of the ash layer on the island reached four meters.
■ In November 1952, a powerful tsunami hit the entire coast of the Kuril Islands. Paramushir suffered more than other islands. The wave practically washed away the city of Severo-Kurilsk. It was forbidden to mention this disaster in the press.
■ On Kunashir Island and the islands of the Lesser Kuril Ridge, the Kurilsky Nature Reserve was created in 1984. 84 species of its inhabitants are listed in the Red Book.
■ In the north of the island of Kunashir there grows a patriarch tree; it even has a proper name - “Sage”. This is a yew, its trunk diameter is 130 cm, it is believed that it is more than 1000 years old.
■ The notorious tsunami of November 2006 was “marked” on the island of Shikotan, according to instruments, with a wave 153 cm high.
65 years ago, on September 8, 1951, a peace treaty between the countries of the Anti-Hitler Coalition and Japan was signed in San Francisco. The USSR, however, refused to sign that agreement due to incorrect wording on the Kuril Islands: Japan admitted that it was transferring the southern part of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands to the USSR, but... not all.
Editor LJ Media
The history of the end of the Second World War is interesting.
As you know, on August 6, 1945, the American Air Force dropped a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, and then on August 9, 1945, on Nagasaki. The plan was to drop several more bombs, the third of which would be ready by August 17-18 and would have been dropped if such an order had been given by Truman. Tom did not have to resolve the dilemma, since on August 14-15 the Japanese government announced surrender.
Soviet and Russian citizens, of course, know that by dropping nuclear bombs, the Americans committed a war crime, purely in order to scare Stalin, and the Americans and Japanese - that they forced Japan to surrender in World War II, thereby saving at least a million human lives, mostly military ones and Japanese civilians, and, of course, Allied soldiers, mainly Americans.
Let's imagine for a moment whether the Americans scared Stalin with a nuclear bomb, even if they suddenly set such a goal? The answer is obvious - no. The USSR entered the war with Japan only on August 8, 1945, i.e. 2 days after the bombing of Hiroshima. The date May 8 is not accidental. At the Yalta Conference on February 4-11, 1945, Stalin promised that the USSR would enter the war with Japan 2-3 months after the end of the war with Germany, with which [Japan] there was a neutrality pact concluded on April 13, 1941 (see. the main events of World War II according to the author of this LJ). Thus, Stalin fulfilled his promise on the last day of the promised 2-3 months after the surrender of Germany, but immediately after the bombing of Hiroshima. Whether he would have kept this promise or not without her is interesting question, perhaps historians have an answer to this, but I don’t know.
So, Japan announced surrender on August 14-15, but this did not lead to the end of hostilities against the USSR. The Soviet army continued to advance in Manchuria. Again, Soviet and Russian citizens It is obvious that hostilities continued because the Japanese army refused to surrender due to the fact that some did not receive the order to surrender, and some ignored it. The question is, of course, what would have happened if the Soviet army had stopped offensive operations after August 14-15. Would this have led to the surrender of the Japanese and saved about 10 thousand lives of Soviet soldiers?
As is known, there is still no peace treaty between Japan and the USSR, and subsequently Russia. The problem of the peace treaty is linked to the so-called “northern territories” or the disputed islands of the Lesser Kuril chain.
Let's begin. Below the cut is a Google Earth image of the territory of Hokkaido (Japan) and now the Russian territories to the north - Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands and Kamchatka. The Kuril Islands are divided into the Large Ridge, which includes large and small islands from Shumshu in the north to Kunashir in the south, and the Small Ridge, which includes from Shikotan in the north to the islands of the Habomai group in the south (limited on the diagram by white lines).
From the blog To understand the problem of disputed territories, let’s plunge into the deep history of the development of the Far East by the Japanese and Russians. Before both of them, local Ainu and other nationalities lived there, whose opinion, according to the good old tradition, does not bother anyone due to their almost complete disappearance (Ainu) and/or Russification (Kamchadals). The Japanese were the first to come to these territories. First they came to Hokkaido, and by 1637 they had drawn up maps of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands.
From the blog Later, the Russians came to these places, drew up maps and dates, and in 1786 Catherine II declared the Kuril Islands her possessions. At the same time, Sakhalin remained a draw.
From the blog In 1855, namely on February 7, an agreement was signed between Japan and Russia, according to which Urup and the islands of the Greater Kuril ridge to the north went to Russia, and Iturup and the islands to the south, including all the islands of the Lesser Kuril ridge, went to Japan. Sakhalin, in modern terms, was a disputed possession. True, due to the small number of Japanese and Russian populations, the issue was not so serious in state level, except that problems arose among traders.
From the blog In 1875, in St. Petersburg, the Sakhalin issue was resolved. Sakhalin passed completely to Russia, in return Japan received all the Kuril Islands.
From the blog In 1904, the Russian-Japanese War began in the Far East, in which Russia was defeated and as a result, in 1905 the southern part of Sakhalin passed to Japan. In 1925, the USSR recognized this state of affairs. Afterwards there were all sorts of minor skirmishes, but the status quo lasted until the end of the Second World War.
From the blog Finally, at the Yalta Conference on February 4-11, 1945, Stalin discussed the issue of the Far East with the allies. I repeat, he promised that the USSR would enter the war with Japan after the victory over Germany, which was just around the corner, but in return the USSR would return Sakhalin, as illegally conquered by Japan during the 1905 war, and would receive the Kuril Islands, albeit in an indefinite amount.
And here the most interesting thing begins in the context of the Kuril Islands.
On August 16-23, the Soviet Army battles and defeats the Japanese group in the Northern Kuril Islands (Shumshu). On August 27-28, without a fight, since the Japanese capitulated, the Soviet Army took Urup. On September 1, landings take place on Kunashir and Shikotan; the Japanese offer no resistance.
From the blog September 2, 1945 Japan signs surrender - Second World War officially completed. And then our Crimean operation takes place to capture the islands of the Lesser Kuril Ridge, located south of Shikotan, known as the Habomai Islands.
The war is over, and the Soviet land continues to grow with the original Japanese islands. Moreover, I never found out when Tanfilyev Island (a completely deserted and flat piece of land off the very coast of Hokkaido) became ours. But what is certain is that in 1946 a border post was established there, which became famous for the bloody massacre carried out by two Russian border guards in 1994.
From the blog As a result, Japan does not recognize the seizure of its “northern territories” by the USSR and does not recognize that these territories passed to Russia, as the legal successor of the USSR. February 7 (according to the date of the treaty with Russia in 1855) celebrates the day of the Northern Territories, which, according to the treaty of 1855, includes all the islands south of Urup.
An attempt (unsuccessful) to solve this problem was made in 1951 in San Francisco. Japan, under this treaty, must renounce any claims to Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, with the exception of Shikotan and the Habomai group. The USSR did not sign the treaty. The United States signed the treaty with the clause: “ It is provided that the terms of the Treaty will not mean recognition for the USSR of any rights or claims in the territories that belonged to Japan on December 7, 1941, which would harm Japan's rights and title to these territories, nor will any whatever the provisions in favor of the USSR in relation to Japan contained in the Yalta Agreement.»
Comments from the USSR regarding the treaty:
Comment by Gromyko (Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR) regarding the treaty: The Soviet delegation has already drawn the attention of the conference to the inadmissibility of such a situation when the draft peace treaty with Japan does not say anything about the fact that Japan must recognize the sovereignty of the Soviet Union over South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. The project is in gross contradiction with the obligations regarding these territories assumed by the United States and England under the Yalta Agreement. http://www.hrono.ru/dokum/195_dok/19510908gromy.php
In 1956, the USSR promised Japan to return Shikotan and the Habomai group if Japan did not lay claim to Kunashir and Iturup. Whether the Japanese agreed with this or not, opinions differ. We say that yes - Shikotan and Habomai are yours, and Kunashir and Iturup are ours. The Japanese say that everything south of Urup is theirs.
UPD Text of the declaration: At the same time, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, meeting the wishes of Japan and taking into account the interests of the Japanese state, agrees to the transfer of Habomai Islands and Shikotan Islands to Japan, however, that the actual transfer of these islands to Japan will be made after the conclusion.
The Japanese then retreated back (perhaps under pressure from the Americans), linking together all the islands south of Urup.
I don’t want to predict how history will unfold next, but most likely Japan will use the ancient Chinese wisdom and wait until all the disputed islands sail to them. The only question is whether they will stop at the 1855 treaty or go further to the 1875 treaty.
____________________________
Shinzo Abe announced that he would annex the disputed islands of the South Kuril chain to Japan. “I will solve the problem of the northern territories and conclude a peace treaty. As a politician, as a prime minister, I want to achieve this at any cost,” he promised his compatriots.
According to Japanese tradition, Shinzo Abe will have to commit hara-kiri to himself if he does not keep his word. It is quite possible that Vladimir Putin will help the Japanese prime minister live to a ripe old age and die a natural death.
In my opinion, everything is heading towards the fact that the long-standing conflict will be resolved. The time for establishing decent relations with Japan has been chosen very well - for the empty, hard-to-reach lands, which their former owners now and then look nostalgically at, you can get a lot of material benefits from one of the most powerful economies in the world. And the lifting of sanctions as a condition for the transfer of the islands is far from the only and not the main concession that, I am sure, our Foreign Ministry is now seeking.
So the quite expected surge of quasi-patriotism of our liberals, directed at the Russian president, should be prevented.
I have already had to analyze in detail the history of the islands of Tarabarov and Bolshoy Ussuriysky on the Amur, the loss of which Moscow snobs cannot come to terms with. The post also discussed a dispute with Norway over maritime territories, which was also resolved.
I also touched on the secret negotiations between human rights activist Lev Ponomarev and a Japanese diplomat about the “northern territories,” filmed and posted online. Generally speaking, this one video it is enough for our concerned citizens to bashfully swallow the return of the islands to Japan if it takes place. But since concerned citizens will definitely not remain silent, we must understand the essence of the problem.
Background
February 7, 1855 - Shimoda Treaty on Trade and Borders. The now disputed islands of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and the Habomai group of islands were ceded to Japan (therefore, February 7 is annually celebrated in Japan as Northern Territories Day). The issue of the status of Sakhalin remained unresolved.
May 7, 1875 - Treaty of St. Petersburg. Japan was given the rights to all 18 Kuril Islands in exchange for all of Sakhalin.
August 23, 1905 - Treaty of Portsmouth following the results of the Russo-Japanese War. Russia ceded the southern part of Sakhalin.
February 11, 1945 - Yalta Conference. The USSR, USA and Great Britain reached a written agreement on the Soviet Union's entry into the war with Japan, subject to the return of South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands to it after the end of the war.
On February 2, 1946, on the basis of the Yalta Agreements, the South Sakhalin Region was created in the USSR - on the territory of the southern part of Sakhalin Island and the Kuril Islands. On January 2, 1947, it was merged with the Sakhalin region of the Khabarovsk Territory, which expanded to the borders of the modern Sakhalin region.
Japan enters the Cold War
On September 8, 1951, the Peace Treaty between the Allied Powers and Japan was signed in San Francisco. Regarding the currently disputed territories, it says the following: “Japan renounces all rights, title and claims to the Kuril Islands and to that part of Sakhalin Island and the adjacent islands over which Japan acquired sovereignty under the Treaty of Portsmouth of September 5, 1905.”
The USSR sent a delegation to San Francisco headed by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs A.A. Gromyko. But not in order to sign a document, but to voice my position. We formulated the mentioned clause of the agreement as follows: “Japan recognizes the full sovereignty of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics over the southern part of Sakhalin Island with all the adjacent islands and the Kuril Islands and renounces all rights, title and claims to these territories.”
Of course, in our version the agreement is specific and more in line with the spirit and letter of the Yalta agreements. However, the Anglo-American version was accepted. The USSR did not sign it, Japan did.
Today, some historians believe that the USSR should have signed the San Francisco Peace Treaty in the form in which it was proposed by the Americans - this would have strengthened our negotiating position. “We should have signed the agreement. I don’t know why we didn’t do this - perhaps because of vanity or pride, but above all, because Stalin overestimated his capabilities and the degree of his influence on the United States,” N.S. wrote in his memoirs .Khrushchev. But soon, as we will see further, he himself made a mistake.
From today's perspective, the absence of a signature on the notorious treaty is sometimes considered almost a diplomatic failure. However, the international situation at that time was much more complex and was not limited to the Far East. Perhaps what seems like a loss to someone, in those conditions became a necessary measure.
Japan and sanctions
It is sometimes mistakenly believed that since we do not have a peace treaty with Japan, then we are in a state of war. However, this is not at all true.
On December 12, 1956, a ceremony for the exchange of documents took place in Tokyo, marking the entry into force of the Joint Declaration. According to the document, the USSR agreed to “the transfer to Japan of the islands of Habomai and the island of Shikotan, however, that the actual transfer of these islands to Japan will be made after the conclusion of a peace treaty between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Japan.”
The parties came to this formulation after several rounds of long negotiations. Japan's initial proposal was simple: a return to Potsdam - that is, the transfer of all the Kuril Islands and South Sakhalin to it. Of course, such a proposal from the side that lost the war looked somewhat frivolous.
The USSR was not going to give up an inch, but unexpectedly for the Japanese, they suddenly offered Habomai and Shikotan. This was a fallback position, approved by the Politburo, but declared prematurely - the head of the Soviet delegation, Ya. A. Malik, was acutely worried about N. S. Khrushchev’s dissatisfaction with him due to the protracted negotiations. On August 9, 1956, during a conversation with his counterpart in the garden of the Japanese Embassy in London, the fallback position was announced. It was this that was included in the text of the Joint Declaration.
It is necessary to clarify that the influence of the United States on Japan at that time was enormous (as it is now). They carefully monitored all its contacts with the USSR and, undoubtedly, were a third party to the negotiations, albeit invisible.
At the end of August 1956, Washington threatened Tokyo that if, under a peace treaty with the USSR, Japan renounces its claims to Kunashir and Iturup, the United States would forever retain the occupied island of Okinawa and the entire Ryukyu archipelago. The note contained wording that clearly played on the national feelings of the Japanese: “The US government has come to the conclusion that the islands of Iturup and Kunashir (along with the islands of Habomai and Shikotan, which are part of Hokkaido) have always been part of Japan and should rightly be considered as belonging to Japan " That is, the Yalta agreements were publicly disavowed.
The ownership of the “northern territories” of Hokkaido, of course, is a lie - on all military and pre-war Japanese maps, the islands were always part of the Kuril ridge and were never designated separately. However, I liked the idea. It was on this geographical absurdity that entire generations of politicians in the Land of the Rising Sun made their careers.
The peace treaty has not yet been signed - in our relations we are guided by the Joint Declaration of 1956.
Price issue
I think that even in the first term of his presidency, Vladimir Putin decided to resolve all controversial territorial issues with his neighbors. Including with Japan. In any case, back in 2004, Sergei Lavrov formulated the position of the Russian leadership: “We have always fulfilled and will fulfill our obligations, especially ratified documents, but, of course, to the extent that our partners are ready to fulfill the same agreements . So far, as we know, we have not been able to come to an understanding of these volumes as we see it and as we saw in 1956.”
“Until Japan’s ownership of all four islands is clearly determined, a peace treaty will not be concluded,” responded then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. The negotiation process has again reached a dead end.
However, this year we again remembered the peace treaty with Japan.
In May, at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, Vladimir Putin said that Russia is ready to negotiate with Japan on the disputed islands, and the solution should be a compromise. That is, neither party should feel like a loser. “Are you ready to negotiate? Yes, we are ready. But we were surprised to hear recently that Japan has joined some kind of sanctions - what does Japan have to do with this, I don’t really understand - and is suspending the negotiation process on this topic. So, are we ready, is Japan ready, I still haven’t figured it out for myself,” said the Russian President.
It looks like the pain point has been found correctly. And the negotiation process (hopefully, this time in offices tightly closed from American ears) has been in full swing for at least six months. Otherwise, Shinzo Abe would not have made such promises.
If we fulfill the terms of the 1956 Joint Declaration and return the two islands to Japan, 2,100 people will have to be resettled. They all live on Shikotan; only the border post is located on Habomai. Most likely, the problem of our armed forces being on the islands is being discussed. However, for full control There are quite enough troops stationed in Sakhalin, Kunashir and Iturup over the region.
Another question is what kind of reciprocal concessions we expect from Japan. It is clear that sanctions must be lifted - this is not even discussed. Perhaps access to credit and technology, increased participation in joint projects? It's possible.
Be that as it may, Shinzo Abe faces a difficult choice. The conclusion of a long-awaited peace treaty with Russia, flavored with the “northern territories,” would certainly make him the politician of the century in his homeland. It will inevitably lead to tension in Japan's relations with the United States. I wonder what the Prime Minister will prefer.
But we will somehow survive the internal Russian tension that our liberals will fan.
From the blog The Habomai Island group is labeled "Other Islands" on this map. These are a few white spots between Shikotan and Hokkaido.
(The post was written more than two years ago, but the situation as of today has not changed, but talk about the Kuril Islands in last days have become active again, - editor's note)
History of the Kuril Islands
Background
Briefly, the history of “belonging” to the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin Island is as follows.
1.During the period 1639-1649. Russian Cossack detachments led by Moskovitinov, Kolobov, Popov explored and began to develop Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. At the same time, Russian pioneers repeatedly sailed to the island of Hokkaido, where they were peacefully greeted by the local Ainu aborigines. The Japanese appeared on this island a century later, after which they exterminated and partially assimilated the Ainu.
2.B 1701 Cossack sergeant Vladimir Atlasov reported to Peter I about the “subordination” of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, leading to the “wonderful kingdom of Nipon”, to the Russian crown.
3.B 1786. By order of Catherine II, a register of Russian possessions in the Pacific Ocean was made, with the register being brought to the attention of all European states as a declaration of Russia's rights to these possessions, including Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands.
4.B 1792. By decree of Catherine II, the entire chain of the Kuril Islands (both Northern and Southern), as well as the island of Sakhalin officially included in the Russian Empire.
5. As a result of Russia’s defeat in the Crimean War 1854-1855 gg. under pressure England and France Russia forced was concluded with Japan on February 7, 1855. Treaty of Shimoda, according to which four southern islands of the Kuril chain were transferred to Japan: Habomai, Shikotan, Kunashir and Iturup. Sakhalin remained undivided between Russia and Japan. At the same time, however, the right of Russian ships to enter Japanese ports was recognized, and “permanent peace and sincere friendship between Japan and Russia” were proclaimed.
6.May 7, 1875 according to the Treaty of St. Petersburg, the tsarist government as a very strange act of “goodwill” makes incomprehensible further territorial concessions to Japan and transfers to it another 18 small islands of the archipelago. In return, Japan finally recognized Russia's right to all of Sakhalin. It is for this agreement the Japanese refer most of all today, slyly keeping silent, that the first article of this treaty reads: “...and henceforth it will be established eternal peace and friendship between Russia and Japan" ( the Japanese themselves violated this treaty several times in the 20th century). Many Russian statesmen of those years sharply condemned this “exchange” agreement as short-sighted and harmful to the future of Russia, comparing it with the same short-sightedness as the sale of Alaska to the United States of America in 1867 for next to nothing ($7 billion 200 million). ), - saying that “now we are biting our own elbows.”
7.After the Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905 gg. followed another stage in the humiliation of Russia. By Portsmouth peace treaty concluded on September 5, 1905, Japan received the southern part of Sakhalin, all the Kuril Islands, and also took away from Russia the lease right to the naval bases of Port Arthur and Dalniy. When did Russian diplomats remind the Japanese that all these provisions contradict the treaty of 1875 g., - those answered arrogantly and impudently : « War crosses out all agreements. You have been defeated and let's proceed from the current situation " Reader, Let us remember this boastful declaration of the invader!
8.Next comes the time to punish the aggressor for his eternal greed and territorial expansion. Signed by Stalin and Roosevelt at the Yalta Conference February 10, 1945 G. " Agreement on the Far East" provided: "... 2-3 months after the surrender of Germany, the Soviet Union will enter the war against Japan subject to the return to the Soviet Union of the southern part of Sakhalin, all the Kuril Islands, as well as the restoration of the lease of Port Arthur and Dalny(these built and equipped by the hands of Russian workers, soldiers and sailors back in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. naval bases were very convenient in their geographical location donated free of charge to “brotherly” China. But our fleet needed these bases so much in the 60-80s years of revelry " cold war"and intense combat service of the fleet in remote areas of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. We had to equip the Cam Ranh forward base in Vietnam from scratch for the fleet).
9.B July 1945 in accordance with Potsdam Declaration heads of victorious countries the following verdict was adopted regarding the future of Japan: “The sovereignty of Japan will be limited to four islands: Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku, Honshu and those that WE SPECIFY.” August 14, 1945 The Japanese government has publicly confirmed its acceptance of the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, and September 2 Japan unconditionally surrendered. Article 6 of the Instrument of Surrender states: “...the Japanese government and its successors will honestly implement the terms of the Potsdam Declaration , give such orders and take such actions as the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Powers requires in order to implement this declaration...” January 29, 1946 The Commander-in-Chief, General MacArthur, in his Directive No. 677 DEMANDED: “The Kuril Islands, including Habomai and Shikotan, are excluded from the jurisdiction of Japan.” AND only after that Legal action was issued by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on February 2, 1946, which read: “All lands, subsoil and waters of Sakhalin and the Kul Islands are the property of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.” Thus, the Kuril Islands (both Northern and Southern), as well as about. Sakhalin, legally And in accordance with standards international law were returned to Russia . This could put an end to the “problem” of the Southern Kuril Islands and stop all further disputes. But the story with the Kuril Islands continues.
10.After the end of the Second World War US occupied Japan and turned it into their military base in the Far East. In September 1951 The USA, Great Britain and a number of other states (49 in total) signed Treaty of San Francisco with Japan, prepared in violation of the Potsdam Agreements without the participation of the Soviet Union . Therefore, our government did not join the agreement. However, in Art. 2, Chapter II of this treaty is written in black and white: “ Japan renounces all rights and claims... to the Kuril Islands and that part of Sakhalin and the adjacent islands , over which Japan acquired sovereignty by the Treaty of Portsmouth of September 5, 1905.” However, even after this, the story with the Kuril Islands does not end.
11.19 October 1956 The government of the Soviet Union, following the principles of friendship with neighboring states, signed with the Japanese government joint declaration, according to which the state of war between the USSR and Japan ended and peace, good neighborliness and friendly relations were restored between them. When signing the Declaration as a gesture of goodwill and nothing more it was promised to transfer to Japan the two southernmost islands of Shikotan and Habomai, but only after the conclusion of a peace treaty between the countries.
12.However The United States imposed a number of military agreements on Japan after 1956, replaced in 1960 by a single “Treaty on Mutual Cooperation and Security”, according to which US troops remained on its territory, and thus the Japanese islands turned into a springboard for aggression against Soviet Union. In connection with this situation, the Soviet government declared to Japan that it was impossible to transfer the promised two islands to it.. And the same statement emphasized that, according to the declaration of October 19, 1956, “peace, good neighborliness and friendly relations” were established between the countries. Therefore, an additional peace treaty may not be required.
Thus, the problem of the South Kuril Islands does not exist. It was decided a long time ago. AND de jure and de facto the islands belong to Russia
. In this regard, it might be appropriate remind the Japanese of their arrogant statement in 1905 g., and also indicate that Japan was defeated in World War II and therefore has no rights to any territories, even to her ancestral lands, except those that were given to her by the victors.
AND to our Foreign Ministry
just as harshly, or in a softer diplomatic form you should have stated this to the Japanese and put an end to it, PERMANENTLY stopping all negotiations and even conversations on this non-existent problem that degrades the dignity and authority of Russia.
And again the “territorial issue”
However, starting from 1991
city, meetings of the President are held repeatedly Yeltsin and members of the Russian government, diplomats with Japanese government circles, during which The Japanese side every time persistently raises the issue of “northern Japanese territories.”
Thus, in the Tokyo Declaration 1993
g., signed by the President of Russia and the Prime Minister of Japan, was again the “presence of a territorial issue” was recognized, and both sides promised to “make efforts” to resolve it. The question arises: could our diplomats really not know that such declarations should not be signed, because recognition of the existence of a “territorial issue” is contrary to the national interests of Russia (Article 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “High Treason”)??
As for the peace treaty with Japan, it is de facto and de jure in accordance with the Soviet-Japanese Declaration of October 19, 1956. not really needed. The Japanese do not want to conclude an additional official peace treaty, and there is no need. He more needed in Japan, as the side that was defeated in the Second World War, rather than Russia.
A Russian citizens should know that the “problem” of the Southern Kuril Islands is just a fake , her exaggeration, periodic media hype around her and the litigiousness of the Japanese - there is consequence illegal Japan's claims in violation of its obligations to strictly comply with its recognized and signed international obligations. And Japan’s constant desire to reconsider the ownership of many territories in the Asia-Pacific region permeates Japanese politics throughout the twentieth century.
Why The Japanese, one might say, have their teeth in the Southern Kuril Islands and are trying to illegally take possession of them again? But because the economic and military-strategic importance of this region is extremely great for Japan, and even more so for Russia. This region of colossal seafood wealth(fish, living creatures, sea animals, vegetation, etc.), deposits of useful, including rare earth minerals, energy sources, mineral raw materials.
For example, January 29 this year. in the Vesti (RTR) program, short information slipped through: it was discovered on the island of Iturup large deposit of the rare earth metal Rhenium(the 75th element in the periodic table, and the only one in the world
).
Scientists allegedly calculated that to develop this deposit it would be enough to invest only 35 thousand dollars, but the profit from the extraction of this metal will allow us to bring all of Russia out of the crisis in 3-4 years. Apparently the Japanese know about this and that’s why they attack so persistently Russian government demanding that the islands be given to them.
I must say that During the 50 years of ownership of the islands, the Japanese did not build or create anything major on them, except for light temporary buildings. Our border guards had to rebuild barracks and other buildings at outposts. The entire economic “development” of the islands, which the Japanese are shouting about to the whole world today, consisted in the predatory robbery of the islands' wealth . During the Japanese "development" from the islands seal rookeries and sea otter habitats have disappeared . Part of the livestock of these animals our Kuril residents have already restored .
Today, the economic situation of this entire island zone, as well as the whole of Russia, is difficult. Of course, significant measures are needed to support this region and care for Kuril residents. According to calculations by a group of State Duma deputies, it is possible to produce on the islands, as reported in the program “Parliamentary Hour” (RTR) on January 31 of this year, only fish products up to 2000 tons per year, with a net profit of about 3 billion dollars.
Militarily, the ridge of the Northern and Southern Kuriles with Sakhalin constitutes a complete closed infrastructure for the strategic defense of the Far East and the Pacific Fleet. They protect the Sea of Okhotsk and turn it into an inland one. This is the area deployment and combat positions of our strategic submarines.
Without the Southern Kuril Islands we will have a hole in this defense. Control over the Kuril Islands ensures free access of the fleet to the ocean - after all, until 1945, our Pacific Fleet, starting in 1905, was practically locked in its bases in Primorye. Detection equipment on the islands provides long-range detection of air and surface enemies and the organization of anti-submarine defense of the approaches to the passages between the islands.
In conclusion, it is worth noting this feature in the relationship between the Russia-Japan-US triangle. It is the United States that confirms the “legality” of the islands’ ownership of Japan, against all odds international treaties signed by them
.
If so, then our Foreign Ministry has every right, in response to the claims of the Japanese, to invite them to demand the return of Japan to its “southern territories” - the Caroline, Marshall and Mariana Islands.
These archipelagos former colonies of Germany, captured by Japan in 1914. Japanese rule over these islands was sanctioned by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. After the defeat of Japan, all these archipelagos came under US control. So Why shouldn't Japan demand that the United States return the islands to it? Or do you lack the spirit?
As you can see, there is clear double standard in Japanese foreign policy.
And one more fact that clarifies the overall picture of the return of our Far Eastern territories in September 1945 and the military significance of this region. The Kuril operation of the 2nd Far Eastern Front and the Pacific Fleet (August 18 - September 1, 1945) provided for the liberation of all the Kuril Islands and the capture of Hokkaido.
The annexation of this island to Russia would have important operational and strategic significance, since it would ensure the complete enclosure of the Sea of Okhotsk by our island territories: Kuril Islands - Hokkaido - Sakhalin. But Stalin canceled this part of the operation, saying that with the liberation of the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin, we had resolved all our territorial issues in the Far East. A we don't need someone else's land . In addition, the capture of Hokkaido will cost us a lot of blood, unnecessary losses of sailors and paratroopers in the very last days of the war.
Stalin here showed himself to be a real statesman, caring for the country and its soldiers, and not an invader who coveted foreign territories that were very accessible in that situation for seizure.
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