Five disputed territories of Russia - Rabbi Avrom Shmulevich. Territorial claims: who wants as much from Russia

Abstract on the topic:

“Disputed Territories”

Student of 8"A" class

linguistic gymnasium No. 13

Korostylev Vladimir

Scientific supervisor: Galina Ivanovna Lokteva

I.Introduction……………………………………………………page 1

II. History of the discovery and development of the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin Island……………………..page 2

III. The problem of the “Northern Territories” after the second

World War……………………………..page 4

IV.Conclusion…………………………………..page 10

V.Bibliography…………………………………page 11

Globalization processes are beginning, countries are actively cooperating with each other, but still there are unresolved problems, territorial issues, for example, the dispute over Western Sahara between Mauritania and Morocco, over the island of Mayote (Maore) between France and the Federal Islamic Republic of Comoros, regarding the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) between Great Britain and Argentina, the War of Palestinian Independence, etc. Russia is also among the disputants; Japan is laying claim to the southern part of the Kuril Archipelago. This is what I am going to talk about in my essay.

The problem of the “Northern” territories

The ancient and medieval history of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands is full of secrets. So, today we do not know (and are unlikely to ever know) when the first people appeared on our islands. Archaeological discoveries of recent decades allow us to say only that this happened in the Paleolithic era. The ethnicity of the population of the islands remains a mystery until the arrival of the first Europeans and Japanese. And they appeared on the islands only in the 17th century and found them in the Kuril Islands

and southern Sakhalin Ainu, in northern Sakhalin - Nivkh. Probably even then, the Ulta (Oroks) lived in the central and northern regions of Sakhalin. The first European expedition to reach the Kuril and Sakhalin

shores, was the expedition of the Dutch navigator M.G. Fries. He not only explored and mapped the southeast of Sakhalin and the Southern Kuril Islands, but also proclaimed Urup the possession of Holland, which, however, remained without

any consequences. Russian explorers also played a huge role in the study of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. First - in 1646 - the expedition of V.D. Poyarkov discovers the northwestern coast of Sakhalin, and in 1697 V.V. Atlasov learns about the existence of the Kuril Islands. Already in the 10s. XVIII century The process of studying and gradually annexing the Kuril Islands to the Russian state begins. Russia's successes in the development of the Kuril Islands became possible thanks to the enterprise, courage and patience of D.Ya. Antsiferov, I.P. Kozyrevsky, I.M. Evreinov, F.F. Luzhin,

M.P.Shpanberg, V.Valton, D.Ya.Shabalin, G.I.Shelikhov and many other Russian explorers. Simultaneously with the Russians, who were moving along the Kuril Islands from the north, the Japanese began to penetrate into the Southern Kuril Islands and the extreme south of Sakhalin. Already in

second half of the 18th century Japanese trading posts and fishing grounds appeared here, and since the 80s. XVIII century - scientific expeditions begin to work. Mogami Tokunai and Mamiya Rinzou played a special role in Japanese research.

At the end of the 18th century. Research off the coast of Sakhalin was carried out by a French expedition under the command of J.-F. La Perouse and an English expedition under the command of V.R. Broughton. Their work is associated with the emergence of a theory about the peninsular position of Sakhalin. The Russian also made his contribution to this theory.

navigator I.F. Kruzenshtern, who in the summer of 1805 unsuccessfully tried to pass between Sakhalin and the mainland. G.I. Nevelskoy put an end to the dispute, who in 1849 managed to find a navigable strait between the island and the mainland. Nevelskoy's discoveries were followed by the annexation of Sakhalin to Russia. Russian military posts and villages appear on the island one after another. In 1869-1906. Sakhalin was the largest penal servitude in Russia. From the beginning of the 19th century. Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands are becoming the object of a Russian-Japanese territorial dispute. In 1806-1807 On Southern Sakhalin and Iturup, Russian sailors destroyed Japanese settlements. The response to this was the capture of the Russian navigator V.M. Golovnin by the Japanese in Kunashir. Over the past two centuries, Russian-Japanese

The border has changed several times. In 1855, in accordance with the Treaty of Shimoda, the border passed between the islands of Urup and Iturup, while Sakhalin was left undivided. In 1875, Russia transferred the Northern Kuril Islands, which belonged to it, to Japan, receiving in return all rights to Sakhalin. Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands met the beginning of the 20th century as part of different states. Sakhalin was part of the Russian Empire, the Kuril Islands were part of the Japanese Empire. The issue of the territorial ownership of the islands was resolved by the Russian-Japanese

agreement signed in 1875 in St. Petersburg. In accordance with the Treaty of St. Petersburg, Japan ceded all its rights to Sakhalin to Russia. Russia, in exchange for this, ceded the Kuril Islands that belonged to it.

islands. As a result of Russia's defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. Japan managed to seize South Sakhalin from it. In 1920-1925 Northern Sakhalin was under Japanese occupation.

The last time the Russian-Japanese border underwent changes was in 1945, when our country, as a result of victory in World War II, regained South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. In August-September 1945, the Soviets, with US approval, occupied all of the Kuril Islands, and in 1946 the US Occupation Administration announced to the Japanese government that the entire Kuril Islands chain, including Habomai, was excluded from Japanese territory. In 1951, Japan began peace negotiations with the United States and its allies. Moscow participated at first, but then withdrew from the negotiations under the pretext of disagreements regarding US actions in the Cold War. Despite this, the final text of the San Francisco Peace Treaty clearly states that Japan “renounces all rights, claims and claims to the Kuril Islands.”

At this time, Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida, who was leading the negotiations on the Japanese side, publicly stated that Japan was dissatisfied with this formulation, especially in relation to the southern part of the islands. Administratively, Habomai and Shikotan are under Japanese administration

always referred to Hokkaido, not the Kuril Islands. As for Iturup and Kunashir, the historical fate of these two islands differs from the fate of the rest of the Kuril Islands, the rights of Russia to which were recognized by Japan back in 1855.

Nevertheless, Yoshida signed the agreement. All he managed to get from the Americans, represented by the ardently anti-communist Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, was the statement that if Japan had such strong feelings for Habomai, it might try

appeal to the International Court of Justice. Regarding Japanese claims to the remaining islands, the answer was a very loud silence.

In 1955, Japan began attempting to negotiate a separate peace treaty with Moscow. Japan understood the weakness of its position regarding the islands. But she hoped that there was an opportunity to get at least some

concessions regarding Habomai and Shikotan and to ensure that the United States, France and Britain recognize that at least these islands do not belong to the Kuril Islands, which Japan abandoned in 1951.

To Tokyo's surprise, the Soviets agreed to this demand: they wanted to stop Tokyo from moving closer to the United States. But conservatives in the Foreign Ministry, fearing any Japanese-Soviet reconciliation, immediately intervened and included Iturup and Kunashir in the list of territorial claims. Moscow said no, and the conservatives calmed down.

However, in 1956, Prime Minister Ichiro Hatoyama decided to try to break the deadlock and sent his conservative foreign minister, Mamoru Shigemitsu, to Moscow with authority to negotiate peace.

Shigemitsu began with the standard Japanese demands of Iturup and Kunashir, but was immediately refused. However, the Soviets again offered to return Shikotan and Habomai, provided that a peace treaty was signed.

contract Shigemitsu decided to accept this offer. However, when news of a possible agreement leaked out, Tokyo anti-communist

Conservatives again took decisive action.

Shigemitsu was recalled and on his way home was “intercepted” by the same John Foster Dulles, who just five years earlier forced the Japanese to abandon the Kuril Islands, including most of what is now called the Northern Territories. Dulles warned that if Japan ceased to claim all of the Northern Territories, the United States would not

will return Okinawa to the Japanese. Tokyo immediately broke off negotiations with Moscow.

Scientists have argued a lot about how Dulles managed to make such a 180-degree turn. One theory claims that in 1951 the United States knew that if it did not comply with the Yalta agreements on the Kuril Islands, Moscow might cease to comply with the Yalta agreements.

agreement on Austria - this problem had practically disappeared by 1956. Another interesting theory, put forward by Professor Kimitada Miwa of Sophia University in Tokyo, argues that the American position in 1951 was the result of a deal with the Soviets, which, by decision of the UN Security Council, assigned Micronesia to the United States three years earlier.

And finally, there is a theory that the insidious Dulles thought through everything and planned it in advance. His intention from the very beginning was to force Japan to give up the Kuril Islands in 1951 and, knowing that the Japanese would later try to return the islands, to include in the peace treaty an article

Allowing the United States to turn to its advantage any concession that the Japanese might make to the Russians in the future. In short, if Japan allows the Soviets to hold even part of the Kuril Islands, the US holds Okinawa. Today's Japanese position completely ignores all the subtleties described above. It simply states that the Northern Territories are Japan's ancestral lands ("koyu no ryodo") and as such should be returned. Regarding the San Francisco Treaty, Tokyo puts forward two extremely controversial arguments. The first is that since the treaty does not say who exactly should receive the very Kuril Islands that Japan abandoned, anyone can lay claim to them, including Japan itself. Another argument is that the Northern Territories do not belong to those Kuril Islands that Japan abandoned, and cannot, being, again, “original Japanese lands.” The last argument, however, is not all right. If Japan had not really given up the Northern Territories in 1951, then why would Yoshida tell the world in 1951 that he was upset about the loss of the Northern Territories? Upon his return from San Francisco, he appeared before Parliament and was asked whether the term "Kuril Islands" used in the Treaty of San Francisco included Iturup and Kunashir. The Foreign Office's Treaty Office, responding officially to this request on behalf of the Prime Minister, replied to Parliament on October 19, 1951: "Unfortunately, yes, it does." Over the following years, Foreign Ministry officials commented on this key point: that the response to parliament on October 19 was: a) misunderstood, b) outdated, and, finally, c) was “kokunai muki,” that is, “for internal use.” , - in other words, foreigners like me should not stick their nose into such matters. Foreign Ministry officials also like to point out the vigorous support from the United States, which, since 1956, has officially maintained that Iturup and Kunashir are definitely not territories which Japan abandoned in San Francisco. It is clear that the US, which says the exact opposite of what it said in 1951, is simply using a little Cold War-style ploy to keep Tokyo and Moscow at bay - but this suggestion is politely ignored. But not only the United States participated in this process. In 1951, Britain was instrumental in forcing Japan to give up the Kuril Islands, and the British embassy in Tokyo has in its archives a report from 1955 calling the Japanese unexpected demand for Iturup and Kunashir "ridiculous and naive." Today, Britain supports the same demand as entirely reasonable. Australia, which in 1951 made efforts to prevent any concessions to Yoshida on territorial issues (out of fear that post-war Japan would use any border uncertainty as a pretext for militarization), also now unequivocally supports the Japanese position. In short, what began as an effort to punish Japan for wartime aggression turned into the most successful operation of the Cold War to keep Japan in the Western camp. I am not suggesting that the Japanese position should be completely abandoned. If Tokyo referred to the reluctance with which Yoshida abandoned the Kuril Islands, and especially their southern part in San Francisco, and presented some secret documents demonstrating what exactly the United States used to force him to surrender, this would constitute a good legal basis for that to seek a renegotiation of this part of the peace agreement. But today Japan is trapped by its own claims that it never gave up the Northern Territories, so it no longer dares to tell the truth about what exactly happened in 1951. It is easier for her to blame everything on the former Soviet Union than on the United States. It vainly insists that Moscow return these “ancestral lands,” not realizing that in the face of precisely this demand, Moscow cannot give in, even if it wanted to, for fear of creating a precedent that will allow its other neighbors to lay claim to the former “ancestral lands.” ". Hashimoto's proposal that Moscow can control the territories for several more years, provided that it recognizes Japanese sovereignty over them, shows how inadequately Tokyo perceives both the laws of international diplomacy and the Russian mentality. Meanwhile, most Japanese, even educated ones, have completely forgotten what exactly happened then, in the 50s, and are convinced that Tokyo’s demands are absolutely legal. The government is under pressure to continue negotiations in a tough manner and ignore Moscow's regular hints that it is still ready to return Shikotan and Habomai. Such a dispute is doomed to continue forever. And John Foster Dulles is giggling in his grave.

I believe that the Kuril Islands should belong to Russia, because... Japan abandoned them in 1951 and it is too late to abandon its decisions; it lost the war and must endure the hardships associated with it. After all, if all nations demand their lands, then there will be no such states as the USA, Great Britain, Russia, etc. And secondly, Russia and Japan are still at war, and first they need to sign a peace treaty, and only then talk about territorial disputes.

List of territories about which there are disputes and whose sovereignty is in question. This category contains information about territories that do not independently claim the status of a separate sovereign state, and disputes between recognized and partially recognized states are considered as disputes between recognized states.
EUROPE
1. Lake Constance is a latent conflict about the ownership of the lake between Austria, Germany and Switzerland.
2. Veliki Shkolzh and Mali Shkolzh - administered by Croatia, disputed by Bosnia and Herzegovina.
3. The summit of Mont Blanc - a dispute about the ownership of the peak between France and Italy.
4.Military complex near Sveta Gera, in the region of Žumberak - administered by Slovenia, disputed by Croatia.
5. Gibraltar - Spain claims that the territory belongs to it under the Treaty of Utrecht. Operated by Great Britain.
6.Piran Bay – a long-running dispute between Slovenia and Croatia.
7. Ivangorod and Pechersk region - Russia recognized them as part of Estonia under the Treaty of Tartu 1920. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the region remained with Russia. Formally, Estonia has no claims in this area.
8.Imia or Kardak is part of the Aegean dispute between Greece and Turkey.
9.Carlingford Lough is a border dispute between Ireland and Great Britain.
10. Lough Foyle - border dispute between Ireland and Great Britain.
11. The settlements of Vasilievka, Dorotskoe, Kochieri, Koshnitsa, Novaya Molovata, Pogrebya, Pyryta, Kopanka and part of the city of Bendery (village Varnitsa) - controlled by Moldova, disputed by the Transnistrian Moldavian Republic
12.The area around the Montmalus peak - between Andorra and Spain.
13. Olivenza - administered by Spain, disputed by Portugal.
14. Vukovar Island - administered by Croatia, disputed by Serbia.
15.Tuzla Island and the Kerch Strait have been disputed between Ukraine and Russia since 2003.
16. The island of Sherengrad - during the existence of Yugoslavia, it was part of Croatia. During the war it was controlled by the armed forces of the Serbian Krajina. After the war, it came under Serbian control and is disputed by Croatia.
17.Isthmus between Gibraltar and Spain - Spain claims that Britain is illegally occupying the territory because it was not included in the Treaty of Utrecht.
18. Prevlaka – administered by Croatia, disputed by Montenegro.
19.The Danube area, parts of the Osijek and Sombor areas – dispute between Croatia and Serbia.
20. Sarych – administered by Ukraine, disputed by Russia. The conflict is based on the division of the Black Sea Fleet and the lease agreement for Sevastopol facilities.
21. Sastavsi - administered by Serbia, disputed by Bosnia and Herzegovina.
22.Northern Kosovo - under local government and controlled by KFOR, disputed by the Republic of Kosovo and Serbia.
23.Rockall Rock - administered by Great Britain, disputed by Ireland, Denmark (Faroe Islands) and Iceland.
24. The mouth of the Ems and the western part of Dollart Bay - a dispute between the Netherlands and Germany.
25. The Aegean dispute is a wide range of controversial issues regarding the ownership of national airspace, territorial waters and the exclusive economic zone between Greece and Turkey.
ASIA AND OCEANIA
1.Aasal, Al-Qaa, Al-Qasr, Deir Al-Aashayer, Kfar Kouk and Tufail - disputed territory between Lebanon and Syria.
2. "Point 20", a small piece of land reclaimed from the sea in Singapore - Malaysia claims it is in its territorial waters.
3. Abu Musa - administered by Iran, disputed by the United Arab Emirates.
4.The Azerbaijani exclaves of Karki, Yukhari, Askipara, Bakhudarli and Yaradullu are controlled by Armenia after the Nagorno-Karabakh war.
5. Aksai Chin - ruled by China, disputed by India.
6.Albert Mayer - administered by Tonga, disputed by New Zealand
7. Bhutanese enclaves in Tibet (Cherkip Gompa, Dungmar, Gesur, Gezon, Itse Gompa, Khochar, Nyanri, Ringang, Sanmar, Tarchen and Zufilphuk) - administered by China, disputed by Bhutan.
8. Artsvashen/Bashkend is an exclave of the Gegharkunik region of Armenia, held by Azerbaijan after the Nagorno-Karabakh war.
9. Beveridge - administered by Tonga, disputed by Niue (an associated state with New Zealand)
10.Great Tunb and Little Tunb - administered by Iran, disputed by the United Arab Emirates.
11.Boraibari - administered by Bangladesh, disputed by India.
12. Gilgit-Baltistan - administered by Pakistan, disputed by India.
13.Golan Heights - Syrian territory captured by Israel in 1967 and annexed by Israel in 1981.
14.The Bakdu Mountains are a disputed territory between North Korea and China, which is also claimed by Taiwan and South Korea.
15.Daihata-Dumabari - administered by India, disputed by Bangladesh.
16.Demchok, Chumar, Kaurik, Shipki Pass, Jadh and Lapphal are disputed areas located between Aksai Chin and Nepal, controlled by India but disputed by China and Taiwan. Demchok controls China.
17. Jammu and Kashmir - divided between Pakistan, India and China, disputed by India and Pakistan.
18.Doi Lang - administered by Burma, disputed by Thailand.
19. Isfara Valley - administered by Kyrgyzstan, disputed by Tajikistan.
20.Shaksgam Valley - administered by China, disputed by India.
21.Indo-Bangladeshi Enclaves - There are 103 Indian enclaves within main body of Bangladesh while there are 71 Bangladeshi enclaves within main body of India. In 1974, Bangladesh approved a proposed treaty to exchange all enclaves in each other's territories, but India never ratified it.
22.Karang Unarang is a disputed territory between Indonesia and Malaysia.
23. Korean Peninsula - Northern and Southern territories consider each other's territory to be theirs.
24. Kula Kngri and mountainous areas west of this peak, western Haa region - administered by China, disputed by Bhutan.
25. Siachin Glacier and Saltoro region - captured by India in 1984, they are disputed by Pakistan.
26. Durand Line is a tribal area partly ruled by Pakistan and Afghanistan, Afghanistan claims all lands inhabited by Pashtuns.
27. Lifitila - administered by India, disputed by Bangladesh.
28.Minerva - ruled by Tonga, disputed by Fiji
29.Monastery complex of David Gereji - border dispute between Georgia and Azerbaijan.
30.Small parts of Oecusse area - administered by East Timor, disputed by Indonesia.
31. Some islands on the Naf River are disputed between Bangladesh and Burma.
32.Several areas in the Fergana Valley are disputed between Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
33. Niloson (Lancaster) - disputed by France (French Polynesia).
34. Oarukh and Umm Al-Maradim - administered by Kuwait, disputed by Saudi Arabia.
35. Kalapani region, Sasta River dispute, Antudanda and Nawalparasi - administered by India, disputed by Nepal.
36.The Prachin Buri region is disputed between Thailand and Cambodia.
37. Revival Island (now a peninsula) is a disputed territory between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
38. Swains Island - administered by the US, disputed by Takelau, which is dependent on New Zealand, which also does not recognize US sovereignty over the island.
39. Hawar Island - administered by Bahrain, disputed by Qatar
40. South Talpatti Island or New Moore, a come and go island that was disputed between India and Bangladesh from the 1970s to the 2000s, still affects the uncertainty of the maritime boundary.
41. Islands in the Torres Strait between Australia's Cape York Peninsula and New Guinea Island - administered by Australia, disputed by Papua New Guinea
42. Macclesfield Islands - administered by China, disputed by Taiwan and Vietnam.
43. Matthew and Hunter Islands – disputed between Vanuatu and France.
44. Senkaku Islands (Daoyu Islands) - administered by Japan, disputed by China and Taiwan.
45. The Spratly Islands are disputed between China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.
46. The islands of Ukatny, Rigid and the disputed island of Malozhemchuzhny - administered by Russia, disputed by Kazakhstan.
47. Huria Miruya Islands - administered by Oman, disputed by Yemen.
48.Paracel Islands - completely controlled by China, disputed by Taiwan and Vietnam.
49. Three Pagoda Pass – disputed between Burma and Thailand.
50.Pirdiwah – Administered by India, disputed by Bangladesh.
51.Border dispute between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
52.Pratas - administered by China, disputed by Taiwan.
53. Pulau Batek - transferred by Timor to Indonesia as compensation in 2004.
54.Various territories: Dac German, Dac Dang, La Dranc zone, Bae, Milyu, Eyu, Peak, and North Piratis islands are disputed between Vietnam and Cambodia.
55. Muharaja River Island - controlled by India, but disputed by Bangladesh.
56.Minerva Reefs – administered by Tonga but claimed by Fiji.
57.Sabah (North Barneo) - administered by Malaysia. The Philippines maintains a claim to Sabah on the grounds that it is a historical part of the Sultanate of Sulu, of which the Philippines is the successor country.
58. Gaza Strip - ruled by Hamas, disputed by the Palestinian National Authority, formed from representatives of Fatah
59. The village of Perevi - in Soviet times, was partially part of the South Ossetian Autonomous Region, on the basis of which part of the village (the so-called Maly Perev) is considered by the South Ossetian authorities to be the territory of the republic. The reason for the controversial status is the impossibility of access to the Georgian part of the village, bypassing the South Ossetian one. In 2008-2010 Perevi was completely controlled by Russia. Since 2010, it has been transferred to the control of Georgia (including Maly Perev).
60. The village of Aibga, Gagra region of Abkhazia with the adjacent territory (160 sq. km) - is disputed by Russia as part of the single village of Aibga, divided in Soviet times by the administrative border along the Psou River between the RSFSR and the Georgian SSR. Controlled by Abkhazia.
61. Liancourt Rocks - administered by South Korea, disputed by Japan.
62.Scarborough - administered by China, disputed by the Philippines and Taiwan.
63.Sir Creek - small areas of swamp land, disputed between India and Pakistan.
64.Teva-i-Ra (formerly Conway) - administered by Fiji, disputed by France (New Caledonia)
65.Tuva - administered by Russia, disputed by Taiwan
66. Wake - administered by the United States, disputed by the Marshall Islands.
67. Fasht Ad-Dibal and Qitat Jaradeh – disputes between Bahrain and Qatar, not included in the division in the judgments of the International Court of 2001.
68.Shabaa Farms is a disputed territory between Israel and Syria, which is also claimed by Lebanon.
69.Jiandao - administered by China, disputed by Taiwan, North Korea and South Korea.
70.Part of Poipet Commune - administered by Thailand, disputed by Cambodia.
71.Part of the sovereign base of Akrotiri - administered by Great Britain, disputed by Cyprus.
72.Part of the sovereign base of Dhakelia - administered by the UK, disputed by Cyprus.
73.Shatt Al Arab is a disputed territory between Iraq and Iran.
74.Southern Kuril Islands - administered by Russia, disputed by Japan.
75.Southern Tibet - Administered by India but disputed by China and Taiwan, which do not recognize the legitimacy of the McMahon Line.
AFRICA
1. Abyei - Both Sudan and South Sudan claim the area, but Sudan controls it after South Sudan declared independence in 2011.
2. Bakassi - the area was transferred to Cameroon by Nigeria following the decision of the International Court of Justice and the conclusion of the Greentree Agreement.
3.Banque du Geyser - France claims that the islands are part of a group of islands in the Indian Ocean within the French Southern and Antarctic Lands. Disputed by Madagascar and Comoros.
4. Basas da India, Europa Island and Joao de Nova are de facto part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands, disputed by Madagascar.
5.Bure – administered by Ethiopia, disputed by Eritrea.
6.The Caprivi Strip is a disputed territory between Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
7.Ceuta - administered by Spain, disputed by Morocco.
8.Chagos Archipelago - Great Britain administers the archipelago within the British Indian Ocean Territory. Disputed by Mauritius and Seychelles.
9.Part of Gicumbi District, Northern Province - Administered by Rwanda, disputed by Uganda.
10. The Glorieuse Islands are de facto part of the French Southern and Antarctic lands, disputed by Madagascar, Seychelles and Comoros.
11.Halaib Triangle - was previously under the joint governance of Egypt and Sudan. Egypt now claims full control.
12.Heglig – claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan, controlled by South Sudan, internationally recognized as part of Sudan.
13. Ilemi Triangle - administered by Kenya, disputed by South Sudan.
14. Islas Chafarinas - administered by Spain, disputed by Morocco.
15. Jodha - claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan, controlled by South Sudan.
16.Part of the Kabale region - administered by Uganda, disputed by Rwanda.
17.Kafia Kingi - claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan, controlled by South Sudan.
18.Kaka - claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan, controlled by South Sudan.
19.Ka-Ngwane - controlled by South Africa. Swaziland claims the territory was confiscated during the colonial wars.
20.Part of the Kahemba region is a disputed area between Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The countries agreed to end the dispute in July 2007, but the issue has not been fully resolved.
21.The village of Koualou is disputed between Benin and Burkina Faso.
22.Village of Kpeaba – Guinean troops have occupied the village since January 2013, but de jure belongs to Côte d’Ivoire.
23. Moyo district, area near Logoba - disputed between South Sudan and Uganda.
24. Lanchinda-Pweto Province - administered by Zambia, disputed by the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
25. Islands in Mbamba Bay and Lake Nyasa - administered by Tanzania, disputed by Malawi based on the Anglo-German treaty of 1890.
26. The islands of Mbanje, Cocotiers and Congo are disputed between Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
27.Melilla - administered by Spain, disputed by Morocco.
28. The surrounding area of Migingo Island and further north, near the islands of Lolwe, Owasi, Remba, Ringiti and Sigulu in Lake Victoria are disputed between Kenya and Uganda.
29. Ogaden - belongs to Ethiopia, but is inhabited by ethnic Somalis, which became the reason for the claim from Somalia. This was the reason for two Ogaden wars - 1962 and 1977.
30. Several islands on the Ntem River are disputed between Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.
31.Several villages near the Okpara River are disputed between Benin and Nigeria.
32.Orange River Border - Namibia claims the border runs down the middle of the river, while South Africa claims it lies along the northern bank.
33. Peñon de Alusemas - administered by Spain, disputed by Morocco.
34. Peñon de Vélez de la Gomera – administered by Spain, disputed by Morocco.
35.Perejil Island - administered by Spain, disputed by Morocco. After the 2002 incident, both countries agreed to return to the status quo of the previous incident.
36. Ras Doumeira and Doumeira Island - administered by Eritrea, disputed by Djibouti.
37. The Rufunzo and Sabanerwa valleys are disputed between Rwanda and Burundi.
38. Rukwanzi Island and the Semliki River Valley are disputed between Congo and Uganda.
39. Sindabesi Island - administered by Zambia, disputed by Zimbabwe.
40.Soqotra Archipelago - Somalia does not officially claim the archipelago, but has asked the UN to look into the “status” of the archipelago, whether it should belong to Yemen or Somalia.
41.Southeastern Algeria - disputed by Libya.
42. Tiran and Sanafir Islands - administered by Egypt, disputed by Saudi Arabia.
43. Tromelin Island is de facto part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands, disputed by Mauritius and the Seychelles.
44. Tsorona-Zalambessa is a disputed territory between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
45.Wadi Halfa - administered by Egypt, disputed by Sudan.
46. Yenga coast, left bank of the Macona and Moa rivers - administered by Sierra Leone, disputed by Guinea.
47.Badme - the reason for the 1998 Ethiopian-Eritrean war. Currently under Ethiopian control.
48. Mayotte - in a 2009 referendum, the population decided to become an overseas department of France, but the Comoros Islands lay claim to the territory.
49.Southeastern part of Western Sahara - administered by Morocco, disputed by Western Sahara.

NORTH AMERICA
1. Hans Island - Canada and Denmark (on behalf of Greenland) claim ownership of the island.
2. Continental shelf in the eastern Gulf of Mexico beyond 200 miles - the ownership of a small gap beyond the 200 nautical miles of the economic zones of the United States, Cuba and Mexico has not yet been definitively determined.
3. Machias Seal Island - US and Canada cannot determine ownership.
4.North Rock - USA and Canada cannot determine ownership.
5. Strait of Juan de Fuca - US and Canada cannot determine ownership.
6. Dixon Entrance - The United States and Canada cannot determine ownership.
7.Portland Channel - US and Canada cannot determine ownership.
8. Beaufort Sea - US and Canada cannot determine ownership.
9. The Northwest Passage and some other Arctic waters are in Canadian territorial waters, but the United States claims navigation rights
CENTRAL AMERICA
1. Isla Aves - administered by Venezuela, Dominica renounced claims to the island in 2006, but continues to lay claim to the surrounding seas.
2. Bajo Nuevo - governed by Colombia. Honduras recognized the sovereignty of Colombia, Nicaragua, Jamaica and the United States did not.
3. The southern half of Belize is disputed by Guatemala, which previously claimed all of Belize.
4. Northern part of Calero Island - administered by Costa Rica, disputed by Nicaragua.
5. Conejo Island - administered by Honduras, disputed by El Salvador.
6. Navassa - administered by the United States, disputed by Haiti.
7.Sapodilla Cay - administered by Belize, disputed by Guatemla and Honduras.
8. Serranilla - Jamaica recognized the sovereignty of Colombia, Honduras, Nicaragua and the United States do not recognize it.
SOUTH AMERICA
1.Guyana West of the Essequibo River - Venezuela and Guyana have overlapping claims to the maritime zone. Barbados and Guyana also signed an agreement on joint cooperation in this area.
2. Ancoca Islands - administered by Venezuela, disputed by Guyana.
3. Arroyo de la Invernada (Rincon de Artigas) and Vila Albornoz - Uruguay disputes 237 sq. km. the Invernada river near the Masoller region.
4. Falkland Islands (Malvinas) - administered by Great Britain, disputed by Argentina.
5. French Guiana west of the Marouini River - administered by France, disputed by Suriname.
6.Guaira Falls (Set Quidas) - disputed islands, partially controlled by Brazil and Paraguay, were flooded by the Itaipu Reservoir.
7. Guyana east of the upper arm of Quarantine - administered by Guyana, disputed by Suriname.
8. Isla Brasiliera - Administered by Brazil, but Uruguayan officials claim the island is part of their Artigas department.
9.Isla Suarez - administered by Bolivia, disputed by Brazil.
10.Maritime boundary of the Gulf of Venezuela - Colombia claims that it has a right to the waters in this gulf.
11.South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands - administered by Great Britain, disputed by Argentina.
12. The ice field of Southern Patagonia between Monte Fitz Roy and Cerro Murallion - the border has not yet been officially defined, however, both Argentina and Chile have their own claims here.

View of Balaklava, TASS

Territorial claims against Russia, as the largest country on the planet, are not a new phenomenon, and Russia’s reaction in this matter is a real reason for pride. For each “disputed” territory, he calmly and politely, with sympathy and understanding, tries to explain that all lands belonging to Russia and the Russian people will forever remain with Russia. But the leaders of a number of countries do not want to take this obvious position into account, constantly making noise around the so-called “disputed” Russian territories.

But the most interesting thing is that Russia does not make territorial claims to any country in the world, and as it has happened historically, this is how it has turned out. After all, if we start presenting it, we will have to remember the powerful Russian Empire, whose territory back in the 19th century was 21.8 million km² (that is, 1/6 of the land) - it ranked second in the world, after the British Empire. And this does not take into account the territory of Alaska, which was part of it from 1744 to 1867 and occupied an area of 1,717,854 km², without taking into account the Aleutian Islands, as well as parts of the Pacific coast of the USA and Canada... Russia does not remind us of all this, but it could ...

So, which countries have territorial claims against Russia?

The Republic of Korea: Noktundo Island

Photo: smitsmitty.livejournal.com

Noktundo has belonged to the Korean Joseon Dynasty since the 15th century. In 1587, a battle took place on its territory between detachments of Jurchen nomads and a local garrison under the command of Yi Sunsin, the national hero of Korea.

During the shallowing of the northern branch of the Tumannaya, the river bed changed from time to time, as a result of which Noktundo sometimes connected with the land of Primorye. Despite this, the territory of the island continued to be under Korean jurisdiction.

In 1860, without the consent of the Korean side, Noktundo ceded to the Russian Empire in accordance with the Beijing Treaty between Qing China and Russia. Throughout the 20th century, the territory of the island was part of the Khasansky district of Primorsky Krai.

In 1990, the USSR and the DPRK signed an agreement on establishing the state border line along the Tumannaya fairway, thanks to which the territory of the former island was recognized as Soviet. This deal was not recognized by South Korea, which continues to consider the Noktundo territory its own.

Japan: Kuril Islands

Perhaps the most relevant today are Japan's claims against Russia regarding the southern Kuril Islands: Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and the Habomai archipelago. These territories first appeared on the map of Russia in the middle of the 18th century, when the captain of the Russian fleet, Martyn Petrovich Shpanberg, marked the Lesser Kuril Ridge on it. Catherine II formalized these annexations by decree of 1786, calling them “lands acquired by Russian sailors.”

However, already in 1855 they were transferred to Japan according to the Treaty of Shimoda as a guarantee of “permanent peace and sincere friendship between Russia and Japan.” This agreement was followed by the St. Petersburg Treaty, according to which all the Kuril Islands were transferred to Japan in exchange for the Japanese part of Sakhalin. The latter was subsequently lost during the Russo-Japanese War.

The chance to return the lost territories presented itself after the Yalta Conference on February 11, 1945, at which an agreement was reached on the USSR's entry into the war against Japan, subject to the transfer of Southern Sakhalin and all the Kuril Islands to it. In accordance with this agreement, General of the Allied Forces Douglas MacArthur in 1946, by a special Memorandum, excluded the Kuril Islands (Chishima Islands), the Habomai group of islands (Habomadze) and the island of Sikotan from the territories of the Land of the Rising Sun.

However, a peace treaty between Russia and Japan was never signed. Japan refused to recognize a number of the Kuril Islands, which were transferred to Russia, as “Kuril Islands”. According to the official position of the Land of the Rising Sun, the islands of Iturup, Shikotan, Kunashir and Habomai (Southern Kuriles) were not part of the Kuril Islands and Japan did not abandon them.

The territorial dispute only worsened during the Cold War. In 1956, the USSR, according to the maritime declaration, was ready to cede the islands of Habomai and Shikotan to Japan, leaving behind the strategically important Kunashir and Iturup. However, in the event of such a compromise, the United States threatened the Land of the Rising Sun with the deprivation of the Ryukyu archipelago with the island of Okinawa, which was then under American control.

The failed compromise was, in fact, the last precedent in history when the Kuril issue could move forward. The Treaty on Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan, adopted shortly after this, legitimized the presence of American troops on Japanese territory, which was naturally regarded by the USSR as a threat to its own interests. The dispute “about the northern territories” has reached a complete dead end.

Today, the four islands of the South Kuril Islands, as well as the status of the Northern Islands and South Sakhalin, remain the main stumbling block in Russian-Japanese relations, which prevents summing up the results of World War II and signing a peace treaty. According to Russia’s position, all the Kuril Islands, including Iturup, Shikotan, Kunashir and Habomai, as well as all of Sakhalin, belong to the Russian Federation legally, following the results of World War II.

Russia is still ready to make concessions in the form of the islands of Habomai and Shikotan. Japan, whose position is consistently supported by the United States, considers all the Southern Kuril Islands to be its ancestral lands, illegally occupied by Russia, and the Northern Kuril Islands and Southern Sakhalin as territories with an uncertain status. For its part, a peace treaty is possible only with the return of all four disputed islands. At the same time, there is a third force - the indigenous Ainu people, who insist on their sovereign rights to the Southern Islands.

Indigenous people of Aina

The situation sometimes reaches the point of absurdity. Thus, in 2012, the Japanese government officially expressed regret over Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to Kunashir Island, calling it “serious obstacles in bilateral relations.”

The return of the Kuril Islands is the cornerstone of the foreign policy of the current Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Today, Japanese media take the position that the territorial issue has finally moved forward, due to Vladimir Putin's statement that the lack of a peace treaty with Japan is abnormal.

Latvia: claims to Pytalovo

The legacy of the revolution and the subsequent division of the Russian Empire was a long-term territorial dispute between Russia and Latvia over the Pytalovsky district of the Pskov region. This territory was transferred to the latter under the terms of the Riga Peace Treaty between Soviet Russia and Latvia of 1920. According to the official Latvian version, when determining the border in 1920, the ethnographic principle was applied. According to other sources, Latvia insisted on transferring this region to it, since it had an important railway junction. In any case, Pytalovo became part of the separated Latvia, and was soon renamed Jaunlatgale.

But the lost territories were returned twenty years later, in 1940, after Latvia was included in the USSR as the Latvian SSR. And in 1944, Pytalovo and the surrounding area became part of the RSFSR, after liberation from Nazi occupation. After the collapse of the USSR, Latvia refused to recognize these territorial changes, calling its inclusion in the Union of Socialist Republics an occupation, and Pytalovo an illegally annexed territory, insisting on the return of the 1920 borders. The area with the telling name “Pytalovo” has long become a source of irritation in relations between Moscow and Riga.

He disrupted the signing of the Russian-Latvian border agreement when Latvia unexpectedly included in the project a unilateral, “clarifying” declaration with claims to these territories. According to Latvian politicians, the fact that Pytalovo was owned by Russia violated the Latvian constitution, according to which the border (naturally, corresponding to the 1920 border) cannot be changed without the consent of citizens in a referendum. In response to this, Vladimir Putin uttered his famous phrase: “It’s their ears from a dead donkey, not the Pytalovsky district.”

Latvia could have insisted for a long time on its undoubted ownership of the “five kilometers” of the Pskov region, if not for its desire to join the European Union, one of the main requirements of which is clearly defined borders. In 2007, President Vike-Freiberga renounced her territorial claims, expressing the hope that this would: “help unfreeze the really frozen relations with our eastern neighbor.”

Finland: the Karelian question

While Latvia has abandoned its territorial claims, in Finland there is a growing number of public organizations advocating for the return of Karelia and other territories lost during the Second World War. Vesti Karelia reported about the upcoming public discussion on hypothetical ways of returning Karelia, which could take place in the very near future. According to them, among the initiators are the revanchist organization ProKarelia, the Karelia club, as well as the magazine Karjalan kuvalehti.

During its history, Karelia was a Swedish duchy, a Korelsky district, and an Olonets governorship. This land has become disputed more than once.

The Karelian question arose as a result of the terms of the Tartu Peace Treaty of 1920, at the end of the Finnish Civil War and the Soviet-Finnish War. According to its terms, Western Karelia became the property of Finland. The territories were returned during the Second World War, and the Karelian-Finnish population was evacuated to Finland. In 1956, the Karelo-Finnish SSR was transformed into an autonomy within the RSFSR.

Despite the fact that Finland does not officially raise the issue of revising borders, in the country, according to recent polls, 38% of respondents are in favor of the return of Western Karelia. In 2011, the leader of the ProKarelia movement, already known to us, Veikko Saksi, came up with a similar initiative, reporting that the return of Karelia to Finland complied with all EU standards. However, the President of Finland, Sauli Niiniste, during his working visit to Moscow in 2013, denied this information, saying that he had never heard such a proposal among Finnish legislators.

China: dispute over 17 hectares

Today, China has territorial claims to almost all of its neighbors. Russia is no exception. More recently, in 2005, the Russian-Chinese border underwent changes in the form of 340 square kilometers: a plot of land in the area of Bolshoy Island and two sections in the area of Tarabarov and Bolshoy Ussuriysky islands, at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri rivers, came under the jurisdiction of the PRC. However, this was not the end of China’s territorial claims to Russia.

In 2012, when checking the state border between the countries, China announced the need to shift it deeper into Russia, putting forward a claim to “originally Chinese” 17 hectares of the Altai mountainous area. It is worth noting that the dispute arose over a small area of inaccessible territory, located at an altitude of 2500-3000 meters, and not currently equipped with checkpoints. As a result, the Chinese side was unable to provide any documents to support its claims to the Altai 17 hectares, which overnight turned into disputed territories.

Ukraine Crimea

View of Balaklava, TASS

The Crimean peninsula, on which the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol are located, became part of Russia on March 18, 2014, following the results of a referendum held on its territory, in which the overwhelming majority of Crimeans voted for reunification with Russia.

When seceding from Ukraine, Crimea used the same grounds as it did in 1991 when seceding from the USSR, namely:

The right of peoples to self-determination
Security threat due to coup d'etat
Continuation of centuries-old historical traditions

Ukraine, of which Crimea had previously been a part, had already lost its previously existing statehood at the time of the referendum, since the coup, during which the current president was deposed by parliament with obvious violations of constitutional procedures, automatically placed all power in the country outside the constitution and legally destroyed the state as such.

The results of the referendum are not openly recognized by Ukraine and the West; the rest of the world for the most part simply avoids the issue. In any case, the topic will remain open for some time, among other things, because in 1954 Crimea was transferred to Ukraine with different borders - since then the northern part of the Arabat Spit with the village of Strelkovoe still remains in the Kherson region. In general, the issue is closely connected with the future fate of Novorossiya.

On September 28, 1939, a Treaty of Friendship and Border between the USSR and Germany was concluded. It was signed by German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop and People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR Molotov. We decided to talk about five disputed territories of Russia with other states.

The treaty between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union was concluded on September 28, 1939. It was signed after the invasion of Poland by the armies of Germany and the USSR by the German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop and the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR Molotov. According to this treaty, the territory of Poland was divided between Germany and the USSR. The text of the treaty and a map with the border line between the USSR and Germany were published in the Soviet press. According to this agreement, Lithuania passed into the sphere of influence of the USSR. This ensured the Soviet Union that Germany would not interfere in its relations with Lithuania, which ultimately led to the establishment of the Lithuanian SSR on June 15, 1940.

DISPUTED ISLANDS

The Kuril Islands include 30 large and many small islands. They are part of the Sakhalin region of Russia and have important military-strategic and economic significance. However, the southern islands of the archipelago - Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and the Habomai group - are disputed by Japan, which includes them in Hokkaido Prefecture.

Moscow’s principled position is that the southern Kuril Islands became part of the USSR, of which Russia became the legal successor, and are an integral part of the territory of the Russian Federation on legal grounds following the Second World War, enshrined in the UN Charter, and Russian sovereignty over them, having the corresponding international legal confirmation is beyond doubt.

In Japan, they say that the northern territories are centuries-old territories of this country that continue to be under the illegal occupation of Russia. According to the Japanese position, if it is confirmed that the northern territories belong to Japan, it is ready to be flexible in the time and procedure for their return. In addition, since Japanese citizens living in the northern territories were forcibly evicted by Joseph Stalin, Japan is willing to reach an agreement with the Russian government so that Russian citizens living there will not suffer the same tragedy. In other words, after the return of the islands to Japan, it intends to respect the rights, interests and desires of the Russians currently living on the islands.

TOOK ONE AND A HALF ISLANDS

The problem of the disputed islands of Tarabarov and Bolshoy Ussuriysky arose in 1964, when a new draft agreement on the border between Russia and China was developed. And the story was like this. In 1689, the Treaty of Nerchinsk was concluded, when Russia recognized China's rights to lands on the right bank of the Amur and in Primorye. In the middle of the 19th century, taking advantage of China's weakness, Russia annexed 165.9 thousand square kilometers of Primorye, which were under joint management. China was left without access to the Sea of Japan. During World War II, an agreement was concluded between Stalin and the commander-in-chief of the PLA, Mao Zedong, who controlled the northern regions of China, to draw a border line along the Chinese bank of the Amur and Ussuri rivers. Thus, China was actually deprived of the right to use the fairway of these rivers, but received support from the USSR.

In 2004, an agreement was signed between Russia and China on the Russian-Chinese state border on its eastern part. The document defines the border in two sections: in the area of Bolshoy Island in the upper reaches of the Argun River (Chita Region) and in the area of Tarabarov and Bolshoy Ussuriysky islands at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri rivers near Khabarovsk. Tarabarov was completely given to China, and Ussuriysky - only partially. The border line, according to the document, runs both in the middle of the rivers and on land. The territory of both sections (about 375 sq. km) is distributed approximately in half.

WE WANTED TO CHOP OFF A PIECE

Estonia lays claim to the Pechora district of the Pskov region and the right bank of the Narva River with Ivangorod. On May 18, 2005, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Russia and Estonia Sergei Lavrov and Urmas Paet signed agreements on the state border and delimitation of maritime spaces in the Narva and Finnish Gulfs, which secured the passage of the state border between the two states along the former administrative border between the RSFSR and the Estonian SSR “with minor adjustments to the conditions adequate territorial compensation." One of the main subjects of negotiations on the Russian-Estonian border is the “Saatse Boot”. It was planned to transfer it to Estonia in exchange for other territories. The treaty was not ratified by Russia due to amendments made to it by the Estonian side.

FISH WAR

For almost half a century, Russia has been waging an undeclared fish war with Norway. Most of the fighting takes place in the famous “twilight zone” in the Barents Sea. This is a disputed body of water the size of half Germany or Italy, two thirds Great Britain.

The essence of the dispute comes down to the fact that Russia drew the border along the coast of the island of Spitsbergen, Norway believed that the border should be equidistant from Spitsbergen on one side and Franz Josef Land and the island of Novaya Zemlya on the other. Since the states were on friendly terms, the border dispute rarely resulted in any action, and Russian fishing vessels were occasionally detained. However, the dispute later escalated, as hydrocarbon reserves were discovered in the Barents Sea, including in the disputed territories. In April 2010, the parties agreed that a new delimitation line would divide the disputed territory into two equal parts; the 40-year-old dispute was finally resolved on September 15, 2010 after the signing of the agreement “On the delimitation of maritime spaces and cooperation in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean” transfer of 90 thousand sq. km. in favor of Norway.

CRIMEA - TERRITORY OF DISPUTES

For many years, controversy has not subsided around, perhaps, the most beautiful and favorite vacation spot of the Soviet people. Crimea is not only an “all-Union health resort”, but also a strategic territory.

In 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed, relations between Ukraine and Russia worsened. The people living in Russia, after the loss of so many territories, remembered Crimea, which could be returned, because... many did not approve of its transfer to Ukraine in 1954. At the same time, 80 percent of Crimean residents said that they consider themselves citizens of Russia, and Crimea is part of its territory. But Ukraine still had one very significant lever of pressure on Russia - the Black Sea Fleet. In January 1992, the then President of Ukraine L. Kravchuk announced taking the Black Sea Fleet under his wing. This was a disaster for Russia. But the transfer of Crimea to Ukraine is a very huge loss for Russia.