Disputed territories, which may have military significance, attract the attention of states most of all. Shelves and sea areas, rich in fish, are a tasty morsel. Not in last place in importance are those places where you can successfully develop. Such economically important objects are most often the subject of state disputes. The Russian border has a length of 60,000 kilometers, and with the United States - the longest maritime border.

Claims against Russia by Asian states

Kurile Islands today are a stumbling block for the signing of a peace treaty between Russia and Japan. Since the end of the Second World War between these countries, it has not been signed, although Japan finally capitulated on September 6, 1945. Today, these two states are in a state of truce, the Japanese demand to give them part of the Kuril ridge.

The border with China is demarcated, but it has claims against Russia. And today Tarabarov and the Big Ussuri Islands on the Amur River are controversial. Here the borders are not even delimited. But China follows a different path, it systematically populates the territory of the Russian Federation with its citizens. The water space and shelves of the Caspian Sea are divided by Russian-Iranian agreements. The states that have reappeared in the political world, and these are Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, demand to divide the bottom of the Caspian Sea in a new way. Azerbaijan is not waiting, it is already developing the subsoil.

European claims

Today, Ukraine has a territorial claim to Russia, it does not want to accept the loss of Crimea. Earlier there were disputes about the Kerch Strait and the Sea of ​​Azov, which Russia proposed to consider internal between the two countries, while Ukraine demanded their separation. There are problems, and they are very difficult to solve. Latvia tried to make claims about the Pytalovsky region, but for the sake of the possibility of joining the EU, it refused.

Despite the fact that rumors are circulating in the media about Estonian claims to the Ivangorod region, official Tallinn did not make any claims. Lithuania plans to annex the Kaliningrad region, but it is unlikely that it will want a war with Russia.

Norway is not satisfied with the Russian border between the islands of the Arctic Ocean. Norway demands to establish a border exactly in the middle between the islands belonging to the two countries, it wants to revise the boundaries of Russian polar possessions. In 1926, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee established the border of the polar possessions of the USSR, including in the state all the islands in the north of the Eastern Hemisphere, including the North Pole. Today, many countries consider this document illegal.

Abstract on the topic:

"Disputed Territories"

Pupil 8 "A" class

linguistic gymnasium №13

Korostyleva Vladimir

Scientific adviser: Lokteva Galina Ivanovna

I.Introduction…………………………………………p.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…………………………………p.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 Comoros, about the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands between Great Britain and Argentina, the War of Independence of Palestine, etc. Russia is also among the disputants, Japan lays 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 we are unlikely to ever know) when the first people appeared on our islands. Archaeological discoveries of recent decades only allow us to say that this happened in the Paleolithic era. The ethnic affiliation of the population of the islands remains a mystery until the first Europeans and Japanese appeared here. And they appeared on the islands only in the 17th century and were caught in the Kuriles

and southern Sakhalin Ainu, in northern Sakhalin - Nivkhs. Probably already then the Ulta (Oroks) lived in the central and northern regions of Sakhalin. The first European expedition that ended up near the Kuril and Sakhalin

coast, was the expedition of the Dutch navigator M.G. Friz. He not only explored and mapped the southeast of Sakhalin and the South Kuriles, but also proclaimed Urup a possession of Holland, which, however, was left without

any consequences. Russian explorers also played a huge role in the study of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. First - in 1646 - the expedition of V.D. Poyarkov discovered the north-western coast of Sakhalin, and in 1697 V.V. Atlasov learned about the existence of the Kuril Islands. Already in the 10s. 18th century the process of studying and gradually joining the Kuril Islands to the Russian state begins. The success of Russia in the development of the Kuriles became possible thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit, courage and patience of D.Ya. Antsiferov, I.P. Kozyrevsky, I.M. Evreinov, F.F. Luzhin,

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

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

At the end of the XVIII century. research off the coast of Sakhalin was carried out by a French expedition under the command of J.-F. Laperouse and an English expedition under the command of V.R. Broughton. The emergence of the theory about the peninsular position of Sakhalin is connected with their work. The Russian

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. The discoveries of Nevelskoy were followed by the accession of Sakhalin to Russia. Russian military posts and villages appear one after another on the island. In 1869-1906. Sakhalin was the largest penal servitude in Russia. Since the beginning of the XIX century. Sakhalin and the Kuriles become the object of the Russian-Japanese territorial dispute. In 1806-1807. on South Sakhalin and Iturup, Russian sailors defeated Japanese settlements. The answer to this was the capture by the Japanese of the Russian navigator V.M. Golovnin on Kunashir. Over the past two centuries, Russian-Japanese

the border has changed several times. In 1855, in accordance with the Shimodsky Treaty, the border passed between the islands of Urup and Iturup, while Sakhalin was left undivided. In 1875, Russia handed over to Japan the Northern Kuriles that belonged to it, 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 belonging of the islands was resolved by the Russian-Japanese

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

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

The last time the Russian-Japanese border changed was in 1945, when our country regained South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands as a result of victory in World War II. In August-September 1945, with US approval, the Soviets occupied all the Kuriles, and in 1946 the US Occupation Administration announced to the Japanese government that the entire Kuril 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 talks under the pretext of disagreements over US actions in the Cold War. Despite this, the final text of the San Francisco Peace Treaty establishes quite unambiguously that Japan "renounces all rights, claims and claims to the Kuril Islands."

At that time, Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida, who was negotiating on the Japanese side, publicly stated that Japan was unhappy with this wording, especially with regard to the southern part of the islands. Administratively, Habomai and Shikotan under Japanese rule

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

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

apply to the International Court of Justice. Regarding the Japanese claims to the rest of the islands, the answer was very loud silence.

In 1955, Japan began trying 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 US. But the 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.

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

Shigemitsu started with the already standard Japanese requirements of Iturup and Kunashir - - was immediately refused. However, the Soviets again offered to return Shikotan and Habomai on the condition that a peace treaty be signed.

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

The Conservatives are back in action.

Shigemitsu was recalled and on the way home was "intercepted" by the same John Foster Dulles, who only 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 stopped claiming all of the Northern Territories, the US would not

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

Scientists argued a lot about how Dulles managed to make such a 180-degree turn. One theory claims that the US knew in 1951 that if it did not abide by the Yalta Accords over the Kuriles, Moscow might cease to abide by the Yalta Accords.

agreements on Austria—the problem had all but disappeared by 1956. Another interesting theory put forward by Professor Kimitada Miwa of Sophia University in Tokyo claims that the American position in 1951 was the result of a deal with the Soviets that secured Micronesia to the United States by decision of the UN Security Council three years earlier.

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

Allowing the US to turn in its favor 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 Kuriles, the US is holding Okinawa. Today's Japanese position completely ignores all the subtleties described above. She simply states that the Northern Territories are ancestral Japanese lands ("koyu no ryodo") and as such must be returned. As far as the San Francisco Treaty is concerned, Tokyo puts forward two highly controversial arguments. The first is that, since the treaty does not say who exactly should receive the very Kuriles that Japan refused, then anyone, including Japan itself, can claim them. Another argument is that the Northern Territories do not belong to those Kuril Islands that Japan refused, and indeed cannot be treated, being, again, "original Japanese lands." With the last argument, however, not everything is in order. If Japan had not really given up the Northern Territories in 1951, then why would Yoshida have declared to the whole world in 1951 that he was devastated by 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 San Francisco Treaty included Iturup and Kunashir. The Office of Treaties of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responding officially to this request on behalf of the Prime Minister, replied to Parliament on October 19, 1951: "Unfortunately, yes, it includes." Over the following years, Foreign Ministry officials commented on this key point in the following way: that the answer to parliament on October 19 was: a) misunderstood, b) outdated, and, finally, c) was "kokunai flour", 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 indicate vigorous support from the United States, which, since 1956, has officially stated that Iturup and Kunashir definitely do not belong to the territories, which Japan abandoned in San Francisco. It is clear that the US, saying exactly the opposite of what it said in 1951, is simply using a little Cold War-style ploy to keep Tokyo and Moscow at bay - but such an assumption is politely ignored. But not only the United States participated in this process. In 1951, Britain played a major role in forcing Japan to give up the Kuriles, and the British embassy in Tokyo has in its archives a report from 1955, where the unexpected demand by the Japanese of Iturup and Kunashir was called "amusing and naive." Today Britain supports the same demand as perfectly reasonable. Australia, which in 1951 made efforts to prevent any concessions to Yoshida on territorial issues (for fear that post-war Japan would use any border uncertainty as an excuse for militarization), today also unequivocally supports the Japanese position. In short, what began as an exercise in punishing Japan for wartime aggression turned into the most successful operation of the Cold War to keep Japan in the West's camp. I am not suggesting that the Japanese position be completely abandoned. If Tokyo would refer to the reluctance with which Yoshida gave up the Kuriles, and especially their southern part in San Francisco, and would present some secret documents demonstrating what exactly the United States forced him to surrender, this would constitute a good legal basis for that. to push for a revision of this part of the peace agreement. But today Japan is trapped in 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 on the return of these "primordial lands" by Moscow, not realizing that in the face of precisely such a demand, Moscow cannot yield, even if it wanted to, for fear of setting a precedent that would allow its other neighbors to lay claim to the former "primordial lands". ". Hashimoto's suggestion that Moscow can control the territories for a few more years, provided it recognizes Japanese sovereignty over them, shows how inadequate 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 being urged to continue negotiations in a hard-line manner and ignore Moscow's regular hints that it is still ready to return Shikotan and Habomai. Such a dispute is doomed to eternal extension. And John Foster Dulles is giggling to himself in his coffin.

I believe that the Kuriles should belong to Russia, because. Japan abandoned them in 1951 and it is too late to abandon their decisions, she lost the war and must endure the hardships associated with this. After all, if all peoples 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 from the beginning it is necessary to sign a peace treaty, and only then talk about territorial disputes.

If you look at the map, then it clearly shows the boundaries separating one state from another. Everything looks clear and unambiguous. Unfortunately, the reality is not so rosy. Every day the borders change: some states disappear, others appear, others seek to expand their territory at the expense of their neighbor. We offer an overview of the disputed territories claimed by several powers, not recognizing each other's rights.

Greece and Turkey have never been able to coexist peacefully, and the problem of Cyprus just gives them the opportunity to express dissatisfaction with each other in full. After several times the territory of the island passed from hand to hand, now it is divided into two parts. 37% is under Turkish control, 63% of the southern part is the Republic of Cyprus, between them there is buffer zone under NATO control.

These cities on the northern coast of Morocco are the only remaining territories in Africa for Spain. Morocco regularly appealed to the Spanish government to grant them independence, but the local population categorically rejected such an idea. On this moment they are officially part of the EU.

Relations between the Singaporean and Malayan governments have never been easy, and most recently Malaysia has accused Singapore of illegally managing its lands. Point 20, a small piece of reclaimed land in Singapore, Malaysia claims it is within its territorial waters.

People are ready to fight in the modern world for anything, and New Moor Island is proof of this, not even an island, but a 10-square-meter spit. It appeared in 1970 in the Bay of Bengal after a cyclone and disappeared in 2010 due to rising sea levels. That's what India and Bangladesh have been fighting for for 40 years.

Another amazing territorial dispute concerning desert island in the North Atlantic. It is claimed by Great Britain, Iceland and Ireland.

Although no one shed blood for this territory, anyway, it has long been divided, empty and hypothetically. And so the question of property constantly arises.

The dispute began when an Argentine whaling company set up a base in the Falklands around the time Britain annexed them. During the Falklands War, they briefly came under Argentine rule, but soon returned to British jurisdiction.

Although there is no sharp conflict between Great Britain and Spain over territories, they are still opponents in this matter.

The region, which is mostly desert, is one of the most sparsely populated areas in the world. It once belonged to Spain, but is now claimed by Morocco and the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic.

It has long been known that Sudan is not calm at all. For many years the country has been torn apart by civil war and bloodshed, and South Sudan has achieved its independence. Abyei is a region located at the very center of the conflict between the two countries. And although South Sudan claims it, it is controlled by its northern neighbor.

Unusual disputed territory. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that they are not fighting for it, but two countries are trying to get rid of it - Egypt and Sudan.

Despite gaining independence in 1981, Belize has been fighting off the territorial claims of Guatemala for the past 30 years. On some maps of the restless neighbor, Belize is listed as the 23rd district.

If you think that if three million people declare independence and form a new state, then all the other 200 countries will happily nod their heads and recognize it, then you are mistaken. In 1991, Somaliland declared independence from Somalia, but no one batted an eyelid. Perhaps it was necessary to choose a different name for the state?

More recently, there was a war between Argentina and Britain, which ended with the recognition of the status of British territory behind the islands. And in 2007, the President of Argentina again offered to resume negotiations.

Although most of the world community perceives Tibet as autonomous region within China, the Tibetan government in exile in India strongly disagrees.

After decades of violent conflict, Kosovo, which was part of Serbia, declared independence in 2008. Since then, it has been recognized by 88 countries, including the US, UK and France. Russia and China, not to mention Seribia, were categorically against it.

Although the Kuril Islands officially became part of the USSR after the end of World War II, Japan still calls them its northern territories.

The narrow strip between Ukraine and Moldova has turned into a self-proclaimed republic, which was recognized only by two countries - South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which themselves are in the same status. For the rest of the world, it is an autonomous territorial unit within Moldova.

After World War II, the Korean Peninsula was divided along the 38th parallel. As a result, North Korea was formed in the north, and the Republic of Korea in the south. Both states claim their rights to the entire peninsula, once this has already led to the Korean War, after which a demilitarized zone appeared between them.

There are two countries claiming the name "China". These are the PRC and the Republic of China (Taiwan). Both are completely unprepared to recognize the existence of each other and claim the same territory.

21. Spratly Islands

The two self-proclaimed republics have been seeking independence from Georgia for about a century. In the region, the fierce confrontation did not stop, in which the Russian Federation helped them. As a result, only a few countries recognized their independence - Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua and a few Pacific Islands.

The territory of Kashmir, located between India and Pakistan, is actually divided between three powers - India in the south, Pakistan in the northwest and China in the northeast. Neither side agrees to recognize the rights of others to these territories.

One of the most conflict regions on the world map for many centuries. The territory passed into the hands of various states many times. After the establishment of the State of Israel in 1947, the situation did not improve, there are constant shootings here, and serious military clashes periodically take place.

The last territorial conflict in recent history Ukraine and Russia.

No one undertakes to predict how such conflicts may end, but scientists have included them in

What territories can be taken away from Russia in the coming years.

Last Monday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that he would like to resolve the issue of ownership of the Kuril Islands with Russia and sign a peace treaty. According to him, "the solution of the issue of the northern territories is a long-standing desire of the Japanese people." How Japan intends to resolve the issue, Abe did not specify. Countries have not been able to sign a peace treaty since the end of World War II.

We decided to recall the history of the Kuril Islands, and at the same time other disputed territories, which in the future may cause a conflict between Russia and its neighbors.

Kurile Islands

The dispute between Russia and Japan over the Kuril Islands can be traced back to the 18th century. At that time, the islands were inhabited by the Ainu people and there was no permanent Russian or Japanese population on them yet. Expeditions to the Kuriles were carried out by both Russians and Japanese, but the parties did not exercise any real control over the territories until the 19th century.

The first full-fledged delimitation treaty was signed by Russia and Japan in 1855 - it recognized the right of the Japanese to the Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan islands, as well as to the Habomai group of islands. The remaining islands of the Kuril chain remained with Russia. It is on the basis of this treaty that Japan today puts forward claims to the territory of the southern Kuriles.

Subsequently, the islands changed hands more than once - in 1875, Russia, in exchange for South Sakhalin, gave Japan the entire Kuril ridge, and in 1905, after the defeat in the Russo-Japanese War, it also gave South Sakhalin. In 1945, the USSR entered the war with Japan at the request of the United States on the terms of the subsequent return of the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin.

After the victory in the war, Soviet troops occupied the agreed territories, but Japan did not recognize the transfer of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and the Habomai Islands to the USSR. The reason was that, according to Japanese cartography, they do not belong to the Kuril Islands, being the historical Japanese province of Chisima.

At the same time, the Soviet Union agreed to transfer the islands of Habomai and Shikotan to Japan in exchange for the recognition of the remaining territories for the USSR, but these conditions did not suit Japan and the peace treaty between the countries was never signed.

In the USSR, the very fact of contesting the territories was not recognized until 1991, so there were no political negotiations on this topic. The active political phase in the issue of the Kuril Islands resumed already between Japan and the Russian Federation.

In 2007, Russia was asked to return to the terms of the 1955 armistice with the transfer of Habomai and Shikotan, but Japan refused and preferred to continue to consider all of the southern Kuriles as its "northern territories".

In 2010 and 2012, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited the disputed territories along with other high-ranking officials, which caused a disapproving reaction from Japan. A new attempt by the Japanese authorities to rapprochement on the issue of resolving the territorial dispute has not yet received a response from the Russian side.

Amur Islands and Altai

The eastern part of the border between Russia and China runs along the Amur River and its tributary, the Ussuri. In the channels of these rivers there are a huge number of islands, the territorial status of which was repeatedly disputed by the two sides throughout the 20th century.

So, in 1969, an armed conflict broke out between the troops of the USSR and the PRC over Damansky Island, as a result of which control over it actually passed from the Soviet side to the Chinese. In 1991, the island was finally assigned to the PRC by signing an agreement.

In 2005, Russia and China signed another ​demarcation agreement between the two states, according to which 337 square kilometers of island territories were assigned to the PRC, which were previously under the de facto control of Russia. Part of Bolshoi Ussuriysky Island, Tarabarov Island and also other, smaller islands located near Khabarovsk, in the place where the Ussuri flows into the Amur, went to China.

According to the Russian authorities, the transfer of disputed territories to China was made in order to normalize relations between the two countries and avoid a possible military conflict in the future. At the same time, already in 2012, China demanded that a section of the border in the Altai Mountains be moved deep into the Russian Federation.

The PRC hoped to get 17 hectares of land, through which, perhaps in the future, a gas pipeline will pass to the country rising sun. Thus, by transferring the disputed territories to China in 2005, the Russian authorities by no means got rid of Chinese claims to our land, but rather created a dangerous precedent.

At the same time, in China itself, the mood for the return of the former imperial borders is quite strong. The local press does not hesitate to publish maps on which the lands of Siberia and the Far East are designated as historical Chinese territory.

Pytalovo

In 1920, a peace treaty was signed between Soviet Russia and Latvia, according to which the parties recognized the sovereignty of the two states. At the same time, the state border was also drawn. As a result, part of the Ostrovsky district of the former Russian Empire became part of Latvia.

In 1940, Stalin brought Soviet troops into Latvia, and in 1944 the territory of the former Ostrovsky district again returned to the RSFSR, and it became the Pytalovsky district of the Pskov region.

After the collapse of the USSR, Latvia recognized its presence as part of the USSR as an occupation and, on this basis, put forward territorial claims to the Pytalovsky region. At the same time, the Russian authorities, regarding this issue, categorically refused to transfer the disputed territories to the Baltic country.

In 2007, the Latvians made concessions and the border was finally fixed the way it remained after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Latvia decided that the claims were not worth the deterioration of relations with Russia, in addition, the country needed to resolve territorial disputes in order to join NATO.

Saatsessian boot

Estonia also had territorial claims against Russia. However, they were not connected with the historical right of Estonia to certain Russian territories, but with a banal inconvenience.

The fact is that one of the Estonian highways, built back in the USSR, partially passes through the territory of the Pechora district of the Pskov region, which goes into the lands of Estonia and resembles boots in shape. To drive along this road, one has to cross the state border twice.

Russia has introduced a special regime in this area, according to which Estonian vehicles have the right to pass the Russian section of the road without border inspection, but it is forbidden to stop and walk there.

The Russian authorities intended to resolve these inconveniences in 2005 by transferring the Saatses boot to Estonia in exchange for almost 100 hectares of forest land. But the signing of the already finished agreement fell through due to the introduction by the Estonian side of the text of amendments that did not suit the Russian Federation.

As a result, in 2014, the countries signed another demarcation agreement recognizing operating borders left over from the collapse of the USSR. Estonia, like Latvia, at a certain stage was forced to curtail the issue of transferring borders due to the rules for joining NATO.

Karelia

During its history, Karelia has become a disputed territory more than once. It belonged to the Novgorod Republic, Sweden and the Russian Empire. In 1920, after civil war and the first Soviet-Finnish war, the western part of Karelia was transferred to Finland.

The territory was returned after the Second World War, although part historical area Karelia has remained a part of Finland - the administrative units of North and South Karelia still exist there. Since the end of World War II, the Russian-Finnish border has not changed and has never been challenged by the official Finnish government.

However, recently, in Finland, moods for the return of Karelian lands have been growing - according to sociological surveys, at least a third of the population is in favor of uniting Karelia under the Finnish flag. Recently, several political organizations have emerged advocating the return of the disputed territory.

Svalbard

The Svalbard Islands were first visited in the 12th century by the Pomors who inhabited Rus'. They were finally discovered by the famous Dutch navigator Willem Barents in 1596. Since then, whaling and walrus hunting have been regularly carried out on the island, until by XIX the animals were completely exterminated.

On Russian maps at that time, this territory was designated as part of the Russian Empire, although Denmark and Great Britain also had claims to it. At the same time, in fact, the islands remained without any control until the beginning of the 20th century.

In 1920, Norway, taking advantage of the collapse of the Russian Empire, declared its rights to Svalbard. After that, an international treaty was signed on the special legal status of Svalbard, according to which the archipelago was recognized as the territory of the Norwegian crown.

At the same time, all countries that signed the treaty had the right to conduct commercial and research activities on the islands. Svalbard was also recognized as a demilitarized zone.

Between the world wars, coal mining was actively carried out on the archipelago, in addition, Svalbard became one of the centers of polar aviation. During the war, many mines were destroyed, but after mining resumed - mainly thanks to the efforts of Norway and the USSR.

By the time the Soviet Union collapsed, Svalbard's coal reserves had run out and the Norwegian settlements on the island refocused their economy on Arctic tourism. The Norwegian authorities took a position of protecting the ecological situation in the archipelago, introducing new laws in the 2000s that severely limited the activities of organizations on the islands.

The Russian part of Svalbard could not adapt to the new realities and currently lives on government subsidies. However, the Russian population of Svalbard is no more than 500 people, most of whom live in the village of Barentsburg. At the same time, about two thousand Norwegians live on the islands.

Russia and Norway have not officially disputed the ownership of Svalbard, although the countries have recently had territorial claims against each other. They concerned primarily the drawing of the border in the waters Barents Sea. The Russian side drew the border along the coast of the island of Spitsbergen, while the Norwegians insisted that the border should pass at an equal distance from Spitsbergen and Franz Josef Land.

The dispute entered an active phase when hydrocarbon reserves were discovered in this sea area. In addition, there is a brisk fishing industry, and Russian and Norwegian border guards often arrested fishing boats here. In 2010, the dispute was resolved by the signing of a demarcation agreement, which was drawn up on a compromise basis.

Alaska

Alaska was discovered by Russian navigators in the 18th century and until 1867 was controlled by the so-called Russian-American company. However, after the unsuccessful Crimean War, it became clear that Russia was simply not able to protect such a remote and undeveloped territory as Alaska.

In addition, after Alexander II carried out large-scale reforms, the treasury was very short of money, and the government decided to sell the peninsula. The amount of the deal with the US authorities amounted to 7.2 million dollars, that is, 4.74 dollars per square kilometer.

Almost immediately after the sale, gold was discovered in Alaska, but the mining industry began to develop actively only towards the end of the 19th century, when a gold rush occurred in America. In 1959, Alaska became a state, and now there is extensive mining, including oil.

Since the sale of the peninsula, official Russia has never expressed its rights to it, although a reminder of the Russian past of Alaska keeps popping out of the lips of politicians. Of course, in the wake of these sentiments is Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who has long been proposing to demand Alaska back from the United States. After the events in Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea to the Russian Federation, talk about the return of Alaska resumed with renewed vigor, although for the most part they are more of a comic nature.

On September 28, 1939, the Treaty of Friendship and Border between the USSR and Germany was signed. It was signed by German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop and People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR Molotov. We decided to talk about the 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 German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop and People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR Molotov. According to this agreement, 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. Under this treaty, Lithuania passed into the sphere of influence of the USSR. This provided the Soviet Union with German non-intervention in relations with Lithuania, which resulted in the establishment of the Lithuanian SSR on June 15, 1940.

DISPUTE ISLANDS

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

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

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

TAKEN ONE AND A HALF ISLANDS

The problem of the disputed islands of Tarabarov and Bolshoi Ussuriysky arose in 1964, when the new project border agreements between Russia and China. 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 the weakness of China, Russia annexed 165.9 thousand square kilometers of Primorye, which were under joint control. China was left without access to the Sea of ​​Japan. During World War II, between Stalin and the commander-in-chief of the PLA, Mao Zedong, who controlled the northern regions of China, an agreement was concluded on drawing 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, Russia and China signed an agreement on Russian-Chinese state border on its eastern side. 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 ​​the Tarabarov and Bolshoy Ussuriysky Islands at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri Rivers near Khabarovsk. Tarabarov is completely given to China, and Ussuriysky is only partially. The border line, according to the document, runs both along the middle of the rivers and on land. The territory of both sites (about 375 sq. km) is distributed approximately in half.

WANTED TO CUT 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, Sergey Lavrov and Urmas Paet, signed agreements on the state border and delimitation of maritime spaces in Narva and Gulf of Finland, fixing the passage of the state border between the two states along the former administrative border between the RSFSR and the Estonian SSR "with a slight adjustment on the terms of 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, exchanging it for other territories. The agreement was not ratified by Russia, due to the 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 on the territory of the famous "twilight zone" in the Barents Sea. This is a disputed body of water the size of half Germany or Italy, two-thirds of the UK.

The essence of the dispute boils down to the fact that Russia drew the border along the coast of the island of Svalbard, Norway believed that the border should be equidistant from Svalbard on the one hand and Franz Josef Land and the island New Earth with another. Since the states were on friendly terms, the dispute over the border rarely resulted in any actions, and occasionally there were detentions of Russian fishing boats. However, in the future, the dispute escalated, since 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 separate disputed territory into two equal parts, the 40-year-old dispute was finally settled on September 15, 2010 after the signing of the agreement “On the delimitation of maritime spaces and cooperation in the Barents Sea and the North Arctic Ocean» transfer of 90 thousand sq. m. km. in favor of Norway.

CRIMEA - A TERRITORY OF DISPUTES

For many years, disputes around perhaps the most beautiful and favorite vacation spot of the Soviet people have not subsided. 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 the Crimea, which could be returned, because. transferring it to Ukraine in 1954 was disapproved by many. At the same time, 80 percent of Crimean residents said they consider themselves citizens of Russia, and Crimea is part of its territory. But Ukraine had one very significant lever of pressure on Russia - the Black Sea Fleet. In January 1992, the then President of Ukraine L. Kravchuk announced that he had taken the Black Sea Fleet under his guardianship. It was a collapse for Russia. But the transfer of Crimea to Ukraine is a very huge loss for Russia.

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