Military facilities on the Kuril Islands. Why does Russia need a naval base in the Kuril Islands? What kind of base can Russia afford?

At the end of March, it was announced that in the near future a base for ships of the Russian Pacific Fleet may appear on the islands of the Great Kuril Ridge disputed by Japan. Earlier, there were statements about a serious strengthening of the Eastern Military District and garrisons on the disputed islands. “Our Version” figured out why, given the growing military threat on the western borders, there is a significant strengthening of the Russian military group in the Far East.

As Sergei Shoigu reported, already in April the Navy will conduct a three-month expedition to the islands of the Great Kuril Ridge, the purpose of which will be to study the possibilities for creating a new base for the Pacific Fleet in the Kuril Islands. According to the Minister of Defense, the islands have an important military-strategic location to ensure the territorial integrity and national security of Russia, which is why placing bases here “will help the country solve these problems more effectively.” Earlier, the Ministry of Defense emphasized that a planned rearmament of the forces stationed in the Kuril Islands was being carried out.

In 2016, it is planned to transfer powerful and modern weapons to the region, including the Bal and Bastion coastal missile systems, as well as new generation drones.

At the same time, the Russian leadership understands that such activity will complicate relations with Japan. It is no coincidence that former military man and now head of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security Viktor Ozerov has already called on Tokyo not to consider the possible basing of Russian warships in the Kuril Islands as a threat. However, noting that the number of ships of the Pacific Military Fleet that can be stationed in the Kuril Islands will depend on the quality of relations with Japan and other states of the Asia-Pacific region.

Japan can return the Kuril Islands by force today

The dispute between Russia and Japan over the “northern territories,” as the Southern Kuril Islands are called in Japan, has been going on for more than 60 years, and so far no compromise has been reached through diplomatic means. Therefore, in response to Shoigu’s statements, Japan immediately stated that strengthening the military infrastructure disputed territories causes them concern. The main reason is that the Kuril Islands are of great economic and military-strategic importance for the entire region. And above all for Russia: the deep-sea strait, which does not freeze in winter, between the islands of Kunashir and Iturup is the only exit to the ocean for the Pacific Fleet. That is why the issue of returning the islands to Japan, in principle, can hardly be resolved positively.

Today, neither side intends to concede; it seems that political methods have been exhausted, but no one believes in the prospect of a fourth war between Japan and Russia. Although, as recent events show, the situation in the world can change dramatically in a matter of weeks. So the military potentials of countries can play an important role in this dispute. And here, unfortunately, many things are not in Russia’s favor. According to experts, too few forces are concentrated in the east, while the units are scattered at a great distance from each other. Another problem for the Eastern Military District, which ensures the security of the Kuril ridge, is its remoteness, which does not allow troop groups to be built up in a short time. Therefore, experts believe that theoretically Japan is already capable of carrying out a lightning war today, quickly landing on the Kuril Islands, capturing harbors and anchorages, and covering all this from the sea and from the air. That is why Russia's attention to the military component Kuril Islands so big. Moreover, it arose against the background of the strengthening of the Japanese self-defense forces. So, in mid-July in the Country rising sun Amendments to the law were passed to allow the Japanese army to be used to help defend its allies outside the country. The amendments also expanded the ability of Japanese forces to conduct peacekeeping operations overseas.

In addition, in recent years the Japanese have significantly strengthened their armed forces. Today, the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force is one of the most powerful in the Asia-Pacific region and is more than 2 times larger than the Russian Pacific Fleet. In total, the Japanese Navy has more than 250 modern warships and auxiliary vessels and boats, including one light aircraft carrier and four helicopter destroyers. Most destroyers are equipped with anti-submarine helicopters and anti-ship missile systems with American Harpoon missiles. Landing ships are represented by pennants of the Osumi type, tank landing ships Miura, Atsumi, small landing ships of the Yura and Yusotei types. With them, the Japanese are capable of transporting up to one brigade of ground forces at a time. There is even a light aircraft carrier of the Hyuga class.

There are 20 diesel submarines in service: 7 Harushio class, armed with anti-ship missiles(PCR) "Harpoon". Oyashio submarines are silent, with a 20-knot underwater speed, capable of firing torpedoes or Sub-Harpoon missiles from six bow torpedo tubes (533 mm). There are two boats of the Soryu type - with an increased diving range.

Alexander Khramchikhin, head of the analytical department of the Institute of Political and Military Analysis:

– The rearmament of the Eastern Military District and the division on the Kuril Islands is undoubtedly taking place as part of the planned re-equipment of the Russian Armed Forces, this has been talked about for a long time. Apparently, as part of this, the Kuril group will be re-equipped, and perhaps special attention will be paid to it. The reason for this refurbishment is obvious - these islands are disputed by Japan, while they are highly isolated for geographical reasons. Therefore, it is necessary to have a group there that is capable of repelling an enemy attack completely autonomously for some time.

The Pacific Fleet is recovering, but slowly

At the same time, the Pacific Fleet of the Russian Navy, battered by post-Soviet timelessness, is not being restored as quickly as we would like. Today, about a hundred ships remain of its former power, and a third of them are under repair, reserve or mothballed. At the same time, the Pacific Fleet is divided into two groups, which are based in Kamchatka and Primorye. The part remaining in Primorye has, in fact, turned into a small flotilla of heterogeneous forces, where the main combat power is the Varyag missile cruiser, which has crossed the 20-year mark.

Submarines are stationed in Kamchatka. The 16th submarine squadron is armed with Project 949A Antey submarine cruisers of the same type as the Kursk, Shchuka-B nuclear torpedo boats (Project 971), diesel-electric Varshavyanka and 667BDR strategic boats.

The Kuril Islands are directly defended by the 18th machine gun and artillery division with a strength of 3.5 thousand people. The 46th machine gun and artillery regiment is located on Kunashir, the 484th machine gun and artillery regiment is on Iturup. At the same time, the division is extremely poorly connected with the mainland, especially in winter time. This means that the garrison is highly dependent on the weather; the delivery of ammunition, food and medicine from the mainland will be difficult. All of the regiment's weapons and equipment are outdated; according to various estimates, up to 80% of the equipment and weapons require major repairs or must be written off. Only last year there were reports that the division had received T-80 tanks, this, of course, is not the most modern weapons, but if you remember that earlier IS-2, IS-3 and T tanks dug into the ground were used to create strong points -34, then this is serious progress.

According to some information, last year the Bal coastal anti-ship missile system, adopted by the Russian Armed Forces in 2008, was deployed to the disputed islands. It is designed to control territorial waters and strait zones, protect naval bases, other coastal facilities and coastal infrastructure. It is also reported that in at the moment present in the Kuril Islands modern system air defense - the Tor and Buk complexes are on constant combat duty. There have been repeated statements that the Ministry of Defense is considering the option of deploying modern S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems in the Kuril Islands, but for now this is in the plans.

However, it looks like they will now be accelerated. Recently, it has been announced that a modern infrastructure will be created. In the Kuril Islands, the construction of military camps and the re-equipment of units based there have begun - by the end of 2016, 392 objects for various purposes will be built in Iturup and Kunashir. In this way, the Ministry of Defense is preparing to seriously strengthen the “eastern front” of the country, where, in the event of an armed conflict, many more problems may arise than on the western front.

Kuril Islands / Photo: riarealty.ru

A number of new military facilities will appear on the Kuril Islands of Iturup and Kunashir, reports the press service of the Federal Agency for Special Construction (Spetsstroy).

The press service noted that social infrastructure is also being built on the islands: dormitories for military personnel, cultural, leisure and sports centers.

The total construction area reaches 400 thousand square meters, in total it is planned to construct 392 buildings and structures. More than 500 builders and 100 pieces of equipment are involved in the construction of military infrastructure.

Also, according to Spetsstroy, all military facilities in the Kuril Islands will be equipped with the latest “Strelets-Sentry” security system, which will allow messages about emergency situations to be transmitted via secure communication channels, RIA Novosti reports.

Background information

Sagittarius guarding military facilities and enterprises of the military-industrial complex

By the end of 2015, national superheroes will protect the borders of Russia using unique bracelets

Just recently, fantastic bracelets from superhero movies were just a utopia. However, the Sagittarius company managed to turn fantasy into reality.

Superhero bracelets are unique security points for receiving and transmitting information, which form the basis of the integrated complex of technical security equipment “Sagittarius-Sentinel”. Using bracelets, you can not only monitor the status of each guard (GLONASS sensor, immobility sensor), but also secretly notify him of an emergency situation at the facility with a vibration signal. In other words, the Strelets company was able to combine the entire complex of technical means of protecting an object directly with the person on combat duty. In the event of an emergency at the facility, an alarm signal will immediately be sent to the bracelet and to the control headquarters.

Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev gets acquainted with the Sagittarius-Chasovoy mobile complex at the Russian Ministry of Defense forum / Photo: i-korotchenko.livejournal.com

“We need to implement it!” – Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev succinctly stated after getting acquainted with the Sagittarius-Chasovoy mobile complex at the International Military-Technical Forum of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

The Minister of Defense said that the complex has already been put into service and will enter the Russian army in 2015.

Today, the Sagittarius-Chasovoy complex is already used to protect the most important military facilities, for example, National Center Russian Defense Department in Moscow, as well as the Patriot Park in Kubinka.

At the official closing ceremony of the forum, the Strelets company was awarded the award “For its contribution to the preparation and organization of the international military-technical forum” / Photo: i-korotchenko.livejournal.com

Patriot Park under the sign of Sagittarius

All security systems of the Patriot Park: video surveillance, access control, perimeter security and personal alarm systems were implemented using Sagittarius-Sentry technology, including wireless.

As a result of the use of modern wireless technologies, Strelets LLC short terms created a reliable security system at the international forum of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Uralmashzavod chose Strelets

The largest industrial enterprise of national importance was fully equipped with the Strelets radio channel system.

"Uralmashplant" / Photo: i-korotchenko.livejournal.com

• Installation in a short time (no need to lay cable lines and wires).
• No false alarms (for example, welding work leads to interference in long wires - a kind of antenna for interference).
• Possibility of stage-by-stage reconstruction of buildings without disrupting communication lines of security systems.

Wireless and traditional technologies of the Sagittarius-Sentry system provide a qualitatively new level of security for defense complex facilities.

with each construction project it is becoming increasingly difficult to count... As previously reported, Spetsstroy was going to rebuild a number of military facilities in the Sakhalin region, among them completely autonomous military camps with residential buildings and dormitories, barracks, appropriate infrastructure, cultural, leisure and sports institutions. How these intentions are being implemented in practice can be learned from the November publications related to the Ministry of Defense. In particular, they say that the authorities federal agency special construction of Russia and the director of Spetsstroy Volosov A., after an inspection trip to the Southern Kuril Islands in the middle of the year, assured that the problems with construction had been resolved, the timing and order of delivery of social and military facilities had been determined, and thus, everything that was planned for the rearmament of the group of Russian troops in The Southern Kuril Islands will be done! There are a lot of plans, judge for yourself:

Kitovaya Bay.

On Iturup, in the military town of the village of Kitovoe, the contract of 2012 stipulates the construction of dormitories for officers and soldiers, a division headquarters, a checkpoint, a first-aid post, storage facilities and depots for fuels and lubricants, a food plant, training parade grounds and grounds, a large educational building, a sports training complex, etc. . according to the tender for the comprehensive development of a military camp. All this must be completed and put into operation by the contractor. no later than November 15, 2015. More than 3 billion rubles were transferred in advance for construction under the terms of the contract. However, not a penny reached the subcontractors. There are no design estimates for which the general contractor is responsible, no technical conditions and working documentation for the projects, and no working resources: of the required number of 700 builders, about a third are on site. The general contractors of FSUE “Spetsstroyengineering”, GUIR No. 2 (organizations subordinate to Spetsstroy) arrived at the construction site only in July of this year, as if preparing for an inspection check.

military unit in the village of Goryachiy Plyazh. Kunashir

The delay in completing planned work is colossal; almost a year, it is impossible to catch up with such a backlog in local conditions, in addition, failure to meet deadlines is fraught with the collection of a large penalty. Well, the military will not receive many long-awaited residential infrastructure facilities - dormitories and barracks facilities. It turns out that soldiers and officers will have to serve in tents, as is now happening in Primorye due to the fault of Spetsstroy? Construction work did not begin at all at the facilities of the economic zone, training and material base, missile and artillery weapons depot, base area of ​​a group of support vessels and engineering support facilities. Or maybe in Kunashir the contractors of Spetsstroy “Spetsstroyengineering” and GUIR No. 2 meet the deadlines?

military unit in the village of Lagunnoye, Kunashir.

Here, under a similar contract from 2012, the same military-based infrastructure must be delivered by 2015. The advance for this project was also received in full, but by November a temporary administrative camp had been set up for only 20 people and some construction materials had been brought in. Construction in Kunashir requires about 600 specialists, but only 30 people work. A strange situation has developed... For some reason, the Military Department is tolerating the unrest and confusion happening in Spetsstroy. And endless commissions, meetings, approvals between the military and the management of the builders are simply meaningless. For the reason that, according to the military, different people constantly come to all these events, often having nothing to do with the fulfillment of the contract. Since 2012, four subcontractors have changed at Kuril construction sites, and the military department has not received any reports on the funds spent from any of them.... Meanwhile, the disruption of work on the islands of Kunashir and Iturup directly affects military construction plans and ensuring national security on our eastern borders.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry has already responded to this information, saying that Tokyo is “closely monitoring the movement of Russian troops” and is studying the issue of building a Russian Navy base in the Kuril Islands. So why does Russia need a base in the Kuril Islands, the appearance of which will certainly provoke discontent on the Japanese side, and where will it be located?

Let's start with the fact that, from a military point of view, the Kuril Islands should be considered a strategic territory, if only because on these borders with our closest neighbor Japan we still do not have a peace treaty, and the islands of Kunashir, Shikotan, Iturup and the Habomai Tokyo archipelago are still considers it its “northern territories”. At the same time, the United States has its military installations on the territory of Japan itself.

In particular, it is of great strategic importance for the United States Japanese island Okinawa. In fact, this is the Pentagon's outpost in the Pacific Ocean. It has a whole network of military bases, training grounds and airfields. There is a US military airbase called Kadena, which plays an important role for the American presence in Southeast Asia. In addition, approximately 16,000 U.S. Marines serve at Camp Hansen, Camp Schwab and Camp Zuckeran. In total, about 30,000 thousand American troops are stationed in Okinawa - approximately half of the entire US military contingent in Japan.

Even if we theoretically assume that a potential enemy captures the Russian Kuril Islands, this immediately opens up for him a direct path to the entire territory of Russia from the side Pacific Ocean. That is why during the Soviet era the Kuril Islands were reliably protected large groups troops. In particular, a powerful marine division was stationed there. But then, with the collapse of the Union, the number of troops in the Kuril Islands began to rapidly decrease. It was expensive to supply troops from the center, the authorities rarely got there for inspections, and numerous reformers preferred to “cut” and “optimize” rather than prove the need to strengthen the Far Eastern group. So, in essence, the current decision to create a naval base here is just the restoration of the “status quo” - the previously existing situation.

It is known that today the 18th machine gun and artillery division, numbering up to three and a half thousand people, is based in the Kuril Islands. It is well equipped with self-propelled artillery, air defense systems, rocket artillery and tanks. An attack from the sea on the island of Kunashir can be repelled by the Bal complexes, and on the island of Iturup by the Bastion complexes.

In addition to missile systems, coastal units are reinforced with universal, highly automated Leer-3 complexes, which include control stations and Orlan-10 drones, which can be used by different types of troops - from motorized infantry and tank crews to electronic warfare units.

However, according to the military, for the anti-landing defense of the islands, as well as for a more tangible Russian military presence in the area, especially taking into account the fact that the Japanese still lay claim to them, it is still necessary to strengthen the naval group.

Now parts of the Pacific Fleet there are actually divided into two components - one is based in Vilyuchinsk, the other in Vladivostok. “An intermediate base is absolutely necessary,” says Alexander Khramchikhin, deputy director of the Institute of Political and Military Analysis.

About which of the Kuril Islands will become the location for the deployment of a new military facility Russian fleet, is not yet clear. But the military department has been thinking about this task for a long time. Our sailors have more than once conducted multi-month expeditionary trips to the islands of the Greater Kuril Ridge with the goal (Sergei Shoigu himself spoke about this) to study the possibility of a future basing of Pacific Fleet forces.

In particular, a joint expedition of the Ministry of Defense and the Russian Geographical Society (which, by the way, like the military department is also headed by Sergei Shoigu) visited the island of Matua, which the Japanese used as a naval and air base during World War II.

Matua is an island in the middle of the Kuril chain, formed by volcanic activity. By the way, Japan does not lay claim to it, which is important if we consider the island as a potential location for a Russian Navy base. From this point of view, Matua is located very well. Three runways there still remain from the Japanese. And the participants of the joint expedition were quite surprised when they found that, taking into account the wind rose, even the most modern aircraft can still land on these runways in almost any weather conditions.

According to a number of military experts, it is this island that will most likely be considered as the location of a new Russian naval base.

The Russian authorities intend to allocate an additional 16 billion rubles for the development of the Kuril Islands.
This was announced by the Governor of the Sakhalin Region, Alexander Khoroshavin, after a working meeting held in Kurilsk with the participation of members of the Government of the Russian Federation, dedicated to the implementation Federal Target Program “Socio-economic development of the Kuril Islands for 2007-2015”.

13 billion rubles of this amount are planned to be allocated from the federal budget, the remaining 3 billion rubles from the local budget. The Sakhalin Region also plans to attract funds from private investors for the development of the Kuril Islands. They, according to Khoroshavin, will be interested in the development of such industries as marine biological resources and tourism.

The volume of the Federal Target Program for the development of the Kuril Islands, valid until 2015, is 15 billion rubles (investments from the federal budget).
The main directions of the program are the development of transport infrastructure, social sphere and energy.

details about the new infrastructure of the Kuril Islands (many photos)

Kuril Islands- include 30 large and many small islands.
The population lives permanently only in Paramushir, Iturup, Kunashir and Shikotan.
Population of the Kuril Islands - 18,735 people

Kunashir Island- most south island Great ridge of the Kuril Islands.
Population - approx. 8000 people.
Yuzhno-Kurilsk- administrative center of the South Kuril Okrug.

A Friendship Center was built to receive delegations


Free social housing


House of Culture
(medical and educational expedition “Borders of Russia”, August 2010)

Opening of a new kindergarten
Governor of the Sakhalin Region Alexander Khoroshavin (right)



Port of Yuzhno-Kurilsk

New deep-water berth


The commissioning of modern deep-sea berthing complexes in Kunashir and Iturup will bring it to a qualitatively new level transport infrastructure in the Kuril Islands and will improve the quality of life on the islands.
The motor ship "Igor Farkhutdinov" moored at the new pier for the first time
(February 2011)

Airport "Mendeleevo"
The airfield was built by the Japanese when Kunashir Island was still under Japanese control and has hardly been rebuilt since then.
In 2006 it was closed due to complete deterioration of the infrastructure and destruction of the runway.
During the reconstruction, within the framework of the Federal Target Program for the socio-economic development of the Kuril Islands, a new passenger terminal, taxiways, a new apron, a runway (runway), a landing system and lighting equipment were put into operation.

Operates on the island Mendeleevskaya GeoTPP(geothermal power plant), which provides the island with heat and electricity.
Volcano energy as a source of heat and light for humans is the operating principle of this station.
Commissioning of the second stage of the station in 2007 provided 100% of the heat demand in Yuzhno-Kurilsk.
By 2011, it is planned to modernize and introduce additional capacities, as a result of which the total capacity of the facility will almost triple - from 1.8 MW to 5 MW.

Iturup Island-an island of the southern group of the Great Ridge of the Kuril Islands, the largest island of the archipelago.
Population - 6387 people.
Kurilsk

Kitovaya Bay


In 2006, the modern fish processing complex “Reidovo” was launched on the island..
Six air freezing chambers ensure the production of 74 tons of finished frozen fish products per day.

On about. Iturup also houses the Yasny fish processing plant, equipped with a one-of-a-kind freezing tunnel for air freezing of fish, allowing the continuous freezing of 210 tons of finished fish products per day.
There is a caviar workshop where 3 tons of caviar are produced per day. In addition, there is a salting shop with a capacity of 25 tons per day and a refrigerator with a capacity of 2300 tons of simultaneous storage.

Kurilskaya buildings have already been built on the island high school for 250 students, as well as a modern central district hospital with 50 beds and a clinic for 100 visits per shift.
New hospital

Sports complex


landscaping of a park in the city center



Governor's working trip

The construction of an airport in Iturup continues, which will be equipped with the latest technology. The new air gates are located on the sunny side of the island, which will allow easy access to Iturup even in bad weather. The extended 2.2 km long runway will accommodate all types of aircraft operating in the region.

Shikotan Island- the largest island of the Malaya ridge of the Kuril Islands.
Malokurilskoe- the administrative center of the island.
Population - approx. 2100 people.
Development of mooring infrastructure on Shikotan Island



The Krabozavodsk fish processing complex is equipped with the most modern equipment.

The workshop's capacity allows it to receive and process up to 300 tons of raw fish every day.

New kindergarten for 70 places (2010)

New School (2006)


Construction of fuel supply systems is underway on all islands - Iturup, Kunashir and Shikotan

Paramushir Island- one of the islands of the Northern group of the Great Ridge of the Kuril Islands.
Population - about 2500 people.
Severo-Kurilsk- the administrative center and the only populated area of ​​the island.
The fishing port and fish processing plant are the main production facilities of Severo-Kurilsk.
In 1952, the city was almost destroyed by a tsunami, but after that it was restored and exists to this day.
Monument to those killed in 1945

Fisherman's Day is one of the main holidays on the Kuril Islands

Transportation of goods and passengers to the islands is carried out by the motor ships “Igor Farkhutdinov” and “Marina Tsvetaeva”.

Construction plans for 2011
In 2011, a kindergarten for 40 places will be commissioned in the village of Reidovo on the island. Iturup, construction of the berth complex in Yuzhno-Kurilsk has been completed. The construction of the sea terminal building will continue, in a single three-story sea terminal complex with an area of ​​more than 885 square meters. m will accommodate all services operating both domestic and international flights.
The project “Construction and reconstruction of fuel supply systems for the island” will also be commissioned. Shikotan" in the village of Malokurilskoye.
This year the following will be built: a 6-apartment residential building in the village of Krabozavodskoye on Shikotan, a 10-apartment building and four 8-apartment buildings in Yuzhno-Kurilsk, two 8-apartment buildings on Iturup.
This year, a modular diesel generator power station will be completed and launched on the street. Nagornaya in the village of Malokurilskoye.
And as part of the regional fire safety program, a fire station in Yuzhno-Kurilsk is expected to be put into operation.

P.S. Of course, on the Kuril Islands, not everything is as rosy and positive as it looks in these photographs. I have collected here only new or renovated objects. In addition to large settlements by the standards of the Kuril Islands, there are also very small settlements, where, nevertheless, people also live.
But since the island development program was adopted until 2015 and the positive trend is obvious, there is every reason to believe that in all populated areas all 4 inhabited Kuril Islands will have decent living conditions.