Caspian Sea. Small sea or huge lake? (3 photos)

Looking through ancient maps, I constantly paid attention to how cartographers of that time depicted the Caspian Sea. On early maps it has an oval shape, slightly elongated in latitude, in contrast to its modern appearance, where the waters of the Caspian Sea extend from north to south.

Photos are clickable:

Caspian Sea on the map in modern form

And size Caspian Sea, completely different. The pool area is larger than the modern one.
Let's look at some ancient maps and see for ourselves.

Here the Caspian Sea already has slightly different outlines, but it is still far from modern

All these maps show that the Caspian Sea has a system of deep rivers flowing into it along its entire perimeter. Now, the main river flowing into the Caspian Sea is the Volga. With so many rivers in the past, this must be a densely populated, fertile region. The ancient cartographers could not have made such a mistake in the geometric shapes of the reservoir and in the number of rivers flowing into it.
I note that not a single map has an image, not even a hint, of Lake Baikal (this will be useful to us later).
Not on the maps Aral Sea– it is absorbed by the Caspian, it is one basin.
It is known that the Aral Sea is rapidly drying up, simply catastrophically quickly. About 25 years ago, the USSR even had projects to save this sea by diverting Siberian rivers. The coastline of the Aral Sea literally disappeared before our eyes over the years.

The official reason for such a catastrophic decrease in the water level in the Aral Lake-Sea is the huge withdrawal of water from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers for irrigation of cotton fields.
More details

Yes, this process takes place. But not that much. It seems to me that we have witnessed climate changes that began long before excessive human economic activity in this region. Many deserts in this region, steppes are the bottom ancient Caspian. But not all. Below I will try to explain why.

In the meantime, I’ll add information from official science confirming changes in the shape and area of ​​the Caspian basin:

The Russian scientist - academician P. S. Pallas, having visited the low-lying flat shores of the Northern Caspian Sea, wrote that the Caspian steppes are still in such a state as if they had recently emerged from under the water. This thought comes by itself if you look at these leveled vast spaces, at this sandy-clay soil mixed with sea shells, and at countless salt marshes. What kind of sea could flood these steppes if not the adjacent Caspian Sea?

Pallas also found traces of a higher sea level on small hills scattered across the Caspian lowland like islands in the sea. He discovered ledges, or terraces, on the slopes of these hills. They could only be produced by sea waves acting for a long time.

Soviet scientists found that on the shores of the Caspian Sea, especially on the eastern ones (Mangyshlak and others), three coastal terraces are found at an altitude of 26, 16 and 11 m above the modern level of the Caspian Sea. They belong to the last stage of the Khvalynsk Sea, that is, to the period 10 - 20 thousand years ago. On the other hand, there is reliable information about underwater terraces at depths of 4, 8, 12 and 16 - 20 m below the modern level.

At a depth of 16 - 20 m there is a sharp inflection cross profile an underwater slope or, in other words, a submerged terrace. The period of such low sea level dates back to the post-Khvalyn time. Later, during the New Caspian period, which began 3 - 3.5 thousand years ago, the level of the Caspian Sea generally increased, reaching a maximum in 1805.

It turns out that in relatively recent geological times the level of the Caspian Sea experienced significant fluctuations with an amplitude reaching approximately 40 meters.

A large number of coastal ledges - terraces could have formed only during transgressions (the advance of the sea onto the land) and regressions (the retreat of the sea). During transgression, sea level remained at a certain height for a long time, and tidal bore managed to cultivate the shores, creating beaches and coastal ramparts.

Those. scientists do not deny that even in a very recent era by geological standards, the Caspian Sea was different.

Let’s read what some figures of the past wrote about the Caspian Sea:

The first information about the Caspian Sea and its shores was found in the writings of ancient Greek and Roman scientists. However, this information, which they received from merchants, participants in wars, and seafarers, was not accurate and often contradicted each other. For example, Strabo believed that the Syr Darya flows simultaneously in two branches into the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea. In the general geography of Claudius Ptolemy, which was a reference book for travelers until the 17th century, the Aral Sea is not mentioned at all.

The ancient maps of ancient geographers have also reached us. Distances between geographical points were then determined by the speed and time of movement of caravans and ships, and the direction of the journey - by the stars.

Herodotus (who lived around 484-425 BC) was the first to define the Caspian Sea as a sea isolated from the ocean with a width-to-length ratio of 1:6, which is very close to reality. Aristotle (384-322 BC) confirmed the conclusion of Herodotus. However, many of their contemporaries considered the Caspian Sea to be the northern bay of the ocean, which, according to their ideas, surrounded the entire then-known earth.

Ptolemy (90-168 AD), like Herodotus, considered the Caspian Sea closed, but depicted it incorrectly, in a shape approaching a circle.

Later, in 900-1200. AD Arab scientists, following Ptolemy, imagined the Caspian Sea as closed and round. You can go around the Caspian (Khazar) Sea, returning to the place from where you set off, and not encounter any obstacles except the rivers flowing into the sea, Istakhari wrote. The same was confirmed in 1280 by Marco Polo, the famous Venetian traveler who visited China. As we will see below, an incorrect idea about the shape of the Caspian Sea persisted in the Western scientific world until the beginning of the 18th century, until it was refuted by Russian hydrographers.
Source: http://stepnoy-sledopyt.narod.ru/geologia/kmore/geol.htm (B.A. Shlyamin. Caspian Sea. 1954. Geographgiz. 128 p.)

From all this, we can conclude that the climatic conditions in this region were different, this map of Africa indirectly proves this:

The climate was different not only in Central Asia, but also in the largest desert on the planet - the Sahara. See a huge river crossing modern desert Africa from east to west and emptying into the Atlantic. In addition, a huge number of rivers flow into the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic - this indicates abundant rainfall in this region, and at least savannah vegetation. The Arabian Peninsula, too, is full of rivers and vegetation.
And this is the climate of the not so distant past, the past when people were making maps in full force.

What could have happened that changed Central Asia and northern Africa beyond recognition? Where did so much sand come from in the Karakum Desert and Sahara?

I will put forward a version based on these cards, which at first glance may not be clear:

It can be seen that the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea are connected into one basin and a huge water area flows into them from the northeast and in the center - a huge river flowing from somewhere in the north. There is a message from Persian Gulf.

Scientists also confirm these data:

It turned out that for a very long time, measured in millions of years, the Mediterranean, Black, Azov and Caspian seas constituted a huge sea ​​pool, connected to the World Ocean. This pool repeatedly changed its outline, area, depth, was split into separate parts and restored again.

The stages of development of this basin in historical sequence received various, purely conventional, names: the Miocene basin, or the sea that existed in the Miocene time, several million years ago, the Sarmatian, Meotic, Pontic, Akchagyl, Apsheron and the Khvalyn sea, which is closest to our time.

CaspAndyskoe mOre(Caspian) is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth. In size, the Caspian Sea is much larger than lakes such as Superior, Victoria, Huron, Michigan, and Baikal. According to formal characteristics, the Caspian Sea is an endorheic lake. However, given its large size, brackish waters and a regime similar to the sea, this body of water is called a sea.

According to one hypothesis, the Caspian Sea (among the ancient Slavs – the Khvalynsk Sea) received its name in honor of the Caspian tribes who lived BC on its southwestern coast.

The Caspian Sea washes the shores of five states: Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.

The Caspian Sea is elongated in the meridional direction and is located between 36°33΄ and 47°07΄ N latitude. and 45°43΄ and 54°03΄ E. (without Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay). The length of the sea along the meridian is about 1200 km; average width – 310 km. The northern coast of the Caspian Sea is bordered by the Caspian lowland, the eastern coast by the deserts of Central Asia; in the west the Caucasus Mountains approach the sea, in the south the Elburz ridge stretches near the coast.

The surface of the Caspian Sea is located significantly below the level of the World Ocean. Its current level fluctuates around -27...-28 m. These levels correspond to a sea surface area of ​​390 and 380 thousand km 2 (without the Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay), a water volume of 74.15 and 73.75 thousand km 3, average depth approximately 190 m.

The Caspian Sea is traditionally divided into three large parts: the Northern (24% of the sea area), the Middle (36%) and the Southern Caspian (40%), which differ significantly in morphology and regime, as well as the large and isolated Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay. The northern, shelf part of the sea is shallow: its average depth is 5–6 m, maximum depths are 15–25 m, the volume is less than 1% of the total water mass of the sea. The Middle Caspian is an isolated basin with an area of ​​maximum depths in the Derbent depression (788 m); its average depth is about 190 m. In the Southern Caspian the average and maximum depth– 345 and 1025 m (in the South Caspian depression); 65% of the sea's water mass is concentrated here.

There are about 50 islands in the Caspian Sea with a total area of ​​approximately 400 km2; the main ones are Tyuleniy, Chechen, Zyudev, Konevsky, Dzhambaysky, Durneva, Ogurchinsky, Apsheronsky. The length of the coastline is approximately 6.8 thousand km, with islands - up to 7.5 thousand km. The shores of the Caspian Sea are diverse. In the northern and eastern parts they are quite rugged. Here are the large bays of Kizlyarsky, Komsomolets, Mangyshlaksky, Kazakhsky, Kara-Bogaz-Gol, Krasnovodsky and Turkmensky, many bays; at west coast- Kizilagachsky. Most large peninsulas– Agrakhansky, Buzachi, Tyub-Karagan, Mangyshlak, Krasnovodsky, Cheleken and Absheronsky. The most common shores are accumulative; areas with abrasion shores are found along the contour of the Middle and Southern Caspian Sea.

Over 130 rivers flow into the Caspian Sea, the largest of which are the Volga , Ural, Terek, Sulak, Samur, Kura, Sefidrud, Atrek, Emba (its flow enters the sea only in high-water years). Nine rivers have deltas; the largest are located at the mouths of the Volga and Terek.

The main feature of the Caspian Sea, as an endorheic reservoir, is instability and a wide range of long-term fluctuations in its level. This most important hydrological feature of the Caspian Sea has a significant impact on all its other hydrological characteristics, as well as on the structure and regime of river mouths and coastal zones. In the Caspian Sea level varied in the range of ~200 m: from -140 to +50 m BS; at -34 to -20 m BS. From the first third of the 19th century. and until 1977, sea level dropped by about 3.8 m - to the lowest level in the last 400 years (-29.01 m BS). In 1978–1995 The level of the Caspian Sea rose by 2.35 m and reached -26.66 m BS. Since 1995, a certain downward trend in level has been dominant - to -27.69 m BS in 2013.

During major events, the northern coast of the Caspian Sea shifted to the Samara Luka on the Volga, and perhaps further. During maximum transgressions, the Caspian Sea turned into a drainage lake: excess water flowed through the Kuma-Manych depression into the Sea of ​​Azov and further into the Black Sea. During extreme regressions, the southern coast of the Caspian Sea shifted to the Absheron threshold.

Long-term fluctuations in the level of the Caspian Sea are explained by changes in the structure of the water balance of the Caspian Sea. Sea level rises when the incoming part of the water balance (primarily the water flow of rivers) increases and exceeds the outgoing part, and decreases if the inflow river waters is shrinking. The total water flow of all rivers averages 300 km 3 /year; while the five largest rivers account for almost 95% (the Volga gives 83%). During the period of the lowest sea level, in 1942–1977, the river flow was 275.3 km 3 /year (of which 234.6 km 3 /year was the Volga runoff), precipitation - 70.9, underground flow - 4 km 3 /year, and evaporation and outflow into the Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay are 354.79 and 9.8 km 3 /year. During the period of intense sea level rise, in 1978–1995, - respectively 315 (Volga - 274.1), 86.1, 4, 348.79 and 8.7 km 3 /year; in the modern period - 287.4 (Volga - 248.2), 75.3, 4, 378.3 and 16.3 km 3 /year.

Intra-annual changes in the level of the Caspian Sea are characterized by a maximum in June–July and a minimum in February; the range of intra-annual level fluctuations is 30–40 cm. Surge level fluctuations occur throughout the sea, but they are most significant in the northern part, where, with maximum surges, the level can rise by 2–4.5 m and the edge “retreat” by several tens kilometers inland, and during surges it will drop by 1–2.5 m. Seiche and tidal level fluctuations do not exceed 0.1–0.2 m.

Despite the relatively small size of the reservoir, there is strong excitement in the Caspian Sea. Highest altitudes waves in the Southern Caspian Sea can reach 10–11 m. Wave heights decrease in the direction from south to north. Storm waves can develop at any time of the year, but they are more frequent and more dangerous in the cold half of the year.

In the Caspian Sea as a whole, wind currents predominate; nevertheless, on estuarine shores large rivers runoff currents play a significant role. In the Middle Caspian, cyclonic water circulation predominates, in the Southern Caspian - anticyclonic. In the northern part of the sea, patterns of wind currents are more irregular and depend on the characteristics and variability of the wind, bottom topography and coastal contours, river flow and aquatic vegetation.

Water temperature is subject to significant latitudinal and seasonal changes. In winter, it varies from 0–0.5 o C at the ice edge in the north of the sea to 10–11 o C in the south. In summer, the water temperature in the sea averages 23–28 o C, and in shallow coastal waters in the Northern Caspian Sea it can reach 35–40 o C. At depths, a constant temperature is maintained: deeper than 100 m it is 4–7 o C.

It only freezes in winter Northern part Caspian Sea; in severe winter - the entire Northern Caspian and coastal zones of the Middle Caspian. Freeze-up in the Northern Caspian lasts from November to March.

Water salinity changes especially sharply in the northern part of the sea: from 0.1‰ at the mouth shores of the Volga and Ural to 10–12‰ on the border with the Middle Caspian. In the Northern Caspian Sea, the temporal variability of water salinity is also great. In the middle and southern parts of the sea, salinity fluctuations are small: it is generally 12.5–13.5‰, increasing from north to south and from west to east. The highest water salinity is in the Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay (up to 300‰). With depth, water salinity increases slightly (by 0.1–0.3‰). The average salinity of the sea is about 12.5‰.

More than a hundred species of fish live in the Caspian Sea and the mouths of the rivers flowing into it. There are Mediterranean and Arctic invaders. The fish species are goby, herring, salmon, carp, mullet and sturgeon. The latter include five species: sturgeon, beluga, stellate sturgeon, thorn and sterlet. The sea can produce up to 500–550 thousand tons of fish annually, if overfishing is not allowed. Of the marine mammals, the endemic Caspian seal lives in the Caspian Sea. 5–6 million waterfowl migrate through the Caspian region annually.

The economy of the Caspian Sea is associated with oil and gas production, shipping, fishing, seafood, various salts and minerals (Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay), and the use of recreational resources. The explored oil resources in the Caspian Sea amount to about 10 billion tons, the total resources of oil and gas condensate are estimated at 18–20 billion tons. Oil and gas production is carried out on an ever-increasing scale. The Caspian Sea is used and by water transport, including along the river-sea and sea-river routes. The main ports of the Caspian Sea: Astrakhan, Olya, Makhachkala (Russia), Aktau, Atyrau (Kazakhstan), Baku (Azerbaijan), Noushehr, Bandar-Anzeli, Bandar-Torkemen (Iran) and Turkmenbashi (Turkmenistan).

Economic activities and hydrological features of the Caspian Sea create a number of serious environmental and water management problems. Among them: anthropogenic pollution of river and sea waters (mainly with petroleum products, phenols and surfactants), poaching and reduction of fish stocks, especially sturgeon; damage to the population and coastal economic activities due to large-scale and rapid changes in the level of the reservoir, the impact of numerous dangerous hydrological phenomena and hydrological-morphological processes.

The total economic damage for all Caspian countries associated with the rapid and significant recent rise in the level of the Caspian Sea, the flooding of part of the coastal land, and the destruction of coastlines and coastal structures, amounted to an estimated amount of 15 to 30 billion US dollars. Urgent engineering measures were required to protect the coast.

A sharp drop in the level of the Caspian Sea in the 1930s–1970s. resulted in less damage, but it was still significant. Navigable approach channels became shallow, the shallow seaside at the mouths of the Volga and Ural became heavily overgrown, which became an obstacle to the passage of fish into the rivers to spawn. Fish passages had to be built through the mentioned seashores.

Among the unresolved problems is the lack of an international agreement on the international legal status of the Caspian Sea, the division of its waters, bottom and subsoil.

The Caspian Sea is the object of many years of research by specialists from all Caspian states. Such domestic organizations as the State Oceanographic Institute, the Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Hydrometeorological Center of Russia, the Caspian Research Institute of Fisheries, the Faculty of Geography of Moscow State University, etc. took an active part in the study of the Caspian Sea.

I was resting somehow in the camp. It's no secret that almost every day competitions are held there to entertain children and youth. So here it is. Was we have quiz. Question: “Which lake is the largest?” One guy of about fifteen was the first to raise his hand and answer: “Baikal.” The strangest thing was that his answer was counted as correct! How so? Isn't the Caspian Sea the most big lake? Now I will explain to you.

How to distinguish a sea from a lake

I'll list several signs by which a body of water is defined as a sea.

1. Rivers can flow into the sea.

2. The outer sea has direct access to the ocean.

3. If the sea is internal, then it is connected by straits with other seas or directly with the ocean.

Does the Caspian Sea fit sea parameters?

Need to check, does the Caspian Sea have signs of a sea. into it really rivers flow in, but they flow into many bodies of water: seas, lakes, oceans, and other rivers. The Caspian Sea is surrounded from all sides by land. Is this really inland sea? Then it must connect to the Black or Azov Seas somehow strait. Strait Same No. Exactly due to the lack of access to the World Ocean, the Caspian Sea is considered a lake.

“But why was it called the sea then, if it is a lake?”- you ask. Answer very simple: because of his large size and salinity. Indeed, The Caspian Sea is several times larger than the Azov Sea and almost equal in size to the Baltic Sea.

Great! The problem with the quiz has been resolved. Judge to hell!!!

Well then, I told, that the Caspian Sea In fact - lake. Now I want to you provide small selection interesting facts about this lake.

1. The Caspian Sea is below sea level (-28 m), which once again proves that this is a lake.

2. BC near the lake area lived nomadic Caspian tribes,in honor of which he was nicknamed Caspian.

3. This the deepest enclosed body of water on the planet.

4. Many people think that the name of the group “Caspian Cargo” is related to the Caspian Sea. In some ways they are right ( No). In fact the expression “Caspian cargo” can mean any illegal cargo.

5.Caspian Sea Fine suitable for tourism. During the USSR it was built here a large number of sanatoriums. Today same here you can see many hotels, water parks and beaches.

November 29th, 2015

Is it correct to call the Caspian Sea a sea?

It is known that the sea is part of the World Ocean. From this geographically correct point of view, the Caspian Sea cannot in any way be considered a sea, since it is separated from the ocean by huge land masses. The shortest distance from the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea, the closest of the seas included in the World Ocean system, is 500 kilometers. Therefore, it would be more correct to talk about the Caspian Sea as a lake. This largest lake in the world is often called simply the Caspian or lake-sea.

The Caspian Sea has a number of characteristics of a sea: its water is salty (however, there are other salty lakes), its area is not much inferior to the area of ​​such seas as the Black, Baltic, Red, Northern and even exceeds the area of ​​​​the Azov and some others (however, the Canadian Lake Superior also has a huge area like three Seas of Azov). In the Caspian Sea there are often fierce storm winds and huge waves (and this is not uncommon on Lake Baikal).

So, after all, the Caspian Sea is a lake? That's Wikipedia says it And the Great Soviet Encyclopedia answers that no one has yet been able to give an exact definition of this issue - “There is no generally accepted classification.”

Do you know why this is very important and fundamental? And here's why...

The lake belongs to internal waters - the sovereign territories of coastal states, to which the international regime does not apply (the UN principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of states). But the sea area is divided differently, and the rights of coastal states here are completely different.

In my own way geographical location The Caspian Sea itself, unlike the land territories surrounding it, has not been the object of any targeted attention on the part of the coastal states for many centuries. Only at the beginning of the 19th century. the first treaties were concluded between Russia and Persia: Gulistan (1813) 4 and Turkmanchay (1828), summing up the results of the Russian-Persian war, as a result of which Russia annexed a number of Transcaucasian territories and received the exclusive right to maintain a military fleet in the Caspian sea. Russian and Persian merchants were allowed to trade freely on the territory of both states and use the Caspian Sea to transport goods. The Turkmanchay Treaty confirmed all these provisions and became the basis for maintaining international relations between the parties until 1917.

After the October Revolution of 1917, in a note dated January 14, 1918, the new Russian government that came to power renounced its exclusive military presence in the Caspian Sea. The treaty between the RSFSR and Persia of February 26, 1921 declared invalid all agreements concluded before it by the tsarist government. The Caspian Sea became a body of water for the common use of the parties: both states were granted equal rights of free navigation, with the exception of cases when the crews of Iranian ships could include citizens of third countries using the service for unfriendly purposes (Article 7). The 1921 agreement did not provide for a maritime border between the parties.

In August 1935, the following agreement was signed, the parties to which were new subjects of international law - the Soviet Union and Iran, which acted under a new name. The parties confirmed the provisions of the 1921 agreement, but introduced into the agreement a new concept for the Caspian Sea - a 10-mile fishing zone, which limited the spatial limits of this fishery for its participants. This was done in order to control and preserve the living resources of the reservoir.

In the context of the outbreak of World War II, unleashed by Germany, an urgent need arose to conclude a new agreement between the USSR and Iran on trade and navigation in the Caspian Sea. The reason for this was the concern of the Soviet side, caused by Germany’s interest in intensifying its trade ties with Iran and the danger of using the Caspian Sea as one of the stages of the transit route. The agreement between the USSR and Iran 10 signed in 1940 protected the Caspian Sea from such a prospect: it repeated the main provisions of previous agreements, which provided for the presence of ships of only these two Caspian states in its waters. It also included a provision for its indefinite validity.

Camber Soviet Union radically changed the regional situation in the former Soviet space, in particular in the Caspian region. Among a large number of new problems, the problem of the Caspian Sea arose. Instead of two states - the USSR and Iran, which previously bilaterally resolved all emerging issues of maritime navigation, fishing and the use of other living and non-living resources, now there are five of them. Of the former, only Iran remained, Russia took the place of the USSR as successor, the other three are new states: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan. They had access to the Caspian Sea before, but only as republics of the USSR, and not as independent states. Now, having become independent and sovereign, they have the opportunity to participate on equal terms with Russia and Iran in discussions and decision-making in considering all the issues mentioned above. This was also reflected in the attitude of these states towards the Caspian Sea, since all five states that had access to it showed equal interest in using its living and non-living resources. And this is logical, and most importantly, justified: the Caspian Sea is rich in natural resources, both fish stocks and black gold - oil and blue fuel - gas. Exploration and production of the last two resources became the subject of the most heated and protracted negotiations for a long time. But not only them.

In addition to the presence of rich mineral resources, the waters of the Caspian Sea are home to about 120 species and subspecies of fish; here is the global gene pool of sturgeon, the catch of which until recently accounted for 90% of the total world catch.

Due to its location, the Caspian Sea has traditionally and long been widely used for shipping, acting as a kind of transport artery between the peoples of the coastal states. Along its banks there are such large sea ​​ports, like Russian Astrakhan, the capital of Azerbaijan Baku, Turkmen Turkmenbashi, Iranian Anzeli and Kazakh Aktau, between which routes for trade, cargo and passenger maritime transport have long been laid.

And yet, the main object of attention of the Caspian states is its mineral resources - oil and natural gas, which each of them can lay claim to within the boundaries that must be determined by them collectively on the basis of international law. And to do this, they will have to divide between themselves both the Caspian waters and its bottom, in the depths of which its oil and gas are hidden, and develop rules for their extraction with minimal damage to the very fragile environment, especially the marine environment and its living inhabitants.

The main obstacle in resolving the issue of starting widespread mining of Caspian mineral resources for the Caspian states continues to be its international legal status: should it be considered a sea or a lake? The complexity of the issue lies in the fact that these states themselves must resolve it, and there is no agreement yet among them. But at the same time, each of them strives to quickly begin production of Caspian oil and natural gas and make their sale abroad a constant source of funds to form their budget.

Therefore, oil companies of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, without waiting for the end of the settlement of existing disagreements over the territorial division of the Caspian Sea, have already begun active production of its oil, in the hope of ceasing to be dependent on Russia, turning their countries into oil-producing countries and already in this capacity begin to build their own long-term trade relations with neighbors.

However, the issue of the status of the Caspian Sea remains unresolved. Regardless of whether the Caspian states agree to consider it a “sea” or a “lake”, they will have to apply the principles corresponding to the choice made to the territorial division of its water area and bottom or develop their own for this case.

Kazakhstan advocated recognition of the Caspian Sea by the sea. Such recognition will make it possible to apply the provisions of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea on Internal Waters, the Territorial Sea, the Exclusive Economic Zone, and the Continental Shelf to the division of the Caspian Sea. This would allow coastal states to gain sovereignty over the subsoil of the territorial sea (Article 2) and exclusive rights to the exploration and development of resources on the continental shelf (Article 77). But the Caspian Sea cannot be called a sea from the standpoint of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, since this body of water is closed and has no natural connection with the world ocean.

In this case, the option of sharing its water area and bottom resources is also excluded.

In the agreements between the USSR and Iran, the Caspian Sea was considered as a border lake. With the Caspian Sea being given the legal status of a “lake”, it is expected to be divided into sectors, as is done in relation to border lakes. But there is no norm in international law obliging states to do exactly this: division into sectors is an established practice.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly made statements that the Caspian Sea is a lake, and its waters and subsoil are the common property of the coastal states. Iran also, from a position enshrined in treaties with the USSR, considers the Caspian Sea to be a lake. The country's government believes that this status implies the creation of a consortium for unified management of the production and use of its resources by the Caspian states. Some authors also share this opinion, for example, R. Mamedov believes that with this status, the extraction of hydrocarbon resources in the Caspian Sea by these states should be carried out jointly.

In the literature, a proposal has been made to give the Caspian Sea the status of a “sui generis” lake, and in this case we are talking about the special international legal status of such a lake and its special regime. A regime implies the joint development by states of their own rules for the use of its resources.

Thus, recognition of the Caspian Sea as a lake does not require its obligatory division into sectors - each coastal state has its own part. In addition, in international law there are no rules at all on the division of lakes between states: this is their good will, behind which certain internal interests may be hidden.

Currently, all Caspian states recognize that the modern legal regime was established by the established practice of its use, but now the Caspian Sea is in actual common use not by two, but by five states. Even at a meeting of foreign ministers held in Ashgabat on November 12, 1996, the Caspian states confirmed that the status of the Caspian Sea can be changed only with the consent of all five coastal states. This was later also confirmed by Russia and Azerbaijan in a joint statement dated January 9, 2001 on the principles of cooperation, as well as in the Declaration on Cooperation in the Caspian Sea signed between Kazakhstan and Russia dated October 9, 2000.

But during numerous Caspian negotiations, conferences and four summits of the Caspian states (Ashgabat summit on April 23-24, 2002, Tehran summit on October 16, 2007, Baku summit on November 18, 2010 and Astrakhan on September 29, 2014) agreement was reached by the Caspian countries failed to achieve this.

So far, cooperation at the bilateral and trilateral level has proven to be more productive. Back in May 2003, Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan entered into an agreement on the junction point of the demarcation lines of adjacent sections of the Caspian Sea bottom, which was based on previous bilateral agreements. In the current situation, Russia, by its participation in these agreements, seemed to confirm that the agreements between the USSR and Iran are outdated and do not correspond to existing realities.

In the Agreement of July 6, 1998 between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan on the delimitation of the bottom of the northern part of the Caspian Sea in order to exercise sovereign rights to subsoil use, it was announced that the seabed would be delimited between adjacent and opposite parties along a modified median line based on the principle of fairness and agreement of the parties. At the bottom of the site, states have sovereign rights, but their common use of the water surface is preserved.

Iran perceived this agreement as separate and in violation of previous Treaties with the USSR in 1921 and 1940. However, it should be noted that in the preamble of the 1998 agreement, to which Russia and Kazakhstan were parties, the agreement was considered as a temporary measure pending the signing of the convention by all Caspian states.

Later, on July 19 of the same year, Iran and Russia made a joint statement in which they proposed three possible scenarios for the delimitation of the Caspian Sea. First: the sea should be shared on the basis of the condominium principle. The second scenario comes down to dividing the water area, waters, bottom and subsoil into national sectors. The third scenario, which is a compromise between the first and second options, involves dividing only the bottom between the coastal states, and considering the water surface to be common and open to all coastal countries.

The existing options for delimiting the Caspian Sea, including those mentioned above, are possible only if there is good political will of the parties. Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have clearly expressed their position from the very beginning of the multilateral consultation process. Azerbaijan considers the Caspian Sea to be a lake and therefore should be divided. Kazakhstan proposes to consider the Caspian Sea a closed sea, citing the 1982 UN Convention (Articles 122, 123), and, accordingly, advocates its division in the spirit of the Convention. Turkmenistan has long supported the idea of ​​joint management and use of the Caspian Sea, but foreign companies already developing resources off the coast of Turkmenistan influenced the policies of its president, who began to object to the establishment of a condominium regime, supporting the position of dividing the sea.

The first of the Caspian states to begin to use the hydrocarbon riches of the Caspian Sea under new conditions was Azerbaijan. After the conclusion of the “Deal of the Century” in September 1994, Baku expressed a desire to declare the adjacent sector an integral part of its territory. This provision was enshrined in the Constitution of Azerbaijan, adopted in order to exercise sovereign rights to subsoil use, Moscow, July 6, 1998, at a referendum on November 12, 1995 (Article 11). But such a radical position from the very beginning did not correspond to the interests of all other coastal states, especially Russia, which has expressed fears that this would open access to the Caspian Sea to countries in other regions. Azerbaijan agreed to a compromise. The 2002 Agreement between the Russian Federation and Azerbaijan on the delimitation of adjacent areas of the Caspian Sea established a provision in which the division of the bottom was carried out using the median line, and the water area of ​​the reservoir remained in joint use.

Unlike Azerbaijan, which has expressed a desire to completely divide the Caspian Sea, Iran proposes to leave its subsoil and water for joint use, but does not object to the option of dividing the Caspian Sea into 5 equal parts. Accordingly, each member of the Caspian Five would be allocated 20 percent of the total territory of the reservoir.

Russia's point of view was changing. Moscow has long insisted on establishing a condominium, but wanting to build a long-term policy with its neighbors, who were not interested in considering the Caspian Sea as the property of five coastal states, it changed its position. This then prompted the states to begin a new stage of negotiations, at the end of which the above Agreement was signed in 1998, where Russia stated that it was “ripe” for the division of the Caspian Sea. Its main principle was the position “common water - divide the bottom.”

Taking into account the fact that some Caspian states, namely Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia, have reached agreements on the conditional delimitation of spaces in the Caspian Sea, we can conclude that they are actually satisfied with the already established regime with the division of its bottom along a modified median line and the joint use of the surface reservoir for navigation and fishing.

However, the lack of complete clarity and unity in the position of all coastal countries prevents the Caspian states themselves from developing oil production. And oil is of key importance to them. There is no clear data regarding their reserves in the Caspian Sea. According to the US Energy Information Agency in 2003, the Caspian Sea ranked second in oil reserves and third in gas reserves. The data from the Russian side is different: they speak of an artificial overestimation by Western experts of the energy resources of the Caspian Sea. Differences in assessments are due to the political and economic interests of regional and external players. The geopolitical significance of the region, which is associated with the foreign policy plans of the US and the EU, became a factor in the distortion of the data. Zbigniew Brzezinski expressed the opinion back in 1997 that this region is the “Eurasian Balkans”.

There are still disputes about the status of the Caspian Sea. The fact is that, despite its generally accepted name, it is still the largest endorheic lake in the world. It was called the sea because of the features of the structure of the bottom. It is formed by oceanic crust. In addition, the water in the Caspian Sea is salty. Just like at sea, there are often storms and strong winds raising high waves.

Geography

The Caspian Sea is located at the junction of Asia and Europe. In its shape, it resembles one of the letters of the Latin alphabet - S. From south to north, the sea stretches for 1200 km, and from east to west - from 195 to 435 km.

The territory of the Caspian Sea is heterogeneous in its physical and geographical conditions. In this regard, it is conventionally divided into 3 parts. These include the Northern and Middle, as well as the Southern Caspian.

Coastal countries

Which countries is washed by the Caspian Sea? There are only five of them:

1. Russia, located in the northwest and west. The length of the coastline of this state along the Caspian Sea is 695 km. Kalmykia, Dagestan and the Astrakhan region, which are part of Russia, are located here.
2. Kazakhstan. It is a country on the shores of the Caspian Sea, located in the east and northeast. The length of its coastline is 2320 km.
3. Turkmenistan. The map of the Caspian states indicates that this country is located in the southeast of the water basin. The length of the line along the coast is 1200 km.
4. Azerbaijan. This state, stretching 955 km along the Caspian Sea, washes its shores in the southwest.
5. Iran. A map of the Caspian states indicates that this country is located at southern shores endorheic lake. At the same time, its length maritime boundaries is 724 km.

Is the Caspian Sea?

The dispute over what to call this unique body of water has not yet been resolved. And it is important to answer this question. The fact is that all countries on the Caspian Sea have this region own interests. However, the governments of five states have not been able to resolve the question of how to divide this huge body of water for a long time. The most important controversy revolved around the name. Is the Caspian Sea a sea or a lake? Moreover, the answer to this question is of no more interest to geographers. First of all, politicians need it. This is due to the application of international law.

Caspian states such as Kazakhstan and Russia believe that their borders in this region are washed by the sea. In this regard, representatives of the two indicated countries insist on the application of the UN Convention adopted in 1982. It concerns the law of the sea. The provisions of this document state that coastal states are allocated a twelve-mile water zone along it. In addition, the country is granted the right to economic maritime territory. It is located two hundred miles away. The coastal state also has rights to However, even the widest part of the Caspian Sea is narrower than the distance specified in the international document. In this case, the middle line principle can be applied. At the same time, the Caspian states, which have the greatest length of coastal borders, will receive a large maritime territory.

Iran has a different opinion on this matter. Its representatives believe that the Caspian Sea should be divided fairly. In this case, all countries will get twenty percent of the maritime territory. The position of official Tehran can be understood. With this solution to the issue, the state will manage a larger zone than when dividing the sea along the middle line.

However, the Caspian Sea changes its water level significantly from year to year. This does not allow us to determine its median line and divide the territory between states. The countries of the Caspian Sea, such as Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia, signed an agreement among themselves defining the bottom zones in which the parties will exercise their economic rights. Thus, a certain legal truce has been achieved in the northern territories of the sea. Southern countries have not yet come to a common decision. However, they do not recognize the agreements reached by their northern neighbors.

Is the Caspian a lake?

Adherents of this point of view proceed from the fact that the reservoir, located at the junction of Asia and Europe, is closed. In this case, it is impossible to apply a document on the norms of international maritime law to it. Proponents of this theory are convinced that they are right, citing the fact that the Caspian Sea does not have a natural connection with the waters of the World Ocean. But here another difficulty arises. If the lake is the Caspian Sea, the boundaries of states according to what international standards should be determined in its water spaces? Unfortunately, such documents have not yet been developed. The fact is that the issues of the international lake have not been discussed anywhere by anyone.

Is the Caspian Sea a unique body of water?

In addition to those listed above, there is another, third point of view on the ownership of this amazing body of water. Its supporters are of the opinion that the Caspian Sea should be recognized as an international water basin, belonging equally to all countries bordering it. In their opinion, the resources of the region are subject to joint exploitation by countries bordering the reservoir.

Solving security problems

The Caspian states are doing everything possible to eliminate all existing disagreements. And in this matter, positive developments can be noted. One of the steps towards solving problems related to the Caspian region was the agreement signed on November 18, 2010 between all five countries. It concerns issues of security cooperation. In this document, the countries agreed on joint activities to eliminate terrorism, drug trafficking, smuggling, poaching, money laundering, etc. in the region.

Environmental protection

Particular attention is paid to solving environmental issues. The territory in which the Caspian states and Eurasia are located is a region under the threat of industrial pollution. Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan dump waste from energy exploration and production into the Caspian waters. Moreover, it is in these countries that there are a large number of abandoned oil wells that are not exploited due to their unprofitability, but nevertheless continue to have an adverse impact on the environmental situation. As for Iran, it dumps agricultural waste and sewage into sea waters. Russia threatens the ecology of the region with industrial pollution. It's connected with economic activity, which unfolded in the Volga region.

Countries on the Caspian Sea have made some progress in addressing environmental problems. Thus, since August 12, 2007, the Frame Convection has been in force in the region, with the goal of protecting the Caspian Sea. This document develops provisions on the protection of biological resources and regulation of anthropogenic factors affecting the aquatic environment. According to this convection, the parties must interact when carrying out measures to improve the environmental situation in the Caspian Sea.

In 2011 and 2012, all five countries signed other documents significant for the protection of the marine environment. Among them:

• Protocol on cooperation, response and regional preparedness in the event of oil pollution incidents.
• Protocol concerning the protection of the region against pollution from land-based sources.

Development of gas pipeline construction

Today, another problem remains unresolved in the Caspian region. It concerns the laying of this idea. This idea is an important strategic task of the West and the United States, which continue to look for alternative energy sources to Russian ones. That is why, when resolving this issue, the parties do not turn to countries such as Kazakhstan, Iran and, of course, the Russian Federation. Brussels and Washington supported the statement made in Baku on November 18, 2010 at the summit of the heads of the Caspian countries. He expressed the official position of Ashgabat regarding the laying of the pipeline. Turkmen authorities believe that the project should be implemented. At the same time, only those states on whose bottom territories it will be located must give their consent to the construction of the pipeline. And this is Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan. Iran and Russia opposed this position and the project itself. At the same time, they were guided by the issues of protecting the Caspian ecosystem. To date, construction of the pipeline is not underway due to disagreements between project participants.

Holding the first summit

Countries on the Caspian Sea are constantly looking for ways to solve the problems that have arisen in this Eurasian region. For this purpose, special meetings of their representatives are organized. Thus, the first summit of the heads of the Caspian states took place in April 2002. Its venue was Ashgabat. However, the results of this meeting did not live up to expectations. The summit was considered unsuccessful due to Iran's demands to divide the sea area into 5 equal parts. Other countries categorically opposed this. Their representatives defended their own point of view that the size of national waters should correspond to the length that coastline states.

The failure of the summit was also provoked by a dispute between Ashgabat and Baku over the ownership of three oil fields located in the center of the Caspian Sea. As a result, the heads of five states did not develop a consensus on any of all the issues raised. However, an agreement was reached to hold a second summit. It was supposed to take place in 2003 in Baku.

Second Caspian Summit

Despite the existing agreements, the planned meeting was postponed every year. The heads of the Caspian states gathered for the second summit only on October 16, 2007. It was held in Tehran. At the meeting, current issues related to the definition of legal status unique body of water, which is the Caspian Sea. The borders of states within the division of the water area were previously agreed upon during the development of the draft of the new convention. Problems of security, ecology, economics and cooperation of coastal countries were also raised. In addition, the results of the work that the states carried out after the first summit were summed up. In Tehran, representatives of the five states also outlined ways for further cooperation in the region.

Meeting at the third summit

Once again, the heads of the Caspian countries met in Baku on November 18, 2010. The result of this summit was the signing of an agreement to expand cooperation regarding security issues. During the meeting, it was pointed out that which countries are washed by the Caspian Sea, only those should ensure the fight against terrorism, transnational crime, weapons proliferation, etc.

Fourth summit

Once again, the Caspian states raised their problems in Astrakhan on September 29, 2014. At this meeting, the presidents of the five countries signed another statement.

In it, the parties recorded the exclusive right of the coastal countries to station armed forces in the Caspian Sea. But even at this meeting the status of the Caspian Sea was not finally regulated.