Far Eastern outpost: why does Russia need to build a naval base on the Kuril Islands. Stolen billions in the Kuril Islands Kuril Islands: purchase in installments

Kuril Islands / Photo: riarealty.ru

A number of new military facilities will appear on the Kuril Islands of Iturup and Kunashir, the press service reports. Federal agency 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 security system “Strelets-Sentry”, which will allow messages about emergency situations to be transmitted via secure communication channels, RIA Novosti reports.

reference 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”. With the help of bracelets, you can not only monitor the status of each guard (GLONASS sensor, immobility sensor), but also secretly notify him about emergency situation at the site 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!”

“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, the National Defense Control Center of Russia 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 quickly 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

Decisive factors for choosing Sagittarius:

• 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.

Alexey Zakvasin, Svyatoslav Petrov

In the near future, Russia will begin construction of a naval base in the Kuril Islands. This was announced by the Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Defense Franz Klintsevich. Moscow has been restoring the military infrastructure on the Kuril ridge since 2010. At the end of 2016, the “Ball” and “Bastion” complexes were located here. The strengthening of the Russian military presence in the region causes extreme concern for Japan, which lays claim to the four islands of the Kuril chain that were given to the USSR following the Second World War. Why Russia is building a naval base in the Kuril Islands and how this will affect relations between Moscow and Tokyo - in the RT material.

• Detention Bay on Matua Island
• RIA News
• Roman Denisov

Russia will create a naval base (naval base) on the Kuril Islands. According to the Deputy Chairman of the Russian Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security, Franz Klintsevich, the Russian leadership has made a fundamental decision on this matter.

"Decision is made. It is under implementation.<...>Everything is going strictly according to plan, without emergency jerks,” Klintsevich said, adding that work will begin in the near future.

The senator also clarified that as part of the construction of the naval base, the airfield network will be restored.

Window to the Pacific Ocean

The Russian Ministry of Defense announced the possible location of a Pacific Fleet (PF) base in the Kuril Islands at the end of May 2016. As Colonel General Sergei Surovikin clarified, a berth for warships will be equipped on the island of Matua, which is located in the center of the Kuril ridge between the Golovin and Nadezhda straits.

Currently, the Navy's infrastructure includes 23 bases and nine naval bases. The Russian Pacific Fleet is located in Vladivostok, Fokino (Primorsky Territory), Bolshoi Kamen (Primorsky Territory) and Vilyuchinsk (Kamchatka).

The deployment of a naval base on Matua is intended to facilitate the entry of ships and submarines of the Pacific Fleet, including strategic ones, into the Pacific Ocean. In addition, the new base will allow Russia to improve control over its eastern borders, including the sparsely populated Kuril ridge.

For the second year in a row, a joint expedition of the Ministry of Defense and the Russian Geographical Society has been working on Matua. The main goal of the research project is to determine the prospects for military exploitation of the island.

• Expedition of the Ministry of Defense and the Russian Geographical Society on the island of Matua
• Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

The Russian Ministry of Defense is consistently strengthening its military infrastructure Kuril Islands since 2010. According to the original plans, most of work should be completed in 2020. The military department is restoring positions lost after the collapse of the USSR and at the same time implementing new projects.

In the 1970s, the Soviet leadership intended to build a naval base on Simushir Island in the village of Kraterny (Broughton Bay). In particular, it was planned to place submarines, anti-submarine ships and the aircraft-carrying cruiser Minsk there. But perestroika buried this ambitious project.

Last fall, the Russian Ministry of Defense deployed the Bastion anti-ship missile system on Iturup Island, and the Bal complex on Kunashir Island.

• Coastal missile system "Bastion"
• RIA News
• Vitaly Ankov

In February 2017, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the formation of a division in the Kuril Islands should be completed by the end of the year. We are talking about the 18th machine gun and artillery division, the strength of which is estimated at 3.5 thousand people.

The formation is equipped with tanks, armored vehicles, multiple launch rocket systems, towed and mortar artillery pieces. Since 2015, the division has been on combat duty with air defense units with several Tor-M2U anti-aircraft systems.

Editor-in-Chief of the National Defense magazine Igor Korotchenko believes that this moment It’s too early to talk about the timing of the creation of the naval base. However, in his opinion, the decision to build a base on Matua is justified from a strategic point of view.

“The Kuril Islands need a full-fledged military infrastructure, since we are talking about protecting the eastern borders of Russia. The basing of warships, air and anti-ship defense, a garrison within the division will be ensured - all elements of Russia’s military presence on the border of its own territory,” Korotchenko noted in an interview with RT.

Inconsistency of expectations

During World War II, the 41st Separate Mixed Regiment of the Imperial Japanese Army was located on Matua. The Japanese created many engineering structures, but never entered the battle. Before surrendering, they blew up all objects that could be of value to the Soviet army.

The strengthening of the Russian military presence in the Kuril ridge has traditionally caused concern in Japan. Tokyo does not recognize Moscow's four Kuril Islands (Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and the Habomai group of islands), which, like Matua, were ceded to the USSR following the Second World War. Because of territorial claims There is still no peace treaty between the two states.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly informed Tokyo that the strengthening of military infrastructure on the archipelago is planned. In February 2017, during a visit to Japan, Sergei Shoigu noted that the division in the Kuril Islands “has been created over the past six years, created not against anyone, but exclusively to protect the territory of the Russian Federation.”

In December 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Chapter Russian state called for an end to the “historical ping-pong in these territories.” The leaders agreed to restore military contacts and entered into a number of agreements in the economic sphere.

Korotchenko believes that the construction of a base on Matua is a political signal for Tokyo: Russia is demonstrating that it has every right “to build anything and anywhere on its territory.” As the expert explained, plans to build a base had been made before, “it’s just that now all this is taking real shape.”

Senior researcher at the Center for Japanese Studies at the Institute of Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Viktor Kuzminkov, also believes that Moscow is sending an unambiguous signal to its partners from Tokyo.

The expert said that Klintsevich’s statement was made at a time when a Japanese delegation led by Assistant to the Prime Minister Eiichi Hasegawa was visiting the Kuril Islands. The purpose of the visit is to inspect the four islands before starting joint economic activities.

“We are seeing another discrepancy in expectations from mutual cooperation. Russia has high expectations from economic cooperation and hopes for big projects with Japan. Tokyo hopes for some political dividends in return, namely on the issue of the Kuril Islands,” Kuzminkov emphasized in a conversation with RT.

However, according to the expert, in reality, neither Russia is ready to transfer the islands, nor is Japan truly interested in Russia as an economic partner.

“The Japanese are still hoping to get the islands, and the construction of a base on Matua, of course, will be perceived negatively. I don’t rule out that this will cause quite serious protests in Tokyo,” concluded Kuzminkov.

Illustration copyright AFP Image caption In 2010, the then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited the Kuril Islands

Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Defense and Security of the Federation Council Franz Klintsevich announced the construction of a naval base in the Kuril Islands. This is not the first mention of a military facility on the islands; Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu spoke about this earlier, but this is the first time this project has been talked about in the present tense.

“The decision has been made. It is under implementation,” Klintsevich said, without specifying where exactly the military facility will be located.

Perhaps he meant the island of Matua - a small piece of land in the center of the Kuril ridge. In 2016, Defense Minister Shoigu said that Russia intended not only to restore, but also to actively exploit this island.

By that time, a large expedition of the Russian Geographical Society and the Pacific Fleet (PF) had already visited the island. The second expedition began in the summer of 2017 and is still ongoing.

• Russian senator: the decision on the naval base in the Kuril Islands has been made
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“Specialists carried out more than 1,000 laboratory studies on physical, chemical and biological indicators, made more than 200 measurements of the relief and external environment. Radiation and chemical reconnaissance was also carried out, the fortifications of the island and more than 100 historical objects were examined. Divers carried out hydrographic research of the bays and bays of the island of Matua,” says the Russian Geographical Society’s website.

Illustration copyright Google Image caption Perhaps the naval base will be located on the island of Matua

The expedition reports talk a lot about the study of marine invertebrate animals and algae, the study of the activity of the Sarychev Peak volcano, but if the Ministry of Defense really intends to build a base on this island, then hydrographic studies of the seabed topography and the study of the remains of Japanese military structures are most likely especially important for it .

The new base will be capable of receiving any ships, including the first rank, Klintsevich said on Thursday, without specifying which ships will be based at this facility.

Ships of the first rank include aircraft carriers, destroyers, missile and anti-submarine cruisers, and nuclear submarines. For such deep-draft craft, the seabed really needs to be carefully prepared.

The ownership of some of the Kuril Islands by Russia is disputed by Japan. They got it Soviet Union at the very end of World War II, when Soviet naval forces landed on the islands. The ownership of some of the islands was not secured by international treaties.

Japan claims the Kuril Islands Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and a group of small Habomai islands, citing the Shimonoseki Treaty of 1855. The Matua island that Shoigu spoke about does not belong to the group of disputed ones - it is located in another part of the ridge, in its central region.

Russia insists that the islands belong to it, citing the inadmissibility of revising the results of World War II.

Island as a base

The Kuril Islands are located in a strategically important area: they separate the Sea of ​​Okhotsk from Pacific Ocean, as if blocking the exit to him from south coast Russian Far East.

During World War II, a powerful system of fortifications, airfields, and naval bases was built on the islands. One of the objects was located just on Matua - coastal concrete fortifications, the remains of an airfield, warehouses, and shelters still remain on the island.

Illustration copyright Google Image caption Traces of Japanese field fortifications remain on Matua

During Soviet times and until 2001, there was a border post on the island, but in last years the island remained uninhabited.

Currently, the 18th machine gun and artillery division (the only such formation in the Russian army) is deployed on the Kuril Islands with reinforcement units in Iturup and Kunashir. Recently, Bal and Bastion coastal missile systems, as well as Buk anti-aircraft systems, were deployed on the islands. The Bastion complex was located on the island of Iturup, and the Bal complex was located on Kunashir.

Matua is not the best comfortable place for life and even for the construction of a military base. There is wind on the island strong winds, there are no large convenient bays on the coast. Finally, all Northern part a small island - a volcano that last erupted quite recently - in 2009.

The island is located at a great distance from supply bases, and communication with it, especially in the winter months, is difficult due to the fact that the Sea of ​​Okhotsk freezes in this place.

Illustration copyright NASA Image caption Eruption of the Sarychev Peak volcano on the island of Matua in 2009

In any case, building a large base on it will be extremely expensive.

However, Russia appears ready to spend. On the one hand, the Kremlin has long sought to expand its military presence in the World Ocean. And the Pacific region, which has attracted more and more attention in recent years, is extremely important for Russia.

For example, one of the two amphibious helicopter carriers that Russia intended to purchase from France was to be based in the Pacific Fleet.

"When I served in Far East, the issue of placing a naval formation of the Pacific Fleet in the Kuril Islands was considered. It is profitable to create a base on the islands for the only reason - direct access to the ocean. Of the places that were determined to be suitable for it in terms of geometry, the difficulties were as follows. The first is difficult ice conditions in winter. The second is the ebb and flow of about six meters. The third is strong winds,” former commander of the Baltic Fleet Admiral Vladimir Valuev said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

During the times of the USSR, which had a larger Pacific Fleet than Russia now has, a large military base was never built on the Kuril Islands.

Russia's second goal is to gain a foothold on the Kuril Islands themselves. The unresolved issue with the Kuril Islands hinders the development of relations between the two countries; it is raised every time by Moscow and Tokyo and clearly makes both sides very nervous.

What kind of base can Russia afford?

Speaking about the scale of the future facility, Senator Franz Klintsevich said that the new base will be capable of receiving any ships, including the first rank.

At the same time, Klintsevich used the word “base”, that is, he meant quite large object, which should include not only berths, but also infrastructure for the maintenance of ships, ideally a dock and ship repair yard, barracks to accommodate crews and base personnel, air defense units and an airfield.

And all this is on an island with an area of ​​52 square kilometers, a significant part of which is occupied by a volcano.

• Tartus: a “gas station” that dreams of becoming a base

Senior researcher at the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the Higher School of Economics, Vasily Kashin, told the BBC that as a result, only a small logistics and technical support center for ships may appear on Matua, in Syria, and Russia will invest money in already existing bases of the Pacific fleet.

There are five of them in the Far East - in Vladivostok, Fokino, Vilyuchinsk (they are based there nuclear submarines), Sovetskaya Gavan and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

“Maybe it will be a harbor where there will be several piers, again we don’t know how many; there will be an icebreaker and a couple of tugs, and some small forces will be constantly deployed,” he said.

At the same time, Kashin noted that even if, for example, a large anti-submarine ship (first rank) can approach the island, it is still unknown how many such ships can be serviced there at the same time and what volume of service they can receive there.

Scope valid until 2015 Federal Target Program "Socio-economic development of the Kuril Islands for 2007-2015" amounts to 21 billion rubles.

The bulk of this amount is allocated from the federal budget. The Sakhalin Region also plans to attract funds from private investors for the development of the Kuril Islands. Private investment in the islands' economy now amounts to a billion rubles a year, and by 2015 it will increase to 6 billion. details about the new infrastructure of the Kuril Islands (many photos) The 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 South Kuril District.


Social housing

In August 2012, a ceremony for presenting warrants and keys to new apartments took place in Yuzhno-Kurilsk. The 10-apartment building was built with funds from the regional and local budgets under one of the regional programs.
House of Culture (medical and educational expedition “Borders of Russia”, August 2010)
New kindergarten Port of Yuzhno-Kurilsk New deep-water pier

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)
Funded by the federal program for the socio-economic development of the Kuril Islands and the budget Sakhalin region construction is underway marine terminal on the territory of the constructed mooring complex in the South Kuril Bay. In addition to passengers, this building will house various services - a border checkpoint, the customs post, port supervision, administration and control room seaport. Completion of construction is planned for 2012.

Mendeleevo Airport The airfield was built by the Japanese when the island of Kunashir 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, control tracks, a new platform, runway strip(runway), landing system and lighting equipment. 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. The planned modernization of the Mendeleevskaya Geothermal Power Plant will increase its capacity from 3.6 MW to 7.4 MW.
On about. Kunashir has two fish processing plants - LLC PKF "South Kuril Fish Processing Plant" and LLC "Delta". The Yuzhno-Kuril Fish Processing Plant has modernized its production processing lines. All fish and seafood caught by its own trawl fleet are delivered ashore without loss of quality. Integrated shift of 25 people successfully copes with large volumes of incoming raw materials.In 2011, the first kilometers of asphalt were laid on Kunashir Island.

Iturup Island-island of the southern group of the Great Ridge of the Kuril Islands, the most large island archipelago. Population - 6387 people. Kurilsk- the administrative center of the island. In recent years, a modern microdistrict “Severny” has been built in the village of Kurilsk. It is planned to build within its boundaries Grand Palace culture and sports, under the roof of which there will be a sports complex, a swimming pool, a cultural center and other institutions. In 2006, a 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, which allows 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. There are several other fishing enterprises, the largest of which are Skit, Bug, and Continent. 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

improvement work

In February 2012, two 8-apartment buildings were put into operation
New airport“Iturup” is located on the sunny side of the island, which will allow you to easily get to the island even in bad weather. The extended 2.2 km long runway will accommodate all types of aircraft operating in the region. Near Kurilsk there is a geothermal spring with radon waters.
A few years ago, the springs consisted of two concrete vats for salting fish, in which vacationers took baths, not forgetting to litter the surrounding area with broken bottle glass. Geothermal springs were improved by the company "Gidrostoroy"
Shikotan Island- the largest island of the Malaya ridge of the Kuril Islands. Malokurilskoe- the administrative center of the island. Population - approx. 2100 people. Using funds from the federal program, a deep-water pier has already been built and is being operated in Malokurilskaya Bay on Shikotan, and in the neighboring Krabozavodskaya Bay on the same Shikotan, the construction of a pier is nearing completion on co-financing terms - the own funds of Gidrostroy JSC and the regional budget.



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)

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 Chain 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 is 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

Dispute between Russia and Japan over the “northern territories”, as they call it in Japan Southern Kuriles, 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 of the Kuril Islands is so great. Moreover, it arose against the background of the strengthening of the Japanese self-defense forces. Thus, in mid-July, the Land of the Rising Sun adopted amendments to the law that allow the use of the Japanese army to help protect 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 types "Yura" and "Yusotei". 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 type.

There are 20 diesel submarines in service: 7 of the Harusio type, armed with Harpoon anti-ship missiles. 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 re-equipment is obvious - these islands are disputed by Japan, while they are highly isolated by 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 the post-Soviet era, 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 to the mainland, especially in winter. 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 disputed islands The Bal coastal anti-ship missile system, adopted by the Russian Armed Forces in 2008, was deployed. It is designed to control territorial waters and strait zones, protection of naval bases, other coastal facilities and coastal infrastructure. It is also reported that at the moment there is a modern air defense system in the Kuril Islands - 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. IN Lately it was announced that a modern infrastructure would 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.