The Kuril Islands are not "a halt" …

On April 16 is executed exactly twenty years from the beginning of negotiations of the president of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev and the prime minister of Japan Tosiki Kaifu. It would seem what the anniversary is? Only what kind of negotiations with different "officials" weren't in this time. But the negotiations of 1991year are special however. Firstly, for the first time the head of our state whether he would be the tsar, the secretary general or the president, has arrived to the Japanese islands with visit and secondly, for the first time it has been recognized that there is a territorial problem from our party.
The version is for a long time discussed that Mikhail Gorbachev was going to sell the Kuril Islands to Japan. And this point of view has enough wide circulation. Otherwise having giving sensational interview on the eve of the 80 anniversary, Gorbachev wouldn’t have specially to notice that he never gathered to give the Kuril Islands our east neighbor, who isn't tired for some decades to repeat that “the northern territories” are primordial the Japanese earth.
The negotiations of 1991year were rather interesting. But firstly let’s talk about on what background they passed. All of us remember, how the acceleration has passed into reorganization and this was accompanied by occurrence of new thinking (everyone will put a stress as he wants) … Mikhail Gorbachev lost the influence more and more under the impact of problems. The decisions were halved – he searched for the compromise with different groups of ruling elite. And the most important thing is that the economy went downhill. Money was necessary simply to provide a necessary consumption level for citizens. That trick won’t work with the West once again and the Japanese quite could do much good but only under one condition – they wanted to return the Kuril Islands.
Once the books will write about it but now we can use only the separate facts. And they are the following: the millionaire-cooperator Artem Tarasov, who became famous in a flash all over the country by payment of party dues, publicly has declared that the decision is preparing conceding the letting Japan has Kuril Islands for 200 billion dollars. The figure of 26-28 billion dollars appears in a number of publications and at us and in the West. Such sum, according to some researchers, the Japanese were ready to pay. And it is possible to say, they tore away from the heart. And from their point of view, they paid for their own.
There is a version that Edward Shevardnadze was the active supporter of transfer of islands of Japan and to discuss the concrete plans have entrusted one of the Central Committees managing departments who was close to Gorbachev. But not all stood up for new thinking – the people with state thinking haven’t come to an end in Russia. Therefore somehow there were suddenly the articles in «the Red Star» and different doctrines have appeared … In general the prospective deal of a century hasn't taken place.
Let's not remember all the history of the Russian-Japanese mutual relations. We will underline only one moment: Nikita Khrushchev was ready also to give Shikotan and Habomai to the Japanese in exchange for a withdrawal of the American military bases from the territory of Japan. But he considered the islands as Soviet and not so disputable. It is essentially other position, than Mikhail Gorbachev’s, who has declared about the presence of a territorial problem. And judging by some evidences, there was a plan to carry out a joint management of the Southern Kuril Islands, namely to form some condominium. But fortunately, it couldn't come true.
So, Tokyo on April 16-18, 1991. The negotiations of the president of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev and the prime minister of Japan Tosiki Kaifu. Today we can speak about them in detail because after Anatoly Koshkin has published the article “The Kuril knot” in magazine published by known political scientist Vitaly Tretyakov “Political class”, Mikhail Gorbachev has addressed to Tretyakov in 2007 and has transferred the shorthand report of negotiations on which the question of the Southern Kuriles was discussed. It is clear, why Mikhail Gorbachev has made this - Koshkin considers that Gorbachev was going to let the islands of Japan under certain conditions.
Firstly some words about those who spent these negotiations. It would be wrong to see Mikhail Gorbachev's figure only in one light – the trend of discussion has shown that he tried to give less and to receive more, as any diplomat would make on his place. He tried to show the hardness but as a paradigm of "new thinking» worked, it should affect.
Tosiki Kaifu is the remarkable figure. In 1960 he became the youngest member of parliament of Japan. At the age of 45years old he already was a member of the government. Finally, on August, 1989 he became the prime minister of the country of the Rising sun. His strong streak was always the ability to carry on negotiations. Kaifu was remembered to the Japanese by the reforms and unusual ideas. So he, for example, has suggested a part of capital functions of Tokyo to transfer to other cities. The political career of Tosiki Kaifu has come to the end not so long ago: he has left a politics for the first time having lost the parliamentary elections on August 30, 2009. We speak about it in detail not to show, what competent politicians from the Japanese party discussed a problem of the Kuril Islands. The essence is not in it: whether it would be the reformer Kaifu or a hawk of Yasuhiro Nakasone, the position of the Japanese party at external benevolence really always remained rigid. It is possible to say that the wolf always hid under the sheep skin. And this position was and most likely will be always invariable.
As usual, the negotiations have begun with mutual curtseys. The Japanese prime minister has informed at once the visitor that he has brought a good weather and it is very good, as the Japanese, as it appears, dreamed for a long time that Mikhail Gorbachev has arrived to them during the blossoming of the Japanese cherry tree. Mikhail Sergeevich has informed that “His Majesty the Emperor has shown me a special kind of the Japanese cherry tree”. Kaifu has immediately added that this Japanese cherry tree is not simple but with double petals and the president of the USSR can look as it blossoms in an ancient castle. Gorbachev answers, “I was born in the North Caucasus where the cherry gardens are a tradition. I remember these cherry gardens since the childhood”. Further the dialogue looks so.
Kaifu, “I could read the translated Anton Pavlovich Chekhov's play “Cherry garden”.
Gorbachev, “It is a pity only that in the end of this play the knock of the axe destroying a garden is heard”.
Having talked about the cherries, the Japanese prime minister passes to the main thing, “We well know that your state under your management carries out the historical business of reorganization and goes on the way to absolutely new state”. Kaifu also has noticed that “the efforts for improvement of mutual relations are applied” and that Mikhail Gorbachev states very useful offers. For example, about that “the Soviet Union sincerely would like to draw a line under the past and to begin a new stage, namely a stage of construction of peace and friendly relations, an embodiment of new political thinking in the Soviet-Japanese relations, to achieve the historical justice, having refused the timeserving calculations”.
Gorbachev ascertains that “we are doomed to be neighbors”. The cases are somewhat as follows: “Firstly it was simple and clear: you ascertained your position and we – ours. And all remains without movement. Today I see that it has lead to nothing. Probably, it is necessary to search for other approach, other formula. We proceeded from such positions for some decades and have appeared there where we are”.
Kaifu is two hands for changes too and notices that 78 % of interrogated people of the USSR have friendly feelings to Japan according to last questioning and only 16% of the Japanese who feels the same to the USSR. Gorbachev reacted that this is the figure of last year and this year the figure is already 43 %... The Japanese prime minister as though doesn't hear him and starts to explain how to change this figure - 16 % - to “the best side”.
The main thing begins here. What is the position of the Japanese party? Its essence is reduced to the following: there is no peace treaty between two next states till now and there is unresolved problem of "four northern islands”. Who is guilty in that? Certainly, Stalin. And if to be more specific, so his “expansion position”. The Soviet Union occupied the islands illegally and this “has left a bitter aftertaste in the mouth of the Japanese people”. But it is not necessary to press in far history, therefore the Japanese prime minister offers to give means for creation, for example on the Southern Sakhalin, a city of the Japanese-Soviet friendship “in connection with possible resettlement of the Soviet inhabitants from four islands. This city would become a symbol of eternal friendship between the people of our two countries and, probably, a strong point of the further development of the Soviet Far East”. It is necessary to remember unforgettable Ostap Bender – it is actually the Japan-New-Vasyuki …
Tosiki Kaifu formulates the following idea within the limits of new thinking, “I have expressed the readiness at the decision of a territorial question to make effort on maintenance of the international recognition of the Soviet-Japanese frontier, including an accessory recognition to the Soviet Union Southern Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands at the international conference specially created for this purpose. And to do one’s i’s and cross one’s i’s, Tosiki Kaifu notices that there can be a possibility for “full-scale economic cooperation” as a result. So they reached the question of money.

And is about Mikhail Gorbachev? He declares that the priority of the Russians in the opening of earths, about which there is a speech, is conclusive. He tells that Japan has broken the contracts, having attacked Russia. He speaks so about the known declaration of 1956 year, “The chance given by history hasn't been used”. He ascertains, “We already practiced the promotion of preliminary conditions to each other. The only thing, that we thus have proved, is that you can treat without us and we can treat without you”. And then the Soviet president notices that the public opinion is not only in Japan but also in the Soviet Union …
The Japanese prime minister starts to argue that the Soviet-Japanese relations should have viable roots – such as the decorative trees have, which have been grown up according to bonsai art. And roots are quite clear for it: Habomai and Shikotan should be transferred to Japan and conversation needs to be conducted about the transferring of more two islands: Kunashir and Iturup. And it is quite good to define the date. Gorbachev notices that the politics is a possible art and – “for today the situation and our possibilities are that it is excluded to expect to leave on their base on a variant which would suit us”.
Next day Tosiki Kaifu remembers the pact of Molotov – Ribentrop – he declares that those Soviet scientists put the question right, who specify that the question of four islands has appeared as a result of the action of Stalin epoch and that these actions should be condemned and corrected” as that pact.
Gorbachev has already shown the positions but understands that they don’t manage without the offer. Otherwise, why did he go? And here that he offers, “We could make the promise, undertake following steps: the Soviet party will consider the problem on reduction, for example, within three-five years of a military contingent on the South Kuril islands; the Soviet party will make offers on adjustment of joint economic activities in this area so that rationally and to mutual benefit to use the natural resources of this area, including the sea; the Soviet party will restore the visa-free simplified regime of visiting of these islands by the Japanese citizens”. The logic according to Gorbachev is the following: the more dynamic relations between Russia and Japan will develop, “the faster they can reach the decision”. A bit later Mikhail Sergeevich suddenly declares, “The Christ and the Buddha see that in my offers it is a lot of realism in search of the decision which are equitable to the general interests”. But you will not bring down the Japanese prime minister - he sticks for his guns, “I think, as the Christ and the Buddha, so both you and I look only at one thing: how we should develop the relations, having concluded the peace treaty on the general bases”. The discussion of different formulations go then… and here, at last, Tosiki Kaifu says, “you, mister the president, already approach us”. Gorbachev answers this, “It is time to stop for a long time”…
The problem is that you can stop when you understand, where you go. Many experts believe that Mikhail Gorbachev, who caused the huge hopes in the beginning of his governing, has followed the events, instead of forming them as it is necessary to the leader of the country. He has told such phrase at negotiations, “History has as though taken away that chance by a high-speed train “Hikari”, having left behind this halt”. A bit later the history has taken away with itself both Gorbachev and the great country.

But the express of history still gains the speed and already the next Japanese prime minister again argues on the northern territories and that it is time to return historical justice and at this time the head of our state comes to the islands for the first time, the official statement becomes that the helicopter carrier "Mistral", bought from the Frenchmen, will be based not somewhere but on the Pacific ocean. Absolutely near to the country where the cherry blossoms with double petals wonderfully.