Damanskiy island. There could be a nuclear war

Damansky Island as a natural object exists in several parts of the globe. For example, this is the name of the territory where the park of culture and rest is located in Yaroslavl on the bank of the Kotorosl river. However, from the point of view of history, another object that is now in the territory of the People's Republic of China is better known.

This Damansky Island is small in size - about 1.8 km in length and less than a kilometer in width. During the spring floods, it can not be seen at all, since the Ussuri River completely hides it under its current. Nevertheless, this scrap of land caused a conflict in 1969 between such serious powers as the USSR and China.

The beginning of this story dates back to the times when the Russian Empire was much stronger than the Celestial Empire. Taking advantage of its superiority in those times, Russia established borders along the water along the Chinese coast. It turns out that the Damansky Island, which is closer to China (300 meters), has moved to our state, although it is further from the Russian shore (500 meters).

This situation did not bother anyone until the middle of the 20th century, despite the fact that according to international law, the borders on the river should be installed along the main channel. Only during the reign of N. Khrushchev, when the disagreements began to arise between the CPSU and the Communist Party of China , the problem of disputed territories emerged. Khrushchev did not accept the territorial claims of the Chinese side, but suggested dividing the river so that the islands adjacent to China were transferred to it. The agreement could not be reached only on the territories of Khabarovsk, among which was the Damanskii Island.

There was a confrontation between the border guards of both sides. First, it was forbidden to shoot, so constant fights took place on the ice of the frozen river. But on March 2, 1969, about 300 Chinese soldiers appeared on the disputed territory, to which Soviet soldiers advanced with the proposal to liberate the Damanskiy Island. China responded with fire to defeat. In the future, the parties used artillery, including the installation of "Grad". Losses of the parties were hundreds of people.

The level of the conflict has reached such a level that the USSR planned a nuclear strike against China. But here the US intervened in the conflict, which at that time had a military contingent of about 250,000 people in Asia. American servicemen could die in this confrontation, the US did not need a weakened China, besides, this country had claims to the USSR, which did not want to ban China's nuclear development with the United States. The latter successfully conducted military tests in this field in 1964. Therefore, Kissinger warned that a nuclear strike could be possible in a hundred Soviet cities.

In the first decade of September 1969, talks were held between Beijing and Moscow, at which a decision was taken to peacefully reconsider the territories where the Chinese were already entrenched and lived. However, during the life of Mao Zedong there was no progress in this area. Only in 1991 it was decided to transfer the island to the People's Republic of China. Therefore, the map of Damansky Island today is most relevant for the inhabitants of this particular state.