The second large-scale expedition of the Ministry of Defense and the Russian Geographical Society will go to the Kuril island of Matua in 2017. This was announced on Wednesday, September 14, by the commander of the Pacific Fleet, Admiral Sergei Avakyants, at a meeting of the media club.
The Japanese began to develop the island in the 1930s and attached exclusively military importance to it. "The island served as a springboard for further expansion and capture of the Kamchatka Peninsula. unique system underground structures connected by a single system of tunnels. Underground structures are a separate topic that requires deep study, "said Admiral Sergei Avakyants.
According to him, underground structures are divided into two types: fortifications and structures of unknown purpose - rectangular, square and round in shape, up to 150 meters long.
"Initially, there was an assumption that these were storage facilities, but everything was taken out of them. And if these were storage facilities, then any material traces would remain. Moreover, it was discovered that a high-voltage cable and a power supply system were suitable for these premises. allowed to supply up to 3 thousand volts there. Naturally, this is an excess voltage for storage facilities. But, obviously, some work was carried out in these structures, "- quotes the head of the TASS expedition.
The admiral also said that the same high-voltage cable was found on the slope of Sarychev volcano. "The volcano is alive, the volcano still breathes. Powerful eruptions occur every 25 years. Remains of an old road leading to the volcano's mouth have been found. From a helicopter, you can see the characteristic entrances to underground structures from the water surface. Serious deep-sea exploration of the northern and northwestern parts of the volcano is needed. ", - Avakyants emphasized.
He noted that during the expedition, dishes were found with symbols characteristic of the imperial family - stars, that is, the island was visited by the highest military-political leadership of Japan during the war, and the garrison was given exceptional attention.
"If on all the islands the Japanese garrisons fought fiercely, to the last soldier, then the island of Matua surrendered last, but surrendered without a fight. The garrison numbered 7,500 people and, which is not typical for the Japanese army, did not put up any resistance." the commander said. “We concluded that the garrison fulfilled its main task - removed all traces and all the facts that could lead to the disclosure of the true nature of activities on this island,” he continued.
According to the admiral, the expedition also studied the volcanic activity of the island and discovered the remains of an ancient paleovolcano dating back several million years. "Thus, the version requires confirmation that the Kamchatka Peninsula, islands Kuril ridge and Japanese islands were a continuous strip of land, "Avakyants noted.
The commander of the Pacific Fleet believes that Toporkovy Island, which is presumably connected to Matua by underground tunnels, also requires further study. "With the permission and instructions of the President of the Russian Geographical Society, in 2017 we are conducting the second expedition with the involvement of a wide range of specialists from the Academy of Sciences, the Russian Geographical Society and the Moscow state university... The fauna, flora of this island, volcanic activity, water supply system, underground structures, including underwater ones, require further study. And, in addition, it is necessary to conduct archaeological research, "- concluded the admiral.
The command of the Eastern Military District the possibility of a prospective basing of the forces of the Pacific Fleet on the island of Matua.
Matua is a small island located in the very center of the Kuril ridge. During the Great Patriotic War, the Japanese turned it into an impregnable fortress, planning to use it as a springboard in case of war with the USSR.
The Russian Defense Ministry is taking unprecedented measures to develop military infrastructure in Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. An expedition of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the Russian Geographical Society (RGO) has begun engineering work on the study of fortifications on the Kuril island of Matua. This was announced by the head of the press service of the Eastern Military District, Colonel Alexander Gordeev.
“On the slopes of the hills and at the foot of the Sarychev volcano, the liberation of posterns (underground corridors for communication between fortifications, fortress forts or strongholds of fortified areas) and warehouses from debris has begun,” Gordeev said. -Five groups of search engines "carry out earthworks using a bulldozer, excavator and other special equipment."
According to the participants of the military-historical expedition, scientific research will help to find answers to many questions and "dispel the aura of the mystery of the Matua Island." Before starting work, air samples are taken in each fortification, which are carefully analyzed in the laboratory for the presence of toxic substances.
Until the end of World War II, Japan was actively exploring these islands, including the mysterious island of Matua, located in the center of the Kuril ridge. On this island, Japan was mining some valuable minerals. After the end of World War II, Truman even turned to Stalin with a request to transfer the island of Matua to the United States. The island was not given away, but we ourselves do not use its dungeons for some reason.
During the Second World War, the Allied aircraft, which bombed everything that belonged to Japan in the Pacific Ocean, bypassed Magua. And when the war ended, President Truman turned to Stalin with an unexpected request to provide the United States with only one of the islands in the center of the Kuril Islands occupied by Soviet troops. Why is the small island of Matua so attractive to the President of America?
Matua is a small island located in the very center of the Kuril ridge. During the Great Patriotic War, the Japanese turned it into an impregnable fortress, planning to use it as a springboard in case of war with the USSR. The war really began, but in 1945 3811 japanese soldiers and officers "valiantly" surrendered to 40 Soviet border guards.
The island, which went to the USSR, was dug up and down with ditches, trenches and artificial caves... Numerous pillboxes and hangars were built conscientiously. The entire coast of Matua around the perimeter was surrounded by a dense ring of pillboxes, laid out of stone or hollowed out in the rock. They were made so soundly that members of amateur expeditions, who have been studying the island for many years, argue that even today the pillboxes could be used for their intended purpose. Moreover, their device was not limited only to preparing a point for firing. Each such position had an extensive network underground passagesalso carved into the rock.
The island's airfield was constructed even more carefully. It is located so well and made so technically competent that the aircraft could take off and land in the wind of any strength and direction. Japanese engineers have provided for an "anti-snow" design. Pipes were laid under the concrete cover, into which hot water from thermal springs... So the Japanese pilots were not in danger of icing the runway, and the planes could take off and land both in winter and in summer.
In one of the coastal cliffs, the hardworking Japanese cut down a huge cave where a submarine could easily hide. Nearby was the underground headquarters of the garrison command, disguised in one of the surrounding hills. Its walls were neatly lined with stone, there is a swimming pool and an underground bath nearby.
One of the secrets of the island is the disappearance of all military equipment... Despite careful searches since 1945, nothing has been found on the island. Moreover, there is an amazing, downright mystical pattern - people who tried to search, died in fires, which often happened on the island, fell into avalanches.
In the late 1990s, as a result of an accident, the deputy chief of the frontier post, who was in charge of this search, died. And when they tried to restore the destroyed communications, the volcano in the center of the island suddenly woke up. The eruption took place with such force that huge blocks flying out of the vent knocked down the birds that soared hundreds of meters from the crater!
Here is an opinion about unsolved mysteries the island of Matua, researcher and enthusiast Yevgeny Vereshchagi: “There is an extraordinary hill on Matua with a height of more than 120 meters and 500 meters in diameter.
Nature does not like such correct forms. This involuntarily suggests that this whole hulk was made by human hands. This is an artificial hill that served as a disguised hangar for aircraft. A very wide man-made depression overgrown with trees and bushes stands out on its slope. Probably, the gates to the hangar were located here, which were first blown up, and then covered with the ash of an erupting volcano.
In addition, hundreds of rusty fuel barrels are scattered on the island - mostly German, and absolutely intact and with fuel from the times of the fascist Third Reich. In translation, the marking on them read "Wehrmacht fuel, 200 liters." And the dates - 1939, 1943 - up to the victorious 1945.
So, having circled the globe, Hitler's allied submarines moored at Matua and delivered goods !?
By the way, about the volcano. There were many questions where the military equipment disappeared, which, judging by the underground structures, was literally stuffed with the island-fortress. One of the members of amateur expeditions made a seemingly incredible assumption: “Perhaps the Japanese threw all their ammunition into the mouth of the volcano, and then blew it up, causing powerful eruption... This version, at first glance, sounds like fantasy. But a road was laid up the cone of the volcano, where, even after decades, traces of tracked vehicles could be discerned. One can only guess what the Japanese drove along it. "
But all these striking grandiose structures are only the outer, visible part of the Japanese secret underground fortress. More than half a century has passed since the end of World War II, but nobody has managed to unravel the secrets of the dungeons.
The Japanese, referring to the secrecy of this information, stubbornly refused to answer the requests of first Soviet and then Russian researchers of Matua Island. The American president also failed to understand the strange interest in the island.
What does the Kuril island hide in its depths? But what if the death of the island's military explorers, the untimely awakened volcano, and the American president's interest in Matua, and the Japanese refusal to provide materials are not a random chain of events? Perhaps, in the secret, not yet found dungeons of the island-fortress, there is not rusted and unnecessary military equipment hiding, but secret laboratories that developed secret weapons that were never used during the war?
At dawn on August 12, 1945, three days before Japan's declaration of surrender, a deafening explosion sounded in the Sea of \u200b\u200bJapan, not far from the Korean Peninsula. A ball of fire about 1000 meters in diameter rose into the sky. A giant mushroom cloud appeared after him. According to the American expert Charles Stone, the first and last atomic bomb in Japan was detonated here, and the power of the explosion was about the same as that of the American bombs detonated a few days earlier over Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Ch. Stone's statement that during the Second World War Japan worked on the creation of an atomic bomb and achieved success was met with great doubts by many US scientists. The military historian John Dower was more cautious about this information.
According to this famous scientist, it is impossible to completely exclude the possibility that at dawn on August 12, 1945, the first and last atomic bomb of Japan was detonated in the Sea of \u200b\u200bJapan off the coast of Korea. This is evidenced by the huge secret military Hinnam complex, located on the territory of the modern DPRK. It was powerful enough and equipped with everything needed to produce an atomic bomb.
The plausibility of Charles Stone's unexpected hypothesis is confirmed by the investigations of the former American intelligence officer Theodore McNally. At the end of World War II, he served in the analytical intelligence headquarters of General MacArthur, Commander of Allied Forces in the Pacific.
In his article, McNally writes that American intelligence had reliable information about a large Japanese nuclear center in the Korean city of Heungnam, but kept information about this object a secret from the USSR. Moreover, on the morning of August 14, 1945, American aircraft brought air samples taken over the Sea of \u200b\u200bJapan near east coast Korean Peninsula. The processing of the received samples gave stunning results. She testified that in the aforementioned area Sea of \u200b\u200bJapan an unknown nuclear device exploded on the night of August 12-13!
If we assume that the development of the most terrible weapon of the 20th century - nuclear - was really going on in the underground city on the island-fortress, then this gives an answer to many questions that baffle the organizers of amateur research expeditions.
Why did President Truman, referring to Stalin, ask to transfer the island of Matua to the United States?
Even before the end of World War II, the Americans began to prepare for an armed confrontation with the USSR. After the declassification of materials about the Second World War, a folder was found in the British archives with the inscription "Unthinkable Operation". Indeed, no one could have thought of such an operation! The date on the document is May 22, 1945. Consequently, the development of the operation was started even before the end of the war. The document contained the most detailed description of the plan ... of a massive strike on Soviet troops!
The main trump card in a military confrontation could be nuclear weapons, available only to the United States. Soviet tank divisions that passed the Second world war, were located in the center of Europe. If Stalin had received, in addition to his superiority in the ground forces, nuclear weapons created by Japanese scientists, then in the event of a military clash the outcome of the war would have been predetermined and Europe would have become completely socialist.
Why do the Japanese, referring to the secrecy of information, stubbornly refuse to answer the inquiries of first Soviet and then Russian researchers of Matua Island?
But what should they do?
If an underground secret center was discovered on the island of Matua, in which nuclear weapons were developed, and not only were they developed, but also the technology for their manufacture was brought to practical implementation, then this would lead to a reassessment of the events of World War II. The atomic bombing of Japanese cities would have been justified: American pilots were simply ahead of the future atomic raids of the Japanese. Demands for the return of the South Kuriles could be seen as a desire to continue work on the creation of secret weapons, which stopped as a result of the defeat of Japan.
And on this mysterious island, the Russian Pacific Fleet launched an unprecedented survey.
The representative of the Eastern Military District recalled that “mobile airfield complexes have already been deployed on the island to support flights aircraft”. The drainage system has been cleared and preparations have been completed for the landing of helicopters of any type.
The personnel of the military-historical expedition continues to be active in Dvoinaya Bay in order to “prepare the coastal section of the island for the approach of a large landing ship to the shore in a“ point-blank ”manner for loading equipment and materiel,” Gordeev said.
As previously reported, 200 members of the expedition of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the Russian Geographical Society, the Eastern Military District and the Pacific Fleet under the leadership of the Deputy Commander of the Pacific Fleet, Vice Admiral Andrey Ryabukhin, left Vladivostok on May 7 and arrived on Matua Island on six ships and vessels.
The other day on a tiny deserted island Matua Kurilskaya The second expedition of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation began work on the ridges (area of \u200b\u200babout 52 square kilometers). An impressive detachment of warships and ships under the command of Vladivostok arrived on the island from Vladivostok deputy Commander of the Pacific Fleet Vice Admiral Andrey Ryabukhin... The detachment of the large landing craft "Admiral Nevelskoy", the killer KIL-168 and the rescue tug SB-522. On their sides are about a hundred researchers and 30 pieces of engineering equipment to support various works.
Exactly one year ago, the first such expedition on the same "Admiral Nevelskoy" already visited Matua. And Vice-Admiral Ryabukhin was also in charge of it. Specialists have carried out more than 1000 laboratory studies on physical, chemical and biological indicators, made more than 200 measurements of the external environment, conducted radiation and chemical reconnaissance. The divers examined both tiny bays of this piece of land - Ainu (maximum depths up to 25 meters) and Yamato (depths up to 9 meters). During the Second World War, it was through them that the seven thousandth Japanese garrison on Matua was supplied, where the largest and well-equipped military base of the imperial army was located. Most of its defenses were carved into the surrounding rocks and served as a reliable shelter for personnel and ammunition.
But the main thing on the island were not numerous artillery pillboxes and underground tunnels... The largest military airfield at that time, which allowed the Japanese from these places to control a vast part of the Pacific Ocean from the air and Sea of \u200b\u200bOkhotsk, as well as most of the islands of the Kuril ridge. Three runways, each 1200 meters long, concreted and heated by thermal underground springs, made the airfield almost all-weather. Nevertheless, in 1945, the Japanese 41st separate mixed regiment, which was defending here (numbering three thousand soldiers and officers, the rest of the garrison had already been evacuated by that time) surrendered to the Soviet paratroopers without a single shot.
Despite the fact that after the Second World War the island remained practically deserted and was almost never used by the Soviet authorities, as it turned out, that airfield is still in good condition today. In any case, Russian military helicopters have been landing on it since the summer of 2016. Is the island's airfield capable of receiving airplanes after minor restoration work? And if so, what types? This was also found out last year by the expedition of Vice Admiral Ryabukhin.
The purpose of such an unprecedented activity of Far Eastern sailors is not a secret. For the first time, it was announced in May 2016 at the military council of the Eastern Military District colonel General Sergei Surovikin: the possibility of placing a new base of the Pacific Fleet on the island is being studied. Moreover, on June 29, when the work of the first expedition was still in full swing, an unnamed source in the RF Ministry of Defense told RIA Novosti that construction of facilities of the base on Matua will start at a frantic pace - by the end of 2016. However, contrary to these plans, nothing is happening there so far. Why?
It is known about at least one unexpected problem faced by the Pacific Fleet command: fresh water. When the Japanese garrison was stationed here, there was clearly plenty of water on Matua. This is evidenced by the huge concrete reservoirs preserved in the rocks. And also an extensive network of ceramic pipes, which stretches from them to the defensive structures. While the pipes are, of course, empty. To date, our engineers have not figured out how to refill the ingenious Japanese plumbing. According to Vice Admiral Ryabukhin, "we still do not understand exactly what and where flowed in and from where it flowed out." In the meantime, this is a secret, construction on Matua cannot begin. Tankers and Aquarius ships cannot satisfy her needs for life-giving moisture.
But all this, apparently, temporary difficulties and new base on this island our fleet will get it someday. It seems important to try to understand why we need it? And what kind of base will it be?
What can be said for sure already today - for warships and auxiliary vessels there may only be temporary berths. The reasons are not only that the bays of Ainu and Yamato are too open by nature and insufficiently protected from ocean winds and storms. Although in the sailing directions they are indicated as possible anchorage sites.
The main problem for creating a full-fledged ship-based point is obviously active volcano on Matua Sarychev 1446 meters high. Its strong eruptions over the past century happened four times, in 1928, 1930, 1946, 1976, one eruption occurred in 2009. Then two streams of hot lava slid into the ocean, froze and increased the area of \u200b\u200bthe island by one and a half square kilometers at once. It is not for nothing that in the language of the Ainu people who once lived in these parts, Matua is “a small burning bay”.
But the volcano is not the only problem for Matua. This is an area of \u200b\u200bhigh seismic activity. Regular mighty earthquakes cause devastating tsunamis... For example, the Simushir earthquake, the most powerful in the history of the modern Kuriles, which happened on November 15, 2006, hit the island with a giant wave, reaching a height of 20 meters in places. Which, apparently, is comparable to the consequences of a close underwater nuclear explosion... What would be left in this case from the piers and our ships on Matua?
Thus, we are unlikely to build a new ship-based point of the Pacific Fleet on Matua. Then what is the fuss in the name of? Will we rebuild a military airfield? Given the three remarkable runways built by the Japanese, bringing them back to life will obviously not take much. But the length of each, as it was said, is 1200 meters, the width is 80 meters. This is more than enough to land even a helicopter regiment. For fighters such as Su-27, Su-35 and MiG-29 - too. But, for example, it will not be enough for Tu-22M3 heavy bombers, the strips will have to be lengthened almost twice. But it is precisely in the landing of Russian Long-Range Aviation here that most Russian military experts see the main meaning of the new military base on Matua. Because in this case, the Pacific coast of the United States will be within the reach of our heavy bombers. This means that not only the "strategists" Tu-95MS and Tu-160 will be able to fly out to patrol the "state" lines. The range of potential threats to the Americans from Russia will be much wider.
On this score is full of optimism former commander in chief Air Force Russian Army General Pyotr Deinekin: “As for the airfield at Matua, at the present time it is too small to support the flights of heavy aircraft. But in the future everything will be done to turn this airfield into an aviation base. "
The only question is whether the terrain will allow it? Indeed, at least one strip for the Tu-22M3 will have to be lengthened more than twice - up to 3-3.5 km. With a maximum island length of 11 kilometers and a width of 6.4 kilometers, this can be a problem. Especially considering that a significant part of the territory is occupied by the Sarychev volcano. Surely the expedition of Vice Admiral Ryabukhin is also struggling to solve this problem today.
Meanwhile, even if it is not possible to "plant" Russian Long-Range Aviation on Matua and the matter is limited only to fighters, there will still be a lot of sense in the new island base. Because the boundaries of our capabilities for air coverage of the base of strategic nuclear submarine missile cruisers, including the new Boreyevs, in Vilyuchinsk (Kamchatka) will also be decently expanded.
After all, today the task of fighter cover for Kamchatka is entrusted mainly to the 865th separate air regiment, which flies on MiG-31 interceptors. The regiment is based at the Elizovo airfield near Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. And Matua is about 700 kilometers south-west of the aircraft parking areas of the 865th separate regiment. Accordingly, in this direction to the center of the Pacific Ocean, the distant border of the potential interception of enemy air attack assets will be shifted by the same amount. The gain in time and space for us in the event of a surprise attack is more than impressive.
Needless to say, the same will probably be done on Matua with anti-ship winged missiles "Bastion", "Ball", as well as anti-aircraft missile systems S-400 "Triumph"... Since last year, such weapons have already been deployed in Kamchatka, which immediately caused an understandable sharp reaction in the United States and Japan. There they started talking with concern that on the peninsula Russia is creating another "access restriction zone A2 / AD", as such areas are called in the Pentagon.
Until now, it was believed that we had already created the "A2 / AD zones" in Kaliningrad, Crimea, near St. Petersburg, Murmansk, Yerevan and in Syrian Tartus. But all this is in the northwest, west and southwest directions. Now it's the turn of the Russian Far East. Kamchatka has to be added to the previous list of overseas strategists. However, if we can quickly turn the island of Matua into a fortress, even the defense of the base of the Russian nuclear missile cruisers will become deeply echeloned. And getting close to the peninsula with impunity will not work.
The second expedition of the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Russian Geographical Society to the Matua Island of the Kuril ridge landed today in the Aina and Dvoinaya bays. A detachment of ships of the Pacific Fleet delivered here more than 100 military and civilian specialists and 30 pieces of equipment.
Earlier, the Ministry of Defense announced plans to create a basing point for ships of the Pacific Fleet on Matua and restore the airfield. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu noted : "We intend to restore, and not only restore, but also actively exploit this island."
From June to September, the expeditionary center of the Ministry of Defense, the Russian Geographical Society and military sailors plan to carry out mapping of the area, explore the Sarychev Peak volcano, hydrography and the relief of the coastal bottom, compile an atlas of marine life of the adjacent water area. Hydrogeologists, volcanologists, hydrobiologists, soil scientists, submariners, prospectors and archaeologists will work on Matua. Experts will analyze the chemical composition of natural waters and the potential soil fertility. This is an area of \u200b\u200bincreased seismic activity, and volcanologists intend to reconstruct the activity of the Sarychev Peak volcano over the past 100 thousand years in order to assess the volcanic hazard of the territory for the future.
© Photo: Russian Geographical Society / Andrey Gorban
© Photo: Russian Geographical Society / Andrey Gorban
Lost in the ocean, Matua, with an area of \u200b\u200bonly 52 square kilometers, is not in vain that attracts such keen interest.
Strategic importance
The navy is studying the possibility of creating a base for ships in the Kuril Islands. Long-range aviation is also of interest. Two expeditions to Matua are actually a full cycle of design and survey work that must be completed on the eve of the large-scale construction of a new naval base, or rather, a logistics center for the Pacific Fleet.
The first expedition explored Matua in May-July 2016. Experts conducted radiation and chemical reconnaissance, studied fortifications and other historical objects, performed more than a thousand laboratory studies, and made hundreds of measurements of the external environment, including hydrography of bays and gulfs.
Matua is an island in the middle group of the Great ridge of the Kuril Islands (in a straight line to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky - 670 kilometers, to Japanese Hokkaido - 740 kilometers). Administratively. During the Second World War, it was one of the largest Japanese naval bases. The indigenous inhabitants of the island were hunters - the Ainu, in 1875 they were replaced by Japanese military personnel. In 1945, Soviet border guards settled on the island, and later - air defense units. In 2000, military facilities on Matua were mothballed, and the island became uninhabited for 15 years.
The island resembles a fortress in the middle of the ocean. Matua is reliably protected by impregnable rocks and high banks. Not bad Japanese pillboxes, paved roads, three runways of a military airfield, as well as spacious underground structures of unknown purpose.
In the southwestern part of Matua there is a convenient and relatively safe strait for the basing of ships, sheltered from the winds by a small island Toporkovy. It was here that the Japanese roads and piers were located. Since the 1930s, the island served as a springboard for the Japanese for further expansion in the direction of Kamchatka.
In August 1945, Soviet paratroopers found practically unarmed Japanese on Matua: 3800 surrendered soldiers and officers had only 2000 rifles, and the pilots, sailors and artillerymen simply disappeared (the garrison consisted of 7.5 thousand servicemen). For comparison: on the island of Shumshu, Soviet troops captured more than 60 Japanese tanks. From interrogations of the commander of the northern group, General Tsumi Fusaki, it is known that the Matua garrison did not obey him and was controlled directly from the headquarters in Hokkaido. The island had a special status and to this day keeps many secrets.
New fortress
Russia borders on the sea with 12 countries, and not all of them are friendly. Until recently, our Pacific neighbors, the United States, practiced military-political "containment" of Russia. And Japan claims four Russian islands - Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai. And it looks quite natural to strengthen the Far Eastern borders, where, since 2015, a unified coastal defense system has been created, which is necessary to control the strait zones of the Kuril Islands and the Bering Strait, cover the fleet deployment routes and increase the combat stability of naval strategic nuclear forces. The Steel Kuril Ridge is a forced measure, but very effective.
On the Kuril Islands, the Sea of \u200b\u200bOkhotsk is being formed today almost completely cover the DBK (it is logical to assume the presence of the S-400 air defense missile systems on the Kuril line). New capabilities of missile weapons allow the creation of specially protected areas of the sea (anti-access / area-denial), the most favorable for combat patrols of SSBNs - four thousand miles from San Francisco and the positions of the American strategic ground-based forces in the states of Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota ...
Kurils and Kamchatka must turn into indestructible sea \u200b\u200bfortress Russia. And for the realization of this goal, the small island of Matui is of great importance.
A detachment of the Pacific Fleet, including the large landing ship Admiral Nevelskoy, the killer ship KIL-168 and the rescue tug SB-522, delivered the participants of the joint expedition of the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Russian Geographical Society, as well as more than 30 units of various technology.
Matua Island is located in the middle part of the Kuril ridge and is significantly removed from the populated areas of Sakhalin and Kamchatka. The size of the island is 11 kilometers long and 6 and a half wide. It is characterized by an abnormally cold climate with a large amount of precipitation. On Matua there is one of the most active active volcanoes in the region - Sarychev volcano. A powerful layer of historical and cultural heritage has been preserved here, which is divided into Ainu, Japanese and Russian. In addition, the northernmost point of distribution of Corded Ware - the archaeological culture of the Neolithic "Jomon", is located on Matua.
This year the scientific staff of the expedition has significantly expanded. Hydrogeologists, volcanologists, hydrobiologists, landscape scientists, soil scientists, divers, prospectors and archaeologists from Vladivostok and Moscow, Kamchatka and Sakhalin will work on the island of Matua. The Expeditionary Center of the Ministry of Defense is taking part in the project Russian Federation, Russian Geographical Society and the personnel of the Pacific Fleet.
In the course of the work, materials will be collected for the preparation of an atlas-identifier of marine life in the water area of \u200b\u200bMatua Island and neighboring islands, as well as video recording of the bottom relief at the dive sites for the analysis of hydrographic characteristics.
The activity of the Sarychev Peak volcano over the past 100 thousand years will be reconstructed, the level of its current activity will be determined. This is necessary to assess the volcanic hazard of the area and form a long-term forecast.
In addition, work will continue on the search and study of objects of historical military equipment and fortifications during the Second World War. Archaeological work will be developed to identify and study monuments of history and culture of various eras, including the Ainu.
Based on the results of the 2017 expedition, materials will be prepared on the prospects for the further development of the island: maps of dangerous natural phenomena, analysis of alternative energy sources, chemical composition of natural waters, potential soil fertility was carried out.
In 2016, the Russian Geographical Society, together with the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, organized an expedition to Matua for the first time. Its purpose was to study the artifacts of the Second World War and compile a historical and geographical portrait of the island.
