In accordance with the convention on Antarctica, signed in 1959. Antarctica does not belong to any state, the only type of activity allowed on its territory is scientific. Then 12 countries put forward claims on the territory: Australia, Argentina, Great Britain, New Zealand, Norway, France, Chile, Peru, Russia (USSR), the USA and South Africa, Japan and a number of other countries.

Since then, the territory of Antarctica has been divided into sectors, according to which these countries have the right to open scientific stations. In general, it is tacitly accepted that maintaining the status of a superpower is strategically important:

Space exploration

The presence of nuclear weapons

Exploration of Antarctica

The presence and maintenance of stations in Antarctica is of strategic importance. Alas, they do not come here for big money. The salaries of Russian and Ukrainian polar explorers are more than modest, special enthusiastic people come here. To some extent, they are hermits. We stopped at one of the stations, they gave us a tour, and after that we invited the bearded polar explorers to join us on the ship for lunch. So that's what struck me - they are absolutely detached from this world and it seems that they do not suffer from the lack of civilization. They seem to exist in a parallel reality, they are not interested in news from the mainland, they are silent and, if I may say so, unsociable.

Interestingly, the neighboring countries did not agree to the terms of the convention and the introduced sectors and are fighting to seize territories, and in a very sophisticated way! For example, in Argentina, in geography lessons, children learn from maps on which the names of the territory near Antarctica differ from international standards and there are completely different names. Children from school years know that part of Antarctica belongs to their country.

The convention is grossly violated by the Japanese, who, despite the ban, continue to engage in whaling. Moreover, there was already a scandal where the international community presented its claims to them. In response, the Japanese converted the ships into scientific stations, but everyone also continues to fish, because. whales are a delicacy for them.

In the first half of the 20th century coast of Antarctica visited by more than a hundred expeditions different countries. At the same time, almost everyone put up a “bid post”, considering the landing site as the territory of their country.

Countries of Antarctica

In 1959, twelve countries: Australia, Argentina, Belgium, Great Britain, New Zealand, Norway, the USSR, the USA, France, Chile, South Africa and Japan signed the international Treaty on Antarctica.

It said that the governments, realizing the importance of the Ice Continent for all mankind, consider its territory equally accessible for the development of international cooperation on the basis of freedom. scientific research. The agreement must provide use of Antarctica for peaceful purposes only. Under these conditions, the continuation of international harmony in Antarctica will contribute to the implementation of the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.

Thirty-three more countries later joined this Treaty. It was necessary to draw up an additional Convention, which defined the concept of the shelf of Antarctica and clarified some articles of the Treaty in accordance with changes in the economic and political environment in the world. Taking advantage of what Antarctica was a virtually undeveloped country and in the Treaty of 1959 there was no concept of the shelf, some countries tried to expand their state sovereignty to new territories ...

For example, Australia in 2004 laid claim to its national rights to sections of the Antarctic continental shelf adjacent to the section of the "national sector" of Australia on the sixth continent. Say, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea determined the possibility of declaring state sovereignty over, which is adjacent to the land area of ​​the state, why not extend it to Antarctica?..

Whose Antarctica

But the International Antarctic Community strongly opposed Australia's statement, regarding it as a violation of the principles according to which the scientific stations of all countries in Antarctica operate regardless of the boundaries of "national sectors".

Browse good and interesting material: washes Antarctica.

In January 1820, a Russian expedition led by Thaddeus Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev discovered Antarctica, the existence of which had only been speculated before. Today we have collected for you interesting and little known facts about the most remote southern mainland- the highest, driest, windiest, sparsely populated and coldest place on earth.

1. At one time in Antarctica it was impossible to work for those who had not removed their wisdom teeth and appendix. Due to the fact that no surgical operations were performed at the stations of Antarctica, in order to work here, one had to first part with these parts of the body, even if they were completely healthy.

3. Like many countries, Antarctica has its own Internet domain - .aq

4. 53 million years ago, Antarctica was so warm that palm trees grew on its shores, and the air temperature rose above 20 degrees Celsius.

5. In December 2013, Metallica played a concert in Antarctica, thus becoming the first band in the world to perform on all continents. In order not to disturb the local fauna, the concert was held under a special protective dome, and the audience listened to music through headphones.

6. From 1960 to 1972, McMurdo Station, the largest settlement and research center owned by the United States, operated the first nuclear power plant in Antarctica.

7. Antarctica has its own fire station. It belongs to the McMurdo station, and the most real professional firefighters work on it.

8. Despite extreme conditions, 1,150 species of fungi have been found in Antarctica. They are highly adaptable to extreme cold temperatures and long periods of freeze and thaw.

9. Technically, all 24 time zones are present in Antarctica, since their boundaries converge at one point at both poles.

10. There are no polar bears in Antarctica. To see them, you have to go to North Pole or, for example, Canada.

11. There is a bar in Antarctica - the southernmost bar on the planet. And it is located at the Akademik Vernadsky station, which belongs to Ukraine.

12. The lowest temperature ever recorded on earth - minus 89.2 degrees Celsius - was recorded in Antarctica at the Russian Vostok station on July 21, 1983.

15. The average ice thickness of Antarctica is 1.6 km. Antarctica contains approximately 70% of the reserves of all fresh water on the ground.

16. The Transantarctic Mountains run through the entire continent and divide it into western and eastern parts. This range is one of the longest in the world - its length is 3500 km.

17. The existence of the continent of Antarctica was unknown until its discovery in 1820. Before that, it was assumed that this is just a group of islands.

18. On December 14, 1911, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen became the first person to reach the South Pole and hoist the flag of his nation there. He also became the first person to visit both geographic poles of the planet.

19. As a result of secret negotiations on December 1, 1959, 12 countries concluded the Antarctic Treaty, which provides for the demilitarization of the Antarctic region and its use for exclusively peaceful purposes. To date, more than 50 countries are parties to the Treaty.

20. January 7, 1978 Argentine Emilio Marcos Palma was born - the first person in history to be born in Antarctica. It is believed that this event was a planned action by the Argentine government, which specially sent a pregnant woman to the Esperanza station in order to subsequently claim part of the territory of Antarctica.

In July 1819, two Russian sloops left Kronstadt - the Vostok, captained by Thaddeus Bellingshausen, and the Mirny, under the command of Lieutenant Mikhail Lazarev.

In July 1819, two Russian sloops left Kronstadt - the Vostok, captained by Thaddeus Bellingshausen, and the Mirny, under the command of Lieutenant Mikhail Lazarev. Behind both officers was round the world trip. They were instructed to get as close as possible to the South Pole, check the accuracy of the maps and "open unknown lands". Four months later, after replenishing provisions in the port of Rio de Janeiro, the expedition headed for the "Sandwich Land", which was first discovered by Cook. Due to bad weather, he was forced to retreat, calling these places "the terrible south." Bellingshausen and Lazarev managed to go 37 versts farther and more accurately study the "Sandwich Land", which turned out to be not an island, as Cook thought, but a number of islands.

On January 15, 1820, a Russian expedition crossed the Antarctic Circle for the first time. The next day, from the "Mirny" and "Vostok" they saw on the horizon a coast consisting of hilly heaps of ice. The researchers put everything they saw on the map, but fog and snow prevented them from determining what was behind the ice. It was this day, January 16, 1820, that began to be considered the day of the discovery of Antarctica. Russia has not declared territorial rights in this region, as well as on many East and South Pacific islands, also discovered by Russians.

Soviet "colonization" Antarctica

Russian ships carried out a new trip to the Antarctic shores only 130 years later. In mid-January 1953, the presidiums of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the allied Council of Ministers made a secret decision to equip a Soviet expedition to Antarctica and install permanent facilities there. In the international aspect, it was decided to establish cooperation with the "Peronist" Argentina - including in order to control the southern (i.e. Antarctic) passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. For March-April 1953, as the archives testify, a meeting between Stalin and Kh.D. Peron, who planned official visits to Scandinavia and Eastern Europe for that period.

In 1955, the USSR began the peaceful "conquest" of Antarctica. The northerners were the first to reach the mainland in December 1955: the expedition was located on the Ob and Lena diesel-electric ships built in Holland, which were part of the Arctic Fleet Department of the Northern Shipping Company. The pioneers were led by the famous polar explorer Mikhail Somov, who received the title of Hero Soviet Union for previous work at the North Pole-2 station. Having taken on board a group of hydrographers and polar explorers, having loaded building materials, fuel, equipment, aircraft, medicines and provisions into the holds and onto the deck, the Ob went to the southern continent. On January 5, 1956, this diesel-electric ship reached its shores. Then the crew of the ship, members of the expedition began the construction of the first Soviet station "Mirny".

Period 1956-1960 was the era of massive penetration of Soviet polar explorers into Antarctica. However, due to the beginning of the confrontation between the USSR and China, the growth of "internal Soviet" socio-economic (forced devaluation of the ruble in 1961, a sharp rise in the cost of food, etc.) and national problems, as well as in connection with a sharp deterioration in Soviet-American relations (Cuba; Powers' flight in 1960), the situation has changed.

In addition, at the end of 1959, Khrushchev, at a closed meeting on military issues in Leningrad, announced that the country would have to abandon plans for transformation into a great maritime power, "nurtured on Stalin's ambitions." There are, they say, more urgent and priority tasks - space exploration, the development of ballistic and laser weapons, nuclear energy. Then the reduction of the Soviet Navy began, especially the Black Sea and Caspian, and some ultra-modern warships of the USSR were simply given to some developing countries and even "Titov" Yugoslavia.

The refusal of the USSR from "sea ambitions" also affected the fate of Antarctica. N.S. Khrushchev sharply reduced funding for Antarctic programs and was forced to agree to the 1961 Treaty on equal opportunity all countries in Antarctica.

Will Antarctica be divided without us?

According to the Ministry of Regional Development of the Russian Federation and other sources, for 1955-2006. more than 17 thousand 320 polar explorers worked in Antarctica as part of domestic Antarctic expeditions (the first took place in 1955-1956). Now four Russian polar stations are constantly operating on this continent: Vostok (the closest to the South Plus), Novolazarevskaya, Progress and Bellingshausen - and one seasonal field base - Druzhnaya-4. Note that in the 1980s there were twice as many of our facilities in Antarctica: eight permanent stations and three seasonal ones.

Against this background, the number of stations of other states not only does not decrease, but increases every year. Now them total in Antarctica - thirty, of which seven each are from Norway and Great Britain, four each from the USA and France, two each from Australia, South Africa and Argentina, one each from Chile and New Zealand. In the near future, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile are planning to open one more new station in Antarctica. Uruguay is also going to create its own station.

At the same time, many countries are already declaring the Antarctic territories and nearby water areas as zones of their interests. In particular, in November last year, Norway again declared its rights to Bouvet Island, located near the mainland, as well as to most of the adjacent coast of Antarctica (up to 70% of the area adjacent to Bouvet Island of Queen Maud Land). Recall that back in 1908, Oslo proclaimed the idea of ​​turning Norway into a "power at both poles." The very first Norwegian expedition to the South Pole at that time gave the country an excuse back in 1916 to present territorial claims to the land-water "corridor" from the South Pole, including the Pole itself, to Bouvet Island.

In addition to Bouvet Island, there are other islands near Antarctic waters that belong to the participants in the future auction for the resources of Antarctica - Prince Edward (South Africa), Sandwich, Orkney, Falkland, South Georgia (Great Britain), Kerguelen, St. Paul, Nieuw-Amsterdam, Croiset, Peter I (France), etc.

These islands, from a legal point of view, "cover" the Antarctic interests of the countries that own them. The activity of world powers in this direction is understandable - the resource filling of these bowels of Antarctica, especially oil and gas, in its colossal volumes cannot be compared with other continents. These resources, we emphasize, are still "no one's", because the official interstate divisions of Antarctica have not yet taken place.

Antarctic appetites

However, today the possibility of dividing Antarctica and finally squeezing Russia out of there is facilitated by the termination of the international treaty on Antarctica. This document, which entered into force in 1961, proclaimed economic equality in Antarctica for each of the participating countries and the legal equality of their citizens on this continent. It was also ordered to abandon the territorial division of the mainland and the deployment of troops, military, etc. there. facilities, but allowed national sovereignty for research stations. However, the treaty itself contained a significant clause - "nothing contained in this Treaty shall be construed as a waiver by any of the Contracting Parties of previously declared rights or claims to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica."

Today, the treaty is formally in force, because no one has officially denounced it yet. In addition, in 1991, the Protocol on the Protection of environment Antarctica, which declared it a world natural reserve.

As of June 2005, 45 states have acceded to the Protocol (Russia, Australia, Argentina, Belgium, Bulgaria, Brazil, Great Britain, Germany, India, Spain, Italy, China, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Poland, USA, Ukraine, Uruguay , Finland, France, Chile, Sweden, Ecuador, South Africa, South Korea, Japan). However, there are also no clear indications that the territorial divisions of the mainland are illegal in the Madrid Protocol.

For these reasons, the process of "silent colonization" is in full swing. For example, the UK is reasserting its rights to a mostly ice-free mid-Antarctica with access to the strategic Drake Passage near the Atlantic. Recall that in the summer of 1982, Great Britain defeated Argentine troops near the islands adjacent to this region (Falkland, Sandwich, Orkney, South Georgia). Recall that their water areas contain significant reserves of gas and oil.

Australia and New Zealand claim 65% of Pacific Antarctica. Almost 25% of Pacific Antarctica and almost a third of the Antarctic continent adjacent to the basin indian ocean, declared the territory and zone of interests of France, the remaining two-thirds consider Australia, New Zealand and South Africa “their own”.

Norway considers itself the owner of almost a third of the territory of the mainland - from Queen Maud Land to the South (its sector is adjacent to the Antarctic zones of Great Britain and South Africa). BUT South Pole consider Argentina and Chile as part of their territory, proclaiming their Antarctic corridors - "stripes" - the geographical continuation of the island of Tierra del Fuego. In addition, these countries (together the US) claim almost a third of "British possessions on the mainland."

The recent discovery in the central part of Antarctica of colossal fresh water resources (together with the already explored resources of oil, gas, rare earth metals, mercury, manganese, graphite, shale) will certainly whet the appetites of potential participants in its division.

Characteristically, the total amount of funding for foreign Antarctic stations in 2005-2006 increased, on the whole, by more than four times. Today they, for the most part, have become the centers of foreign business expeditions and, at the same time, state-of-the-art intelligence bases.

The financing of Russian stations in Antarctica is clearly not enough to carry out such tasks.

As a result, Antarctica, discovered almost two centuries ago by Russian navigators, is actually “drifting” towards the official division of its territory, as well as vast and strategically significant water areas. At the same time, the chances of the Russian Federation to get its “share” under such a division today, to put it mildly, are small.

RP-Monitor

In order to understand who owns the Arctic, it is necessary to have an idea of ​​its location, specific climate and strategic potential. Let's take a closer look at this issue in this article.

Where is the Arctic located?

The Arctic is the northern polar region of the Earth. Its territory is larger than the area of ​​Russia by almost a third and includes:

1. A huge drifting ice shelf located in the Arctic Ocean;
2. Northern waters of two oceans - Pacific and Atlantic;
3. Many seas;
4. Islands and archipelagos, including Greenland;
5. polar lands North America and Eurasia.

The border of the continent runs along the Arctic Circle, and the North Pole is the center. Throughout the territory there are polar nights and days, however, at the North Pole, their duration is the same and amounts to half a year.

The air temperature is determined by warm currents passing under the ice shelf. With the temperature difference between winter and summer, the average is -37 C.

Flora and fauna are mostly represented by:

• Frost-resistant plants, dwarf trees and shrubs;
• marine mammals;
• Pisces;
• birds;
• Insects that are present in these parts only during the polar day;
• Inhabitants of the tundra;
• And of course, the most popular animal of these latitudes is the polar bear.

Who discovered these lands?

Acquaintance with the polar continent took place in several stages:

• The polar explorer Nils Nordenskiöld was the first with his expedition from the shores of Eurasia to round the shores of the Arctic;
• Robert Peary first reached the North Pole in 1909;
• Raul Amundsen went by sea from Greenland to the coast of Canada, thereby discovering the North-Western part of the mainland;
• Umberto Nobile reached the North Pole by air in an airship;
• Valery Chkalov and his team made a non-stop flight from Moscow to Vancouver across the North Pole by plane.

In addition to the travelers who achieved success, other expeditions were also put forward in the direction of the Arctic. Among them are such researchers as Nansen, Sedov and the famous crew of the cargo ship Chelyuskin. And although they did not receive the title of pioneers, their information was of great benefit for the further development of the mainland.

The presence of various states on the shelf

Five countries are the official representative states on the shelf with access to the Arctic Ocean:

1. Canada;
2. Russia;
3. Norway;
4. Denmark.

However, in last years the division of the mainland ceased to suit the world society and their claims to the development stated:

• Countries with circumpolar territories, but not having direct access to the ocean. Such as Iceland, Sweden and Finland;
• International organizations: UN and European Union;
• Leading Asian States.

The main body regulating the legal order on the shelf is the Arctic Council. However, in recent times there are increasing calls to make the Arctic accessible to other states. This causes certain difficulties, since today even the borders of the confluences of the official participating countries are blurred.

Arctic, Antarctica, Antarctica: what's the difference?

Many people confuse these concepts for several reasons:

1. All of them are connected with the extreme world poles;
2. They sound about the same;
3. They have a similar harsh climate.

However, you need to know:

• The word "Arctic" has Greek roots and is translated as "bear". This is due to the corresponding constellation under which the mainland is located;
• Antarctic , in turn, the mainland, discovered not so long ago, whose name comes from the merger of the two words "anti" and "Arctic", which literally means "opposite" the Arctic;
• Antarctica called the mainland, which is part of Antarctica.

This video shows in which parts of our planet these areas are located:

The main differences are:

1. Despite the similarity of the climate. In Antarctica, it is more severe, the average temperature here reaches -49 C;
2. Antarctica is washed by the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans;
3. There is no land on the northern mainland;
4. When melting arctic ice, due to displacement, they cannot affect the level of the world ocean in any way, unlike the Antarctic. Assuming that they melt and flow into the ocean, this will significantly increase its level;
5. The fauna of these territories varies. In addition to various mammals and birds, you need to know that the main inhabitants of the Arctic are polar bears, and the Antarctic - penguins. And these animals have never met and cannot do that.

Natural resources and development prospects

In the bowels of the Arctic Ocean and continental ice 1/4 of the world's gas and oil reserves are concentrated. That is why this territory is of such great interest to the leading economies of the world.

Today on the territory Russian Federation 41 gas and 2 oil large Arctic fields are being developed. Another 18 belong to Canada, Norway and Alaska.

There are many unexplored deposits. It is noteworthy that in the territories controlled by the Russian Federation there are large deposits of natural gas, and accumulations of oil are concentrated off the coast of Alaska.

Mining in this region has its disadvantages:

1. Complexity;
2. High price;
3. ocean pollution;
4. Detrimental effect on fauna;
5. The possibility of accidents and, as a result, natural disasters.

However, interest in the issues of the continent is only growing. In addition to funds received from mining natural resources, countries are also attracted by other opportunities that the presence on the shelf brings:

• Investments of third-party states in the economy of the producing country;
• Access to the Northern Sea Route;
• The possibility of placing military bases.

So hot the debate over who owns the Arctic is only gaining momentum. Most likely, in the near future, existing international legal acts on the legal regulation of being in the Arctic will be revised and drafted. And we will find out later whether everything will remain as it is or whether the applicant countries will still achieve their goal.

Video: the struggle for ice areas between countries

In this video, historian Oleg Denisov will tell how the cold war is brewing due to disputes over the Arctic: