The Soviet leadership failed to take advantage of Khrushchev's removal to normalize relations with China. On the contrary, under Brezhnev they worsened even more. The blame for this falls on both sides - from the second half of 1966, the Chinese leadership, led by Mao Zedong, organized a number of provocations on transport and the Soviet-Chinese border. Claiming that this border was forcibly established by the Russian tsarist government, it laid claim to several thousand square kilometers of Soviet territory. The situation was especially acute on the river border along the Amur and Ussuri, where over a hundred years after the signing of the border treaty, the river fairway changed, some islands disappeared, others moved closer to the opposite bank.
Bloody events took place in March 1969 on Damansky Island on the river. Ussuri, where the Chinese fired on the Soviet border guard, killing several people. Large Chinese forces landed on the island, well prepared for combat. Attempts to restore the situation with the help of Soviet motorized rifle units were unsuccessful. Then the Soviet command used the Grad multiple launch rocket system. The Chinese were virtually wiped out on this small island (about 1700 m long and 500 m wide). Their losses numbered in the thousands. On this active fighting have actually stopped.
But from May to September 1969, Soviet border guards opened fire on intruders in the Damansky area more than 300 times. In the battles for the island from March 2 to March 16, 1969, 58 Soviet soldiers were killed and 94 were seriously injured. For their heroism, four servicemen received the title of Hero Soviet Union. The Battle of Damansky was the first serious clash between the USSR Armed Forces and regular units of another major power since World War II. Moscow, despite its local victory, decided not to aggravate the conflict and give Damansky Island to the People's Republic of China. The Chinese side subsequently filled up the channel separating the island from their shores, and since then it has become part of China.
On September 11, 1969, on the Soviet initiative, a meeting of the heads of government of the USSR (A.N. Kosygin) and the PRC (Zhou Enlai) took place, after which protracted negotiations on border issues began in Beijing. After 40 meetings in June 1972, they were interrupted. The Chinese government chose to improve relations with the United States, countries Western Europe and Japan. In 1982-85. Soviet-Chinese political consultations were held alternately in Moscow and Beijing at the level of government representatives with the rank of deputy foreign ministers. There were no results for a long time. Soviet-Chinese relations were settled only by the end of the 80s.
SAILORS LIVE!
Our special correspondents V. Ignatenko and L. Kuznetsov report from the area of Damansky Island
Here, on the front line, as soon as the smoke of the last battle cleared, we were told about the exceptional courage of the Far Eastern border guard sailors. It was not on distant ocean meridians, nor on cruises on supercruisers and submarines that the sailors distinguished themselves these days. In the mortal battle with Maoist provocateurs on March 2 and 15, guys in pea coats stood shoulder to shoulder with the officers and soldiers of the outposts.
It is not difficult to recognize them among the military people of the border region: only the sailors have black sheepskin coats, and their hats and caps with anchors are pulled down somehow in a special way, seemingly casually, but within the framework of the regulations.
Fortunately, the sailors came out of the fire without losses. Shells and lead bursts lay nearby and lay over their heads. But, alive and unharmed, the guys rose to their height, shook off the hot, steaming earth and rushed into a counterattack... We saw these young Komsomol guys, in whose veins flows the blood of their fathers, the defenders of the legendary Malaya Zemlya.
We want to tell you about one sailor in particular. Long before dawn, on March 15, when there were all the signs of preparing a new provocation at Damansky, captain Vladimir Matrosov took up an observation post on a spit a few meters from the gently sloping shore of the island. He could see the provocateurs fussing about on the Chinese shore in the pre-dawn twilight. From time to time, the annoying sounds of engines could be heard: it must have been the guns being brought to the firing lines. Then silence again, viscous, cold.
A few hours later, the first burst hit from the Chinese side, then the second, the first shells exploded... The Maoists rushed in chains towards Damansky. Our fire weapons began to speak, and the vanguard of the Soviet border guards moved to the island.
I am "Break"! I am "Break"! How do you hear? The enemy is in the southern part of the island,” Sailors shouted into the radiotelephone. It was the turn of his combat mission. - How did you understand?
I am "Burav". You are understood!
A minute later our fire became more accurate, the Chinese wavered.
I am "Break"! I am "Break"! The enemy moved to the northeast. - Sailors did not have time to finish: a mine struck nearby. He fell into the snow. It's gone! And the phone is intact.
I am "Break"! I am "Break"! - Volodya continued. - How did you understand me?
And the earth shook again. Again the elastic wave pushed the sailor. And again I just had to shake the earth off myself.
Then Sailors got used to it. True, he had an unpleasant feeling that someone invisible from the other shore was watching him, as if he knew how much now depended on his, Volodina’s, adjustment of the fire. But again the call signs of “Obryv” were flying on the air...
He saw our border guards fighting on the island. And if suddenly one of our people stumbled and fell, he knew: it was Mao Zedong’s lead that threw the soldier to the ground. This was already the second battle in Matrosov’s life...
Captain Sailors kept in touch with the command post for several hours. And all this time he was the epicenter of a barrage of fire.
Vladimir, one might say, is a border guard from the cradle. His father, Stepan Mikhailovich, only recently retired with the rank of colonel of the border troops, and the younger Sailors, as long as he can remember, lived all the time on the edges of his native land, at outposts. From childhood, he knew the anxieties of the front line, and this region planted good seeds of masculinity and goodness in his soul, and over time, having become stronger, these seeds began to grow. When the time came for Vladimir to choose his fate, there was no doubt: he chose his father’s path. He studied and became an officer. He is now 31 years old. He's a communist. He received border training before being assigned to this area in the Kuril Islands. Probably, not one of the eleven sailors who took part in the battle on Damansky is now dreaming of receiving Matrosov’s party recommendation. After all, Vladimir became a communist at their age, and the first baptism of fire they walked together: the communist and the Komsomol members.
In the division, senior officers told us: “Did you notice how similar our Sailors are…” And we, without listening to the end, agreed: “Yes, he is very similar to that legendary Alexander Matrosov.” Everything seems to happen on purpose. It seems that the journalistic move is naked to the limit. But no, what’s more important is not this amazing external similarity. The kinship of their characters - heroic, truly Russian - is seen a hundred times more clearly. More important is the identity of their high spirit, the fieryness of their hearts in difficult times.
Historians of the Great Patriotic War they find new evidence of many exploits of privates, sergeants, and officers who repeated Matrosov’s feat. They died gloriously, and they became immortal, for the Russian warrior has this “sailor” vein, this spirit of victory even at the cost of his life.
Sailors Vladimir is alive!
May he live happily into old age. Let there be peace and harmony in his home, where his daughters are growing up: second-grader Sveta and five-year-old Katya. May they always have a dad...
N-division of maritime border guards
Red Banner Pacific
border district, March 20
YURI VASILIEVICH BABANSKY
Babansky Yuri Vasilievich - commander of the Nizhne-Mikhailovskaya border outpost of the Ussuri Order of the Red Banner of Labor border detachment of the Pacific Border District, junior sergeant. Born on December 20, 1948 in the village of Krasny Yar, Kemerovo region. After finishing an eight-year school, he graduated from a vocational school, worked in production, and then was drafted into the border troops. Served on the Soviet-Chinese border in the Pacific Border District.
The commander of the Nizhne-Mikhailovskaya border outpost (Damansky Island) of the Ussuri Order of the Red Banner of Labor border detachment, junior sergeant Babansky Yu.V. showed heroism and courage during the border conflict of March 2 - 15, 1969. Then, for the first time in the history of the border troops after June 22, 1941, the detachment’s border guards took on battles with units of the regular army of a neighboring state. On that day, March 2, 1969, Chinese provocateurs, who invaded Soviet territory, from an ambush shot a group of border guards who came out to meet them, led by the head of the outpost, Senior Lieutenant I.I. Strelnikov.
Junior Sergeant Yuri Babansky took command of the group of border guards remaining at the outpost and boldly led them into the attack. The Maoists unleashed heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, mortars and artillery fire on the brave handful. Throughout the entire battle, Junior Sergeant Babansky skillfully led his subordinates, shot accurately, and provided assistance to the wounded. When the enemy was driven out of Soviet territory, Babansky went on reconnaissance missions to the island more than 10 times. It was Yuri Babansky with the search group who found the executed group of I.I. Strelnikov, and at gunpoint from the enemy’s machine guns he organized their evacuation; it was he and his group, on the night of March 15-16, who discovered the body of the heroically deceased head of the border detachment, Colonel D.V. Leonov and carried him off the island...
By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 21, 1969, junior sergeant Yu.V. Babansky was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (Gold Star medal No. 10717).
After graduating from the military-political school, Babansky Yu.V. continued to serve in the border troops of the KGB of the USSR in various officer positions, including during the fighting in Afghanistan. In the 90s, he was deputy chief of troops of the Western Border District, was a member of the Central Committee of the Komsomol, and was elected as a deputy of the Supreme Council of Ukraine.
Currently, Lieutenant General of the Reserve Yu.V. Babansky is a military pensioner and is involved in social activities. He is the chairman of the all-Russian organizing committee for the “Argun Outpost” action and at the same time is the chairman of the public organization “Union of Heroes”, Honorary Citizen of the Kemerovo Region. Lives in Moscow.
THE COUNTRY DID NOT KNOW YET
...They loved fire training at the outpost. We often went out shooting. And in recent months, time for study has become less and less. The Red Guards gave no rest.
Since childhood, Yuri Babansky was taught to consider the Chinese as brothers. But when he first saw the angry, hooting crowd, waving clubs and weapons, shouting anti-Soviet slogans, he could not understand what was happening. It took him a while to learn to understand that faith in the sacred bonds of brotherhood had been trampled upon by the Maoists, that people deceived by Mao’s clique were capable of committing any crime. The Chinese staged demonstrations with slogans of the “great helmsman.” Then they attacked the Soviet border guards with their fists. “This is how they were fooled,” thought Babansky. - But the fathers of our children fought for the liberation of China and died for People's China" There was a strict order: do not give in to provocations. Machine guns on your back. And only the courage and restraint of the Soviet border guards prevented the incidents from turning into a bloody conflict.
The Maoists acted more and more boldly. Almost every morning they went out onto the ice of Ussuri and behaved cheekily. provocative.
On March 2, 1969, border guards, as usual, had to expel the rampaging Maoists who crossed the border. As always, the head of the outpost, Ivan Ivanovich Strelnikov, came out to meet them. Silence. You can only hear the snow creaking under your felt boots. These were the last minutes of silence. Babansky ran up the hill and looked around. From the cover group, only Kuznetsov and Kozus ran after him. “I broke away from the guys.” Ahead, a little to the right, stood the first group of border guards - the one that followed Strelnikov. The head of the outpost protested to the Chinese, demanding to leave Soviet territory.
And suddenly the dry, frosty silence of the island was ripped open by two shots. Behind them are frequent bursts of machine gun fire. Babansky didn’t believe it. I didn't want to believe it. But the snow was already scorched by bullets, and he saw how the border guards from Strelnikov’s group fell one after another. Babansky pulled out a machine gun from behind his back and a magazine closed in:
Get down! Fire! - he commanded and in short bursts began to mow down those who had just shot his comrades point-blank. Bullets whistled nearby, and he shot and shot. In the excitement of the battle, I didn’t notice how I had used up all the cartridges.
Kuznetsov,” he called the border guard, “give me the store!”
They'll give you a ride. There's enough for everyone. Be on the left, and I'll go to the tree.
He dropped to his knee, raised his machine gun and fired aimed fire from behind a tree. Cool, calculating. Eat! One, two, three...
There is an invisible connection between the shooter and the target, as if you are sending a bullet not from a machine gun, but from your own heart and it hits the enemy. He got so carried away that Sergeant Kozushu had to shout several times:
Yurka! Who is it in camouflage suits, ours or the Chinese?
Kozus was firing to the right of Babansky, and was moving towards him large group Maoists, who had taken refuge on the island since the evening. They walked straight ahead. The distance was getting shorter every minute. Kozus fired several bursts and just had time to think that there weren’t enough cartridges when he heard Babansky’s command: “Save your cartridges!” and turned the lever to single fire.
Kozus! Be careful not to get passed on the right!
Like Babansky, he did not remain in place, changed positions and fired aimed fire. The cartridges were running out.
Kuznetsov! And Kuznetsov! - he called and looked towards where the border guard had just fired. Kuznetsov sat bent over with his head in his hands. The face is bloodless, the lower lip is slightly bitten. Lifeless eyes. A spasm squeezed her throat, but there was no time to grieve. I took the remaining cartridges from Kuznetsov. And then right in front of him, about thirty meters away, he saw a Chinese machine gun. Babansky fired and killed the machine gunner. Now we need to help Kozushu. Babansky acted quickly and accurately. He shot through the channel and fired at the enemy advancing from the right. The Chinese machine gun has a soldier again. Yuri fired again. He was glad that the machine gun never fired a single burst.
Kozus! Cover up! - Babansky commanded hoarsely and crawled towards his group, lying down in the lowland. He crawled along a pitted island, blackened by fire and iron. Mines howled, whistled, explosions roared. It flashed in my head: “How are the guys? Are they alive? How much longer can they hold out? The main thing is ammunition...” The guys lay in the lowlands, pinned down by fire. Babansky did not have time to feel fear - there was only rage in him. I wanted to shoot, to destroy the killers. He commanded the border guards:
Razmakhnin, to the tree! Observe! Bikuzin! Fire towards the parapet!
The border guards lay down in a semicircle, six meters from each other. The cartridges were divided equally. Five or six per brother. Shells and mines exploded. It seemed as if you took off from the ground - and you were gone. One bullet whistled past Babansky's ear. “Sniper,” flashed through my head. “We need to be careful.” But Kozus, who was covering him, had already removed the Chinese shooter. Suddenly the fire died down. In preparation for a new attack, the Chinese regrouped. Babansky decided to take advantage of this:
One at a time, a distance of eight to ten meters, dashing to the leading signs! Yezhov - to the armored personnel carrier! Let him support!
Babansky did not yet know that the river bed was under fire. I didn’t know whether Eremin, who he sent to the outlet (“Let them send cartridges!”) managed to inform the outpost of the commander’s order. The Maoists pressed on. Five Soviet border guards led by junior sergeant Yuri Babansky against an enemy battalion. The border guards took a more advantageous position - at the leading signs. The Chinese are no more than a hundred meters away. They opened heavy fire. This fire was supported by a mortar battery from the shore. For the first time for twenty-year-old boys, armed combat became a reality: life next to death, humanity next to treachery. You are against the enemy. And you must defend justice, you must defend your native land.
Guys, help is coming! Bubenin should come up. We must stand, because our land!
And Bubenin came to their aid. Using his armored personnel carrier, he invaded the rear of the Chinese, caused panic in their ranks and essentially decided the outcome of the battle. Babansky did not see the armored personnel carrier, he only heard the roar of its engines on the river, right opposite them, and understood why the enemy faltered and retreated back.
Run after me! - Yuri commanded and led the fighters to the northern part of the island, where the Bubeninites who arrived in time were fighting. “Five machine guns is also strength!” Babansky fell, froze, then crawled. Bullets whistled from all sides. The body tensed. Even if there was some kind of pothole, crater - no, the snow-covered meadow spread out like a tablecloth. Apparently, Yuri Babansky was not destined to die; apparently, he was “born in a vest.” And this time the shells and mines spared him. He reached the bushes and looked around: the guys were crawling behind him. I saw: help was coming from the Soviet shore in a deployed chain. Babansky sighed with relief. I wanted to smoke. It took some time for someone to find two cigarettes. He smoked them one after another. The tension of the battle had not yet subsided. He still lived with the excitement of the fight: he picked up the wounded, looked for the dead, and carried them out of the battlefield. It seemed to him that he was numb, unable to feel. But tears came to my eyes when I saw the face of Kolya Dergach, a fellow countryman and friend, disfigured by the Chinese. Late in the evening, completely tired, he turned on the radio at the outpost. There was music on the air. It seemed unthinkable, impossible, unnatural. And then suddenly the meaning of the border service was revealed in a new way: for the sake of children sleeping peacefully, for the sake of this music to sound, for the sake of life, happiness, justice, guys in green caps stand at the border. They stand to death. The country did not yet know what happened at Damansky...
Damansky
After the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, a provision emerged that borders between states should, as a rule (but not necessarily), run along the middle of the main channel of the river. But it also provided for exceptions, such as drawing a border along one of the banks, when such a border was formed historically - by treaty, or if one side colonized the second bank before the other began to colonize it.
In addition, international treaties and agreements do not have retroactive effect. However, in the late 1950s, when the PRC, seeking to increase its international influence, entered into conflict with Taiwan (1958) and participated in the border war with India (1962), the Chinese used the new border regulations as a reason to revise the Soviet -Chinese border.
The leadership of the USSR was ready to do this; in 1964, a consultation was held on border issues, but it ended without results.
Due to ideological differences during the Cultural Revolution in China and after the Prague Spring of 1968, when the PRC authorities declared that the USSR had taken the path of “socialist imperialism,” relations became particularly strained.
Damansky Island, which was part of the Pozharsky district of Primorsky Krai, is located on the Chinese side of the main channel of the Ussuri. Its dimensions are 1500-1800 m from north to south and 600-700 m from west to east (area about 0.74 km²).
During flood periods, the island is completely hidden under water and has no economic value.
Since the early 1960s, the situation in the island area has been heating up. According to statements from the Soviet side, groups of civilians and military personnel began to systematically violate the border regime and enter Soviet territory, from where they were expelled each time by border guards without the use of weapons.
At first, peasants entered the territory of the USSR at the direction of the Chinese authorities and demonstratively worked there. economic activity: mowing and grazing livestock, declaring that they are on Chinese territory.
The number of such provocations increased sharply: in 1960 there were 100, in 1962 - more than 5,000. Then Red Guards began to carry out attacks on border patrols.
Such events numbered in the thousands, each of them involving up to several hundred people.
On January 4, 1969, a Chinese provocation was carried out on Kirkinsky Island (Qiliqindao) with the participation of 500 people.
According to the Chinese version of events, the Soviet border guards themselves staged provocations and beat up Chinese citizens engaged in economic activities where they had always done so.
During the Kirkinsky incident, they used armored personnel carriers to oust civilians and killed 4 of them, and on February 7, 1969, they fired several single machine gun shots in the direction of the Chinese border detachment.
However, it was repeatedly noted that none of these clashes, no matter whose fault they occurred, could result in a serious armed conflict without the approval of the authorities. The assertion that the events around Damansky Island on March 2 and 15 were the result of an action carefully planned by the Chinese side is now the most widespread; including directly or indirectly recognized by many Chinese historians.
For example, Li Danhui writes that in 1968-1969, the response to Soviet provocations was limited by the directives of the CPC Central Committee; only on January 25, 1969, it was allowed to plan “response military actions” near Damansky Island with the help of three companies. On February 19, the General Staff and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China agreed to this.
On the night of March 1-2, 1969, about 300 Chinese troops in winter camouflage, armed with AK assault rifles and SKS carbines, crossed to Damansky and lay down on the higher western shore of the island.
The group remained unnoticed until 10:40, when the 2nd outpost “Nizhne-Mikhailovka” of the 57th Iman border detachment received a report from an observation post that a group of armed people of up to 30 people was moving in the direction of Damansky. 32 Soviet border guards, including the head of the outpost, Senior Lieutenant Ivan Strelnikov, went to the scene of events in GAZ-69 and GAZ-63 vehicles and one BTR-60PB. At 11:10 they arrived at the southern tip of the island. The border guards under the command of Strelnikov were divided into two groups. The first group, under the command of Strelnikov, headed towards a group of Chinese military personnel standing on the ice southwest of the island.
The second group, under the command of Sergeant Vladimir Rabovich, was supposed to cover Strelnikov’s group from the southern coast of the island. Strelnikov protested about the border violation and demanded that Chinese military personnel leave the territory of the USSR. One of the Chinese servicemen raised his hand up, which served as a signal for the Chinese side to open fire on the groups of Strelnikov and Rabovich. The moment of the start of the armed provocation was captured on film by military photojournalist Private Nikolai Petrov. Strelnikov and the border guards who followed him died immediately, and a squad of border guards under the command of Sergeant Rabovich also died in a short battle. Junior Sergeant Yuri Babansky took command of the surviving border guards.
Having received a report about the shooting on the island, the head of the neighboring 1st outpost “Kulebyakiny Sopki”, senior lieutenant Vitaly Bubenin, went to the BTR-60PB and GAZ-69 with 20 soldiers to help. In the battle, Bubenin was wounded and sent the armored personnel carrier to the rear of the Chinese, skirting the northern tip of the island along the ice, but soon the armored personnel carrier was hit and Bubenin decided to go out with his soldiers to the Soviet coast. Having reached the armored personnel carrier of the deceased Strelnikov and boarded it, Bubenin’s group moved along the Chinese positions and destroyed their command post. They began to retreat.
In the battle on March 2, 31 Soviet border guards were killed and 14 were injured. The losses of the Chinese side (according to the USSR KGB commission) amounted to 247 people killed
Around 12:00 a helicopter arrived at Damansky with the command of the Iman border detachment and its chief, Colonel D.V. Leonov, and reinforcements from neighboring outposts. Reinforced squads of border guards reached Damansky, and the 135th Motorized Rifle Division was deployed in the rear Soviet army with artillery and installations of the BM-21 Grad multiple launch rocket system. On the Chinese side, the 24th Infantry Regiment, numbering 5,000 people, was preparing for combat.
On March 3, a demonstration took place near the Soviet embassy in Beijing. On March 4, the Chinese newspapers People's Daily and Jiefangjun Bao (解放军报) published an editorial "Down with the New Kings!", blaming the incident on Soviet troops, which, according to the author of the article, “moved by a clique of renegade revisionists, brazenly invaded Zhenbaodao Island on the Wusulijiang River in Heilongjiang Province of our country, opened rifle and cannon fire on the border guards of the People's Liberation Army of China, killing and wounding many of them.” On the same day, the Soviet newspaper Pravda published an article “Shame on the provocateurs!” According to the author of the article, “an armed Chinese detachment crossed the Soviet state border and headed towards Damansky Island. Fire was suddenly opened on the Soviet border guards guarding this area from the Chinese side. There are dead and wounded." On March 7, the Chinese Embassy in Moscow was picketed. Demonstrators also threw ink bottles at the building.
On March 14 at 15:00 an order was received to remove border guard units from the island. Immediately after the withdrawal of the Soviet border guards, Chinese soldiers began to occupy the island. In response to this, 8 armored personnel carriers under the command of the head of the motorized maneuver group of the 57th border detachment, Lieutenant Colonel E. I. Yanshin, moved in battle formation towards Damansky; The Chinese retreated to their shore.
At 20:00 on March 14, the border guards received an order to occupy the island. That same night, Yanshin’s group of 60 people in 4 armored personnel carriers dug in there. On the morning of March 15, after broadcasting through loudspeakers on both sides, at 10:00 from 30 to 60 Chinese artillery and mortars began shelling Soviet positions, and 3 companies of Chinese infantry went on the offensive. A fight ensued.
Between 400 and 500 Chinese soldiers took up positions near the southern part of the island and prepared to move behind Yangshin's rear. Two armored personnel carriers of his group were hit, and communication was damaged. Four T-62 tanks under the command of D.V. Leonov attacked the Chinese at the southern tip of the island, but Leonov’s tank was hit (according to various versions, by a shot from an RPG-2 grenade launcher or was blown up by an anti-tank mine), and Leonov himself was killed by a shot from a Chinese sniper when trying to leave a burning car.
What made the situation worse was that Leonov did not know the island and, as a result, Soviet tanks came too close to the Chinese positions. However, at the cost of losses, the Chinese were not allowed to enter the island.
Two hours later, having used up their ammunition, the Soviet border guards were nevertheless forced to withdraw from the island. It became clear that the forces brought into the battle were not enough and the Chinese significantly outnumbered the border guard detachments. At 17:00, in a critical situation, in violation of the instructions of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee not to introduce Soviet troops into the conflict, on the orders of the commander of the Far Eastern Military District, Oleg Losik, fire was opened from the then-secret Grad multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS).
The shells destroyed most of the material and technical resources of the Chinese group and military, including reinforcements, mortars, and stacks of shells. At 17:10, motorized riflemen of the 2nd motorized rifle battalion of the 199th motorized rifle regiment and border guards under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Smirnov and Lieutenant Colonel Konstantinov went on the attack in order to finally suppress the resistance of the Chinese troops. The Chinese began to retreat from their occupied positions. At about 19:00 several firing points came to life, after which three new attacks were launched, but they were repulsed.
Soviet troops again retreated to their shores, and the Chinese side no longer took large-scale hostile actions on this section of the state border.
In total, during the clashes, Soviet troops lost 58 people killed or died from wounds (including 4 officers), 94 people were wounded (including 9 officers).
The irretrievable losses of the Chinese side are still classified information and, according to various estimates, range from 100-150 to 800 and even 3000 people. In Baoqing County there is a memorial cemetery where the remains of 68 Chinese soldiers who died on March 2 and 15, 1969 are located. Information received from a Chinese defector suggests that other burials exist.
For their heroism, five military personnel received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union: Colonel D. Leonov (posthumously), Senior Lieutenant I. Strelnikov (posthumously), Junior Sergeant V. Orekhov (posthumously), Senior Lieutenant V. Bubenin, Junior Sergeant Yu. Babansky.
The conflict on Damansky Island in 1969 reflected the contradictions between China and the USSR
They are of an old nature. Good neighborly relations alternated with periods of instability. The dispute over Damansky Island occupies a special place in the conflict with China.
Causes of the conflict
After the end of the Opium Wars in the 19th century, Russia and some Western European countries were able to reap considerable benefits. In 1860, Russia signed the Treaty of Beijing, according to which the state border ran along the Chinese bank of the Amur and the Ussuri River. The document excluded the use of river resources by the Chinese population and assigned island formations in the river bed to Russia.
For several decades, relations between the countries remained smooth. The following contributed to the elimination of friction and disagreement:
- small population of the border strip;
- lack of territorial claims;
- political situation.
In the forties of the last century, the Soviet Union received a reliable ally in China. This was facilitated by military assistance in the conflict with the Japanese imperialists and support in the fight against the Kuomintang regime. But soon the situation changed.
In 1956, the 20th Party Congress was held, at which Stalin’s cult of personality was condemned and the methods of his rule were criticized. China watched the events in Moscow warily. After a short silence, Beijing called the actions of the Soviet government revisionism, and relations between the countries cooled.
The rhetoric between the parties took on the character of open claims, including territorial ones. China demanded that Mongolia and other lands be transferred to Chinese jurisdiction. In response to harsh statements from the Chinese side, Soviet experts were recalled from Beijing. Russian-Chinese diplomatic relations have degraded to the level of chargés ad interim.
The territorial claims of the Chinese leadership were not limited to their northern neighbor. Mao's imperial ambitions turned out to be larger and broader. In 1958, China began active expansion against Taiwan, and in 1962 it entered into a border conflict with India. If in the first case the Soviet leadership approved of the behavior of its neighbor, then in the issue with India it condemned Beijing’s actions.
Attempts to resolve territorial issues
Relations between the USSR and China continued to deteriorate. The Chinese side raised the issue of the illegality of state borders. Beijing's claims were based on the decisions of the Paris Conference of 1919, which regulated the drawing of borders between countries. The treaty delimited states along shipping routes.
Despite the strictness of the interpretations, the document provided for exceptions. According to the provisions, it was allowed to draw dividing lines along the coast if such boundaries had developed historically.
The Soviet leadership, not wanting to aggravate relations, was ready to agree with the Chinese. To this end, bilateral consultations were held in 1964. They planned to discuss:
- territorial disputes;
- agreement on border lands;
- legal regulations.
But due to a number of reasons, the parties did not reach an agreement.
China's preparation for war
In 1968, unrest began in Czechoslovakia due to dissatisfaction with the rule of the Communist government. Fearing the collapse of the Warsaw bloc, Moscow sent troops to Prague. The riot was suppressed, but there were no casualties.
The Chinese leadership condemned Moscow's actions, accusing the USSR of excessive imperial ambitions and revisionist policies. Beijing cited the disputed islands, which included Damansky, as an example of Soviet expansion.
Gradually, the Chinese side moved from rhetoric to action. Peasants began to appear on the peninsula and engage in agriculture. Russian border guards expelled farmers, but they crossed the line again and again. Over time, the number of provocations grew. In addition to civilians, Red Guards appeared on the island. The Falcons of the Revolution were extremely aggressive, attacking border patrols.
The scale of provocations grew, the number of attacks increased. The number of participants in illegal activities numbered in the hundreds. It became clear that the provocative attacks were taking place with the consent of the Chinese authorities. There is evidence that during 1968-1969 Beijing used attacks for domestic political purposes. In January 1969, the Chinese planned a military scenario on the island. In February it was approved by the General Staff and the Foreign Ministry.
How the USSR prepared for war
KGB agents working in the PRC repeatedly reported to Moscow about possible unfriendly actions of the Chinese. The reports said that as a result of the growing escalation, a large-scale Soviet-Chinese conflict was possible. The government of the Soviet Union decided to attract additional troops. For this purpose, units from the central and western military districts were transferred to the eastern borders.
Attention was paid to the army equipment of personnel. The troops were additionally supplied with:
- heavy machine guns;
- communications and detection means;
- uniforms;
- combat vehicles.
The border was equipped with new engineering systems. The personnel of the border detachments was increased. Among the border guards, classes were held to repel aggression and study incoming weapons and equipment. The interaction of mobile groups and maneuverable detachments was practiced.
Chinese attack on the USSR 1969 – the beginning of the war
On the night of March 2, 1969, Chinese border guards secretly crossed the border of the USSR and set foot on Damansky Island. They headed to its western part, where they took up an advantageous position on a hill. The soldiers were dressed in white camouflage coats and had light covers on their weapons. Warm uniforms were hidden under the robes, and the Chinese calmly endured the cold. Training and alcohol also contributed to this.
The foresight of the Chinese border guards was evident in the careful preparation for the operation. The soldiers were equipped with machine guns, carbines, and pistols. Individual parts of the weapon were processed special compounds, excluding metallic sounds. Sites have been prepared in the coastal strip for:
- recoilless rifles;
- heavy machine guns;
- mortar crews.
The coastal group consisted of about 300 people. The main detachment involved about a hundred fighters.
2nd of March
Thanks to secretive night transfers and camouflage, Chinese fighters managed to remain undetected for a long time. They were discovered only at 10 o'clock in the morning. The commander of the outpost, Senior Lieutenant Strelnikov, decided to move towards the enemy. The outpost garrison was divided into 2 parts. The first headed towards the nearest group of Chinese. The task of the second was to neutralize the military heading deep into Damansky.
Having approached the Chinese soldiers, the commander asked for clarification of what their presence on Soviet territory meant. In response, machine gun fire rang out. At the same time, machine gun fire was opened on the second group under the command of Rabovich. Surprise and deceit left no chance for the Russian soldiers. Only a few Soviet border guards managed to survive.
Shooting was heard at a nearby outpost. The unit's commander, Senior Lieutenant Bubenin, with two dozen soldiers moved out in an armored personnel carrier in the direction of the peninsula. The Chinese attacked the group, opening fire. The platoon bravely held the defense, but the forces were unequal. Then the commander took a strategically precise and unique correct solution. Using the fire maneuverability of the combat vehicle, he went on the offensive. The raid on the enemy’s flank yielded results: the Chinese wavered and retreated.
USSR and China conflict continues
With the outbreak of hostilities on the island, the Soviet command decided to increase the number of troops in the Damanskongo area. A motorized rifle division, reinforced by a division of Grad multiple launch rocket systems, advanced to the hot spot. In response, the Chinese deployed an infantry regiment.
In the dispute over Damansky Island, China took more than just military actions. They used:
- diplomatic techniques;
- political methods;
- use of media.
A picket was held near the Soviet embassy in Beijing condemning the actions of the Soviets. Chinese newspapers launched a series of angry articles. Distorting the facts and throwing in outright lies, they accused the Soviet side of aggression. Newspapers were full of headlines about the invasion of Russian troops into Chinese territory
The USSR did not remain in debt. On March 7, a rally was organized near the Chinese Embassy in Moscow. The picketers protested the unfriendly actions of the Chinese authorities and threw ink at the building.
March 15th
The Soviet-Chinese conflict entered a new phase on March 14. On this day, Soviet troops were ordered to abandon their positions on the island. After the units retreated, the Chinese began to occupy the territory. Then a new order arrived: push back the enemy. 8 armored personnel carriers advanced towards the enemy. The Chinese retreated, and our units again settled on Damansky. The military commander was Lieutenant Colonel Yanshin.
The next morning the enemy opened hurricane artillery fire. After a lengthy artillery barrage, the Chinese again attacked the island. Colonel Leonov's group hastened to help Yanshin. Despite the losses, the unit managed to stop the enemy. Leonov was wounded. He died from his wounds.
Ammunition was running out, and the Soviet troops had to retreat. Despite the enemy's numerical superiority, Soviet soldiers showed:
- heroism;
- courage;
- courage.
Outnumbering the Russians and inspired by success, the enemy continuously attacked. A significant part of Damansky came under Chinese control. Under these conditions, the command decided to use the Grad systems. The enemy was stunned and suffered heavy losses in manpower and equipment. The offensive of the Chinese troops stalled. Attempts to regain the initiative were unsuccessful.
Number of victims
As a result of the clashes on March 2, 31 servicemen were killed on the Soviet side, and 39 on the Chinese side. On March 15, 27 Russian soldiers died. The damage from the Chinese side is assessed differently. According to some reports, the number of dead Chinese exceeds several hundred. The greatest damage to the Chinese side was caused by Grad rocket launchers.
During the entire conflict, Soviet troops lost 58 people, the Chinese - about 1000. 5 Soviet soldiers received the title of Hero, many were awarded orders and medals.
Results of the war
The main result of the incident was the realization by the Chinese leadership of the impossibility of confrontation with the USSR. The courage and valor of Soviet soldiers is evidence of the strength of spirit of the fighters. Ability to act in difficult conditions exit with dignity critical situations commanded respect. The Soviet Union demonstrated the ability to quickly redeploy large formations, and the use of Grad systems left no chance for the enemy.
All these factors prompted the Chinese leadership to come to the negotiating table. In the fall, a number of meetings were held at high level. Agreements were reached to end conflicts and revise some boundaries.
Damansky Island today
For twenty years, Damansky’s fate was not finally decided. Consultations on the disputed territories have been held several times. Only in 1991 the island officially received the status of Chinese territory.
In honor of the fallen Chinese soldiers, an obelisk was opened on the island, where schoolchildren are taken and flowers are laid. There is a border post nearby. Chinese media rarely return to the topic of conflict. In those distant days, the Chinese showed:
- perfidy;
- cruelty;
- deceit.
Contrary to the truth, some Chinese journalists and historians consider the Soviet Union to be the guilty party.
Conclusion
The Daman incident went down in history as a conflict between political elites. Exorbitant ambitions, reluctance to hear the arguments of the other side and the desire to achieve goals by any means almost led to a new tragedy and dragged the world into another war. Only thanks to the heroism of Soviet soldiers did the world avoid this danger.
Damansky - Soviet-Chinese border conflict in 1969 over an island on the Ussuri River (about 1,700 m long and 500 m wide), in the area of which fighting between Soviet and Chinese troops took place on March 2 and 15, 1969. On the night of March 2, 1969, 300 Chinese troops secretly occupied Damansky and set up camouflaged firing points there. In their rear, on the left bank of the Ussuri, reserves and artillery support (mortars and recoilless rifles) were concentrated. This act was undertaken as part of Operation Retaliation, which was led by the deputy commander of the Shenyang Military Region, Xiao Cuanfu.
In the morning, Chinese soldiers opened fire on 55 Soviet border guards heading to the island, led by the head of the Nizhne-Mikhailovka border post, Senior Lieutenant I. Strelnikov. The border guards, led by the surviving commander, junior sergeant Yu. Babansky, lay down and entered into battle with superior Chinese forces. Soon, reinforcements came to their aid in armored personnel carriers, led by the head of the neighboring Kulebyakiny Sopki outpost, Senior Lieutenant V. Bubenin.
Supported by mortar fire from their shore, the Chinese secured a position behind the embankment on the island and again forced the Soviet soldiers to lie down. But Bubenin did not retreat. He regrouped his forces and organized a new attack using armored personnel carriers. Having bypassed the island, he led his maneuver group to flank the Chinese and forced them to abandon their positions on the island. During this attack, Bubenin was wounded, but did not leave the battle and brought it to victory. In the battle on March 2, 31 Soviet border guards were killed and 14 were wounded.
On the morning of March 15, the Chinese again went on the offensive. They increased the size of their forces to an infantry division, reinforced by reservists. The “human wave” attacks continued for an hour. After a fierce battle, the Chinese managed to push back the Soviet soldiers. Then, to support the defenders, a tank platoon headed by the head of the Iman border detachment (it included the Nizhne-Mikhailovka and Kulebyakiny Sopki outposts), Colonel D. Leonov, launched a counterattack.
But it turned out that the Chinese are prepared for such a turn of events and have a sufficient number of anti-tank weapons. Due to their heavy fire, the counterattack failed. Moreover, Leonov exactly repeated Bubenin’s bypass maneuver, which did not come as a surprise to the Chinese. In this direction they had already dug trenches where grenade launchers were located. The lead tank in which Leonov was located was hit, and the colonel himself, who was trying to get out through the lower hatch, died. Two other tanks still managed to break through to the island and take up defense there. This allowed the Soviet soldiers to hold out on Damansky for another 2 hours. Finally, having shot all the ammunition and not receiving reinforcements, they left Damansky.
The failure of the counterattack and the loss of the newest T-62 combat vehicle with secret equipment finally convinced the Soviet command that the forces brought into the battle were not enough to defeat the Chinese side, which was very seriously prepared. Then the forces of the 135th Motorized Rifle Division deployed along the river came into play, whose command ordered its artillery (including a separate BM-21 Grad rocket division) to open fire on the Chinese positions on the island. This was the first time that Grad rocket launchers were used in battle, the impact of which decided the outcome of the battle. A significant part of the Chinese soldiers at Damansky (more than 700 people) were destroyed by a barrage of fire.
At this point, active hostilities virtually ceased. But from May to September 1969, Soviet border guards opened fire on intruders in the Damansky area more than 300 times. In the battles for Damansky from March 2 to 16, 1969, 58 Soviet soldiers were killed and 94 were seriously injured. For their heroism, four servicemen received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union: Colonel D. Leonov and Senior Lieutenant I. Strelnikov (posthumously), Senior Lieutenant V. Bubenin and Junior Sergeant Yu. Babansky.
The Battle of Damansky was the first serious clash between the USSR Armed Forces and regular units of another major power since World War II. After Soviet-Chinese negotiations in September 1969, it was decided to give Damansky Island to the People's Republic of China. The new owners of the island filled up the channel, and since then it has become part of the Chinese coast (Zhalanashkol).
Book materials used: Nikolay Shefov. Battles of Russia. Military-historical library. M., 2002.
Exactly 42 years ago, on March 2, 1969, the first shots of the Soviet-Chinese border conflict rang out on Damansky Island. The tragedy left a deep mark in the memory of the great neighboring nations. Looking to the future, we do not forget the past. ETERNAL MEMORY TO THE FALLEN HEROES OF THE BORDER! GLORY TO THE VETERANS OF 1969!
Damansky Island, which sparked a border armed conflict, occupies 0.75 square meters in area. km. From south to north it stretches for 1500 - 1800 m, and its width reaches 600 - 700 m. These figures are quite approximate, since the size of the island greatly depends on the time of year. In the spring, Damansky Island is flooded with the waters of the Ussuri River and it is almost hidden from view, and in winter the island rises like a dark mountain on the icy surface of the river. From the Soviet coast to the island it is about 500 m, from the Chinese coast - about 300 m. In accordance with generally accepted practice, borders on rivers are drawn along the main fairway. However, taking advantage of the weakness of pre-revolutionary China, the tsarist government of Russia managed to draw the border on the Ussuri River in a completely different way - along the water's edge along the Chinese coast. Thus, the entire river and the islands on it turned out to be Russian. This obvious injustice persisted after the October Revolution of 1917 and the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, but did not affect Sino-Soviet relations for some time. And only at the end of the 50s, when ideological differences arose between the Khrushchev leadership of the CPSU and the CPC, the situation on the border gradually began to worsen. Mao Zedong and other Chinese leaders have repeatedly expressed the view that the development of Sino-Soviet relations presupposes a solution to the border problem. The “decision” meant the transfer of certain territories to China, including islands on the Ussuri River. The Soviet leadership was sympathetic to the Chinese desire to draw a new border along the rivers and was even ready to transfer a number of lands to the PRC. However, this readiness disappeared as soon as the ideological and then interstate conflict flared up. Further deterioration of relations between the two countries eventually led to open armed confrontation on Damansky.
Tension in the Damansky area increased gradually. At first, Chinese citizens simply went to the island. Then they started coming out with posters. Then sticks, knives, carbines and machine guns appeared... For the time being, communication between the Chinese and Soviet border guards was relatively peaceful, but in accordance with the inexorable logic of events, it quickly developed into verbal skirmishes and hand-to-hand brawls. The most fierce battle took place on January 22, 1969, as a result of which Soviet border guards recaptured several carbines from the Chinese. Upon inspection of the weapon, it turned out that the cartridges were already in the chambers. Soviet commanders clearly understood how tense the situation was and therefore constantly called on their subordinates to be especially vigilant. Preventive measures were taken - for example, the staff of each border post was increased to 50 people. Nevertheless, the events of March 2 were a complete surprise for the Soviet side. On the night of March 1-2, 1969, about 300 soldiers of the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA) crossed to Damansky and lay down on the western coast of the island. The Chinese were armed with AK-47 assault rifles, as well as SKS carbines. The commanders had TT pistols. All Chinese weapons were made according to Soviet models. There were no documents or personal items in the Chinese's pockets. But everyone has a Mao quote book. To support the units that landed on Damansky, positions of recoilless rifles, heavy machine guns and mortars were equipped on the Chinese coast. Here the Chinese infantry were waiting in the wings total number 200-300 people. At about 9.00 am, a Soviet border patrol passed through the island, but did not find the invading Chinese. An hour and a half later, at the Soviet post, observers noticed the movement of a group of armed people (up to 30 people) in the direction of Damansky and immediately reported this by telephone to the Nizhne-Mikhailovka outpost, located 12 km south of the island. Head of the outpost st. Lieutenant Ivan Strelnikov raised his subordinates to the gun. In three groups, in three vehicles - GAZ-69 (8 people), BTR-60PB (13 people) and GAZ-63 (12 people), Soviet border guards arrived at the scene. Having dismounted, they moved towards the Chinese in two groups: the first was led across the ice by the head of the outpost, Senior Lieutenant Strelnikov, and the second by Sergeant V. Rabovich. The third group, led by St. Sergeant Yu. Babansky, driving a GAZ-63 car, fell behind and arrived at the scene 15 minutes later. Approaching the Chinese, I. Strelnikov protested about the violation of the border and demanded that the Chinese military personnel leave the territory of the USSR. In response, the first line of Chinese parted, and the second opened sudden machine-gun fire on Strelnikov’s group. Strelnikov’s group and the head of the outpost himself died immediately. Some of the attackers got up from their “beds” and rushed to attack a handful of Soviet soldiers from the second group, commanded by Yu. Rabovich. They accepted the fight and fired back literally to the last bullet. When the attackers reached the positions of Rabovich’s group, they finished off the wounded Soviet border guards with point-blank shots and cold steel. This shameful fact for the People's Liberation Army of China is evidenced by the documents of the Soviet medical commission. The only one who literally miraculously survived was Private G. Serebrov. Having regained consciousness in the hospital, he spoke about the last minutes of his friends’ lives. It was at this moment that the third group of border guards arrived in time under the command of Yu. Babansky. Taking a position some distance behind their dying comrades, the border guards met the advancing Chinese with machine gun fire. The battle was unequal, there were fewer and fewer fighters left in the group, and ammunition quickly ran out. Fortunately, border guards from the neighboring Kulebyakina Sopka outpost, located 17-18 km north of Damansky, came to the aid of Babansky’s group, commanded by Senior Lieutenant V. Bubenin. Having received a telephone message on the morning of March 2 about what was happening on the island, Bubenin put more than twenty soldiers in the armored personnel carrier and hastened to the rescue of the neighbors. At about 11.30 the armored personnel carrier reached Damansky. The border guards got out of the car and almost immediately encountered large group Chinese. A fight ensued. During the battle, Senior Lieutenant Bubenin was wounded and shell-shocked, but did not lose control of the battle. Leaving several soldiers at the site, led by junior sergeant V. Kanygin, he and four soldiers loaded into an armored personnel carrier and moved around the island, going behind the Chinese. The culmination of the battle came at the moment when Bubenin managed to destroy the Chinese command post. After this, the border violators began to leave their positions, taking with them the dead and wounded. This is how the first battle on Damansky ended. In the battle on March 2, 1969, the Soviet side lost 31 people killed - this is exactly the figure that was given at a press conference at the USSR Foreign Ministry on March 7, 1969. As for the Chinese losses, they are not reliably known, since the PLA General Staff has not yet made this information public. The Soviet border guards themselves estimated the total enemy losses at 100-150 soldiers and commanders.
After the battle on March 2, 1969, reinforced squads of Soviet border guards constantly came to Damansky - numbering at least 10 people, with a sufficient amount of ammunition. Sappers carried out mining on the island in case of an attack by Chinese infantry. In the rear, at a distance of several kilometers from Damansky, the 135th motorized rifle division of the Far Eastern Military District was deployed - infantry, tanks, artillery, Grad multiple rocket launchers. The 199th Verkhne-Udinsky Regiment of this division took a direct part in further events. The Chinese were also accumulating forces for the next offensive: in the area of the island, the 24th Infantry Regiment of the People's Liberation Army of China, which consisted of up to 5,000 soldiers and commanders, was preparing for battle! On March 15, noticing the revival on the Chinese side, a detachment of Soviet border guards consisting of 45 people in 4 armored personnel carriers entered the island. Another 80 border guards concentrated on the shore, ready to support their comrades. At about 9.00 on March 15, a loudspeaker installation started working on the Chinese side. Voiced female voice in pure Russian he called on Soviet border guards to leave “Chinese territory”, abandon “revisionism”, etc. On the Soviet shore they also turned on a loudspeaker. The broadcast was conducted in Chinese and in rather simple words: come to your senses, before it’s too late, before you are the sons of those who liberated China from the Japanese invaders. After some time, there was silence on both sides, and closer to 10.00, Chinese artillery and mortars (from 60 to 90 barrels) began shelling the island. At the same time, 3 companies of Chinese infantry (each with 100-150 people) went on the attack. The battle on the island was focal in nature: scattered groups of border guards continued to repel attacks by the Chinese, who significantly outnumbered the defenders. According to eyewitnesses, the course of the battle resembled a pendulum: each side pressed back the enemy as reserves approached. At the same time, however, the ratio in manpower was always approximately 10:1 in favor of the Chinese. At about 15.00 an order was received to leave the island. After this, the arriving Soviet reserves tried to carry out several counterattacks in order to expel the border violators, but they were unsuccessful: the Chinese thoroughly fortified themselves on the island and met the attackers with heavy fire. Only at this point was it decided to use artillery, since there was a real threat of the complete capture of Damansky by the Chinese. The order to attack the Chinese coast was given by the first deputy. Commander of the Far Eastern Military District, Lieutenant General P.M. Plotnikov. At 17.00, a separate BM-21 Grad rocket division under the command of M.T. Vashchenko launched a fire strike at Chinese concentration areas and their firing positions.
This is how the then top-secret 40-barreled "Grad" was used for the first time, capable of releasing all the ammunition in 20 seconds. After 10 minutes of the artillery attack, there was nothing left of the Chinese division. A significant part of the Chinese soldiers in Damansky (more than 700 people) and the adjacent territory were destroyed by a firestorm (according to Chinese data, more than 6 thousand). There was immediately a buzz in the foreign press that the Russians had used an unknown secret weapon, either lasers, or flamethrowers, or who knows what. (And the hunt began for God knows what, which was crowned with success in the distant south of Africa 6 years later. But that’s another story...)
At the same time, a cannon artillery regiment equipped with 122 mm howitzers opened fire on identified targets. The artillery fired for 10 minutes. The raid turned out to be extremely accurate: the shells destroyed Chinese reserves, mortars, stacks of shells, etc. Radio interception data indicated hundreds of dead PLA soldiers. At 17.10, motorized riflemen (2 companies and 3 tanks) and border guards in 4 armored personnel carriers went on the attack. After a stubborn battle, the Chinese began to retreat from the island. Then they tried to recapture Damansky, but three of their attacks ended in complete failure. After that soviet soldiers retreated to their shore, and the Chinese made no further attempts to take possession of the island.
Political settlement of the conflict
On September 11, 1969, negotiations between the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR A.N. Kosygin and the Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Zhou Enlai took place at Beijing airport. The meeting lasted three and a half hours. The main result of the discussion was an agreement to stop hostile actions on the Soviet-Chinese border and to stop troops at the lines they occupied at the time of the negotiations. It must be said that the formulation “the parties remain where they were before” was proposed by Zhou Enlai, and Kosygin immediately agreed with it. And it was at this moment that Damansky Island became de facto Chinese. The fact is that after the end of the fighting, the ice began to melt and therefore the border guards’ access to Damansky turned out to be difficult. We decided to provide fire cover for the island. From now on, any attempt by the Chinese to land on Damansky was stopped by sniper and machine-gun fire. On September 10, 1969, border guards received an order to stop firing. Immediately after this, the Chinese came to the island and settled there. On the same day, a similar story occurred on Kirkinsky Island, located 3 km north of Damansky. Thus, on the day of the Beijing negotiations on September 11, the Chinese were already on the islands of Damansky and Kirkinsky. A.N. Kosygin’s agreement with the wording “the parties remain where they were until now” meant the actual surrender of the islands to China. Apparently, the order to cease fire on September 10 was given in order to create a favorable background for the start of negotiations. The Soviet leaders knew very well that the Chinese would land on Damansky, and they deliberately went for it. Obviously, the Kremlin decided that sooner or later, a new border would have to be drawn along the fairways of the Amur and Ussuri. And if so, then there is no point in holding on to the islands, which will go to the Chinese anyway. Soon after the completion of the negotiations, A.N. Kosygin and Zhou Enlai exchanged letters. In them they agreed to begin work on preparing a non-aggression pact.
The final end to these Soviet-Chinese conflicts was only put in 1991. On May 16, 1991, an agreement on the eastern section of the border was signed between the USSR and the PRC. According to this agreement, the border was established along the main fairway of the rivers. Damansky Island went to the PRC...