Border outpost "Ratmanov" (Russian eastern-most) and Arctic Weather Station "Ratmanov Island"

USA / Alaska / Diomede /
 military, border, interesting place, weather / meteorological station, border guard
Polar meteorological station Ratmanov, Bering Sea, built in 1940. Inactive since 1993.

Military unit 2254, border outpost "Ratmanov", part of Russian Border Force.

The first organized attemts of the Soviet Union to protect national borders in the region of Chukotka and to establish sovereignty over a number of remote areas were made in the summer of 1924, when a real threat of the US to annex the island of Wrangel and Diomida arise.

Since 1916, the Ratmanov (Big Diomede) Island was dominated by Americans. They illegally set up the factory (trading post) in the village Imoklit and forced the hunters from Ouellet, cape Dezhneva and Naukana to bring their catch. Yankees were making Chukchis and Eskimos accustom to hard drinking and taking the fur, walrus ivory, whalebone, blubber almost for free. They also didn't pay any customs duties. As for rapacious hunting and fishing by Americans in the mid-20's last century, one can only guess the true scale of it, as no records has been kept. There are data relating to the earlier period, which allows to draw some conclusions. The Tzar government Far East indigenous issues report, for example, reads: «According to the official USA data, for the period from 1873 to 1903 American schooners produced whale fat and whalebone worth of about 50 million gold rubles in the Russian waters». Kamchatska military governor reported in 1916: «In 25 villages Along the coast from the Providence Bay to the Dezhnev Cape there is famine started because of the decline in walrus yield. Chukchis eat their belts. The main reason is the mass extermination of walrus from our shores by American predators. In 1915, every boat took 12 thousand walrus. They were using the ribs, skin and fat while throwing meat into the sea ».

In the mid 20's the Soviet Union faced the vital task of bringing order to the north-eastern borders of the country and returning real sovereignty over the coast of Chukotka and the adjacent islands. For these purposes, in the late summer of 1925 the patrol boat «Vorovsky» departed from Vladivostok to Chukotka. In September, it arrived to the Ratmanov island. The Americans tried to resist. They resolutely refused to leave the factory. Only after the use of weapons the Americans had left the island. Stoker of the «Vorovsky» V. P. Chashunashvili hoisted the USSR flag on the roof of the abandoned factory. Before leaving the island, the border guards have helped the Imoklit villagers to elect local council, and provided them with food.

In the following pre-war years there were several more United States citizens apprehended on the island, who appeared there under clearly made-up excuses.

In 1941 new buildings were erected. In 2005, there were some renovations, and the Orthodox Church cross was erected.
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   65°48'49"N   169°2'5"W

Comments

  • This needs to be re-written for the English version. it appears to be more of a propaganda piece than a description of the location. The copy/pasted poor translation into english makes this difficult to understand, but it appears to be purely a political opinion within the description.
  • Yep, you are correct. Nothing but an unsupported prop piece. Don't waste your time reading it - not worth the effort. I gave up after the first paragraph.
  • looks ok to me ! always nice to see there not as barbaric as the americans say the Russains
  • It's all true.
  • This is especially hilarious considering the Russians were doing exactly what this description says the "Yankees" were doing - for almost a hundred years. Russian-American Company, anyone? The Russian fur trading company that decimated the sea otter population from the Bering Sea down to California?
This article was last modified 11 years ago