MEANWHILE Russia's remote Far East is Europe's last post
 
Philip Bowring IHT
Thursday, September 26, 2002
PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKI, Russia Senior officers of the U.S. Coast Guard were here last week being wined and dined. Among other sightseeing, they admired the great granite cliff-lined bay on which this modest city lies, wondered at the smoking volcanoes and enjoyed a dip in some nearby hot springs. They may even have seen a submarine or two, gone fishing and hunted bears.
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A city that was once on the eastern front line of the Cold War is now more concerned with fish, which is now the only thing the Americans and Russians have to quarrel about in this part of the world - so goodwill exchanges lubricated with multiple vodka toasts can help resolve disputes.
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But the end of the Cold War does not mean the end of Petropavlovsk, population 250,000, as a strategic city and as a symbol. This is, after all, the easternmost city of the Eurasian landmass and thus also the limit of European settlement in Asia. The region of Kamchatka, of which this is the capital, is nine time zones away from Moscow and nudges the international dateline.
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The hills around boast all manner of radar and satellite tracking stations, and doubtless there are missile silos as well. And a wide, deep harbor, well protected from winter storms, will always be of value to any power seeking influence in the North Pacific. (It was a haven for 18th century European explorers, including France's La Perouse and Captain Cook's expedition, which continued its explorations long after Cook was killed.)
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The Russians have been here since the arrival in 1741 of Bering, who gave his name to the nearby sea. They beat off an Anglo-French 1854 assault during the Crimean War but the city, such as it was then, suffered a brief Japanese incursion during the Russo-Japanese war.
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There is still some sense of impermanence, however. Russia's retreat from the east began with a hard-up czar selling Alaska to the United States. Lenin thought the Kamchatka peninsula - 1,000 kilometers long and in practice accessible only by sea or air - a burden and tried to negotiate to lease it to an American company. Petropavlovsk itself is almost as close to Anchorage (four hours by air) as to Russia's main Pacific city, Vladivostok.
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Some in Moscow view the Far East as a lost cause - too remote, undeveloped and cold to keep Russians from drifting back west. For sure, Kamchatka has suffered from the decline of the military presence, and from diminishing fish catches. But there are signs of new life emerging. In Soviet times this was a closed area, even for most Russians - which helped keep its astonishing natural attractions in pristine condition.
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Now there is a trickle of tourism - bear and reindeer hunters from the United States (there is a weekly flight from Anchorage), fly fishers from Germany, volcano buffs from Japan and richer Russians seeking a change from Black Sea holidays.
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The accommodation is spartan and big noisy helicopters are the main means of transport. But it is worth the discomfort. The scenery is stunning - numerous active volcanoes, including the highest in the world - and the diversity of nature immense.
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There is good skiing, too. The winter is less severe than in Siberia and the proximity of the seas ensures plentiful snow.
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Another potential new source of livelihood is mining. Much of the peninsula is national park, but significant deposits in other areas were found in Soviet times and are beginning to attract interest.
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But if the medium-term outlook for Kamchatka is improving, there must be doubts about whether the Russians will still be here a century hence. Japan, still smarting from loss of the nearby Kurile Islands to the south, may one day eye Petropavlovsk harbor. The Koreans, soon to be a regional power, can claim ethnic and linguistic links with the aboriginal inhabitants, the Koryaks and other tribes who are still here in small numbers. Russian Kamchatka would become untenable should a resource-hungry China come to control the railroads north of the Amur River.
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In the long run it remains an open question whether Europeans will maintain their foothold on the Asian extremity of the Eurasian landmass.
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International Herald Tribune

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