In Ukraine they are finally puzzled by the question - how will we divide the Sea of Azov? Here some people decided to introduce a blockade of Crimea from land. This means that some people have other interests.
So here it is. I think the answer will be this.
But we won’t divide it anyhow!
The Sea of Azov is an inland sea of Russia.
And before introducing a blockade, think about how you will pass Kerch Strait?
You can, of course, hint at other options for the development of the situation. But that's for another time.
On November 28, 1869, the spit’s belonging to the Kuban region was confirmed by a decree of the Russian Senate, and the middle of the strait between Crimea and extreme point Taman Spit.
After the October Revolution and Civil War By the Decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of August 13, 1922, the Tuzla Spit was included in the Crimean region.
By decree of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR in January 1941, a decision was made “On the transfer of the island of Srednyaya Kosa (Tuzly) from the Temryuk region Krasnodar region into the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic."
After the transfer of Crimea to Ukraine in 1954, the administrative border between the Crimean region and the Krasnodar region was not revised.
During the Great Patriotic War, a Soviet naval landing force was landed on the spit occupied by the German garrison. In a fierce battle from October 6 to October 9, 1943, the spit was liberated from German troops.
The practical transfer of the spit and the establishment of an administrative border between the RSFSR and the Ukrainian SSR were implemented only in the early 1970s. Moreover, this was done in the form of agreeing on the graphic outline on the map of administrative boundaries at the level of deputy chairmen of the Crimean Regional Executive Committee and the Krasnodar Regional Executive Committee.
Territorial dispute
According to Russia’s position, from the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on the transition of the Crimean region to Ukraine, it follows that only the continental land part of the Crimean region was transferred to Ukraine for administrative-territorial disposal. Jurisdiction over the coastal waters of the seas, based on the principle that the waters coastal seas belong to the state as a whole, and not to its individual subjects, remained with the USSR.
In 2003, an attempt was made by the Krasnodar Territory of Russia to restore the spit by creating an artificial dam. This marked the beginning of a conflict between Ukraine and Russia over the ownership of the island, the restored spit and a possible change in the navigation regime in the Kerch Strait. After a meeting between Presidents Putin and Kuchma, construction of the dam was suspended.
I wonder where this media show clown is now? - 2003 - Training for Russia's invasion of Crimea and the island. Tuzla
In 2005, a special commission of the Ukrainian parliament admitted that the island of Tuzla in the Kerch Strait could disappear within a year if it is not protected from the waves. Currents in the Kerch Strait, which accelerated due to the dam built in 2003, are eroding not only Tuzla, but also the Arshintsevskaya Spit near Kerch. The coast of the island was strengthened with blocks.
In 2014, during the crisis in Ukraine and the aggravation of the situation in Crimea, most of the Crimean Peninsula was actually annexed to Russia, and therefore on March 21, 2014, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that the Kerch Strait “can no longer be a subject negotiations with Ukraine ". http://ru.enc.tfode.com/Kosa_Tuzla
The Kerch Strait (Kerç boğazı;-), called the Cimmerian Bosporus by the ancient Greeks (popularly called Cimmerians) is a strait connecting the Black and Azov Seas. The western shore of the strait is the Crimea Peninsula, the eastern shore is the Taman Peninsula. The width of the strait is from 4.5 to 15 km. The greatest depth is 18 meters. The most important port is the city of Kerch.
The Kerch Strait is a fishing area for many species of fish. Putina begins in late autumn and lasts several months. It is recommended to draw a conditional border between Europe and Asia along the Kerch Strait, leaving the Sea of Azov within Europe. The tradition of division dates back to antiquity.
Story
Myth, archaic
Euripides describes how from the direction of Tauris (Crimea) Io, the beloved of Zeus, swims across the strait, turned by Hera into a cow and driven by a gadfly.
Aeschylus calls the crossing of the strait “Cow Ford”.
In his Lives, Plutarch, referring to Hellanicus, reports that the Amazons crossed the Cimmerian Bosporus on ice.
You are blue, blue waves,
Where the sea merges with the sea,
Where is the sting of the Argive wasp
Once upon a time in the fierce abyss
To the Asian shores of Io
Gone from the pastures of Europe!
Whom did you send to us?
Euripides. Iphigenia in Tauris, Art. 393-399.
Antiquity
The fact that nomads crossed the strait on ice in winter is known from Herodotus’s “History”. In the 5th century BC. e. representatives of the ancient Milesian aristocratic family of Archeanactids founded on the western shore of the strait the city of Panticapaeum - the capital of the Bosporan kingdom on the site of present-day Kerch.Herodotus mentioned the Cimmerian crossings twice
2. You will come later to Isthmus of Cimmeria,
To the close gates of the sea. There, having ventured,
You must swim across the strait of Meotida.
And the glorious memory will remain in people
About this crossing. There will be a name for her -
"Cow Ford" - Bosphorus.
You're leaving Europe
Plains, you will come to the Asian continent.
"Aeschylus, Prometheus Chained", art. 732-735. (Translated by A.I. Piotrovsky)
In the 2nd century BC. e. on the ice of the strait from the side of Lake Maeotis (Sea of Azov) a battle took place between the army of the commander Neoptolemus and the barbarians: “The ice in these places is so strong at the mouth of Lake Maeotis (that is, in the Kerch Strait) that in the place where in the winter the military commander of Mithridates defeated the barbarians in a horse battle on the ice, he defeated the same barbarians in a naval battle in the summer, when the ice melted" (Strabo, II, 1, 6) "They say that the commander of Mithridates, Neoptolemus, in the same strait defeated the barbarians in a naval battle in the summer, and in a horse battle in the winter." (VII, 3, 18)
XX century
In April 1944, construction began on a railway bridge across the strait. 115 identical spans of 27.1 m each, a 110-meter span structure rotating on a middle support, a double navigable opening above the fairway for the passage of large ships, overpasses near the shore and a dam made up the full length of the bridge crossing. Construction was completed in the fall of the same year. Since the bridge did not have ice cutters, in February 1945, about 30% of the supports were damaged by ice from the Sea of Azov. The bridge was not restored, and the surviving parts were liquidated, as they were an obstacle to navigation.
To replace the destroyed bridge, the Kerch ferry crossing was opened in 1953, connecting Crimea and the Krasnodar Territory (Port Crimea - Port Caucasus line). Four railway ferries took part in the crossing: Zapolyarny, Severny, Yuzhny and Vostochny. Initially, these ferries were planned to be used at the railway crossing under construction across the Yenisei in Igarka, but in 1953 this construction was closed and the ferries were transported to Crimea. Later, three car ferries were put into operation: Kerchensky-1, Kerchensky-2 and Yeisk.
At the end of the 1980s, due to the aging of railway ferries, the transportation of passenger and then freight trains across the strait was stopped. Due to funding problems, no new ferries were built for the crossing, and for almost 15 years the crossing served only for the transport of cars. Projects for the construction of a new bridge across the Kerch Strait have been repeatedly proposed, but due to the high cost they have not received further development.
In 2004, the Annenkov railway ferry was transferred to the crossing, and in November 2004, on the eve of the second round of presidential elections in Ukraine, the grand opening of the ferry crossing took place. The action was attended by Viktor Yanukovych (at that time the Prime Minister and presidential candidate of Ukraine) and Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, after the opening ceremony, rail traffic across the strait was never restored.
Territorial dispute
In 1996, Alexander Travnikov, a deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Krasnodar Territory, first raised the question of the territorial affiliation of the Tuzla Spit at a session of the Legislative Assembly. The justification for the legality of Russia's territorial claim to this territory was formulated in A. Travnikov's books "Tuzla Spit Enumerated Territory" and "Tuzla Spit and Russia's Strategic Interests."
In 2003, the Kerch Strait became the center of a dispute between Russia and Ukraine after the authorities of the Krasnodar region, in an effort to prevent erosion of the sea coast, began hastily building a dam from Taman towards the Ukrainian island of Tuzla. Russia was accused of encroaching on Ukrainian territory. The conflict was resolved after the presidents intervened - the construction of the dam was stopped, and Tuzla remained Ukrainian. As a reciprocal concession, Ukraine agreed to sign an agreement under which the Kerch Strait was recognized as joint internal waters of Russia and Ukraine.
10 years have passed since the conflict with the Russian Federation around the island of Tuzla in the Sea of Azov - Details - Inter - 09/29/2013. PinzEnyk, Kuchma... and now the defaulted Rogue/Patrashenko/, who signed a project to restructure Ukraine’s national debt precisely when creditors declared disagreement with the restructuring plan through their representatives - the law firm Shirman and Sterling.
To waste such territory in the hope of exchanging it for glass beads is a classic of Ukrainian greed, irrepressible theft and unprofessionalism.
Negotiations between expert groups on the delimitation of the Azov-Kerch water area and the Black Sea continued for a long time. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry considered Russia’s position on the delimitation of the Kerch Strait to be illegal. Russia refuses to divide the Kerch Strait along the former intra-Soviet administrative border because in this case it would lose control over two-thirds of the Kerch Strait, which would entail financial and political costs.
Ukraine accused Russia of double standards, recalling that it was the former intra-Soviet administrative border that was recognized as the interstate Russian-Estonian border in the Narva and Gulf of Finland at Russia’s insistence. Ukraine persistently demanded that the Kerch Strait be divided in a similar way “in accordance with international law.”
Tuzla Spit and Russia's strategic interests
Travnikov A.I.
Publisher Phoenix
Year 2005
In politics, the small Tuzla spit in the Kerch Strait is not a small thing. This is the principle. The principle of defending Russia's national interests. And principles cannot be a subject of bargaining. The issue, first raised by A. Travnikov in the mid-90s, erupted in a crisis in relations between Russia and Ukraine in 2003. Today the topic may again become relevant. Moreover, there is no final solution to the issue either on Tuzla or on the Black Sea bases. The book contains only facts. The reader has the right to draw his own conclusions.
Separating the two peninsulas Tamansky and Crimean, it is called the Kerch Strait. This is a truly unique creation of nature, which until recently was also the border of two states - Russia and Ukraine.
A little history
The Kerch Strait has a long history. According to Greek mythology, Io, the beloved of the God Zeus, swam across it. She was turned into a cow. Therefore, in some sources you can find the name “Cow Ford”, which is directly related to the strait.
Historians of ancient Greece also talk about the Amazons. They also crossed the Kerch Strait, crossing them on ice. In winter, in general, many nomads moved from one peninsula to another by means of water. More modern historical books and writings are already repeating this.
The Kerch Strait has withstood numerous military operations more than once in the winter, and in the warm season - naval battles. Herodotus in his reports repeatedly mentioned certain Cimmerian crossings, named after the peoples crossing the canal. The history of the Kerch Strait is rich and diverse. It has many names corresponding to different time periods. These are the Tauride Strait, the Yenikalsky Strait, and the Kerch-Yenikalsky Strait. The peoples who owned the nearby land appropriated it for themselves, hence all sorts of names for the Kerch Strait.
XX century
Closer to modern times, the Kerch Strait became the property of the Slavic peoples, namely, the territory of the USSR. In order for there to be an opportunity railway transport to cross it, construction of a bridge began in the post-war period. Although, according to some sources, it became known that they were going to build it even before the start of World War II. The materials were trophies obtained during military operations.
Unfortunately, construction was stopped in the spring of 1945 due to the fact that the ice that melted after the winter damaged a third of the already installed supports. Recovery at that time was almost impossible. The remaining building materials were removed and disposed of.
By the mid-50s, a ferry crossing with a length of about 5 km was opened across the Kerch Strait. It passed from Crimea to the Krasnodar Territory. And by the 80s, all types of transportation were suspended due to wear and tear on the ferries. For almost 15 years, only cars were transported across the crossing. Restoration and new construction required large amounts of money, which is why it was never started.
XXI century
After the collapse of the Soviet Union and until 2000, disputes between the Russian Federation and Ukraine continued over the Kerch Strait. And in 2004, the ferry crossing was reopened, but it was intended only for cargo transportation. But in 2007, after the crash of several ships, irreparable damage was caused to the Kerch Strait and its entire water area. The issue of building a bridge again came to the fore.
Numerous options and projects for future construction were proposed. It was decided to build a bridge across the Kerch Strait jointly by Russia and Ukraine. Its construction was supposed to begin in 2014. However, this did not happen. Now that Crimea is recognized as a territory Russian Federation, the design and construction of the bridge was again intensified.
Geography of the strait
The basins of the two seas are separated by the Kerch Canal. The southern coast of the Sea of Azov, formed by the Taman and Kerch peninsulas, has a hilly and steep terrain. In some places there are cliffs and headlands. The same applies to the shores of the Black Sea. On this side you can find a larger number of sand bars and shallow waters, the largest of which are Chushka and Tuzla.
The distance of the Kerch Strait is accompanied by high banks. A canal has been dug along its entire length. The navigation equipment located there ensures free and safe movement along it. From the main channel there are smaller ones leading to developed ports and some settlements. They are called fairways or recommended paths.
Due to the shallow water in winter, the Kerch Strait freezes. During spring floods and summer rains, the water level rises. The strait is located in a zone with a temperate continental climate (hot summers and fairly warm winters).
Fishing is widely developed in the Kerch water basin; it reaches enormous proportions. Fish processing in the city is a well-known occupation, and for many people it is almost the only source of cash income.
Strait Coast
The nature here is unique, characteristic of its geographical location. The coasts of the peninsulas belonging to the Kerch Strait region are hilly with hills of various sizes (40-90 meters). On the side of the Kerch Peninsula there are steep rocks and cliffs, and in the Taman region there are lowlands and plains.
Due to the climate, sparse and sparse vegetation predominates on the coast of the strait. Here you can find low-growing shrubs, low trees, reeds and different kinds herbs The shores of the strait are quite winding, so there are numerous small peninsulas and small bays.
Strait dimensions
The greatest depth of the Kerch Strait is only 18 meters. It should be noted that even during minor frosts, its entire surface is covered with durable ice. The minimum depth of the Kerch Strait in the port area is only 7-8 m, so it is recognized as one of the shallowest in the world.
If we talk about the length, the approximate length of the Kerch Strait does not exceed 45 kilometers. Although various information sources broadcast different data from each other. Some of them claim that the length of the Kerch Strait reaches 40 km and no more. The exact specific size has not been established, so the length of the water area is calculated with a small error.
In addition, the minimum width of the Kerch Strait is slightly more than 4 km. This is a very small indicator for such a water area. The channel is called not only the shallowest, but also the narrowest, since the maximum width of the Kerch Strait is only 15 km. And if you stop on the shore and look into the distance, you will see a significant resemblance to the sea.
Bridge over the Kerch Strait
Such a structure is simply necessary. Traveling numerous distances by land to the narrowest point of the strait is too long. Plus, the journey doesn’t end there; there’s still a canal crossing by ferry ahead.
There are already several dozen projects for the construction of the Kerch Bridge. It is assumed that its length should not exceed 5 km. However, the bridge must be built so that it is resistant to all kinds of environmental conditions (currents, floods, ice melting).
Technical parameters should take into account:
- Dimensions for navigation (canal height - 45 m, width 200 m).
- Seismic activity (up to 9 points).
- The roof of deep bedrock should be more than 40 m.
- High load from the ice field, thickness of hummocks - 2 m, current speed - 2 m/s, wind speed - 25 m/s.
- Wide area of the considered sections (5 km).
Only with correct calculations and high-quality construction can a strong and durable bridge across the strait be built. It is extremely important to take into account all the specified technical parameters.
Why is the Kerch Bridge being destroyed?
The main problems during construction are the high seismicity of the entire region, weak soils and the lack of full-fledged government funding.
In order for the bridge to be strong and last a long time, its piles must go 200 m down. This is necessary in the presence of specific underwater soil. In addition, the design of the bridge speaks of its colossal size, and its entire structure must be uniform. Constant landslides and earthquakes typical of the coasts of the strait will not have the best effect on the entire structure.
Specific and unstable weather, strong winds, large waves and periodic storms have an equally destructive effect on the bridge. In addition to durable structures, construction requires absolutely unique technology, and, accordingly, large sums of money.
Construction options for the Kerch Bridge
Let's list the most realistic projects for crossing the strait:
- “Northern”, according to which the bridge will connect two capes - Lantern and Maly Kut. The bridge crossing will be about 10 km long, road access roads will be 49 km, and railway access roads will be 24 km.
- “Zhukovsky” will be built from the settlement of Zhukovka to the Chushka spit. Length - 6 km, highways - 46 km, railway - 13 km.
- The “Yenikalsky” option will connect the cape and the spit (from Yenikalino to Chushka). Length - 5.7 km, automobile access roads - 46 km, railway - 5 km.
- The Tuzlinsky project involves the construction of a bridge from Cape Ak-Burun to the island. Length - 12 km, highways - 38 km, railway - 36 km.
It remains to be seen which option will be used, time will tell.
Kerch Strait (map)
We bring to your attention satellite photos. This is what the strait looks like from space.
The Kerch Strait, the map of which is presented to your attention, is a fairly vast expanse of water.
Ferry crossing
The Kerch Strait, the crossing through which was officially opened in the fall of 1954, passes between two large port cities (Kerch and Temryuk), connecting two separate peninsulas. This is the main message throughout the entire body of water. Thanks to the crossing, it became possible to deliver cargo and goods from different countries. Transportation is carried out by ferries. You don’t have to spend too much time traveling by land, but at the same time enjoy a wonderful walk on the water.
Today, the main way to travel from the Crimean Peninsula to the Taman Peninsula is through the Kerch Strait. The ferry has been the most popular mode of transport for these places for many decades.
Unfortunately, the crossing cannot cope with the large flow of passengers at all times of the year. The need to expand and increase the capacity of the crossing comes to the fore during the season of influx of vacationers. To solve this problem, the government is providing additional ferries for some time.
A bridge across the Kerch Strait is simply necessary! The transport interchange between the two peninsulas leaves much to be desired. After the annexation of Crimea to the Russian Federation, there were not only hopes for the speedy construction of the bridge, but also an approximate time frame for completing its construction.
Numerous proposals and projects are accepted and considered. A large number of of them consists of absolutely real ideas that are feasible even in the difficult conditions of the current economy. Well, with proper development and sufficient funding, it will be possible to cross the bridge in the next few years.
They plan to build a bridge through it from the Caucasus to Crimea by 2020. In 1944, this was done in 7 months.
The Kerch Strait determines the presence of two main problems of Crimea: territorial distance from the Russian mainland and the unsuitability of the Azov Sea water for irrigation. The water of the Black Sea entering the Sea of Azov through the strait has led to an increase in its salinity. This, at the same time, destroyed the Azov fish, but previously Azov provided 30% of the country’s total catch. And what a fish it was!
Azov and Black Seas
Several tens of thousands of years ago, during the last glaciation, the Sea of Azov disappeared. At that time, the bottom of Azov turned into a swampy lowland, cut by the riverbeds of the Don and its tributaries. The Don also flowed through the hollow of the Kerch Strait, and its delta extended far to the south into the Black Sea
Due to the rapid melting of the European continental glacier, the level of Azov increased, reaching a maximum 4-5 thousand years ago and was then 1-2 meters higher than today. Since then, the level has not dropped by more than 10 m and has not risen by more than 1 m compared to the present level. According to the description of the ancient Greeks, the Sea of Azov was a freshwater and swampy lake.
Connecting with the Black Sea through the Kerch Strait, the Sea of Azov belongs to the seas Atlantic Ocean. The area of the Azov Sea is small and amounts to 37,605 km², the greatest length of the Azov Sea is 343 km, width is 231 km. The main area of the Azov Sea bottom has a depth of 5-13 meters.
Ice forms in the sea every year. The sea begins to freeze at the end of November, clearing of ice occurs in March-April. Rapid and frequent changes in winter weather result in extremely unstable ice conditions, and ice can change from stationary to drifting and back again. The ice reaches its maximum development and greatest thickness (20-60 cm in average winters and 80-90 cm in severe winters) in February. Ice can occupy up to 29% total area seas.
Currents in the Kerch Strait and the Sea of Azov mainly depend on the wind. The great variability of currents is a consequence of the instability of the wind regime, the shallowness of the sea and its relatively small area.
Two large rivers Don and Kuban flow into the Sea of Azov, supplying 95% of the total fresh water flow into the sea. The average annual flow of the Don River is 24 km³, the Kuban - 12 km³. Currently, the flow of the Don and Kuban is regulated by reservoirs. The average long-term continental flow into the sea of all rivers is 37 km³. The share of spring runoff is about 40%, and summer runoff is 20%.
Regulation of the flow of the Don and Kuban rivers led to the fact that by the end of the 1970s, 9-12 km³/year of river water stopped flowing into the Sea of Azov and the ratio of the influx of Black Sea waters through the Kerch Strait to their runoff from the Azov Strait increased from 0.68 to 0.85, salinity the latter increased from 10.5 to 12.4/o.
On average, 49 km³ of Azov water flows out of the Sea of Azov every year, and 34 km³ of Black Sea water flows into it. The average resulting water flow is 15 km³ of water per year with a total sea volume of 320 km³. The positive fresh balance of the sea ensures the low salinity of the Sea of Azov compared to the Black Sea.
In the balance of sea waters, the largest share of the incoming part is formed by continental runoff (43%) and the influx of water from the Black Sea (40%). The discharge part is dominated by the runoff of Azov water into the Black Sea (58%) and evaporation from the surface (40%).
The Black Sea is almost 11 times larger in area than the Azov Sea, and 1678 times larger in volume.
35-25 thousand years ago its level dropped 20 m below the modern one. The connection with the Mediterranean Sea deteriorated significantly, but remained with the Caspian Sea. 18 thousand years ago, the Black Sea completely separated.
At the next stage, caused by glaciation, the sea level dropped to minus 90-110 m.
The final stage of the evolution of the Black Sea took place 9-8 thousand years ago and is associated with the “breakthrough” of Mediterranean waters through the Bosporus. After this, the level of the reservoir began to rise and coastline reached modern isobaths. 4-3 thousand years ago the level of the new Dzhemetin Sea and the ecological conditions in the New Black Sea basin became close to modern ones, and the Kerch Strait acquired its modern outlines.
Today the length of the Kerch Strait is 43 km in a straight line and 48 km along the fairway. The maximum width is 42 km, the minimum is 3.7 km. The maximum depth at the entrance to the strait from the Sea of Azov is 10.5 m, at the exit from it - 18 m. In most of the water area of the strait, with the exception of the fairway, the depth does not exceed 5.5 m.
The total area of the strait is 805 km2, and the volume of water is 4.56 km³. This is almost 20 and three times, respectively, higher than the similar parameters of the Bosphorus Strait.
The channel of the strait is cluttered with reefs, sand bars and coastal shoals, which previously made navigation difficult. Now a canal has been dug in the strait for the passage of ships with deep draft.
Azov fish
In terms of biological productivity, the Sea of Azov ranks first among all sea bodies of water in the world. The biomass of phytoplankton in the Sea of Azov during the bloom period reaches a colossal value of 200 g/m3. In the recent past, the Sea of Azov ranked first in the world among marine reservoirs in terms of fish catches per unit area. Today the Sea of Azov is on the verge of a fishing disaster
In 1991, there were 17 species of commercial fish in the Sea of Azov. Today there are three left - anchovy, goby and pilengas. Over the last decade, the volume of catch of sawfish in the Sea of Azov has decreased almost by half, by three times by pike perch, and by four times by flounder. Today, the death of the Sea of Azov seems inevitable due to the ongoing barbaric destruction of fish and other biological resources. An attempt to close the Sea of Azov from fishing was made several years ago at an international conference with the participation of neighboring countries, but the Ukrainian side refused this proposal.
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In Crimea since the 4th century. BC. 77 strong earthquakes have occurred so far.
In 1927, a series of earthquakes hit Crimea. The first time there was an earthquake on June 26 - there were no casualties, there was little destruction. The disaster struck the next blow on the night of September 11-12. These tremors turned out to be much stronger - almost the entire Crimea was affected by it, and it was also felt outside the peninsula.
In Yalta and its environs, the force of the tremors reached 8 points, in Sevastopol, Simferopol and Alushta - 7 points, in Feodosia and Yevpatoria - 6 points, in Kerch - 5 points. 16 people were killed and 830 were injured. Half the population Big Yalta- and this is 17 thousand - were left homeless. Some villages were completely destroyed. For example, in Partenit all 64 existing buildings at that time turned into ruins. Powerful tremors were also monitored on September 24, while weak ones continued for several more months.
Immediately after the September events, the USSR People's Commissariat of Health sent a special commission to Crimea to study the impact of earthquakes on the psyche of the population. The fact is that people literally lost their minds from horror. Awakened in the middle of the night by strong tremors, accompanied by howling dogs, an underground rumble, flashes of light, and the crunch of breaking walls, many in panic jumped out of the windows - both from the second and third floors. Others, on the contrary, were numb and could not move, while others laughed hysterically. As the newspapers wrote, “several suicides from fright were noted.”
Crimea was empty in a matter of days. Not only all the holidaymakers, but also almost half of the local residents, some people, left it forever. Those who remained were preparing for the end of the world - there were persistent rumors that the Perekop Isthmus was about to “break” due to constant tremors, and the peninsula would go under water. In anticipation of the Apocalypse, the men in the villages put on clean underwear, churches of all faiths were overcrowded. Prayers were also offered to the pagan gods - in Alushta, in one of the city squares, a ram was sacrificed to them. But the tremors continued, and people developed various phobias: they were afraid of the dark, the sea, the mountains, loneliness, and they were exclusively afraid of going into houses. “If they needed to bring something from the apartment, they made their way there like thieves, listening to every rustle,” mentioned an eyewitness to the events. At first they spent the night in the open air, then they began to build houses from plywood. Entire plywood cities grew up in vacant lots—“Rio de Faneiro,” as the Crimeans called them.
Because of the earthquake, not only people, but also nature went crazy. Strange actions were observed in the sea long before the main shocks. So, in the middle of summer, the sea water temperature suddenly dropped to 12 degrees. A few days before September 11, in Yalta, in calm weather, there were meter-high waves on the sea. Something similar was seen in Alushta, as an eyewitness wrote, “there is no noise from the water, but the sea sways, there are considerable waves, and either towards the shore or from the shore. And the silence around is absolutely deadly.” A few hours before the earthquake, fishermen who were in the sea between Sudak and Alushta heard a terrible roar and saw that the water was covered with a small swell, as if it was boiling. At the moment of the main shock, the sea along the entire southeastern coast receded from the shores (in some places by 20-40 meters), and then flooded the beaches and embankments.
After the earthquake, blocks of some strange white substance were discovered on the surface of the water. It turned out that it was animal fat and beeswax - they apparently were in the holds of ships that sank a long time ago and rose from the bottom due to tremors. But the most incredible phenomenon was the huge (up to half a kilometer high) pillars of bright red flame, here and there rising above the sea. Rumors spread about some awakened underwater volcano. In fact, it was methane that was burning - a gas that escaped from the depths of the earth through faults formed on the seabed.
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First project.
C Since time immemorial, rulers of empires have considered the possibility of connecting the Crimean and Caucasian coasts as part of a possible great route from Europe to India. But the first rough project was made by Vladimir Mendeleev, the son of the great scientist.
“Convinced that the time is not far when Russian thought and Russian will will be inspired even more than now by the courage to carry out peaceful deeds useful to the homeland and the whole world, and convinced that the very dam of the Sea of Azov will sooner or later be realized, I consider it useful to publish a short , but my son's hardworking project."
These words are written in the preface to the work published under the title: “Project for raising the level of the Azov Sea by damming the Kerch Strait. Compiled by Vladimir Dmitrievich Mendeleev. Posthumous edition, with 2 maps and 5 sections attached.”
“My clever, loving, gentle, good-natured first-born son died, on whom I expected to entrust part of my covenants, since I knew unknown to those around me - lofty and truthful, modest and at the same time deep thoughts for the benefit of the homeland, with which he was imbued.”
A sailor by profession, V.D. Mendeleev sailed a lot in the Russian seas, knew them well and worked hard, finding ways to best use them for the prosperity of his native country. One of the results of these creative quests is the Azov Dam project.
Vladimir Mendeleev simply, clearly and convincingly set out a task of enormous importance for the Russian state.
He proposed building a dam in the Kerch Strait and turning the Sea of Azov into a deep inland Russian sea, accessible to large sea vessels.
Noting the outstanding importance of the Sea of Azov as a waterway, V.D. Mendeleev showed that this “given by nature, the shortest and cheapest route for a significant part of Russia, plays a prominent role both in the present and especially in the future.”
He carefully examined the following issues: the inaccessibility of the Azov Sea for large sea vessels, the shallow waters of the Azov Sea, the shallow waters of the strait, ports and roadsteads, overloads in the strait, bypass routes, the increase in transportation along the Azov Sea, grain trade, coal trade, shallow-draft fleet, coastal fleet.
Having thoroughly and concisely examined the “physical and geographical conditions of the Azov region,” V.D. Mendeleev made interesting calculations. They showed that every year a huge amount of water passes through the Kerch Strait into the Black Sea, which is lost to the Sea of Azov and does not perform any work. In order to streamline matters, V.D. Mendeleev proposed building a dam in the Kerch Strait and, with its help, raising the level of the Azov Sea by ten feet (3 m). With a total surface of the Sea of Azov equal to 33 thousand square meters. versts, the flood zone was supposed to be about 6 thousand square meters. versts (7 thousand km², for comparison, the area of the Rostov region is about 100 thousand km²).
The dam was supposed to consist of three parts: a large and medium dam with a total length of 1550 soots, built directly across the strait. (3300 m) and the dam on the Chushka spit - 5850 fathoms. (12,480 m). The large dam provided two locks for large seagoing vessels.
In addition, an auxiliary dam was envisaged on the Bugaz branch of the river. Kuban. The water released at the Great Kerch and Bugaz dams was supposed to be used “as a source of power.” The costs of 7 million rubles were determined for the construction of dams and dams.
V.D. Mendeleev developed in detail the defensive significance of the Kerch Dam.
Developing his thoughts, he wrote further about shipyards and factories: “The just-mentioned safety of the shores of the Azov Sea will give full grounds for the construction of shipbuilding shipyards and metallurgical plants closely connected with them, the proximity of which to coal and iron deposits will put them in especially favorable conditions.” .
The Kerch Dam was not only supposed to make it possible for large sea vessels to pass through the strait by increasing its depth by 10 feet (3 m), which gave a total depth of up to 28 feet (8.5 m). The rotten sea, or Sivash, inaccessible for sea navigation, V.D. Mendeleev proposed to turn into a sea accessible for free navigation of coastal vessels with a draft of up to 12 feet (3.7 m), for which most of the Sea of Azov itself is now inaccessible.
Doubling the depth of the shallow part of the Taganrog Bay was supposed to “reduce the amount of water surges produced by the winds.” “This circumstance,” wrote the author of the project for transforming the Sea of Azov, “will significantly improve the conditions of Azov navigation and will give the navigator the opportunity to approach its shores with less risk.”
According to calculations by V.D. Mendeleev, the rise in the level of the Azov Sea due to the Kerch dam should have opened access for seagoing vessels directly to the berths of Rostov, Taganrog, Mariupol, Berdyansk, Kerch, and for coastal vessels - to the berths of Temryuk, Yeisk, Genichesk:
"By freely entering the deepened Sea of Azov and taking cargo directly from wharves and railways, large seagoing vessels will be able to significantly reduce their freight rates."
V.D. Mendeleev did not forget about one more significant circumstance. Recalling that “the low-lying and reed-covered floodplains of the Kuban serve as a breeding ground for locusts,” he pointed out: “The flooding of these harmful lowlands by the constant flood of the Sea of Azov will put an end to this evil and will significantly improve the health of all coastal areas, now suffering greatly from malignant fevers ".
Confident that his son’s project would sooner or later be implemented, D. I. Mendeleev wrote at the end of his preface to the project:
“Many aspects of a very complex subject are covered by him to such an extent that, I believe, will significantly facilitate the work of those who must finally develop the construction details of the dam of the Azov Sea...
When the job is accomplished - and sooner or later it will be done - eternal memory will remain and a monument to V. D. Mendeleev will be built."
We inherited Vladimir Mendeleev's project as one of the bold creative darings characteristic of the sons of the Russian people.
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Ropeway.
The first real project of a road through the Kerch Strait - a cargo air crossing - was carried out 45 years later in 1943. The Germans, who occupied Crimea and the Caucasus, built a cargo cable car across the strait. It took them only 23 days to do this. When advancing Soviet troops the road was partially dismantled, partially blown up, but our people, under enemy fire, managed to build their own.
German cable car across the Kerch Strait. 1943
The German cable car across the Kerch Strait was built in the summer of 1943 to deliver military supplies to units blockaded in the Taman Peninsula area. For several months it worked almost uninterruptedly, delivering about 500 tons of various cargo per day to the mainland. But this did not save them.
Our specialists remembered the cargo cable car, left in the Caucasus mountains. It was due to the fact that storms often raged in the strait. And the shores of Crimea are rocky, steep, waves threw small ships on them, and they were broken into pieces.
The Military Council authorized sending a motorboat to the mountains and using 100 tons of fuel to deliver the cable car. Eight days later the cable car was delivered to the Krymskaya station. Here it was unloaded and one set was deployed for testing.
The supporting cables were not suitable. They could be replaced by the leaders, but then what about without the latter? Wooden supports were also not suitable. They needed to be strengthened 3-4 times and placed on a solid foundation. For the masts, only clusters of piles with a system of braces, braces and other fastenings in the surface part could serve as supports. Essentially, we had to design a new complex structure using elements of the imported cable car. Many components and parts had to be created anew.
An operational group of designers went to the Chushka Spit. The designers chose the alignment axis of the future road between Yenikale and the extreme point on the Chushka spit. The width of the strait in this place did not exceed four and a half kilometers. The entire coastal zone on both sides was within reach of enemy artillery fire. The army commander, approving the axis of the cable car alignment, promised to reliably cover the builders with fire.
Few remnants of the German cable car could be used by road workers. According to aerial reconnaissance, this road was built by the Nazis in April - May 1943. On the Taman shore there was an anchor station for the supporting ropes and a tensioning device with a counterweight for the traction rope. In Kerch there is a tension station for supporting ropes and a drive for the traction rope. Judging by the fragments, the diameter of the supporting cable was 36 millimeters. The number of supports, as their remains showed, is 23. The distance between them is 200-250 meters. Only the masts were wooden. All other components of the structure are made of metal and concrete.
I decided to install new supports every 250 meters. The diameter of the supporting rope was chosen to be 28 millimeters. The cable had to be ordered from the factory. The track width was increased from one and a half meters to two and a half. This ensured that the cables did not get caught in strong winds. The width of the support portals was also made one and a half meters larger. The strait's shipping channel was completely blocked by a span of 225 meters. This ensured free and safe passage of ships from the Azov Sea to the Black Sea and back.
The total length of the cable car was 5100 meters. The entire line was divided into two tension sections. A double tension station was designed in the middle of the strait. Its task is to reduce the friction force of the ropes. A loading station was provided on the shore of the Chushka Spit.
The payload of the trolley is 300 kilograms. The estimated productivity of the road per hour was 22 tons, per day - with two-shift work - 300 tons.
The main work on the construction of the cableway was assigned to three bridge-building battalions. The bridge workers had at their disposal two wooden fishing seiners with 20 horsepower engines, one hundred-ton barge, two rafts made of iron barrels, a river powerboat and a trophy boat.
Rain and snow, cold winds, and storms almost never stopped. It was impossible to dig a real dugout. When you dig into the soil, sea water immediately comes out. Any fire is happiness. But if you put it down, the enemy will detect it and fire at you. We need to cover it with something. With what? To top it off, there was no fresh water on the spit.
The waves strongly rocked the diesel hammers installed on the rafts and did not allow the piles to be driven. The wind blew into the arrows of the headframes as if into sails, and every minute the raft could capsize into the sea or break on the metal supports. To avoid being washed away by water, the soldiers tied themselves with ropes.
The surface components were welded. One night, the blue lights of five electric welding machines sparkled over the strait. The Nazis were alarmed and opened hurricane artillery fire. Our batteries from both banks launched a retaliatory attack on the enemy. And boats continuously cruised along the construction site and set up smoke screens on the windward side. The smoke corroded the soldiers' eyes and reduced visibility. But we had to put up with it and adapt.
For several weeks, the cable car was the only means of delivering goods to the Crimean coast.
Of course, a cable car is no match for a bridge, but it can be built very quickly and inexpensively, completely eliminating the problem for vacationers due to ferries laid up in stormy weather. It will not stand idle, people will not deny themselves the pleasure of riding over the strait.
But something else is surprising. According to my understanding, a cable car is a more complex structure than a power line. If it takes several years to lay a cable across the bay, let's throw wires across the bay. The Taman energy system also has a problem of power shortage at peak consumption, but for most of the year it can power part of Crimea. Savings on the purchase of liquid fuel for temporary power plants in Crimea will be enough for both power lines and cable cars.
It is quite possible to implement a cable car delivery project for passenger cars; they are not much heavier than a cabin with people.
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Bridge 1944.
Before the last Great War, preparations began for the construction of a bridge across the Kerch Strait. Metal structures for it were ordered from Germany. The construction of the bridge was continued by the Germans themselves, who captured Crimea. The first time they occupied Kerch was in November 1941, but on December 30 we returned there. Kerch was occupied for the second time on May 19, 1942.
The Germans decided to revive the idea of building a road to India. The starting point was Munich. Preparations for the construction of the Kerch automobile bridge began in the spring of 1943 using structures ordered at the time Soviet Union. The completion of the work was planned in 1944.
Soviet aerial reconnaissance reported to Stalin about the ongoing work, but he banned the bombing of the bridge construction. In 1944, the Soviet army liberated Crimea, and already in April the construction started by Hitler continued.
The most important building material, including some of the supports, was wood. It was brought here by the Germans, who carried out massive clearings in the Crimean forests for this purpose. The full length of the railway bridge crossing was formed by 115 identical 27-meter spans, a 110-meter span of a double opening rotating on a middle support above the fairway of large ships, as well as overpasses and stone dams off the coast. Construction work was on an unprecedented scale. A fleet of small vessels was needed to transport people to the site where the supports were installed. At the same time, infrastructure was built connecting the Caucasus with the Crimea by railway.
The construction had significant means of mechanization: 35 mobile power plants with a capacity of 4 to 300 kW, 23 different headframes, 6 jib cranes on rail and road, a pylon crane, a floating 45-ton crane, 10 excavators, 21 electric welding units, 230 trucks, 10 steam locomotives, 10 diving stations, 3 mobile mechanical workshops on railways, 8 self-propelled ships, etc. The total number of builders during the construction of the crossing varied: at the end of May 1944 there were about 7 thousand people, by August 15 - 11.5 thousand ., by December 21 - about 8 thousand. When constructing high pile grillages for supports, captured hollow metal piles were used, they were driven into the ground to a depth of 12 to 18 m. In total, more than 2,340 piles were driven. The construction of supports for the drawbridges took 3 months, of which 25 days of work were not carried out due to the storm.
Along the planned route of the bridge crossing in the strait, bushes of thirty-meter piles were driven under the main supports.
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| First train |
The first pile was driven on April 24, 1944, and on November 3, 1944, the first train passed across the bridge from the Crimea station to the Kavkaz station on the Chushka spit.
The commission that accepted the facility noted that “the team... overcame all difficulties and completed the first stage of work in 150 days, achieving a work rate of more than 30 m of bridge per day.” The second stage of work, which involved, in particular, the replacement of temporary wooden supports with permanent metal ones, as well as the construction of 116 ice cutters, was to be completed by January 1, 1945. However, it was not possible to meet these deadlines, and a disaster occurred.
During the unusually frosty winter of 1944-1945, a very thick layer of ice formed in the Sea of Azov. In February there was a sharp warming, and the ice fields moved into the Black Sea, straight to the bridge. The ice floes were fired from guns from the shore, bombed from airplanes, thrown with plastic bags from the bridge supports - all in vain.
Under the pressure of ice, 42 of the 115 bridge supports collapsed, dragging the spans with them. This happened on February 18, 1945 - the bridge lasted only a little over three months. Oddly enough, in this case Stalin did not take any repressive measures. According to legend, he said: “We will not punish. I myself am to blame for this."
They did not restore the bridge. The remains of the pillars interfered with ship traffic for many years. Back in 1968, the liquidation of the remaining remains of supports in the area of the Kerch-Yenikalsky shipping canal continued.
The supports, which were completed completely, withstood the pressure of the ice, although only five ice cutters were installed. If all the work planned for completion before January 1, 1945 had been completed, then perhaps the bridge would still be standing today. It is clear that in 1945 it was necessary to complete completely different work.
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Dam across the strait
Attempts two and three
Under the leadership of the famous bridge engineer Boris Konstantinov, the author of the Crimean Bridge in Moscow, a bridge across the Kerch Strait was designed in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Teams of builders had already been created, construction organizations were located on both sides of the strait, and managed to build the first bull - one of dozens of intermediate supports. But the question of construction was brought to the Politburo. They say that after the report of the author of the project, Stalin asked how much it would cost to build the bridge and how much it would cost to build a ferry crossing, the project of which was presented as an alternative option. Of course, the cost of the crossing was significantly less, and Stalin said twice: “We will build a crossing…”. The crossing, which is partially still in operation, came into operation in the early 1950s, and the powerful first bull of the never-built bridge still sticks out in the water near the Crimean coast.
The second attempt was made in the mid-1970s, it was associated with the desire to improve the ecology of the Azov Sea. As you know, before the war Azov provided 30% of the all-Union production of valuable fish and caviar. However, after a reduction of almost 40% in the flow of fresh water from the Don and Kuban into Azov, conditions for fish farming in Azov have significantly worsened. The water in it became much saltier, and the Azov fish, not accustomed to it, simply died. It was decided that it would be a crime to build anything in the strait without taking into account the fate of the Sea of Azov. By order of the commander-in-chief of “Azcherryba”, the design institute “Hydroproekt” named after. S. Ya. Zhuka completed the first stage of design work for the Kerch hydroelectric complex, which limited the access of salty Black Sea water to Azov. The project was agreed upon with the Crimean Regional Executive Committee and the government of the Ukrainian SSR.
However, the last word, as always, belonged to Moscow. The project was studied by the government and the State Planning Committee of the USSR, its estimated cost was 480 million rubles, which was equal to the current 400 million dollars. However, in parallel, the State Planning Committee received the same expensive project for the protective dam of Leningrad, which was actively defended by Politburo member V. Romanov. The Kerch hydroelectric project passed all the examinations, but even that country could not afford two such constructions at the same time. Advantage in the Politburo of the CPSU was given to the Leningrad Dam. The Kerch hydroelectric project has been “temporarily” postponed. As it turned out - forever...
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Magazine "Technology for Youth" No. 1 for 1985
Divide two seas, connect two shores
THIS IS, IN A NUMBER OF WORDS, THE PURPOSE OF A UNIQUE ENGINEERING STRUCTURE FOR THE KERCH STRAIT, THE PROJECT OF WHICH WAS PREPARED BY THE HYDROPROJECT INSTITUTE NAMED AFTER S. Y. ZHUK.
There is no crowding in the strait. The crowd of two or three hundred ships is such that there is no place for an anchor to fall. But the shoals were dense, even with a pump. They pumped it up. They made a note and, without lifting the seine on board, launched a fish sucker into the “wallet”. It often happened that a rain of anchovy was already pouring over the edge of the holds, and the nets were still half full.
- Please help! — the captain’s triumphant radiogram was broadcast. - Well, who's ready? - This is said with the microphone turned off.
— It turns out that rumors about the lack of fish in Azov are greatly exaggerated? And depending on what is considered a fish, the good fish is gone... The ribka remains!
In the 30s, the “basket” of Azov fish amounted to 5-6 million poods, half of this catch was not some kind of pop-eyed goby or sprat. And delicate fish: sturgeon, red mullet, vimba, bream, ram, our famous herring, Kerch. And last week we accidentally caught a pike perch - half the collective farm came to take a look. People are looking, and his eyes are clouded. From salt.
The salt is all the “salt” of Azov. As a boy, the lighthouse keeper sent me with a kettle to the sea. For water. Now you can’t put it in your mouth.
Attaching exceptional importance to the timely solution of the Azov problem, the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted in 1975 a resolution “On measures to prevent pollution of the basins of the Azov and Black Seas.” Earlier, the development of major water management measures began, aimed at returning the country’s “fish granary” to its former glory.
sea dam
Among the greatest rivers on the planet, there are, perhaps, almost no rivers left that do not have hydroelectric dams at their sites. And there is experience in building offshore structures: for example, the filling of a dam in the Gulf of Finland, protecting Leningrad from floods, is in full swing.
So fundamental technical difficulties associated with creating an artificial partition between the two seas are unlikely to arise.
But there is a legitimate question: what could be the environmental consequences of such a significant amendment to geography? Will it be necessary to correct mistakes “retroactively”, as in the case of the construction of a blind dam at Kara-Bogaz-Gol?
Therefore, the experience of the recent past makes us think not only about the technical implementation of an engineering idea, but also about such a delicate question: how will the end reservoir of the Atlantic Ocean behave if it suddenly finds itself in isolation? Will it bloom, say, “salted” by river runoff? Will its pollution level increase? Won't a partition, even with locks, scare away anchovy, sprat, and those few species of valuable fish that still migrate from one sea to another?
And in general, what is the most effective way to help the sea in distress, while maximally taking into account the sometimes conflicting interests of energy, irrigated agriculture, shipping, and fisheries?
It is clear that it is impossible to do without a comprehensive, integrated analysis of the very difficult situation that has arisen as a result of intensive economic activity in the Azov Sea basin; To implement it, we need the joint efforts of hydraulic engineers and ecologists, ichthyologists and hydrobiologists, hydrochemists and biophysicists. This work was led by scientists from the Institute of Mechanics and Applied Mathematics at the Rostov State University. state university, together with specialists from the Azov Research Institute of Fisheries, who created a simulation mathematical model of the Azov Sea.
This model concentrated the knowledge of all specialists about the sea - its salinity, chemical composition, food supply, sediments, river runoff, water intake for irrigation and industrial needs, fish numbers and the discharge of untreated wastewater. Having set the initial parameters, the researcher, using this model, could obtain a detailed forecast of the state of the sea for decades to come.
In particular, the construction of the Kerch hydroelectric complex may not be an effective enough measure if irreversible water consumption and mineralization of river water increase. Calculations show that then, despite the dam, the salinity of the Azov Sea may even exceed the salinity of the Black Sea. So caring for the sea should begin from the sources of the rivers flowing into it.
Lights in the Strait
I saw another model, but not a mathematical one - a real one, under the arches of a huge hall similar to an indoor stadium in the research sector of the Hydroproject. Directly in front of me stretched the Kerch Strait with detailed coastal and bottom reliefs, a dam - an exact copy of the one they are going to build, but reduced by 100 times.
Using this model, engineers conducted experiments, determining the impact of sea waves, sediment, currents, winds, etc. on various elements of the hydraulic system.
The waves of the Sea of Azov, reduced to the appropriate scale, dashingly rolled onto the dam, freezing on its sandy slope. Light bowls with lit candles rushed through the raised gates.
Where the depths of the fairway are greatest, there will be a so-called large lock for heavy sea vessels, and nearby there will be a small one for seiners and small ships. The configuration of the approaches - you see these “whiskers” - is chosen in such a way that in bad weather they will take on both squall and storm.
A half-kilometer fishway dam will be attached to the “head” of the large lock, in the lower part of which there are 34 culvert spans, each 14 m wide. They are equipped with two rows of shutters that will remain closed most of the time. Twice a year - in the spring, when the fish go to spawn in the Sea of Azov, and in the fall, when they return after feeding for the winter in the Black Sea, the shutters will be raised.
We select the dimensions of the fish passage chambers so that the current speed in them does not exceed 0.4 m/s. Then, returning from wintering, even the most exhausted anchovy will be able to overcome the oncoming flow.
Strait "from the inside out"
An important question is what should the dam stand on? — ceased to be open after the last soil samples were extracted. The designers finally “tied” the dam to the shores of the strait so that no treacherous landslides, no dangerous slopes, or disguised ancient faults would be encountered along its path.
A pleasant surprise awaited the designers at the Zhukovsky site. Here, prospectors stumbled upon an outcropping of dense, so-called Sarmatian clays. They extended as a wide platform from the Crimean coast almost to the middle of the strait - 2 km. And this is in its narrowest place! Nature has done its best here, as if to order, creating a powerful foundation near the steep shore, capable of supporting the weight of the heaviest - concrete - parts of the waterworks.
But with the blind earthen dam connecting the waterworks with the Caucasian coast, surveyors and designers had the most trouble. In the western part of the strait - wherever you look! — the drillers invariably encountered only a thick, several tens of meters, pillow of silt. In such abyss, both concrete blocks and pieces of rock will disappear without a trace. Piles are also not suitable - they would have to be made as tall as a television tower, because the drillers found hard soil capable of bearing loads at almost 60 meters depth.
Until now, the world practice of hydraulic construction has canonized: the foundation of such a monumental structure as a dam must rest on a natural foundation of solid rock. And here - a conceivable thing! — the dam will rest on the mud?! True, there is a known case when Hydroproject specialists managed to compact dune sands from special floating installations at a depth of 30 meters and place the foundation of the Aswan Dam on them...
But what to do here if the depth is twice as large and it is completely unclear how one can “compact” the insatiable silty abyss that has accumulated for thousands of years at the bottom of the strait? Dozens of different options were tested until they came up with the idea of pouring beach shell sand directly onto the silt. Its particles, having great adhesion to each other, form a very dense mass when wet. As the embankment grows, the engineers reasoned, the sand will begin to displace the silt, then, thanks to its high porosity and good adhesion to the silty sands, it will absorb part of the liquid fraction of the silt and self-compact. True, in such cases there is a danger of the embankment overturning, and swelling of the soil near the base may also occur. There is only one recipe: you need flat beach slopes with a slope of 1:100. Calculations have shown that a 3-kilometer dam with a 13-meter surface and the same height underwater parts, having a ridge 30 m wide, will spread under water in each direction from its center by almost 1.5 km. To fill this truncated pyramid, or rather, an underwater hill with a base of almost 8 km2, more than 40 million m3 of soil will be needed, and it is assumed that the silt will absorb only slightly less than a third of this amount.
To check the correctness of the initial premises, on the Caucasian coast, in conditions as close as possible to “combat” conditions, a fragment of an earthen dam was dredged. A full-scale experiment confirmed that neither rainfall, nor waves, nor ice fields caused damage to this structure.
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The first option involves the transfer of water from other river basins. (Unfortunately, not from the neighbors, where water supply is a little tight, but from afar, from the North.)
The second is the narrowing, or, as engineers say, constriction, of the Kerch Strait with a simple dam, limiting the movement of water from one sea to another.
Finally, the third option is to block the strait with a dam with hydraulic equipment that regulates the exchange between the seas.
Which option has the highest chance of winning over its rivals from an economic, technical, biological point of view?
The first one encroaches on part of the water of northern rivers and lakes, transferred as if in a large arc across the great Russian Plain. Many threads must be stretched between the rivers Sukhona, Onega, Northern Dvina, lakes Kubenskoye, Lacha, Vozha to the upper reaches of the Volga.
It is planned to break through canals, build dams and dikes in order to force the water to change its favorite paths and run to the Rybinsk Sea, to the Volga-Baltic waterway, and from there to flow down the Volga to the expanded, rebuilt Volga-Don connection (the current one cannot cope!), and then get to the Tsimlyansk Reservoir.
It is planned to transport twenty to thirty cubic kilometers of water annually in this way for the first five years. This considerable volume of water is then supposed to be reduced - the Sea of Azov will have time to regain its low salinity.
— How much will it cost to implement this option for desalinization of the Sea of Azov?
“Of course, it will require significant allocations,” my interlocutor answers. — The transfer project is estimated at approximately two billion rubles, spent mainly on laying a network of canals, building dams, dams, powerful electric and pumping stations.
Expensive! However, it’s not just a matter of large investments and labor efforts. It is impossible to recommend such a significant withdrawal of water from economic circulation for the sole purpose of preserving juvenile valuable fish.
The second option is a dam. It, like a giant bolt, will jump over the strait and go three kilometers further along the Crimean Peninsula. However, it will not completely ban the water space; a narrow corridor will remain, formed on the sea side by a dam, and on the opposite side by a steep bank.
A dam, built from huge reinforced concrete boxes filled with sand and sunk at the bottom, will narrow the area of water exchange between the seas, but will not provide the opportunity to deliberately manage this process for the benefit of the fish population, leaving it to the play of natural forces.
And this is a significant disadvantage, and here’s why. A painstaking analysis of the water balance and the study of its complex mechanism led hydrobiologists and designers to a conclusion that seemed paradoxical at first glance: it is possible to desalinize the Sea of Azov using our own resources, without resorting to substantial loans from the outside!
The self-healing of the Azov Sea will be facilitated by the third option - the likely winner in the battle of three contenders. It provides for the construction of a hydroelectric complex in the Kerch Strait, by the way, at a cost equal to a simple dam.
According to the designers' calculations, to build a dam (or a dam of greater length), it is planned to spend approximately two hundred million rubles, only one tenth of the project cost of transferring the waters of northern rivers and lakes.
And if the hydroelectric complex is equipped with a bridge between Crimea and the Caucasus, the project will cost a hundred million more. Naturally, a bridge is not at all necessary for underwater inhabitants, but it is very tempting to abandon the ferry crossing currently operating in the Kerch Strait.
On a large-scale map it is easy to measure the distance between the Crimean and Caucasian coasts where the site of the future hydroelectric complex is chosen. It is only four to five kilometers long, and the depths range from four to eight meters.
The Crimean coast is steep, it rises ten to twenty meters above the sea, the Caucasian low-lying, sandy coast rises two to two and a half meters and ends with a long and narrow spit with the funny nickname Chushka.
Near its “patch” a blind dam of sand and stone with a length of two thousand four hundred meters will begin. A concrete dam, two thousand seven hundred meters long, cut into the strong Crimean rocks, with piers and a sluice, will rush towards it. Both wings will merge together somewhere in the middle of the Kerch Strait, closing it.
Along the entire front of the concrete dam, two hundred bottom holes will be installed - rectangular openings measuring five by two and a half meters in cross-section, blocked by metal butterfly valves. Depending on the direction, wind strength and wave height, it will be possible, by maneuvering the gates, to regulate water exchange between the seas, to prevent unwanted mixing, the notorious surges and surges.
In the summer, for example in June, when the wind drives and throws a high wave, the difference in levels between the surface of the Black and Azov Seas is sometimes one and a half to two meters. According to ichthyologists, if the difference exceeds ten centimeters, only fish passages will be turned on.
If the drop is below ten centimeters, the shutters of the shipping lock are opened, and it turns into a short channel, free for the passage of ships. At this time, the fish will be able to pass either through it or through the bottom holes, all of which are also wide open.
The main building elements - giant hollow reinforced concrete blocks, each thirty-seven meters long, weighing about two and a half thousand tons - will be produced on stocks or in a quiet, convenient bay, from where water is pumped out.
After the next batch of blocks is made, the bay will be flooded. Then the hollow “parts” of the dam will go to the waterworks site under their own power, afloat, towed by a boat.
Before assembling the blocks, stone filling will be made in the alignment, the holes and cracks at the bottom will be closed, and the “bed” will be leveled on which the delivered giant elements will be mounted. A similar method of constructing hollow blocks, their delivery and flooding in a narrow strait was successfully tested by the builders of the Kislogub tidal power station on the coast of the Kola Peninsula.
Practice has shown that such a method not only speeds up and significantly simplifies, but also significantly reduces the cost of constructing a waterworks complex in a sea strait.
“Self-healing” of the sea will take from five to ten years, depending on whether the years are low or high.
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About fresh water reserves in the Sea of Azov, which can be used in Crimea
Many years of work on the study of the geology of the Sea of Azov, including offshore drilling, interpretation of aerial and satellite photographs, confirmed the presence of a horizon of sand over almost the entire area of the seabed (up to 30 meters), covered with a layer of plastic silt, which is an impenetrable screen for fresh waters accumulating due to under-channel flow of the Don, Kuban and other rivers flowing into the Sea of Azov. Moreover, the share of understream flow is one third of surface flow.
In other words, in the depths of Azov there is an entire ocean of constantly replenished fresh water, screened from salty sea water by an impenetrable horizon of silty loams and clays. It is also important that this underwater “Baikal” is located directly off the northern and eastern Crimean coasts.
Geological fresh water resources under the Sea of Azov are estimated at 100 cubic kilometers. Is it a lot or a little? For example, the Dnieper cascade of artificial seas (reservoirs) holds about 44 cubic kilometers of water contaminated with chemical fertilizers, pesticides, industrial and sewage waste. The average depth of Azov is 12 meters, plus 30 meters of a screening layer of bottom sediments and sand. For Crimean offshore platforms, such as “Sevash”, exploring reserves of gas, oil and other hydrocarbons accumulated under our northern sea, these are “seeds”.
Assessing the reserves of Azov fresh water from purely economic needs, it should be noted that it is more than enough to completely quench thirst not only for the Crimean Peninsula. After all, the need of the Republic of Crimea is a little more than one cubic kilometer per year. Geologists say: without disturbing the ecological balance, up to 10 cubic kilometers can be pumped out from under the bottom of the Sea of Azov annually. Imagine. Just one tenth of fresh water, which can be pumped without offending Mother Nature, can turn Crimean peninsula to the flourishing Russian emirates. There remains another 8-9 cubic kilometers of “sanctioned” fresh water, which would solve all the problems of the southern Donbass, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, which are also suffering from droughts and interruptions in the supply of fresh water to houses and apartments.
All that remains is to find capital financial investments and begin the development of the Crimean “Baikal”, scientists say
A dam may be worse than a bridge, but let's show a specialist who can justify it! World science does not stand still and modern technologies make it possible to strengthen the silt to a state capable of bearing the loads of the dam. For bridge supports you will have to get to a solid foundation, but with a dam it is easier. After all, the spits have existed in the strait for hundreds of years and can withstand everything, ice, storms, currents, and wind.
When choosing a bridge crossing option in 2014, the Avtodor Group of Companies considered 74 options for bridges and tunnels. The dam option was not considered. The reason is simple - Avtodor deals with roads, not fish. Another department deals with fish, the seas - a third, shipping - a fourth, ecology - a fifth, fresh water- sixth, seventh in energy. Only Vladimir Vladimirovich is responsible for strategic complex projects.
The Ministry of Regional Development of the Russian Federation existed for several years, but in 2014 it was liquidated “as unnecessary.” Can the Ministry of Interregional Development do this with an appropriate set of research institutes?
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About the tunnel
The Internet is full of proposals for the construction of a tunnel under the Kerch Strait and indeed it has undoubted advantages: it is not affected by mud volcanoes, currents, winds, storms, ice drift, icing, snow. Construction is cheaper, since there is no need to deal with silt and drive extra-long piles. But everything depends on the seismic activity of the area, with magnitude 9 earthquakes expected once every hundred years.
And here is another convincing opinion from forum participant Valentin
A few words need to be said about the tectonic situation that has developed on the Kerch and Taman Peninsulas. 50 years ago, as a schoolboy, I learned that the Taman Peninsula is falling by 2 cm per year, and the Kerch Peninsula is rising by the same 2 cm. It took 50 years to see this with my own eyes. The beaches where I spent my barefoot childhood simply went under water, along the entire northern part of the Taman Peninsula. In 2013, the beaches were again filled along the entire coast, strengthened with huge boulders of rock.
Anyone who sees these photographs will see the amount of work done, the height of the embankments (and it is 1.5-2.0 m), and will see with their own eyes that the tectonic plate on which the Taman Peninsula is located is descending, and most likely fits under the Crimean tectonic plate , raising it by 2 cm annually. From here, any reasonable person will conclude that any construction of a tunnel in these places is out of the question; if the beach, now filled up, is filled up again in 50 years, the tunnel will simply break.
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Most recently, the $3.3 billion Marmaray Tunnel was opened. Its 13.2-kilometer railway track (including 1,400 meters of seabed along the Bosphorus Strait) connects the Asian and European sides of Istanbul, thereby making it the first railway tunnel to connect two continents.
The Turkish Tunnel was assembled piece by piece in a trench at the bottom of the Bosphorus, making it the longest and deepest submersible tunnel. Engineers chose this solution, using pre-assembled sections connected by thick, flexible, rubber-steel plates to better combat regional seismic activity.
The inventor of the submersible tubular tunnel (ITT, PTT) is the American engineer W. J. Wilgus. PTTs are assembled together from parts. Wilgus tested this technology during the construction of the Detroit River Railroad connecting Detroit and Windsor. The technology caught on, and more than 100 of these tunnels were built in the 20th century.
To make each tunnel segment, workers pour 30,000 tons of steel and concrete together into a massive mold and then let it sit for a month. The molds include the floor, walls and ceiling of the tunnel and are initially closed at the ends, making them watertight when transported at sea. The forms are transported by submersible pontoons, large vessels that resemble a cross between a gantry crane and a pontoon boat.
By descending a pre-dug chute, each part of the tunnel fills enough to sink on its own. The crane slowly lowers the section into position, and divers guide it using GPS. As each new section connects to its neighbor, they are connected by dense rubber that inflates and contracts. Afterwards, the crew removes the sealing partition and pumps out the remaining water. Once the entire tunnel is built, it is filled in.
Unlike a traditional tunnel made in rock, the PTT will be flexible: its sections will be connected to each other by elastic connecting elements made of steel and rubber. Such a structure will be able to survive powerful tremors without cracking.
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Russian-Ukrainian history of the construction of the road across the strait
On the importance of Tuzla Island during the Ukrainian history of Crimea
Considering the issue of the legal status of the Kerch Strait, a number of politicians focus special attention on the state ownership of the island of Tuzla, located between the Kerch and Taman peninsulas, since it is its ownership that allows control of the deep-sea fairway. The significance of Tuzla is no less important for the country than Kurile Islands. Or maybe even more so. In fact, whoever owns the spit owns the Kerch Strait and 70 percent of the Azov Sea. After a number of Black Sea countries joined NATO and obvious sympathy for the bloc on the part of Ukraine, the situation changed. The lack of Russian control over the strait means that foreign warships can come close to Rostov-on-Don, and all the strategic centers of the south of our country will be within the reach of their tactical weapons.
Tuzla Island used to be an integral part of the spit of the same name. This can be seen on pre-revolutionary maps:
In 2003, Russia attempted to restore the spit by connecting it to an island belonging to Ukraine. The rate of backfilling of the spit was impressive - 157 meters per day. The events almost ended in an international military conflict.
Ukraine urgently created a border post on the island, and military forces were pulled into the dam construction area to conduct scheduled exercises. Loudspeakers were installed on the island and psychological pressure was put on the builders - in a pleasant female voice they were urged to refuse to violate the state border of Ukraine. . They also built dugouts and firing points on the island, installed barbed wire and even brought in service dogs.
The total number of ships passing through the strait per year exceeds 21 thousand, including more than 500 large-capacity ones.
Taking into account high seismicity area and the complexity of engineering and geological conditions, the construction of a transport crossing through the Kerch Strait in the form of a tunnel seems unlikely.
At the preliminary stages of preparation for the design and construction of the crossing, a proposal to place one railway track and four traffic lanes at the crossing is proposed for consideration.
Preliminarily, the navigable span of the bridge should be at least 320 m - up to 500 m on the Kerch-Yenikalsky sea shipping canal.
For development, four options for the location of the bridge are tentatively proposed:
1 . Northern, in the area of Cape Lantern at the exit of the strait into the Sea of Aeov;
E. Zhukovsky, in the area of the existing ferry crossing;
3. Yenikalsky, south of the ferry crossing, between Cape Yenikale and the southern tip of the Chushka Spit;
4. Tuzlinsky. in the area of the old fortress, south of Cape Ak-Burun [White] to the island - Tuela Spit.
A serious disadvantage of the northern option is the possibility of large ice fields from the Sea of Azov pouring onto the bridge, and the likelihood of blocking the strait with ice. The same drawback, although to a lesser extent, is also characteristic of the Zhukovsky and Yenikalsky options; in addition, the Zhukovsky option is located at a sharp turning point in the Kerch-Yenikalsky sea canal, which is unacceptable due to shipping conditions.
Low banks and located on the Crimean coast settlements Zhukovka, Opasnoye, Sinyagino make it difficult to approach the bridge with a clearance under it of more than 50 m, which are also disadvantages of the Zhukovsky and Yenikalsky options.
The disadvantage of the Yenikalsky option is also the access to the southern end of the Chushka Spit, behind which there is a large water area of the Taman Bay.
The disadvantage of the Tuzlinsky option is its passage over the turning point of the Kerch-Yenikalsky sea canal, next to the transshipment roadstead of the port of Kerch. The advantage of the Tuzlinsky option is the high Crimean bank, almost level with the bridge, there is no need to climb the bridge. This will reduce the length of the bridge, although it may require increasing the navigation span.
A preliminary comparison of options for the location of the bridge across the Kerch Strait according to situational conditions and shipping conditions shows the advantage of the Tuzla option, which is located in the narrowest part of the strait, where shipping is limited on the Crimean side by a high steep bank, and on the Caucasian side by shallow water and the Tuzla spit island.
For further development, it is recommended to first accept the Tuzlinsky option for the bridge location.
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Chronicle of events
In 1995 The Crimean joint-stock company "Krymenergoresursy" proposed a project for a two-tier bridge with a length of 5672 meters. The authors of the project planned to lay a four-lane highway along the upper tier, and a double-track railway along the lower tier.
The total cost of construction was estimated at 500 million dollars, although after expanding the project, taking into account access roads and reconstruction of the banks on both sides of the strait, it could reach 1.5-2 billion.
The Kievsoyuzdorproekt Institute and the Kievinterproekt scientific and technical enterprise also developed their own versions of the bridge.
December 9, 1999of the year The authorities of Moscow, Crimea and Krasnodar agreed to organize a joint venture "Russia-Ukraine Bridge", which will build a bridge across the Kerch Strait. The protocol on the construction of a bridge across the Kerch Strait was signed as part of the Moscow-Crimean agreement on large-scale cooperation.
In November 2000 Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov announced that he had found investors willing to invest one and a half billion dollars in the construction of a bridge across the Kerch Strait. An open joint-stock company “Kerch Bridge” was created with the participation of Russian and Ukrainian partners. Dozens of pre-design proposals were collected there, and several different projects for the future bridge were prepared. The most expensive project was estimated at $900 million, and the cheapest at $232 million.
April 28, 2001 In Kerch, Luzhkov, Grach and Tkachev signed a “Memorandum of Friendship and Cooperation.” In it, the parties confirmed the agreement to develop and implement a project for the construction of a transport crossing across the Kerch Strait.
June 8, 2007 Georgy Dyachenko, director of the Russian design and construction company Spetsfundamentstroy, proposed his design for a bridge about 4.5 km long and costing $480 million. According to him, with good preparation, the bridge can be built in two years.
6 September thatsame year At a meeting in Moscow, the construction company confirmed its readiness to build the bridge for $480 million. This is a negligible amount for such a project. German Gref (head of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade) said that Russia is ready to finance the construction of the bridge in full.
November 11, 2007 Chairman of the Supreme Council of Crimea Anatoly Gritsenko: “The bridge will be built, you can rest assured. The draft state budget of Ukraine for 2008 provides 28 million hryvnia for the construction of a transport crossing across the Kerch Strait.” If built simultaneously on the Russian and Ukrainian sides, the bridge can be built in 14-16 months.
In 2008 Chernomorneftegaz presented its requirements for the bridge design, which has a need to transport drilling platforms under the bridge from the Black Sea to the Azov Sea and vice versa. The bridge must rise above the water by at least 70 meters. Accordingly, the length of the piles should be about 140 meters (10 meters in solid ground, 50 meters in silt, 10 meters in water, 70 meters above water).
April 26, 2010 Presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Viktor Yanukovych signed an agreement on the construction of a bridge across the Kerch Strait. Medvedev noted that the Kerch-Kuban bridge should be built in 2014.
September 15, 2010 A meeting of the Ukrainian-Russian working group on the construction of a transport crossing across the Kerch Strait took place in Simferopol. JSC Giprostroymost Institute prepared a video presentation of the project.
In 2011 When discussing options for building a bridge across the Kerch Strait, preference was given to the project of a bridge crossing from Cape Lantern to Cape Maly Kut. The bridge was planned to be built by 2014.
May 6, 2011 Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin: “It’s time to start building a bridge across the Kerch Strait. Both Russia and Crimea have been waiting for this for a long time. We spoke with both the Prime Minister and the President of Ukraine on this matter. Our Ukrainian colleagues support the most active way."
September 22, 2011 The Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, by order of the Government of the Russian Federation dated November 22, 2011 N 1734-r, approved the “Transport Strategy of the Russian Federation for the period until 2030”. In it, the construction of a bridge across the Kerch Strait is indicated in two points of the main directions for the development of transport infrastructure in the Southern Federal District until 2015.
February 1, 2013 Russian Ambassador to Ukraine Mikhail Zurabov: “More recently, Ukrainian colleagues once again drew attention to the fact that it would be possible to intensify preparation work and make a final decision regarding the bridge crossing across the Kerch Strait. And just today, at the request of the Russian side, conveyed the corresponding proposals to the Deputy Prime Minister of the Ukrainian government, Alexander Ivanovich Vilkul."
December 10, 2013 Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev signed an Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on joint actions to organize the construction of a transport crossing across the Kerch Strait.
December 17, 2013 Presidents Putin and Yanukovych noted with satisfaction that within the framework of the sixth meeting of the Russian-Ukrainian Interstate Commission, an “Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on joint actions to organize the construction of a transport crossing across the Kerch Strait” was signed.
January 30, 2014 The Government of Ukraine approved an agreement between the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Government of the Russian Federation on joint actions to organize the construction of a transport crossing across the Kerch Strait, signed on December 17, 2013 in Moscow.
January 29, 2014 Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Igor Shuvalov ordered the development of a project to create a bridge across the Kerch Strait. The Ministry of Transport of Russia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia have been instructed to ensure coordination with the Ukrainian side of the technical specifications.
March 3, 2014 Chairman of the Government D.A. Medvedev said that he signed a Government order on the transfer of customer functions to a special joint-stock company that will deal with these issues. In accordance with it, the state company Rosavtodor soon created the Transport Transition Through the Kerch Strait OJSC.
March 19, 2014 Russian President Vladimir Putin, at a meeting with members of the Government of the Russian Federation, set the Ministry of Transport the task of building bridges across the Kerch Strait: “We need both railway and road bridges.” In a statement by the head of the Ministry of Transport of Russia M.Yu. Sokolov, in response to the President’s address to him, spoke about the upcoming options for the design of one bridge: one road bridge or combining a highway and a railway or a tunnel as one option.
March 27, 2014 9 days after the reunification of Crimea with Russia, the winner of the competition for the right to conclude an Agreement for conducting engineering surveys and developing a feasibility study for the project: “Construction of a transport crossing across the Kerch Strait” was determined (the final price of the contract is 375 million rubles, completion date Agreement - 01.10.2014).
May 21, 2014 Any agreements regarding the construction of a bridge across the Kerch Strait are not included in the official list of 47 documents signed as part of the official visit of Russian President Putin to the People's Republic of China. In fact, this means the PRC’s refusal to build an obviously unprofitable bridge.
In September 2014 The head of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, Maxim Sokolov, reported to Putin that construction of the bridge had begun. The project itself includes several sections. Of the 74 options for the bridge route that were considered by the Avtodor expert council back in May of this year, preference was given to Tuzlinsky. In addition to the bridge crossing over the main section of the canal, about six kilometers, there are sections along the Tuzla Spit - 6.5 km, as well as a dam and a section of the existing strait - also about 6.5 km (that is, a total of about 19 km).
The budget for the project was also announced - according to the State Order, it amounts to 228 billion rubles (this makes the bridge across the Kerch Strait the second most expensive to construct in the world - only the suspension bridge across San Francisco Bay, which cost $6.4 billion, is more expensive). Construction completion date is December 2018.
October 30, 2014 Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Crimea Georgy Muradov said that, in his opinion, instead of a bridge across the Kerch Strait, it would be advisable to build a tunnel. Such recommendations were given to the Crimean authorities by foreign construction companies from China and Canada, who believe that building a bridge in the location proposed by the government is “dangerous” due to the unfavorable influence of the local weather. Muradov mentioned “storm winds and freezing rain in winter.”
He noted that it is better to build a “modular flexible tunnel, which is an overhead tunnel in sandy soils.” The official hopes that the Ministry of Transport and Rosavtodor will still be able to make the right decision. Muradov also emphasized that the tunnel will cost much less than the bridge - only 60-80 billion rubles.
This is not about drilling the soil, but about the fact that a modular structure will be placed at the bottom, which includes two railways, a six-lane highway and an infrastructure channel for backup electricity and gas supplies.
December 30, 2014 The authorities of Sevastopol proposed replacing the bridge across the Kerch Strait with a ferry crossing. Alexey Chaly: “The cost of one ferry, which takes 15-20% of the load of the Kerch crossing and would already significantly affect logistics in Crimea, is 100-110 million euros, that is, about seven billion rubles. It's not 250 billion. We need to seriously think about making Sevastopol a port through which logistics go to Crimea.” A significant part of the Crimean population is geographically closer to Sevastopol than to Kerch.
The Kerch Strait connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Azov and separates the Crimean Peninsula from the Caucasian coast. In the west, the strait is limited by the eastern coast of the Kerch Peninsula, and in the east by the western coast of the Taman Peninsula. The boundaries of the Kerch Strait are considered to be the lines connecting Capes Takil and Panagia from the Black Sea and Capes Khroni and Achilleion from the Sea of Azov.
The Kerch Strait is wide. Its smallest width is about 2 miles and its greatest is 25 miles. The presence of a large number of spits, shoals and other dangers makes the strait dangerous for navigation in some places. A canal was dug for the passage of ships with deep draft.
The shores of the Kerch Strait are elevated. The exception is the shores of the Taman Bay - low near the water, but gradually rising inland. Characteristic feature The shores of the strait are characterized by an almost complete absence of woody vegetation.
The shores of the Kerch Strait, especially the eastern one, are indented by bays and bays; the largest of them are Kamysh-Burunskaya and Kerch bays in the west and Taman Bay in the east. Low-lying sand spits protrude from the shores of the strait, mainly from the eastern one. The largest of them are the Tuzla and Chushka spits, bordering the Taman Bay from the west. Sea of Azov navigational route Kerch
Capes Takil, Bely, Yenikale, Lantern and Khroni, sharply protruding from the western shore of the strait and capes Panagia, Tuzla and Achilleion from the eastern shore, make it possible to easily navigate both when approaching the strait and when sailing in it; Illuminated signs are installed on some capes. Good noticeable points on the western shore of the strait are also Mount Mithridates, on the top of which the obelisk of Glory is erected, and the Yenikalsky lighthouse, installed on Cape Lantern; On the eastern shore of the strait, the Zelensky, Lysaya, Gorelaya and other mountains are noticeable.
In the Kerch Strait there are several small low-lying islands located in the Taman Bay east of the Chushka Spit. Tuzla Spit is separated from the Taman Peninsula by a shallow but wide strait, so in reality it is not a spit, but an island.
The Kerch Strait is shallow. The greatest depths at the entrances to the strait do not exceed 10 meters in the north and 17 meters in the south of the strait. Towards the middle of the strait, the depths gradually decrease and over a significant area between the parallels of capes Kamysh-Burnu and Yenikale they do not exceed 5.5 meters. Therefore, in the middle part of the Kerch Strait, navigation of ships with deep draft is possible only through the canal. Taman Bay has a very flat bottom; its depth is 4-5.4 meters. Dinskaya Bay, which is the northern part of Taman Bay, is shallow.
The soil is at its most deep places The Kerch Strait is silt, in the area of the spits there is silt, as well as mud with sand and shells.
There are many dangers in the Kerch Strait that make navigation much more difficult. Particularly noteworthy are the areas of the entrance capes from the Black Sea, where there are a large number of reefs, shoals, banks and other underwater obstacles, the area of the Tuzla Spit, near the ends of which there are many underwater rocks, banks, piles, as well as the Church Banks, which occupy a significant area to the south Cape Yenikale. There are many dangers on both sides of the Kerch-Yenikalsky Canal; The greatest number of dangers lies near the eastern part of the Yenikalsky bend of the canal.
Hazards located near fairways, fairways and deepened channels are protected by illuminated and non-illuminated buoys and milestones.
Winds. For most of the year, winds from the NE blow in the Kerch Strait, characterized by great strength and duration. In summer, winds from the south are quite common. Strong winds are observed at any time of the year, but mainly in winter and autumn. Force 9 winds are quite rare. Calms are observed frequently, mainly in summer. In winter, winds from the NE bring cooling.
Fogs are most common in winter; in summer they are rare. In winter, fogs last longer than in summer.
Currents in the Kerch Strait mainly depend on the winds, as well as on the flow of water from the Sea of Azov. The current from the Sea of Azov is observed on average more often and usually with southern winds. It was also noticed that with strong, continuous winds from the NE, after the water has been driven from the Sea of Azov, in the middle part of the strait, regardless of the wind direction, a reverse current begins, coming from the Black Sea.
The highest speed of currents is observed in the narrowest parts of the strait; in strong winds it can reach 3 knots. In the wide part of the strait, the current speed is 0.1-0.5 knots.
Ice appears in the Kerch Strait almost every year on average at the end of December. The ice cover is often disrupted during the winter under the influence of variable currents and winds. In very severe winters with northeastern winds, the strait is covered with relatively strong ice. The strait is completely cleared of ice in late February and early March. Drifting ice in the strait is observed mainly in the spring after the opening of the Sea of Azov.
Ice from the Sea of Azov usually flows into the strait in a continuous mass, sometimes heavily hummocked, forming piles on the Chushka and Tuzla spits. A significant part of the ice penetrates into the southern part of the strait.
There are prohibited areas for anchorages in the Kerch Strait. The boundaries of these areas are shown on maps.
Anchor places. In addition to the port of Kerch and the Kamysh-Burunskaya and Pavlovskaya bays, in the Kerch Strait it is allowed to anchor only in the following places: at the receiving buoy No. 21, at the transshipment roadstead at the entrance to the Kerch approach channel and at the Varzovsky luminous buoy.
It is part of international law. This position seems to be uncontroversial and can be accepted as true. However, everything is not so simple. Let us turn, for example, to the question of the legal status of maritime spaces. In public international law there is a fairly clear classification of them. It corresponds to the generally accepted classification of spaces (territories) depending on the nature of the law that regulates the legal regime of the territory. Territories are divided into state, international and territories with a mixed legal regime. But international maritime law also distinguishes a category of spaces with a special legal regime. In this article we will focus on the Kerch Strait regime, the legal status of which became a stumbling block in Ukrainian-Russian relations several years ago.
The article by the authors of the International Legal Service, Interlegal, examines the legal status of maritime spaces, in particular, sea straits, including those used for international shipping, with special attention paid to a detailed study of the legal regime of the Kerch Strait.
The state territory is subject to a regime that is determined by national law, that is, the internal law of a particular state. The international territory is subject to the legal regime arising from the sources of public international law. Finally, there are territories with mixed legal status - these are spaces whose regime is regulated by both national and international law. In public international maritime law, these categories are also recognized and do not cause any serious discrepancies or problems. But international maritime law also distinguishes a category of spaces with a special legal regime.
For example, A.N. Shemyakin proposes to separate the concept of maritime space with a special legal regime into a special category, that is, some specific maritime space may consist of spaces belonging to one or more of the above categories, and, in addition, due to their significance for international shipping, have a specific legal regime ( Shemyakin A.N. Maritime Law. X.: Odyssey, 2006. P. 127 - 131).
First of all, maritime spaces with a special legal regime, which are characterized by a very specific legal status - perhaps having features of the categories mentioned above, but whose legal regime is such that objects corresponding to these categories have features more significant than the characteristics common to homogeneous , in terms of the legal regime, categories of maritime spaces, these are the waters of the straits used for international navigation.
These waters may consist of internal waters, territorial sea, exclusive economic zone, as well as the high seas. The legal regime of a strait used for international navigation may be regulated by a special bilateral or multilateral international treaty, the subject of which is precisely the status of this particular strait. Such straits can be called historical conventional straits, since it is impossible not to take into account both historically developed factual circumstances and, strictly speaking, legal factors.
The regime of the straits that are used for international navigation is also determined by the rules and principles enshrined in UNCLOS - the Convention on the Law of the Sea, concluded in Montego Bay (Jamaica, December 10, 1982). UNCLOS was ratified by Ukraine in accordance with the Law “On the Ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982 and the Agreement on the Implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982” No. 728-ХІУ dated June 3, 1999. An equally special legal regime is characteristic of international canals, rivers and lakes. In this publication we will focus on the Kerch Strait regime, the legal status of which became a stumbling block in Ukrainian-Russian relations several years ago.
Types of straits used for international shipping
Part III of UNCLOS (Articles 34 - 45), as well as Art. 233 and others talk about the legal regime of sea straits used for international navigation.
1) straits used for international navigation, if in this strait there is a path that is equally convenient from the point of view of navigation and hydrographic conditions, passing on the high seas or in the exclusive economic zone; on such routes, other relevant parts of UNCLOS, including provisions relating to freedoms of navigation and overflight, apply;
2) straits, the legal status of the waters of which is waters outside the territorial sea of the states bordering the straits, such as exclusive economic zones or the high seas;
3) international straits that have the status of areas of internal waters within the strait, with the exception of cases where the establishment of a straight baseline, according to the method provided for in Art. 7 of UNCLOS, leads to the inclusion in internal waters of areas that were not previously considered as such;
4) straits, passage in which is regulated in whole or in part by long-existing and in force international conventions and which relate specifically to such straits.
The provisions of UNCLOS and theoretical studies can be used to identify other types of international straits.
According to the development of the types of straits used for international navigation, the waters of the straits can be classified as internal waters, while their status (regime) is very specific, that is, the specifics of their legal regime are an order of magnitude more important than the status of internal waters in general. A striking example is the legal regime of the Black Sea straits.
Although the waters of the straits used for international navigation occupy small volumes of space in physical terms, this does not mean that the role played by the straits for international trade and shipping is small. On the contrary, the waters of the straits in general, and the waters of the straits used for international navigation in particular, are of enormous economic and strategic importance. Therefore, issues related to the legal status of the straits are often resolved in heated political struggle. The result of political struggle is usually a compromise formalized in special international treaties.
Legal regime of the Kerch Strait
The status of the straits that pass between the shores of two states, in particular the Kerch Strait between Russia and Ukraine, is determined in Art. 15 UNCLOS. This article provides the following provision: “If the coasts of two states are located opposite or adjacent to each other, neither one nor the other state has the right, unless otherwise agreed between them, to extend its territorial sea beyond the median line drawn in such a way that each of its points is equidistant from the nearest points of the baselines from which the width of the territorial seas of these two states is measured. However, the provisions of this paragraph do not apply if, due to historically established legal grounds or other special circumstances, it is necessary to delimit the territorial seas of two states in a manner other than that specified in this resolution.”
The status of the waters of the Kerch Strait is determined by the Treaty between Ukraine and the Russian Federation on the Ukrainian-Russian state border dated January 28, 2003, which entered into force on April 23, 2004 (ratified by the Law of Ukraine dated April 20, 2004 No. 1681-IV), and Agreement between Ukraine and the Russian Federation on cooperation in the use of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait dated December 24, 2003, which also entered into force on April 23, 2004 (ratified by the Law of Ukraine dated April 20, 2004 No. 1682-IV).
So, part 1 of Art. 1 of the Agreement between Ukraine and the Russian Federation on cooperation in the use of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait provides that the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait are historically internal waters of Ukraine and Russia, and according to Part 3 of Art. 1 of the Treaty, the settlement of issues related to the waters of the Kerch Strait is carried out by agreement between the parties.
Article 5 of the Treaty between Ukraine and the Russian Federation on the Ukrainian-Russian state border states: “The settlement of issues related to adjacent maritime spaces is carried out by agreement between the Contracting Parties in accordance with international law. Moreover, nothing in this Treaty harms the positions of the Russian Federation and Ukraine regarding the status of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait as internal waters of the two states.”
Thus, at the current moment, the waters of the Kerch Strait have a special status of internal waters of the Russian Federation and Ukraine, which are in common use. The delimitation of the border between Ukraine and Russia should be carried out on the basis of a separate interstate agreement. On July 12, 2012, the presidents of Ukraine and Russia in Yalta signed a joint statement on the delimitation of the border in the Kerch Strait and the Sea of Azov.
In conclusion, some details
In Art.. Art. 5 and 14 of the Water Code of Ukraine establishes that the management of water bodies of national importance, which includes internal sea waters, is the exclusive competence of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. In particular, the water area is allocated for use by seaports on the basis of a resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers. Considering the international legal status of the Kerch Strait, the water areas of the Kerch Sea Trade Port (KSTP) and the Kerch Sea Fishing Port (KMSRP) have not yet been officially allocated for use. Consequently, the boundaries of the water areas of KMTP and KMRP and the coordinates of the corresponding anchorages have not been established at the moment, and the water areas are used without solid legal grounds. Taking this into account, the water area of ports can be understood as a conditionally or historically accepted, but not sufficiently fixed at the national level, water area.
The Kerch Strait refers to those special cases when it is impossible to delimit territorial waters along the median line and the status of the strait is determined by special interstate agreements between the Russian Federation and Ukraine.
In this context, of particular interest is, for example, the legal regime of anchorage No. 471. This interest is determined by gaps in legal regulation at the national level. Currently, the legal regime of anchorage 471 KMRP is determined on the basis of the approval of the Executive Committee of the Kerch City Council, which, in fact, contradicts the requirements of the Merchant Shipping Code of Ukraine and the Water Code of Ukraine. So, in accordance with Part 1 of Art. 12 of the Merchant Shipping Code, the allocation of water space land for merchant shipping, as well as construction or any work in the coverage area of navigation equipment and sea routes must be agreed upon with the central executive body in the transport industry and local authorities and self-government. However, this kind of approval from the Ministry of Transport of Ukraine cannot be obtained in principle, since fishing ports were not and are not included in the scope of management of the central executive body in the transport industry (Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Transport and Communications, then the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine). Fishing ports are under the control of the State Committee for Fisheries of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine. The recently adopted Law of Ukraine “On sea ports Ukraine" dated May 17, 2012 also does not apply to sea fishing ports (Part 3, Article 2).
In 2008, the Kerch Transport Prosecutor's Office submitted a proposal to the KMRP to eliminate violations of the law in connection with the use of water bodies in violation of Art. 12 of the Merchant Shipping Code of Ukraine, but so far the legal regime of parking 471 has not changed. In particular, the procedure for mooring vessels for cargo operations on the external roadstead of KMTP (anchorage 471) is determined by the system of internal documents of KMTP, for example, the Temporary Instructions for the mooring of vessels on the external transshipment roadstead of the Kerch Strait for cargo operations dated September 14, 2000, adopted by KMTP. The most interesting circumstance is that KMTP does not classify subdistrict D of anchorage 471 as its anchorage. Thus, activities in subarea D, used by KMRP, are obviously much less regulated compared to other subareas (A, B, C, E) of anchorage 471.
This brief study allows us to draw certain conclusions:
— in the absence of a legally designated water area, the legal status of the waters of the Kerch Strait is not sufficiently defined;
— in international law, a special category of space with a special legal regime should be distinguished.
Of course, this last conclusion is very problematic and requires a special study, but such a study, from our point of view, is quite ripe for the agenda. For example, air security zones (ASZ) and air-sea security zones (ASSA), that is, areas of air or sea and the airspace above them, have recently often been established for the purpose of security or identification of aircraft and ships. These zones have an extremely specific and varied legal regime, so that they may well be classified as spaces with a special regime. However, recognition legal status There are still no such spaces in international law, although the practice of establishing them is becoming almost generally accepted.
Nikolay MELNIKOV,
Partner, maritime law specialist Interlegal, International Legal Service. Ukraine, Kyiv - Odessa;
Andrey PEREPELITSA,
lawyer at Interlegal, International Legal Service. Ukraine, Kyiv — Odessa
