Chukotka and Kamchatka More Isolated from Moscow than Crimea or Kaliningrad, Khramchikhin Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, November 14 – From the perspective of military defense, Russia has problems with two enclaves in the West, Crimea and Kaliningrad, Aleksandr Khramchikhin says; but it greatest problems are in two large eastern territories, Chukotka and Kamchatka, which are part of the Russian mainland but not connected to the rest by reliable highway and rail links.

            Moreover, the Moscow military analyst says, they aren’t likely to be so connected at any point in the foreseeable future. One can reach these two places only by air or by sea, and adjoining them are the real islands, Sakhalin and the Kuriles (ng.ru/armies/2018-11-12/8_7436_frontier.html).

                In peacetime, such transportation links may be expensive and restrict the flow of goods and people; but in wartime, Khramchikhin continues, “the supply of these islands will be possible only by sea and air,” something that the center cannot guarantee, especially because rail roads and highways are so sparse in the Russian Far East as a whole.

            The entire region “’hangs’ on the single Trans-Siberian line, which after Chita passes critically close to the border and after Khabarovsk close to the sea.” And the Russian military presence and the supplies needed to maintain it for a significant period in the event of a conflict are clearly insufficient.

            Khramchikhin provides a detailed order of battle for the entire region and concludes that the Russian forces are not large enough, well-armed enough, or provided with supplies to fight “under conditions of prolonged isolation from supplies from the mainland.” He says that the defense ministry has recently begun efforts to rectify the situation but so far little has changed.