Ratmanov Island is the easternmost point of the territory of the Russian Federation. It is distinguished by an irregular shape - nine kilometers long and five wide. The area of the island is about ten square kilometers. In fact, this is a large rock with a flat top.
Long way to today's name
Ratmanov Island did not always bear such a name. In 1728, it was named Big Diomede (and four kilometers away was the "younger brother" - the island of Little Diomede, now Kruzenshtern Island). This idea belonged to the traveler Vitus Bering, who first approached this object on the day of St. Diomede. The only catch is that the island had its own name before! The Eskimos, who have inhabited it for over two thousand years, called it Imaklik, which means "surrounded by water."
Ratmanov Island acquired its current name in the following way. In 1816, Otto Kotzebue, a famous navigator, was exploring the Bering Strait. He miscalculated the number of islands in the Diomede Archipelago. Ratmanov Island has been marked on the map since 1732,however, Kotzebue decided that he discovered this territory. The navigator gave him the name of Makar Ratmanov, his colleague, with whom he had made a round-the-world trip a few years earlier. Even after the error was discovered, the name of the island was not changed.
Relief features
The shape of the island can be compared to a gable roof. The northern slope is more extensive and as gentle as possible. From south to north, as if bending the island in the center, a river flows. The southern slope is steeper than the northern one, there are much more remnants on it, the banks are steep and high. The junction area of peculiar slopes is a small ridge. Its highest point is a mountain called the Roof.
Ratmanov Island occupies an important geographical position on the border of North America and Asia, as well as two oceans - the Arctic and the North. From it you can carefully examine the huge water area, tracing the movements of local marine animals and the flights of birds.
First inhabitants
Previously, the island was inhabited by brave seafarers - the Inupik Eskimos. They engaged in barter with the Asian and American Eskimos. The local residents of the island were at the epicenter of the events taking place on the Northern Bering Sea. They created their own culture based on the traditions of neighboring continents. In 1948, all the inhabitants of the island were forcibly evicted. The reason for this was the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the States.
The current state of affairs
Now the border outpost of the Russian Federation is located on the island. On theneighboring about. Kruzenshtern is a village, its population is six hundred people. Between these objects lies the Russian-American border, as well as the international date line.
See the described island with your own eyes, anyone can not. This is due not only to the national importance of the object. The fact is that three hundred days a year it is enveloped in thick fog. Only after receiving permission from the North-Eastern Regional Border Administration, you can visit Ratmanov Island. Not everyone is allowed to take pictures. However, staying at this site will bring you a lot of impressions and will remain in your memory for a long time.
