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This island is so small
that during the Spring floods of Ussuri river it is completely submerged under water.
Today it is called Zhenbao, or "precious" in Chinese.
In March of 1969 the island became a focal point
of a conflict between global powers.
Since then it is known to the world under the name that no longer exists
DAMANSKY ISLAND
Sunday, March 2nd of 1969 was a working day for the Russian military in the far East.
Military training excercises were in progress.
The forces were tasked to repel an imaginary enemy assault on Soviet borders.
The soldiers of Far-River Border Guards, responsible for the Russian-Chinese border
near Damansky island, would take part in the excercises.
Most of the forces and vehicles of the border guard unit were moved 50km from the border.
Around 30 soldiers remained in each guard outpost along the border.
By noon, Colonel Leonov was about to report a successful outcome of excercises.
When an urgent message from the border came in...
There is a battle in progress with the Chinese Army on Damansky Island.
The HQ realised that what they'd expected for several years has happened.
They always tried to provoke us...
During the summer, Chinese fishermen came to our shores.
In the winter, what they did was:
They would come out on ice and shout out anti-Soviet slogans.
While our border guards, without using firearms...
pushed them out from the ice towards the Chinese shore.
The order from Moscow was: Do not respond to provocation.
Do not use weapons.
The border was almost daily violated by Chinese political fighters
And the activists of the cultural revolution.
They were eager to confront anyone, whom the Chinese propaganda denounced
as enemies of teachings of Marx, Lenin and Mao.
Even, if the enemies were sparrows, who lowered the amount of wheat harvested.
On March 2nd, 1969, almost a quarter century after the World War II,
the Soviet border was violated by a foreign military.
Foreign secretary, Alexey Kosygin, immediately contacted Oleg Losik,
the commander of Far-East Military of Soviet Union.
"What has happened over there?" asked Kosygin on March 2nd.
I told him what happened and what I was doing about it.
The commander reported that on March 2nd, at 10:40 AM
the Chinese military was seen violating the border around Damansky.
The captain of the local outpost went to meet with the violators
to officially protest the incursion.
The Chinese began retreating, when they saw the Soviet officer.