Sealand oil platform. Sealand Private State

Never heard of this before, but cool topic)
This is not just a platform, it is a whole principality!
We look at the photos and read.

The physical territory of Sealand emerged during the Second World War. In 1942, the British Navy built a series of platforms on the approaches to the coast. One of them was Roughs Tower (literally “hooligan tower”). During the war they were stationed there anti-aircraft guns and there was a garrison of 200 people. After the end of hostilities, most of the towers were destroyed, but the Rafs Tower, being outside British territorial waters, remained untouched. In 1966, retired British Army Major Paddy Roy Bates chose this location to base his pirate radio station, Britain's Better Music Station. To avoid prosecution by the British authorities, Bates declared the platform a sovereign state and proclaimed himself Prince Roy I. The proclamation of Sealand took place on September 2, 1967. This day is celebrated as a major public holiday.

In 1968, the British authorities tried to occupy the young state. Patrol boats approached the platform, and the princely family responded by firing warning shots into the air. The matter did not come to bloodshed, but an attack was launched against Prince Roy as a British citizen. trial. On September 2, 1968, an Essex judge made a historic ruling: he found that the case was outside British jurisdiction.

In 1972, Sealand began minting coins. In 1975, Sealand's first constitution came into force. A flag and coat of arms appeared.

In August 1978, a putsch occurred in the country. It was preceded by tension between the prince and his closest ally, the country's prime minister, Count Alexander Gottfried Achenbach. The parties differed in their views on attracting foreign investment to the country and accused each other of unconstitutional intentions. Taking advantage of the absence of the prince, who was negotiating with investors in Austria, Achenbach and a group of Dutch citizens landed on the island. The invaders locked young Prince Michael in a basement and then took him to the Netherlands. But Michael escaped from captivity and met his father. With the support of the country's loyal citizens, the overthrown monarchs managed to defeat the usurpers' troops and return to power.

The government acted in strict accordance with international law. The captured foreign mercenaries were soon released, as the Geneva Convention on the Rights of Prisoners of War requires the release of prisoners after the end of hostilities. The organizer of the coup was removed from all posts and convicted of high treason in accordance with Sealand laws, but he had a second - German - citizenship, so the German authorities became interested in his fate. The British Foreign Office refused to intervene in this matter, and German diplomats had to negotiate directly with Sealand. The senior legal adviser of the German embassy arrived on the island in London Dr Niemuller. Prince Roy demanded diplomatic recognition of Sealand, but in the end, given the bloodless nature of the failed putsch, he agreed to verbal assurances and generously released Achenbach.

The losers continued to insist on their rights. They formed the illegal government of Sealand in exile (FRG). Achenbach claimed to be the chairman of the Privy Council. In January 1989, he was arrested by the German authorities (who, of course, did not recognize his diplomatic status) and transferred his post to the Minister for economic cooperation Johannes W. F. Seiger, who soon became prime minister. Re-elected in 1994 and 1999

On September 30, 1987, Sealand announced the expansion of its territorial waters from 3 to 12 miles. The next day, the UK made a similar statement. Thus, according to international norms, the maritime territory between the two countries should be divided equally. The lack of a bilateral agreement regulating this issue has caused dangerous incidents. So in 1990, Sealand fired warning salvoes at a British ship that had approached its shore unauthorized.

Unbeknownst to the government, Sealand's name was embroiled in a massive criminal scam. In 1997, Interpol came to the attention of an extensive international syndicate that had established trade in fake Sealand passports (Sealand itself never traded passports and did not provide political asylum). More than 150 thousand fake passports (including diplomatic ones), as well as driver's licenses, university diplomas and other fake documents were sold to citizens of Hong Kong (during its transfer to Chinese control) and Eastern Europe. In several European countries attempts were recorded to open bank accounts and even purchase weapons using Sealand passports. The attackers' headquarters were in Germany, and their sphere of activity covered Spain, Great Britain, France, Slovenia, Romania and Russia. The “Minister of Foreign Affairs” of the pseudo-state was Russian citizen Igor Popov. In the United States, a connection was discovered between this case and the murder of Gianni Versace (the killer committed suicide on a yacht whose owner had a fake Sealand diplomatic passport). The Sealand government fully cooperated with the investigation and canceled the passports following this tragic incident.

In 2000, the HavenCo company placed its hosting in Sealand, in return the government pledged to guarantee the inviolability of freedom of information legislation (everything is allowed on the Internet in Sealand, except spam, hacker attacks and child pornography). HavenCo hopes that its location on sovereign territory will save it from the restrictions of British internet law.

Sealand's position compares favorably with that of other artificially created states. The Principality has a physical territory and has some legal grounds for international recognition. The requirement for independence is based on three arguments. The most fundamental of these is the fact that Sealand was founded in neutral waters before the entry into force of the UN Convention on maritime law 1982, prohibiting the construction of man-made structures on the high seas, and until the extension of the UK's sovereign maritime zone from 3 to 12 miles in 1987. On the basis that Roughs Tower was abandoned and struck off the British Admiralty lists, its occupation in 1966 is being considered like colonization. The settlers who settled there had every right to establish a state and establish a form of government at their discretion. Sealand meets all the criteria for statehood specified in the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States. According to international standards, the size of a state cannot be an obstacle to recognition. For example, the recognized British possession of Pitcairn Island has only about 60 people.

The second important argument is the 1968 British court decision that the UK had no jurisdiction over Sealand. No other country has claimed rights to Sealand either.

Based on materials

Blog of architects Igor and Marina Popovskikh

This post, to some extent, continues the idea that flashed in “Houses of the Doomed.” The only difference is that we are talking about that section of the street. Bolshevik, where two architectural monuments of regional significance are located. Below the cut are photographs of the monuments themselves, a couple of neighboring houses, and also a little about the plans for this territory.

The April issue of the magazine “All about New Buildings” (No. 4, 2011) contains the article “Monuments of History and Architecture” (p. 58-61). At the very end of the article you can find a paragraph reporting a discussion of the possibility of creating a museum under open air"City Beginning", dedicated to the builders of the railway bridge across the Ob, who became the founders of the city. The Bridge Monument, which is part of the span of the first bridge across the Ob, is considered as three objects on the basis of which it is possible to create such a complex..

Photo from 07/01/2010

House of the Office of the Administration of the Tomsk Estate of the Altai District of the Department of the Cabinet of His Imperial Majesty...

Photo from 07/01/2010

And the office of engineer G. M. Budagov. Considering that the last building is located across a fairly busy road in terms of vehicles, the question arises: “How will these points be connected?” After all, the construction of a nearby road junction will make it even more difficult for pedestrians - visitors to the future museum complex - to cross the roadway. But, since so far only the possibility of creation is being discussed, it is premature to talk about everything.

But the private sector, located along Bolshevistskaya and Inskaya streets, is of some interest. On the street itself. Bolshevikskaya there are two architectural monuments, about which below. On nearby Inskaya Street there is another architectural monument - the Terentyev estate (late 19th - early 20th centuries, unfortunately no photographs), a historical monument (Zakamensky District Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, 1908)...

And a couple of houses, richly decorated with carvings.

Photo from 08/15/2008

Thus, the place is certainly historical and with a certain creative approach, something interesting can be created from it. However, the question arises: will the place itself survive?

It is planned to restore the office of G. M. Budagov and create a memorial exhibition there to the founders of the city, but it is possible that soon there will be nothing to restore, since the building is in disrepair and is disappearing right before our eyes.

The office was built in late XIX century engineer Grigory Moiseevich Budagov. A rectangular one-story log house on a brick plastered plinth is covered with horizontal and vertical profiled boards.

Rectangular vertical windows are framed by platbands with over-window cornices decorated with carvings. The vertical boards are decorated with applied twisted half-columns of turning work and a “capital” formed by the plane of the board with an applied quatrefoil. The window sill board has a complex outline. Currently, most of the decor has been lost, some windows have no frames, and none of the remaining frames have twisted half-columns anymore.

The decor of the dormer window is completely lost.

It is possible that soon the office of G. M. Budagov will repeat the history of the architectural monument at the address st. Bolshevikskaya, 29. The two-story mixed house was built in 1926. In 2007-2008 the wooden top was completely dismantled and rebuilt.

We can say that only the stone bottom has been preserved, everything else is a remake.

The house is richly decorated with carvings, which look good from afar.

However, up close (which may not be visible in the photographs), one feels some kind of falseness in the correct outlines of the patterns.

The fact is that carving was not done manually, as a century ago, but on special machines. Therefore, everything in this carving is too regular and symmetrical, so it looks dry and lifeless.

The gables of the house are decorated with “sun” rosettes.

Fragment of the facade on the street. Makovsky:

Window opening on the first floor:

Platbands on second floor windows:

Window board decor:

Window sill board:

This architectural monument is well complemented by two more old houses located in the next block. It is not known whether the development of the territory discussed in this post will be approached in the same way as in Irkutsk, where, during the reconstruction of a block with 6 monuments, it was proposed to somehow preserve several dozen more houses that form a single whole with the monuments. So I consider the houses in the photo below to be “doomed houses” and take photographs as a souvenir. Here they are - the neighbors of the building on the street. Bolsheviskaya, 29.

Bolsheviskaya, 33.

St. Bolshevikskaya, 35

Website materials used: http://d-popovskiy.livejournal.com/14837.html

Every honest and self-respecting pirate (whose heart is obsessed with the sea, and whose soul longs for freedom) dreams of one day conquering his own island, declaring himself its rightful ruler and master. It was these beliefs that guided the British radio journalist and retired British Army major Paddy Roy Bates when he captured the abandoned military platform Rafs Tower and founded the Principality of Sealand on it in 1967.

During the Second World War, defensive structures were installed in the North Sea, off the coast of Great Britain - forts designed to protect the country from enemy attacks. Some of these reinforced concrete structures are designed as pontoon barges, others look like a cross between oil rigs and giant retro cameras mounted on tripods. Basically, all these strategic points had weapons for air defense, but some could withstand ships and even submarines. At the end of hostilities, all the surviving buildings lost their relevance and were forgotten as unnecessary.

Forts became an ideal location for placing illegal radio stations, which were popularly called pirate radio stations. Inspired by the crazed sixties boom in underground broadcasting, avid radio enthusiast Bates was looking for a site for his own base, modestly called "Britain's Best Music Radio". As a result, he (along with his wife Joan and 14-year-old son Michael) reached one of the former military platforms called Roughs Tower.

It was here that our “invader” felt completely free and even came up with his new life credo to celebrate: “Any group of people, disillusioned with the despotic laws and restrictions of existing states, can declare independence in any place that does not fall under another sovereign jurisdiction "

So, with the light hand of a settler who suddenly arrived, the empty concrete colossus became an independent state, and the extravagant family forgot about the ambitions of the “kings of the musical airwaves”, because they had much more interesting activity. Bates proclaimed himself the monarch (prince) of the territory and his family the ruling dynasty.

The newly-minted ruler did not bother himself at all to search original title and settled on Sealand (in English literally " Sea Land"). However, the modest name did not stop Bates from inventing a completely immodest title for himself - “Admiral General of Sealand, Prince Roy I Bates.” Accordingly, his legal spouse became princess Joanna I Bates.

No matter how crazy Bates's antics may seem, and no matter how small the water fortress of Roughs Tower looks on the world map, Sealand truly turned out to be a real mini-country. And, despite the fact that the local population can be counted on one hand, and total area the platform is no more than a thousand square meters, Sealand has everything that any state should have. There is a flag, a coat of arms, an anthem, a constitution, as well as its own government, political system ( constitutional monarchy), government posts and even prison. Collectible postage stamps and coins are issued, and, of course, all residents of the miracle country have identity cards.

Of course, all this happiness did not arise just like that - I had to sweat and fight a lot for it. A year later, in 1968, the British authorities decided to put in his place the smug Bates, who imagined that he could do whatever he wanted. Naval ships were sent from the shores of Foggy Albion towards the fort. But it was not so easy to wipe the nose of a real pirate. “This is not a princely thing to stand on ceremony with the military,” thought Bates, having met the “foreign invaders” with warning fire from the towers. So the patrol boats sailed back home. And although it didn’t come to bloodshed, a trial was launched against Major Bates as a British subject...

On September 2, 1968, a truly historic event took place for Sealand - an Essex judge ruled that the case of Bates and the island he grabbed was outside the jurisdiction of Great Britain. The British had to admit that the laws of their country did not apply in the area of the Tower of Storms. The thing is that the territorial waters of Great Britain extend 4.8 kilometers from the coast, while the distance to the fort is about 13 km.

Since then, Sealand has had a national slogan: E Mare Libertas (translated from Latin - Freedom of the Sea). And the second of September is celebrated as the main public holiday of Sealand, the few residents of which did not care that the principality officially remains unrecognized. It is not included in any international organization. The British government does not recognize the existence of Sealand, but no longer takes any action to eliminate or capture it.

As in any other civilized and advanced country, Sealand was not without a coup d'etat and a struggle for the throne. It all started with a slight misunderstanding between Prince Roy I (Bates) and his closest ally, the country's Prime Minister, Count Alexander Gottfried Achenbach. The parties disagreed on the issue of attracting additional investment, accusing each other of “anti-constitutional intentions.” It was not limited to verbal skirmishes, and more radical methods were used. So, in August 1978, a putsch occurred. Taking advantage of the temporary absence of the head of state, the Prime Minister, together with his Dutch accomplices, kidnapped the heir to the throne, the young Prince Michael I. First, he was locked in one of the basements of the platform, and then taken by force to the Netherlands. But the tyranny did not last long. Michael escaped from captivity and met his father.

The deposed monarch Roy, who already had experience fighting unwanted invaders, enlisted the support of the country's loyal citizens and easily regained his rightful throne. The young heir was returned to his place, and the malicious rebel and his henchmen were caught and imprisoned on the island of Sealand, in accordance with international law. However, all the violators were soon released, because the Geneva Convention regarding the Treatment of Prisoners of War requires the release of foreign prisoners after the end of hostilities. When the passions subsided, Prince Roy gave his former loyal subject a knee in the ass, removing the “infidel” from all government posts and accusing him of treason.

Having been deported to his historical homeland (Germany), Achenbach continued to insist on his rights to a place in the Sealand government. But I was left with nothing.

His place was taken by a new prime minister, Johannes Seiger. Let us add that the ex-prime minister, deprived of his Sealand citizenship and title of nobility, formed his own “government in exile.”

But not only Bates’s closest relatives and associates can obtain a high and honorable public position in Sealand. The government happily accepts celebrities into its ranks in exchange for support for the principality. In particular, the automobile guru Mr. Jeremy Clarkson was invited to sit in the ministerial chair. “Clarkson is the right guy, and I would like him to become Prime Minister of Sealand, but he is silent for now,” Prince Michael I commented in his interview.

In the 21st century, such a phenomenon as Sealand is already exotic in itself. The history of this quasi-state is more like medieval tales about pirates, and I can’t even believe that SUCH a thing can be done these days. The episode related to the issuance of passports for this unique micro-country seems all the more interesting. Or rather, not an episode, but a grandiose criminal scam. Let's start with the fact that many states were ready to put visas on Sealand passports, regardless of the unofficial status of the country.

By 1997, the number of Sealand passports had suddenly risen to 150,000. This is despite the fact that no more than ten people live in the principality, and the total number of its citizens throughout the world barely reaches three hundred. Interpol became interested in the issue and quickly discovered an international crime syndicate that was trafficking not only fake Sealand passports, but also diplomatic ones, as well as driver’s licenses and university diplomas.

But all these are just flowers! Soon, attempts were recorded in several European countries to open bank accounts and even purchase weapons using Sealand passports. The headquarters of the attackers was discovered in Germany - the scope of its activities covered the UK, France, Spain, Slovenia, Romania and Russia. There was also a Russian mafia - a certain Russian citizen Igor Popov appeared in the role of the false Minister of Foreign Affairs Sealand. And one of the “fake” passports was found in the possession of Andrew Cunanan, the killer of fashion designer Gianni Versace.

Here is a political detective story, the climax of which could easily compete with the scripts of Hollywood blockbusters. After this unpleasant incident, the cup of patience was overflowing, and, having provided full cooperation to the investigation, the Sealand government canceled the passports, replacing them with identity cards. But today for just £29.99 you can get noble title, becoming a baron or baroness of a unique micro-state. The title of Earl or Countess will cost a little more - £199.99. This service is called "A Christmas gift for the person who has everything."

Continuing the list of action-packed sketches from the life of Sealand, it would not be superfluous to mention that the principality went down in history as the first state in the world to burn to the ground. On June 23, 2006, a short circuit in a generator started a serious fire, which was extinguished only thanks to assistance provided by the UK. It should be noted that this time the warlike Bates family showed tolerance and friendliness towards the British and did not drive out the “foreigners” with the usual rifles, shotguns and Molotov cocktails.

As stated on the Sealand government website, the island suffered a terrible fire, “which destroyed most of the administrative center of the country and the main power generator that served its population and government.” However, Sealand quickly recovered from the stress - by November of the same year, all damaged property was restored.

Now Prince Roy I lives in Spain, but Sealand’s life did not stop there. The state is prosperous and healthy! The official ruler of the principality today is his son Michael (aka the former Prince Regent Michael I). “My father is now 85, my mother is nearly 80, and I am over 50,” says Prince Michael of Sealand, “I think the project needs some updating.” Spanish real estate dealers who specialize in buying and selling islands have already made contact with his family. At one time there were even rumors that the Inmo Naranja company valued Sealand at 600 million British pounds. However, who knows what kind of money can force the “pirate son” to auction off the family principality. And what pirate would want to part with his treasures?!

Speaking of money, the local non-freely convertible currency in use on “Liberty Island” is the Sealand dollar. On the obverse of the coins you can see a portrait of one of the monarchs, on the reverse - the coat of arms of Sealand. It is difficult to imagine how exactly money circulation works within the country, and what exactly can be bought with this money, which is more like a fetish than a unit of account. The purpose of the post office and its own stamps seems no less mysterious, because the only possible way delivery of correspondence - by air or private transportation by boat.

At the turn of the new millennium, the princely Bates family remembered its noble pirate past. This time the family turned not to the radio, but to the World Wide Web. Sealand announced its readiness to host servers on its territory for companies wishing to create Internet hosting independent of mainland jurisdiction. In turn, the government guarantees the inviolability of the legislation on freedom of information - everything is allowed in the Internet spaces of Sealand, except child pornography, spam and hacker attacks.

Reading the article will take: 5 min.

The initial idea was to seize a no-man's sea platform and organize some kind of entertainment center on it, like an amusement park. The adventure was interesting, albeit financially costly, but Paddy’s two bosom buddies Roy Bates and Ronan O’Reilly decided to take the risk and secure a source of permanent income for themselves. Soon after the landing in 1966, the friends disagreed and Bates sent O'Reilly cold, declaring that from now on the platform belonged only to him. However, the retired major of the British Armed Forces did not have the money to completely re-equip the platform and he decided to take a mind-blowing step - he declared the platform’s territory equal to 1,300 square meters, the Principality of Sealand, and himself as the monarch and prince Roy I. Do you think he is a potential psychiatric patient? Everything is much more complicated...

The territory of the Principality of Sealand in its “youth” served in the army and was called “Fort Maunsell” - a sea platform was created and installed by order of the British Navy in 1942. There were several dozen platforms similar to it along coastline England, each housed a detachment of two hundred soldiers serving the anti-aircraft gun complex. With their help, Churchill and the British Admiralty hoped to seriously thin out the ranks of German bombers in the event of an air strike from Nazi Germany, and to monitor the laying of minefields by enemy minelayers - anti-aircraft gun platforms were something like the first line of defense for Great Britain.

Second World War ended in victory for the allies and the line of defense from the sea platforms was dismantled, but “Fort Maunsell” remained in its place - guns and other army equipment were removed from it, but they had no right to remove it (Nock John Fort still remained, he is in the image below). The point is that according to international law The maritime area around the perimeter of the British Isles owned by Great Britain is limited to three nautical miles from the coastline. All other anti-aircraft gun platforms were deployed within its boundaries, but Fort Maunsell was installed the furthest away - six nautical miles from the coast, exactly opposite the mouth of the Thames River. Those. England had no right to it and therefore could not dismantle it - the platform became a no-man's land, located in neutral waters.

Another post-war platform and Sealand's brother - Knock John Fort

In the media of the middle of the last century, a no-man's offshore platform received the nickname “Hooligan Tower” or “Rafs Tower” - there is a platform, but it does not have an owner. And in 1966, this situation was changed by the Englishmen Bates and O'Reilly, they had reasons for this - both were in conflict with the law of Great Britain and were considered radio pirates for regularly broadcasting the illegal radio stations "Radio Essex" and "Radio Caroline" (lack of a license, non-payment taxes, copyright infringement, etc.). Let's return to the former Major Roy Bates, who became the sole owner of Roughs Tower - the first thing he did was relaunch his Essex Radio, enjoying freedom from English jurisdiction. But the euphoria did not last long - the design of the platform was in a deplorable state and required constant repairs, and Bates, who was also denied a pension by England, had no money for this... But he was found - after lengthy negotiations with lawyers and attorneys, a retired soldier declared himself the prince and monarch of the Principality of Sealand, whose territory became the sea platform and the three-mile sea zone around it.

The young principality immediately had two military conflicts - O'Reilly's former friend tried to knock out a fellow radio pirate and appropriate the platform for himself, the British Navy made a similar attempt, also trying to return the platform under its jurisdiction and drive out the impudent invader along with his family and friends, whom Bates by that time he had moved into the former army barracks of Sealand. We must pay tribute to the extraordinary courage and determination of the retired major, his family and friends - both attacks were repulsed! In the first case, the population of the platform fought off the attackers with the help of rifles, machine guns and flamethrowers (!), in the second, the English Coast Guard boats turned to the shore as soon as rifle bullets whistled over their heads (Navy captains can be understood - getting wounded just like that and fighting They didn’t want to deal with civilians, that’s not the case).

Passport, coins and postage stamps of the Principality of Sealand

Now about legal status Principality of Sealand. Having encountered armed resistance from the population of Sealand, representatives of the British Navy appealed to the Essex court demanding the release of the platform illegally occupied by an English citizen. But the Essex judge accepted reverse solution- in early September 1968, he ruled that the Sealand offshore platform was outside the jurisdiction of Great Britain, i.e. The laws of a country have no power over its population. This was the first success of the young principality, which Prince Roy I Bates immediately decided to consolidate by issuing his own postage stamps in 1969 (and demanding that the Universal Postal Union in Brussels accept the Principality of Sealand into its membership), starting to mint his own coins in 1972, and in 1975 - creating the Constitution of the Sealand monarchy, its coat of arms, flag and anthem.

Those. By international convention Montevideo, adopted in 1933 at the 7th Pan-American Conference, the Principality of Sealand has all the characteristics of an independent state, namely: it has its own territory, there is a permanent population, there is its own government and the principality is capable (and has repeatedly tried!) to enter into diplomatic relations with other states .

So, since 1967 - already 45 years - the Principality of Sealand has existed in good health, and the “most august” family of a retired British major, who exchanged his homeland for a princely title, has accumulated quite a fortune. I had a reasonable question: what income can a principality, located on the high seas and on an area the size of a football field, generate? The first source of income was pirate Essex Radio, then Roy I and his family switched to various types of advertising products - cups, T-shirts, posters, etc. Trade was greatly facilitated by the attempted coup in Sealand in 1978, which brought incredible popularity to the microscopic principality and its population in the European media.

Crown Prince of Sealand Michael Bates

Like a monarch sovereign state, possessing all the necessary regalia, Roy I Bates, his wife, Princess Joan I Bates, the heir to the princely throne, Prince Regent Michael I, and daughter Penelope are engaged in the trade of titles and other attributes of the principality - anyone can purchase a title and the corresponding documentation for it for $ 316 on the official website of the Principality of Sealand sealandgov.org. And the former putschist and Prime Minister of Sealand, Count Alexander Gottfried Achenbach, a German citizen, declared himself a “government in exile” and actively traded in counterfeit passports of the principality, selling about 150,000 documents for $1,000 each (at the request of Interpol, Prince Roy I canceled the action all Sealand passports a few years ago). From 2000 to 2008, the principality’s platform hosted servers from the hosting company HavenCo, which relied on the offshore zone and paid a tidy sum for rent.

Charter for the title of the Principality of Sealand

Since 2007, the principality on the offshore platform has been sold for only 750 million euros; only one of the 27 citizens of Sealand is currently permanently located on its territory. The elderly prince himself and his wife moved to England on land ten years ago - they are not at the right age to live on a platform in the middle of the sea.

Constitutional monarchy Prince Michael I Territory
Total
% water surface
0.00055 km²
0 Population
Total()
Density
5 people
9100 people/km² GDP
Total()
Per capita th in the world
600000
Currency Sealand dollar Time zone UTC 0

Sealand, Principality of Sealand (Principality of Sealand) is a self-proclaimed microstate in the North Sea 10 kilometers off the coast of Great Britain. Located on an offshore platform. Coordinates: Coordinates: / (G)51.894444 , 1.4825 51°53′40″ n. w. 1°28′57″ E. d. / 51.894444° s. w. 1.4825° E. d.(G)

State system

Roy did not build an amusement park, but chose the platform to base his pirate radio station, Britain's Better Music Station. On September 2, 1967, he announced the creation of a sovereign state and proclaimed himself Prince Roy I. This day is celebrated as the main public holiday.

Conflict with Great Britain

Coup attempt

Expansion of territorial waters

Territory of Sealand with territorial waters

Selling Sealand

Legal status

Sealand's position compares favorably with that of other virtual states. The Principality has a physical territory and has some legal grounds for international recognition. The requirement for independence is based on three arguments. The most fundamental of these is the fact that Sealand was founded in international waters before the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, prohibiting the construction of man-made structures on the high seas, came into force, and before the expansion of the UK's sovereign maritime zone from 3 to 12 nautical miles in 1987. Due to the fact that the Rafs Tower platform on which Sealand is located was abandoned and struck off the British Admiralty lists, its occupation is considered as colonization. The settlers who settled on it believe that they had every right to establish a state and establish a form of government at their discretion. Sealand meets all the criteria for statehood specified in the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States. According to international standards, the size of a state cannot be an obstacle to recognition. For example, the recognized British possession of Pitcairn Island has only about 60 people.

The second important argument is the 1968 British court decision that the UK had no jurisdiction over Sealand. No other country has claimed rights to Sealand either.

Thirdly, there are several facts of de facto recognition of Sealand. The Montevideo Convention states that states have the right to existence and self-defense regardless of official recognition. In modern international practice, tacit (non-diplomatic) recognition is a fairly common phenomenon. It arises when a regime does not have sufficient legitimacy, but exercises actual power on its territory. For example, many states do not recognize Taiwan diplomatically, but de facto view it as sovereign country. There are four similar pieces of evidence regarding Sealand:

Great Britain does not pay Prince Roy a pension for the period when he was in Sealand.
UK courts refused to hear the 1968 and 1990 claims against Sealand.
The Foreign Ministries of the Netherlands and Germany entered into negotiations with the Sealand government.
The Belgian Post accepted Sealand stamps for some time.

Theoretically, Sealand's position is very convincing. If recognized, the principality would become the smallest country in the world and the 49th state in Europe. However, according to the constituent theory, more common in modern international law, a state can exist only insofar as it is recognized by other states. Therefore, Sealand cannot be accepted into any international organization and cannot have its own postal address or domain name. None of the countries established diplomatic relations with him.

Sealand is trying to achieve recognition of independence somehow large state, but did not try to achieve independence through the UN.

Coins

Sealand coins, from left to right: ½ dollar, silver dollar and ¼ dollar

For numismatic purposes, the following coins were minted in the principality:

Dignity	Material	Year of issue
¼ dollar	bronze
¼ dollar	silver
½ dollar	copper-nickel alloy
½ dollar	silver
1 dollar	bronze
1 dollar	silver
2½ dollars	bronze
10 dollars	silver
10 dollars	silver
30 dollars	silver
100 dollars