The war between an American and a Russian for “no man’s land” in Africa

There is no territory on the border between Egypt and Sudan. Bir tawil - a piece of desert the size of Moscow, which since the beginning of the XX century does not belong to any state. But in recent years, two “kings” appeared at once in this territory - one from the USA, the other from Russia.

The first king is Jeremiah Heaton, a farmer from Virginia. He went to Bir Tawil to finally make his daughter a princess. Arriving on a no-man’s land, he set a flag on it, invented together with his daughter - a golden crown and three white stars against a blue background. Kingdom Heaton called North Sudan.

The second king is a Russian businessman Dmitry Zhikharev, who made an expedition to Bir-Tavil later to Jeremiah Heaton. In December, 2014, Zhikharev and a friend finally reached the no-man’s territory and installed a Russian flag on it. The territory of the Russian called the Kingdom of Middle-earth, proclaimed himself king, and gave his companion the title of prince.

There is also a Prime Minister in Middle-earth - a designer who helps Zhikharev create a website and a flag of the kingdom. An absolute monarchy has become a form of government, and the prime minister has already come up with the first law, according to which in their state women are forbidden to sit behind the wheel.

Heaton is sure that he is the real king of Bir-Tawil, as the man who first installed the flag on this territory. Zhikharev disagree; he demonstrates his evidence (a photo with a geotag and a route in a navigator) and suspects the American competitor of a forgery: he does not want to say exactly where he set his flag, as he is afraid that the Russian will simply remove it.

The war of the two kings is still in a sluggish state: they occasionally correspond or call up on Skype. Heaton plans to carry a pipe from the Nile to Bir Tavil and break up a garden in the territory. Zhikharev is going to drill an artesian well in the kingdom. In addition, the Russian enlisted the support of local residents: he presented them with a large tent in which they can live in his absence.