Alaska, translated from the local dialect, is a place of whales. Alaska has a very beautiful flag - eight gold five-pointed stars on a blue background. Seven is the Ursa Major bucket, the eighth is the North Star. The peninsula became a US state in 1959. Americans believe that before this, Alaska could not feed its administration due to poverty - and therefore was not a state.

Alaska brings people and bears closer together

A quarter of all underground and marine reserves of the United States, almost 5 billion barrels of oil, forest reserves, gas, and copper are concentrated on the peninsula. Some Americans are not averse to selling Alaska to Russia for one trillion dollars to reduce the budget deficit.

189 years ago, on April 17, 1824, the Russian-American Convention on Determining the Boundaries of Russian Possessions in North America was signed. This Convention marked the beginning of the expulsion of Russians from America and subsequently played a huge role in the sale of Alaska in 1867.

The signing of the agreement for the sale of Alaska took place on March 30, 1867 in Washington. The territory of 1 million 519 thousand km² was sold for $7.2 million in gold, that is, $4.74 per km² (the much more fertile and sunnier French Louisiana, purchased from France in 1803, cost the US budget slightly more - approximately at $7 per km²). Alaska was finally transferred to the United States on October 18 of the same year, when Russian commissioners led by Admiral Alexei Peschurov arrived at Fort Sitka. The Russian flag was ceremoniously lowered over the fort and the American flag was raised.

From all sides they say that Russia committed a great stupidity by selling Alaska. But there is an opinion that Alaska was never sold. It was leased for 90 years. AND

after the lease expired in 1957, the United States, with pain in its heart, was going to give the land back or try to extend the lease for a very good sum. But Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev actually gave the lands to America.

And only after that, in 1959, Alaska became the 49th US state. Many argue that the agreement on the transfer of Alaska to the United States was never signed by the USSR - nor was it signed by the Russian Empire. Therefore, Alaska may have been borrowed free of charge from Russia.

In 1648, during the reign of the “quiet” Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov, Semyon Dezhnev crossed the 86-kilometer wide strait that separated Russia and America. This Strait will then be called the Bering Strait. In 1732, Mikhail Gvozdev was the first European to determine the coordinates and map 300 kilometers of coastline, describe the shores and straits. In 1741, Vitus Bering explored the shores of Alaska. In 1784, Grigory Shelikhov developed the peninsula.

He spreads Orthodoxy among the Horse natives. Accustoms local residents to potatoes and turnips. Founds the agricultural colony "Glory of Russia". And at the same time it includes residents of Alaska among Russian citizens. At the same time as Shelikhov, merchant Pavel Lebedev-Lastochkin was exploring Alaska. Russian territory expanded to the south and east.

In 1798, Shelikhov's company merged with the companies of Ivan Golikov and Nikolai Mylnikov and became known as the Russian-American Company. In the books of Nikolai Zadornov, she is described as the destroyer of Russian America and an obstacle to the development of the Far East. The company's shareholders were grand dukes and statesmen. One of the shareholders and its first director was Nikolai Rezanov (the hero of the musical "Juno" and "Avos") It had monopoly rights for a period of 20 years, granted by Paul I, for furs, trade, and the discovery of new lands. She was granted the right to represent and defend the interests of Russia.

The company founded the St. Michael's Fortress (now Sitka), where there was an elementary school, a shipyard, a church, an arsenal, and workshops. Each arriving ship was greeted with fireworks, as under Peter I. In 1802, the natives burned the fortress. Three years later, another Russian fortress fell. English and American entrepreneurs sought to liquidate Russian settlements and armed the natives.

In 1806, the Russian-American Company opened its trading posts on the Hawaiian (Sandwich) Islands. The factories existed until 1911.

In 1808, the Russian-American Company, located in Irkutsk, appointed Novo-Arkhangelsk (formerly St. Michael's Fortress) as the capital of Russian America. From the creation of the company until the founding of the capital, furs worth more than 5 million rubles were extracted. Copper, coal, and iron were being mined. Blast furnaces were built. Mica production was in operation.

Libraries and schools were created. There was a theater and a museum. Local children were taught Russian and French, mathematics, geography, etc. And four years later, merchant Ivan Kuskov founded Fort Ross in California - the southernmost outpost of the Russian colony in America. He bought the territory that belonged to Spain from the local Indians. Russia became a European, Asian and American power. Russian America included the Aleutian Islands, Alaska and Northern California. There were more than 200 Russian citizens in the fort - Creoles, Indians, Aleuts.

They fully provided grain for themselves and the entire population of Alaska. The Russian-American company built 44 ships. Including steam ships, all parts for which were made in local workshops. She equipped 25 expeditions, of which 15 were around the world. There were more trips than the “queen of the seas” of England. Kruzenshtern and Lisyansky were hired by the Company - and made the first circumnavigation in Russian history. The director of the Company, Rezanov, also went with them. Thanks to the Company, the shores of the Arctic Ocean from Arkhangelsk to the Kuril Islands and Japan were described. True, the information was kept secret from the Russian government.

Trade in vodka was prohibited on the territory. Strict measures were introduced to preserve and reproduce the number of animals. The British, invading Alaska, exterminated everything completely, soldered the natives and bought furs for next to nothing.

In 1803, Rumyantsev, the future chancellor, demanded the settlement of Russian America. He insistently asked to build cities in it, develop industry and trade, and build factories that could operate on local raw materials. Chamberlain Rezanov said that it was necessary to “invite more Russians there.” The Senate refused to resettle the serfs: they were afraid that many would leave the landowners. He also refused to allow the peasants freed from the fortress to move to Alaska. The population in Russian America grew extremely slowly.

Since 1808, negotiations have been held with the United States to streamline relations in the northwestern part of North America. The company was against signing such an agreement.

At that time, the United States was actually a secondary country that had quite friendly relations with Russia. Thanks to Russia's non-intervention, the colony separated from England. The great power hoped for the gratitude of the new state. But in 1819, US Secretary of State Quincy Adams declared that all states in the world must come to terms with the idea that the continent of North America is the territory of the United States alone.

He also developed a doctrine: “to reconquer part of the American continent from the Russians, time and patience will be the best weapons.” In 1821, the United States of America, as the country was called at that time, at the congressional level noted the danger to the interests of the country from the Russian colonization of the northwestern coast of America - Alaska and California.

The Decree of Alexander I, issued in 1821, banning foreign ships from approaching Russian settlements in America caused a storm of protest among Americans. In 1823, the policy of dividing the world into two systems was finally determined - the Monroe Doctrine, the message to Congress. America only for the USA - Europe for everyone else. On April 17 (April 5, old style), 1824, the Convention on Determining the Boundaries of Russian Possessions in North America was signed in St. Petersburg. The border of the settlements was established along the 54˚40° parallel of northern latitude.

On October 18, 1867, the frigate Osipi, carrying commissioners of the United States and the Russian Empire, entered the harbor of Novoarkhangelsk (today the American city of Sitka). At 12:00 the official handover of Russian America took place, the imperial flag was lowered and the American flag was raised. So Alaska ceased to be Russian territory.

The idea of ​​Nikolai Muravyov-Amursky

The first person to talk about selling Alaska was Nikolai Muravyov-Amursky, Governor General of Eastern Siberia. Back in 1853, he provided Nicholas I with a note, in which he outlined his views on strengthening positions in the Far East and establishing close relations with the United States. Regarding Alaska, Muravyov-Amursky had the following opinion: the area is huge - 1.5 million square kilometers, and there are so few of the emperor’s subjects on it that they will not even be able to protect these lands.

Difficulty in managing territories

The actual discovery of Alaska by Russian navigators Fedorov and Gvozdev occurred in 1732. Alaska was officially discovered in 1841 by Captain Chirikov, who recorded the discovery of a new land. The new territory was developed by Russian merchants, who founded the Russian-American Company (RAC) there. They actively bought furs from local Eskimos, Aleuts and Indians, sold ice to America, and traded tea and Chinese fabrics. Russian settlements were also created, where merchant ships moored during the winter months.

For 125 years, the vast territory of Alaska has not been developed. Settlements were rare and were located only along the coast; in order to avoid clashes with Indians, it was forbidden to penetrate deep into the continent. In 1867, only 812 people lived in Alaska, employees of the Russian-American Company.

The Russian Empire believed that Alaska was a subsidized region that required investment and did not generate income for which it could continue to be developed. It was believed that Russian people would not want to travel so far to explore the “ice desert.”

Russia leased America for 99 years

A persistent myth regarding the sale of Alaska is that it was not sold, but leased for 99 years. But according to the treaty of 1867, Alaska was definitely sold for $7 million 200 and is the property of the United States. Why was this myth born? Perhaps it appeared in connection with the declaration of the Soviet government of 1917. According to this declaration, the Soviet government does not recognize agreements concluded by Tsarist Russia.

The Romanovs' debt to the Rothschilds

There is another version why Alexander II agreed to the sale of Alaska. To abolish serfdom in 1861, the government borrowed £15 million, at 5% interest, from the Rothschilds to compensate the landlords for their losses. But the amount for which Alaska was sold would still not be enough to cover the debt. At that time, the British pound was worth $4.87, and the loan amount, converted into dollars, was $73 million. Alaska was sold for $7.2 million, less than a tenth of the debt.

Personal initiative of Konstantin Nikolaevich

The initiator of the Russian-American deal is Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich. He supervised the work to discredit the RAC in order to convince his brother to agree to the deal. He considered Alaska to be “extra territory,” because if a gold deposit was discovered, it would attract the attention of the British - and there was no one to defend the territory. According to Konstantin Nikolaevich, if England captures Alaska, then the Russian Empire will lose its territory and receive nothing. And when selling, it will be possible to earn money, save reputation and strengthen friendly relations with the United States.

Alexander II feared that England would seize Alaska

One of the main reasons for the sale of Alaska was its vulnerability as a colony. The Aleuts collaborated with Russian settlers and adopted the Russian way of life. But the Indian tribes did not submit, did not recognize the dominance of the Russians and lived with them in a state of “cold war”. The British entered Alaska and sold weapons to the Indians and incited rebellion. The British founded a trading post in 1847 in a part remote from the coast. The colony could not do anything about it, as well as with whaling ships from different countries on the coast of Alaska. Alexander II feared that after the Crimean War, England might attack the territory of Alaska, and it would be impossible to defend the territory. If Alaska had not been sold, a few years later it would have become part of the Canadian Confederation, which was established in the summer of 1867.

Selling Alaska as inevitable

Back in the early 19th century, Secretary of State John Adams stated: “Since we became an independent people, it has been as much a law of nature that this has become our claim, as that the Mississippi flows into the sea. Spain has possessions of to the south, and England to the north of our borders. It would be incredible if centuries passed without them being annexed by us." Regarding the Russian colonies in Alaska, John Adams adhered to exactly the same point of view, believing that in order to reconquer this part of the American continent, the Russians would have patience and time as their best weapons.

In the USA, society was divided into two camps - some believed that buying “a box of ice, a circus and bears” was a huge mistake, and this was the majority. Secretary of State William Seward was in favor and lobbied Congress with all his might for his decision. This purchase was called “Seward’s stupidity”, and Alaska was called a “squeezed orange” that would bring nothing but losses. Horace Greeley, the publicist, asked: “Why should we invest in the kingdom of ice, rocks and snow?”

Charles Sumner played a big role in pushing the deal forward. He was one of Lincoln's associates, enjoyed authority, and therefore decided the fate of more than one important bill. He studied in detail in the Library of Congress everything he found regarding Alaska. Sumner was impressed by the wealth of the region and came to the conclusion that the purchase was necessary! His speech had the desired effect: 37 people voted “for”, only 2 “against”. Later, America recouped its expenses and made huge profits.

1863 The capital of Russian America is Novo-Arkhangelsk, now the city of Sitka in Alaska.

Merchants' initiative - RAC

Catherine I, the widow of Peter the Great, hardly even heard of the existence of such a land during the two years of her reign. Russian explorers and industrialists had not yet reached there yet. And during the reign of the second Catherine, the development of Alaska by the Russians began.

Then Russia acquired Alaska thanks to a private merchant initiative. The first Russian settlements in North America were founded by merchant Grigory Shelikhov on Kodiak Island in 1784 to extract and purchase furs from local residents. Novoarkhangelsk became the center.

In July 1799, by decree of Paul I, the Russian-American Company (RAC) was created to develop Russian lands in America. The company organized 25 expeditions, 15 of which were around the world. The activities of the RAC today are assessed differently. On the one hand, the company conducted a predatory fur trade, on the other hand, it actually developed the territory, introduced arable farming, cattle breeding, and gardening. But already from the beginning of the 19th century, the activities of the RAC were complicated by the struggle for furs with American and English competitors, who armed the Indians to attack the Russians. The sale of Alaska took place under the great-grandson of Catherine II, Alexander II, on March 30, 1867. For some reason, this deal is considered extremely unprofitable for Russia.

Most of all, of course, they regret the lost gold and oil (though it was discovered only in the middle of the 20th century). Indeed, almost thirty years after the sale, by the mid-1990s, large-scale gold mining began in Alaska. Few people in their youth did not read Jack London’s brilliant prose about that era of the northern “gold rush”. But at the same time, the same London emphasized that after 10 years, gold mining had practically disappeared. It didn't last long. The gold miners' happiness turned out to be deceptive. Lucky were mainly those few who managed to stake out their plots on time and managed to sell their mines just as quickly. So what is still unknown - was more gold obtained from the bowels of Alaska or spent on its development?

It must be said that for Russia, Alaska quickly ceased to be profitable. The period when Russian America brought serious dividends to shareholders did not last too long. The economic situation of the territory was fragile and deteriorating. The fur trade continued to be the economic base of the colony, but sea otters with their precious fur were almost completely killed. The number of seals, however, was still in the millions, but their skins were not highly valued at that time, and minks, foxes and beavers had to be bought from Indians who hunted on land.

The vast territory was practically undeveloped. Very rare settlements, trading posts, and hunting bases were located only along the coast and at several points along the Yukon. Penetration into the continent, in order to avoid clashes with the Indians, was prohibited for the colonists.

English and American traders supplied the Indians with weapons and incited them to rebel. In a part of Alaska remote from the coast, on the Upper Yukon, having penetrated from Canada, the British established a trading post in 1847. And the Russians were forced to put up with this invasion. The coastal waters of Alaska were teeming with whaling ships from various powers. And the colony could not cope with them either.

International law recognized as its property only a strip of water “at a distance of a cannon shot from the shore.”

And the whalers behaved like bandits, depriving the Alaskan Eskimos of their main means of livelihood. Complaints to Washington - “quiet your filibusters” - did not achieve their goal. In order to somehow stay on its feet, RAC was forced to sell coal, fish and Alaskan ice (the buyer was San Francisco; refrigerators were not yet produced at that time). The company's ends meet no longer meet. State subsidies were needed to maintain the territory. Which was extremely difficult for the treasury.

In addition, the territorial distance makes it incredibly difficult to defend unprofitable overseas territory in the event of war. And the idea of ​​selling Alaska arose at court.

Dangerous neighbors

The first time they tried to sell Alaska to the Americans fictitiously, retroactively, out of fear that in the outbreak of the Crimean War, the British, who had a powerful fleet, would tear away the distant, unprotected colony. The fictitious sale did not take place. But Washington became interested in the idea.

The United States was energetically, as Grand Duke Constantine put it in a note to Alexander II, rounding out its territory. Napoleon, when he was bogged down in European military affairs, was offered to sell Louisiana. He immediately understood: “if you don’t sell it, they’ll take it for nothing” - and agreed, receiving 15 million dollars for the vast territory (twelve current central states). In the same way, Mexico (after Texas was taken from it by force) ceded California for $15 million.

The USA was intoxicated by the continuous expansion of territory. “America is for the Americans” - this was the meaning of the proclaimed Monroe Doctrine. Publications and speeches contained thoughts about the “predestination” of owning the entire continent in the northern part of America.

It was obvious that further “rounding” would inevitably affect the Russian colony. There was no visible threat to Alaska at that time. Relations between Russia and the United States at this time were emphatically friendly. During the Crimean War, the United States openly stated this. But there remained a potential threat.

Alexander II understood everything, but hesitated - it was difficult to part with the territory discovered by the Russians, which was revered as the “tsar’s pride.” Finally the emperor made up his mind. But one problem remained. And as paradoxical as it sounds, the problem was to persuade American statesmen to make a deal. The Russian envoy Eduard Stekl, who arrived in Washington, was supposed to turn things around so that the initiative for the purchase would come from the United States. The Russian emperor agreed to sell Alaska for no less than $5 million. As a result, they agreed on 7 million 200 thousand dollars (that is, 5 cents per hectare). On March 30, 1867, the treaty for the sale of Alaska was signed.

Ice box

The US Senate reacted to the ratification of the treaty without enthusiasm: “we’re paying money for an ice chest.” Then it took a long time to figure out who the Russians were giving bribes to?

And I really had to give them. Newspaper editors received their bribes for relevant articles, and politicians received their bribes for inspired speeches in Congress. St. Petersburg “on matters known to the emperor” spent over one hundred thousand dollars (serious money at that time). The original version was put forward by American researcher Ralph Epperson, arguing that US Secretary of State William Seward (one of the main participants in the deal) simply paid the Russian Tsar for help against England’s likely intervention in the civil war on the side of the southerners.

We are talking about the appearance of Russian warships off the coast of North America at the end of the summer of 1863. Two military squadrons - the Atlantic under the command of Rear Admiral Lesovsky and the Pacific under the command of Admiral Popov - completely unexpectedly for England and France, entered the ports of New York and San Francisco. Russian warships sailed off the coast of the United States for almost a year. And the expenses to the Russian treasury cost almost 7.2 million dollars (exactly the amount for which the deal was concluded).

The version is, of course, original, but controversial. One of Seward’s speeches a few years before the deal has been preserved: “Standing here (in Minnesota - A.P.) and turning my gaze to the North-West, I see a Russian who is preoccupied with the construction of harbors, settlements and fortifications at the tip of this continent, as outposts Petersburg, and I can say: "Go ahead and build your outposts along the entire coast, even to the Arctic Ocean - they will nevertheless become outposts of my own country - monuments of the civilization of the United States in the Northwest." No comments needed. As a result, the States were satisfied, although they had not yet appreciated the enormous “add-on” to their territory. Russia's enemies gloated - the sale of Alaska was an admission of weakness. The official transfer of the colony to the Americans took place on October 18, 1867. The square in front of the residence of the Russian governor in Novoarkhangelsk was filled with colonists, Russian and American soldiers. The Russian flag was lowered from the mast and the American flag was raised. In total, there were 823 people in the Russian colony at that moment. 90 of them wished to stay. The capital of the Russian colony, Novoarkhangelsk, was renamed Sitka. Twenty families remained to live here... At first, the former Russian territory had the status of a district, then - a territory. It was only in 1959 that Alaska became a separate US state.

Then it became clear that the real wealth of this region is not furs or gold, but oil. Alaska's oil reserves are estimated to range from 4.7 to 16 billion barrels. But Russian Emperor Alexander II could not have known about this (and it is unlikely that this would have solved anything)...

Flag of Russian Alaska

On January 3, 1959, Alaska became the 49th state of the United States, although these lands were sold by Russia to America back in 1867. However, there is a version that Alaska was never sold. Russia leased it for 90 years, and after the lease expired, in 1957, Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev actually donated these lands to the United States. Many historians argue that the agreement on the transfer of Alaska to the United States was not signed by either the Russian Empire or the USSR, and the peninsula was borrowed free of charge from Russia. Be that as it may, Alaska is still shrouded in an aura of mystery.

The Russians taught the Alaskan natives to turnips and potatoes.

Under the rule of the “quiet” Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov in Russia, Semyon Dezhnev swam across the 86-kilometer strait that separated Russia and America. Later this Strait was named Bering Strait in honor of Vitus Bering, who explored the shores of Alaska in 1741. Although before him, in 1732, Mikhail Gvozdev was the first European to determine the coordinates and map the 300-kilometer coastline of this peninsula. In 1784, the development of Alaska was carried out by Grigory Shelikhov, who accustomed the local population to turnips and potatoes, spread Orthodoxy among the Horse natives, and even founded the agricultural colony “Glory to Russia.” Since that time, residents of Alaska have become Russian subjects.

The British and Americans armed the natives against the Russians

In 1798, as a result of the merger of the companies of Grigory Shelikhov, Nikolai Mylnikov and Ivan Golikov, the Russian-American Company was formed, the shareholders of which were statesmen and grand dukes. The first director of this company is Nikolai Rezanov, whose name is known to many today as the name of the hero of the musical “Juno and Avos”. The company, which some historians today call “the destroyer of Russian America and an obstacle to the development of the Far East,” had monopoly rights to furs, trade, the discovery of new lands, granted Emperor Paul I. The company also had the right to protect and represent the interests of Russia

The company founded the St. Michael's Fortress (today Sitka), where the Russians built a church, an elementary school, a shipyard, workshops and an arsenal. Every ship that came into the harbor where the fortress stood was greeted with fireworks. In 1802, the fortress was burned by the natives, and three years later the same fate befell another Russian fortress. American and British entrepreneurs sought to liquidate Russian settlements and for this purpose they armed the natives.

Alaska could become a cause of war for Russia

For Russia, Alaska was a real gold mine. For example, sea otter fur was more expensive than gold, but the greed and short-sightedness of the miners led to the fact that already in the 1840s there were practically no valuable animals left on the peninsula. In addition, oil and gold were discovered in Alaska. It was this fact, as absurd as it may sound, that became one of the incentives to quickly get rid of Alaska. The fact is that American prospectors began to actively arrive in Alaska, and the Russian government rightly feared that American troops would come after them. Russia was not ready for war, and giving up Alaska penniless was completely imprudent.

At the ceremony for the transfer of Alaska, the flag fell on Russian bayonets

October 18, 1867 at 15.30. The solemn ceremony of changing the flag on the flagpole in front of the house of the ruler of Alaska began. Two non-commissioned officers began to lower the flag of the Russian-American Company, but it got tangled in the ropes at the very top, and the painter broke off completely. Several sailors, on orders, rushed to climb up to untangle the tattered flag hanging on the mast. The sailor who got to the flag first did not have time to shout to him to get off with the flag and not throw it, and he threw the flag down. The flag fell directly on Russian bayonets. Mystics and conspiracy theorists should rejoice.

Immediately after the transfer of Alaska to the United States, American troops entered Sitka and plundered the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael, private homes and shops, and General Jefferson Davis ordered all Russians to leave their homes to the Americans.

Alaska has become an extremely profitable deal for the United States

The Russian Empire sold uninhabited and inaccessible territory to the United States for $0.05 per hectare. This turned out to be 1.5 times cheaper than Napoleonic France sold the developed territory of historical Louisiana 50 years earlier. America offered $10 million for the port of New Orleans alone, and besides, the lands of Louisiana had to be repurchased from the Indians living there.

Another fact: at the time when Russia sold Alaska to America, the state treasury paid more for one single three-story building in the center of New York than the American government paid for the entire peninsula.

The main secret of selling Alaska is where is the money?

Eduard Stekl, who since 1850 had been the charge d'affaires of the Russian embassy in Washington, and in 1854 was appointed envoy, received a check in the amount of 7 million 35 thousand dollars. He kept 21 thousand for himself, and distributed 144 thousand to the senators who voted to ratify the treaty as bribes. 7 million was transferred to London by bank transfer, and the gold bars purchased for this amount were transported from the British capital to St. Petersburg by sea.

When converting the currency first into pounds and then into gold, they lost another 1.5 million. But this loss was not the last. On July 16, 1868, the barque Orkney, carrying a precious cargo, sank on the approach to St. Petersburg. Whether there was Russian gold on it at that moment, or whether it did not leave the borders of Foggy Albion, remains unknown today. The company that registered the cargo declared itself bankrupt, so the damage was only partially compensated.

In 2013, a Russian filed a lawsuit to invalidate the agreement on the sale of Alaska

In March 2013, the Moscow Arbitration Court received a claim from representatives of the Interregional public movement in support of the Orthodox educational and social initiatives “Bee” in the name of the Holy Great Martyr Nikita. According to Nikolai Bondarenko, chairman of the movement, this step was caused by the failure to fulfill a number of points in the agreement signed in 1867. In particular, Article 6 provided for the payment of 7 million 200 thousand dollars in gold coin, and the US Treasury issued a check for this amount, the further fate of which is unclear. Another reason, according to Bondarenko, was the fact that the US government violated Article 3 of the treaty, which stipulates that the American authorities must ensure that the residents of Alaska, formerly citizens of the Russian Empire, live in accordance with their customs and traditions and the faith that they professed at that time. The Obama administration, with its plans to legalize same-sex marriage, infringes on the rights and interests of citizens who live in Alaska. The Moscow Arbitration Court refused to consider the claim against the US federal government.

150 years ago, on October 18, 1867, in the city of Novoarkhangelsk (now called Sitka), the Russian flag was lowered and the US flag was raised. This symbolic ceremony sealed the transfer of our American territories to the United States. Alaska Day is a holiday celebrated in the state on October 18th. However, disputes about the advisability of selling the territory have not subsided to this day. Why Russia abandoned its possessions in America - in the RT material.

• Signing of the Treaty for the Sale of Alaska, March 30, 1867
• © Emanuel Leutze / Wikimedia Commons

In the early 60s of the 19th century, Russia was in crisis, which was associated with defeat in the Crimean War (1853-1856). Russia suffered, if not a crushing, but extremely unpleasant defeat, which exposed all the disadvantages of the political and economic system.

This land was ours: how Alaska was sold

On March 30, 1867, an agreement was signed in Washington on the sale by Russia of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands to the United States of America. Solution…

Much needed reforming. Nicholas I, who died before the end of the war, left his heir, Alexander II, many unresolved issues. And to get out of the crisis, boost the economy and restore authority in the international arena, strength and money were required.

Against this background, Alaska did not look like a profitable asset. The economic rationale for the development of American territories was primarily the fur trade. However, by the middle of the 19th century this resource was largely exhausted. Russian industrialists, being far from the “sovereign eye,” did not care about preserving natural wealth. The sea animal sea otter, whose fur represented the most valuable resource, was already on the verge of destruction due to uncontrolled fishing.

Pragmatic calculation

Neither the Russian government nor the residents of Russian Alaska had any idea that the region was rich in gold and oil. And the value of oil in those years was not at all the same as it is today. Alaska was located many months by sea from St. Petersburg, so the government had no real opportunity to control it. Skeptics can also be reminded that Russia properly began to develop the northeast of the Asian part of the country only in the Soviet years. It is unlikely that Alaska would have been developed faster and more efficiently than Chukotka.

• Russian church on Kodiak Island off the southern coast of Alaska. The ground is covered in volcanic ash after the eruption of Mount Katmai
• © The Library of Congress

Finally, only shortly before the sale of Alaska, Russia concluded the Aigun and Beijing treaties. According to them, the state included significant territories of the Far East, all of present-day Primorye, a significant part of the modern Khabarovsk Territory and the Amur Region. All these lands required intensive development (this is precisely why Vladivostok was founded).

The Aigun Treaty was the merit of an outstanding administrator, the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia, Count Nikolai Muravyov-Amursky, whom every Russian today knows by the image of his monument on the five-thousandth banknote. It was he who initiated the idea of ​​selling Alaska. And it’s hard to blame Muravyov-Amursky for his lack of patriotism. His position boiled down to a rational choice, well expressed in the proverb “If you chase two hares, you won’t catch either.”

• "Map of the Arctic Sea and Eastern Ocean", drawn up in 1844
• © The Library of Congress

Russia had to either gain a foothold in the rich Far East, or continue to cling to remote Alaska. The government understood: if the Americans or the British from neighboring Canada took the remote outpost seriously, it would not be possible to fight on equal terms with them - the distances were too great to transport troops, the infrastructure was too vulnerable.

Alaska in exchange for empire

The sale of remote territories was not some unique Russian practice. At the beginning of the 19th century, France sold the United States a much warmer Louisiana, closer to the metropolis and rich in obvious resources at that time. Recent and not the best examples were Texas and California, which Mexico ceded for next to nothing after direct American aggression. Between the Louisiana and Texas options, Russia chose the first.

To the gallery page

In the 60s of the 19th century, the United States and Russia were at the peak of friendly relations. Reasons for political conflicts between states have not yet appeared; moreover, Russia supported Washington during the civil war. Therefore, negotiations on the sale of Alaska took place in a calm tone and on mutually beneficial terms, although there was some bargaining. The United States did not exert any pressure on Russia, and did not have any grounds or tools for this. The transfer of American territories to the United States, although secret, became a completely transparent deal for the participants themselves.

Russia received about 11 million rubles for Alaska.

The amount was significant at that time, but still they gave less for Alaska than, for example, for Louisiana. Even taking into account such a “thrift” price on the American side, not everyone was sure that the purchase would justify itself.

The money received for Alaska was spent on the railway network, which was then just being built in Russia.

So, thanks to this deal, the Russian Far East developed, railways were built, and the successful reforms of Alexander II were carried out, which provided Russia with economic growth, returned international authority and made it possible to get rid of the consequences of defeat in the Crimean War.

Dmitry Fedorov