Is Putin plotting to reclaim Alaska?

Does Putin want Alaska back?
A part of Russia until 1867
For $7.2 million
Only 52 miles from Russia
Some think it is time for Russia to demand the return of Alaska
The US is looking weaker to Russia
Volodin says Russia has something to take back too
Also Fort Ross
Kremlin advisor makes demand
Russian settlement
Disturbing event
Warships on “patrol”
Vitus Bering
Several Russian settlements
A Swiss buys Fort Ross
Sale of Alaska to the USA
“Never really warmed up” to Alaska
Some malice
Rich oil deposits
Dramatic change
Valid sale
Does Putin want Alaska back?

In 1867, Russia sold Alaska to the USA - now some Moscow representatives are demanding the land back. Click on to read about how the sale went down and if Russia has any right to reclaim the land.

A part of Russia until 1867

Alaska has been the 49th state in the USA since 1959; however, not so long ago, the northern state that borders Canada belonged to Russia...

For $7.2 million

According to the National Archives, in 1867, the Russian Empire sold Alaska to the United States for a cool $7.2 million.

Only 52 miles from Russia

In fact, Russia and Alaska are only separated by the Bering Strait - which is only 85 km/52.8 miles wide. At the time of sale the Russian Empire needed the money and found the rugged state hard to maintain, so selling it to the US seemed like a good idea.

Some think it is time for Russia to demand the return of Alaska

However, some claim that Putin is thinking about trying to get this "lost" Russian land back. As reported by Newsweek in December 2023, Sergei Mironov, a Russian lawmaker wrote on X that the time may be coming for Russia to try to claim back Alaska.

 

The US is looking weaker to Russia

Mironov wrote that the United States is losing power and suggested that Russia could try taking back old territories as Venezuela did with Guyana.

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"Alaska is ours!"

This might sound outlandish but according to Newsweek, even back in 2022 posters could be seen in the Russian city of Krasnoyarsk with the words “Alaska is ours!” Perhaps, a campaign to reclaim the land has already begun.

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Volodin says Russia has something to take back too

The reclaiming of Alaska was led primarily by Vyacheslav Volodin, a confidant of Putin and chairman of the State Duma. According to the Associated Press, in 2022, Volodin said in a meeting with Russian state officials, "When they [U.S. lawmakers] attempt to appropriate our assets abroad, they should be aware that we also have something to claim back," referring to Alaska.

Also Fort Ross

However, according to the Daily Mail, Russia may not only demand the return of Alaska, but also Fort Ross in California...

 

Kremlin advisor makes demand

According to Newsweek, in the summer of 2023, a Kremlin adviser, Oleg Matveychev, is said to have made this demand - as compensation for the US sanctions that Russia has been facing since the start of the war in Ukraine.

Russian settlement

You may not realize that a long, long time ago, Russia had a settlement in Fort Ross, California. In 1812, Russian traders settled Fort Ross and stayed for thirty years.

 

 

Disturbing event

While these states could easily be dismissed by the United States as mere words, an event in the summer of 2023 caused concern.

 

Warships on “patrol”

Russian and Chinese warships went on "patrol" together - near Alaska, as reported by CNN at the time.

Vitus Bering

The fact that Alaska and Fort Ross once belonged to Russia is thanks to the Danish naval officer in Russian service Vitus Bering - the namesake of the Bering Strait between Russia and Alaska.

"Second Discovery" of America

During the "Great Nordic Expedition" between 1733 and 1743, Bering made the "second discovery" of America.

Several Russian settlements

In 1799 the Russian-American Company was founded and several Russian settlements were founded in America.

 

A Swiss buys Fort Ross

Russia continued to advance and founded Fort Ross on the Pacific coast in 1812. In 1840 the Tsarist Empire lost interest in the settlement because it was unsuitable for supplying Alaska and sold it to a Swiss man.

Sale of Alaska to the USA

When the sale of Alaska came about, relations between Russia and the USA were much better than they are today.

 

“Never really warmed up” to Alaska

As historian Henner Kropp says according to the German publication t-online.de, the Russian rulers "never really warmed to the distant and inhospitable Alaska."

Photo: Unsplash / Rod Long

Some malice

When the then US Secretary of State William H. Seward acquired Alaska for $7.2 million in 1867, he had to endure a lot of malice from his contemporaries who did not see the benefits of the freezing, seemingly inhabitable land.

Photo: Painting, after the signing of the Alaska Treaty on March 30, 1867.

Rich oil deposits

However, it would later turn out that Alaska had a rich oil reserve...

Dramatic change

In addition, according to Marc von Lüpke on t-online.de, "a Russian Alaska today would dramatically change the geopolitical situation in Russia's favor."

Valid sale

However, the sale back then was valid and Alaska legally belongs to the USA - whether Putin and the Kremlin like it  or not.

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