On March 18/30, 1867, Alaska and the Aleutian Islands were sold by Alexander II to the United States.

On October 18, 1867, in the capital of Russian America, in common parlance - Alaska, the city of Novoarkhangelsk, an official ceremony was held to transfer Russian possessions on the American continent to the ownership of the United States of America. Thus ended the history of Russian discoveries and economic development of the northwestern part of America.Since then, Alaska has been a US state.

Geography

Country name translated from Aleutian "a-la-as-ka" means "Big Land".

Alaska territory includes into yourself Aleutian Islands (110 islands and many rocks), Alexandra Archipelago (about 1,100 islands and rocks, the total area of ​​which is 36.8 thousand km²), St. Lawrence Island (80 km from Chukotka), Pribilof Islands , Kodiak Island (the second largest US island after the island of Hawaii), and huge continental part . The islands of Alaska stretch for almost 1,740 kilometers. The Aleutian Islands are home to many volcanoes, both extinct and active. Alaska is washed by the Arctic and Pacific oceans.

The continental part of Alaska is a peninsula of the same name, approximately 700 km long. In general, Alaska is a mountainous country - there are more volcanoes in Alaska than in all other US states. The highest peak in North America is Mount McKinley (6193m altitude) is also located in Alaska.

McKinley is the most high mountain USA

Another feature of Alaska is the huge number of lakes (their number exceeds 3 million!). About 487,747 km² (more than the territory of Sweden) is covered by swamps and permafrost. Glaciers cover about 41,440 km² (which corresponds to the territory of the whole of Holland!).

Alaska is considered a country with a harsh climate. Indeed, in most areas of Alaska the climate is arctic and subarctic continental, with harsh winters, with frosts down to minus 50 degrees. But the climate of the island part and the Pacific coast of Alaska is incomparably better than, for example, in Chukotka. On the Pacific coast of Alaska, the climate is maritime, relatively mild and humid. The warm stream of the Alaska Current turns here from the south and washes Alaska from the south. The mountains block northern cold winds. As a result, winters in coastal and island Alaska are quite mild. Sub-zero temperatures in winter are very rare. The sea in southern Alaska does not freeze in winter.

Alaska has always been rich in fish: salmon, flounder, cod, herring, edible species of shellfish and marine mammals were found in abundance in coastal waters. On the fertile soil of these lands, thousands of species of plants suitable for food grew, and in the forests there were many animals, especially fur-bearing animals. This is precisely why Russian industrialists sought to move to Alaska with its favorable natural conditions and richer fauna than in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.

Discovery of Alaska by Russian explorers

The history of Alaska before its sale to the United States in 1867 is one of the pages of the history of Russia.

The first people came to Alaska from Siberia about 15-20 thousand years ago. At that time, Eurasia and North America were connected by an isthmus located on the site of the Bering Strait. By the time the Russians arrived in the 18th century, the native inhabitants of Alaska were divided into Aleuts, Eskimos and Indians belonging to the Athabaskan group.

It is assumed that The first Europeans to see the shores of Alaska were members of Semyon Dezhnev's expedition in 1648 , who were the first to sail through the Bering Strait from the Icy Sea to the Warm Sea.According to legend, Dezhnev’s boats, which had gone astray, landed on the shores of Alaska.

In 1697, the conqueror of Kamchatka Vladimir Atlasov reported to Moscow that opposite the “Necessary Nose” (Cape Dezhnev) in the sea there was a large island, from where in winter the ice “foreigners come, speak their own language and bring sables...” Experienced industrialist Atlasov immediately determined that these sables differ from Yakut ones, and for the worse: “Sables are thin, and those sables have striped tails the size of a quarter of an arshin.” It was, of course, not about a sable, but about a raccoon - an animal unknown in Russia at that time.

However, at the end of the 17th century, Peter’s reforms began in Russia, as a result of which the state had no time to open new lands. This explains a certain pause in the further advance of the Russians to the east.

Russian industrialists began to be attracted to new lands only at the beginning of the 18th century, as fur reserves in eastern Siberia were depleted.Peter I immediately, as soon as circumstances allowed, began organizing scientific expeditions in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean.In 1725, shortly before his death, Peter the Great sent Captain Vitus Bering, a Danish navigator to explore the sea shores of Siberia Russian service. Peter sent Bering on an expedition to explore and describe the northeastern coast of Siberia . In 1728, the Bering expedition rediscovered the strait, which was first seen by Semyon Dezhnev. However, due to fog, Bering was unable to see the outlines of the North American continent on the horizon.

It is believed that The first Europeans to land on the shores of Alaska were members of the crew of the ship St. Gabriel. under the command of surveyor Mikhail Gvozdev and navigator Ivan Fedorov. They were participants Chukotka expedition 1729-1735 under the leadership of A.F. Shestakov and D.I. Pavlutsky.

Travelers landed on the coast of Alaska on August 21, 1732 . Fedorov was the first to mark both banks of the Bering Strait on the map. But, having returned to his homeland, Fedorov soon dies, and Gvozdev ends up in Bironov’s dungeons, and the great discovery of the Russian pioneers remains unknown for a long time.

The next stage of the “discovery of Alaska” was Second Kamchatka expedition famous explorer Vitus Bering in 1740 - 1741 The island, the sea and the strait between Chukotka and Alaska - Vitus Bering - were subsequently named after him.

The expedition of Vitus Bering, who by this time had been promoted to captain-commander, set off for the shores of America from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky on June 8, 1741 on two ships: “St. Peter” (under the command of Bering) and “St. Paul” (under the command of Alexei Chirikov). Each ship had its own team of scientists and researchers on board. They crossed the Pacific Ocean and July 15, 1741 discovered the northwestern coast of America. The ship's doctor, Georg Wilhelm Steller, went ashore and collected samples of shells and herbs, discovered new species of birds and animals, from which the researchers concluded that their ship had reached a new continent.

Chirikov's ship "St. Paul" returned on October 8 to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. On the way back, the Umnak Islands were discovered, Unalaska and others. Bering's ship was carried by the current and wind to the east of the Kamchatka Peninsula - to the Commander Islands. The ship was wrecked near one of the islands and washed ashore. The travelers were forced to spend the winter on the island, which now bears the name Bering Island . On this island, the captain-commander died without surviving the harsh winter. In the spring, the surviving crew members built a boat from the wreckage of the broken "St. Peter" and returned to Kamchatka only in September. Thus ended the second Russian expedition, which discovered the northwestern coast of the North American continent.

Russian America

The authorities in St. Petersburg reacted with indifference to the discovery of Bering's expedition.The Russian Empress Elizabeth had no interest in the lands of North America. She issued a decree obliging the local population to pay duties on trade, but did not take any further steps towards developing relations with Alaska.For the next 50 years, Russia showed very little interest in this land.

The initiative in developing new lands beyond the Bering Strait was taken by fishermen, who (unlike St. Petersburg) immediately appreciated the reports of members of the Bering expedition about the vast rookeries of sea animals.

In 1743, Russian traders and fur trappers established very close contact with the Aleuts. During 1743-1755, 22 fishing expeditions took place, fishing on the Commander and Near Aleutian Islands. In 1756-1780 48 expeditions fished throughout the Aleutian Islands, the Alaska Peninsula, Kodiak Island and the southern coast of modern Alaska. Fishing expeditions were organized and financed by various private companies of Siberian merchants.

Merchant ships off the coast of Alaska

Until the 1770s, among the merchants and fur harvesters in Alaska, Grigory Ivanovich Shelekhov, Pavel Sergeevich Lebedev-Lastochkin, as well as the brothers Grigory and Pyotr Panov were considered the richest and most famous.

Sloops with a displacement of 30-60 tons were sent from Okhotsk and Kamchatka to the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska. The remoteness of fishing areas meant that expeditions lasted up to 6-10 years. Shipwrecks, famine, scurvy, clashes with the aborigines, and sometimes with the crews of ships of a competing company - all this was the everyday work of the “Russian Columbuses”.

One of the first to establish a permanent Russian settlement on Unalaska (island in the Aleutian Islands archipelago), discovered in 1741 during Bering's Second Expedition.

Unalaska on the map

Subsequently, Analashka became the main Russian port in the region through which the fur trade was carried out. The main base of the future Russian-American Company was located here. It was built in 1825 Russian Orthodox Church of the Ascension of the Lord .

Church of the Ascension on Unalaska

Founder of the parish, Innocent (Veniaminov) - Saint Innocent of Moscow , - created the first Aleut writing with the help of local residents and translated the Bible into the Aleut language.

Unalaska today

In 1778 he arrived in Unalaska English navigator James Cook . According to him, the total number of Russian industrialists located in the Aleutians and in the waters of Alaska was about 500 people.

After 1780, Russian industrialists penetrated far along the Pacific coast of North America. Sooner or later, the Russians would begin to penetrate deep into the mainland of the open lands of America.

The real discoverer and creator of Russian America was Grigory Ivanovich Shelekhov. A merchant, a native of the city of Rylsk in the Kursk province, Shelekhov moved to Siberia, where he became rich in the fur trade. Beginning in 1773, 26-year-old Shelekhov began to independently send ships to sea fishing.

In August 1784, during his main expedition on 3 ships (“Three Saints”, “St. Simeon the God-Receiver and Anna the Prophetess” and “Archangel Michael”), he reached Kodiak Islands , where he began to build a fortress and settlement. From there it was easier to sail to the shores of Alaska. It was thanks to Shelekhov’s energy and foresight that the foundation of Russian possessions was laid in these new lands. In 1784-86. Shelekhov also began to build two more fortified settlements in America. The settlement plans he drew up included smooth streets, schools, libraries, and parks. Back in European Russia, Shelekhov put forward a proposal to begin the mass resettlement of Russians to new lands.

At the same time, Shelekhov was not in public service. He remained a merchant, industrialist, and entrepreneur operating with the permission of the government. Shelekhov himself, however, was distinguished by a remarkable statesmanship, perfectly understanding Russia's capabilities in this region. No less important was the fact that Shelekhov had a great understanding of people and assembled a team of like-minded people who created Russian America.

In 1791, Shelekhov took as his assistant a 43-year-old man who had just arrived in Alaska. Alexandra Baranova - a merchant from the ancient city of Kargopol, who at one time moved to Siberia for business purposes. Baranov was appointed chief manager at Kodiak Island . He had an amazing selflessness for an entrepreneur - managing Russian America for more than two decades, controlling multimillion-dollar sums, providing high profits to the shareholders of the Russian-American Company, which we will talk about below, he did not leave himself any fortune!

Baranov moved the company's representative office to the new city of Pavlovskaya Gavan, which he founded in the north of Kodiak Island. Now Pavlovsk is the main city of Kodiak Island.

Meanwhile, Shelekhov's company drove out other competitors from the region. Myself Shelekhov died in 1795 , in the midst of his endeavors. True, his proposals for the further development of American territories with the help of a commercial company, thanks to his like-minded people and associates, were further developed.

Russian-American Company

In 1799, the Russian-American Company (RAC) was created. which became the main owner of all Russian possessions in America (as well as in the Kuril Islands). It received from Paul I monopoly rights to fur fishing, trade and the discovery of new lands in the northeastern part of the Pacific Ocean, designed to represent and protect with its own means the interests of Russia in the Pacific Ocean. Since 1801, the company's shareholders were Alexander I and the grand dukes and major statesmen.

One of the founders of the RAC was Shelekhov's son-in-law Nikolay Rezanov, whose name is known to many today as the name of the hero of the musical “Juno and Avos”. The first head of the company was Alexander Baranov , which was officially called Chief Ruler .

The creation of the RAC was based on Shelekhov’s proposals to create a special kind of commercial company capable of carrying out, along with commercial activities, also engage in the colonization of lands, the construction of forts and cities.

Until the 1820s, the company’s profits allowed them to develop the territories themselves, so, according to Baranov, in 1811 the profit from the sale of sea otter skins amounted to 4.5 million rubles, huge money at that time. The profitability of the Russian-American Company was 700-1100% per year. This was facilitated by the great demand for sea otter skins; their cost from the end of the 18th century to the 20s of the 19th century increased from 100 rubles per skin to 300 (sable cost about 20 times less).

In the early 1800s, Baranov established trade with Hawaii. Baranov was a real Russian statesman, and under other circumstances (for example, another emperor on the throne) The Hawaiian Islands could become a Russian naval base and resort . From Hawaii, Russian ships brought salt, sandalwood, tropical fruits, coffee, and sugar. They planned to populate the islands with Old Believers-Pomors from the Arkhangelsk province. Since the local princelings were constantly at war with each other, Baranov offered one of them patronage. In May 1816, one of the leaders - Tomari (Kaumualia) - officially transferred to Russian citizenship. By 1821, several Russian outposts had been built in Hawaii. The Russians could also take control of the Marshall Islands. By 1825, Russian power was increasingly strengthened, Tomari became king, the children of the leaders studied in the capital of the Russian Empire, and the first Russian-Hawaiian dictionary was created. But in the end, St. Petersburg abandoned the idea of ​​​​making the Hawaiian and Marshall Islands Russian . Although their strategic position is obvious, their development was also economically profitable.

Thanks to Baranov, a number of Russian settlements were founded in Alaska, in particular Novoarkhangelsk (Today - Sitka ).

Novoarkhangelsk

Novoarkhangelsk in the 50-60s. XIX century resembled an average provincial town in outlying Russia. It had a ruler's palace, a theater, a club, Cathedral, bishop's house, seminary, Lutheran prayer house, observatory, music school, museum and library, nautical school, two hospitals and a pharmacy, several schools, spiritual consistory, drafting room, admiralty, port facilities, arsenal, several industrial enterprises, shops, stores and warehouses. Houses in Novoarkhangelsk were built on stone foundations and the roofs were made of iron.

Under the leadership of Baranov, the Russian-American Company expanded the scope of its interests: in California, just 80 kilometers north of San Francisco, the southernmost Russian settlement in North America was built - Fort Ross. Russian settlers in California were engaged in sea otter fishing, agriculture and cattle breeding. Trade connections were established with New York, Boston, California and Hawaii. The California colony was to become the main food supplier to Alaska, which at that time belonged to Russia.

Fort Ross in 1828. Russian fortress in California

But the hopes were not justified. In general, Fort Ross turned out to be unprofitable for the Russian-American Company. Russia was forced to abandon it. Fort Ross was sold in 1841 for 42,857 rubles to Mexican citizen John Sutter, a German industrialist who went down in California history thanks to his sawmill in Coloma, on the territory of which was found in 1848 Goldmine, which began the famous California Gold Rush. In payment, Sutter supplied wheat to Alaska, but, according to P. Golovin, he never paid an additional amount of almost 37.5 thousand rubles.

Russians in Alaska founded settlements, built churches, created schools, a library, a museum, shipyards and hospitals for local residents, and launched Russian ships.

A number of manufacturing industries were established in Alaska. The development of shipbuilding is especially noteworthy. Shipwrights have been building ships in Alaska since 1793. For 1799-1821 15 ships were built in Novoarkhangelsk. In 1853, the first steam ship on the Pacific Ocean was launched in Novoarkhangelsk, and not a single part was imported: absolutely everything, including the steam engine, was manufactured locally. Russian Novoarkhangelsk was the first point of steam shipbuilding on the entire western coast of America.

Novoarkhangelsk

The city of Sitka (formerly Novoarkhangelsk) today

At the same time, formally, the Russian-American Company was not a completely state institution.

In 1824, Russia signed an agreement with the governments of the USA and England. The boundaries of Russian possessions in North America were determined at the state level.

World map 1830

One cannot help but admire the fact that only about 400-800 Russian people managed to develop such vast territories and waters, making their way to California and Hawaii. In 1839, the Russian population of Alaska was 823 people, which was the maximum in the entire history of Russian America. Usually there were slightly fewer Russians.

It was the lack of people that played a fatal role in the history of Russian America. The desire to attract new settlers was a constant and almost impossible desire of all Russian administrators in Alaska.

The basis of the economic life of Russian America remained the production of marine mammals. Average for 1840-60s. up to 18 thousand were mined per year fur seals. River beavers, otters, foxes, arctic foxes, bears, sables, and walrus tusks were also hunted.

The Russian Orthodox Church was active in Russian America. Back in 1794 he began missionary work Valaam monk Herman . By the mid-19th century, most Alaska Natives were baptized. The Aleuts and, to a lesser extent, the Alaska Indians are still Orthodox believers.

In 1841, an episcopal see was created in Alaska. By the time of the sale of Alaska, the Russian Orthodox Church had 13 thousand flocks here. In terms of the number of Orthodox Christians, Alaska still ranks first in the United States. Church ministers made a huge contribution to the spread of literacy among the Alaskan natives. Literacy among the Aleuts was at a high level - on St. Paul's Island the entire adult population could read in their native language.

Selling Alaska

Oddly enough, but the fate of Alaska, according to a number of historians, was decided by Crimea, or rather, Crimean War(1853-1856) Ideas began to mature in the Russian government about strengthening relations with the United States as opposed to Great Britain.

Despite the fact that the Russians in Alaska founded settlements, built churches, created schools and hospitals for local residents, there was no truly deep and thorough development of American lands. After the resignation of Alexander Baranov in 1818 from the post of ruler of the Russian-American Company due to illness, there were no more leaders of this magnitude in Russian America.

The interests of the Russian-American Company were mainly limited to fur production, and by the middle of the 19th century, the number of sea otters in Alaska had sharply decreased due to uncontrolled hunting.

The geopolitical situation did not contribute to the development of Alaska as a Russian colony. In 1856, Russia was defeated in the Crimean War, and relatively close to Alaska was the English colony of British Columbia (the westernmost province of modern Canada).

Contrary to popular belief, The Russians were well aware of the presence of gold in Alaska . In 1848, Russian explorer and mining engineer, Lieutenant Pyotr Doroshin, found small placers of gold on the islands of Kodiak and Sitkha, the shores of the Kenai Bay near the future city of Anchorage (the largest city in Alaska today). However, the volume of precious metal discovered was small. The Russian administration, which had before its eyes the example of the “gold rush” in California, fearing the invasion of thousands of American gold miners, chose to classify this information. Subsequently, gold was found in other parts of Alaska. But this was no longer Russian Alaska.

Besides Oil was 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.Russia seriously feared that it would not be able to ensure the security of its colony in America in the event of an armed conflict. The United States of America was chosen as a potential buyer of Alaska to compensate for the growing British influence in the region.

Thus, Alaska could become the reason for a new war for Russia.

The initiative to sell Alaska to the United States of America belonged to the emperor's brother, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich Romanov, who served as head of the Russian Naval Staff. Back in 1857, he suggested to his elder brother, the emperor, to sell the “extra territory”, because the discovery of gold deposits there would certainly attract the attention of England, the long-time sworn enemy of the Russian Empire, and Russia was not able to defend it, and there was no military fleet in the northern seas. . If England captures Alaska, then Russia will receive absolutely nothing for it, but this way it will be possible to gain at least some money, save face and strengthen friendly relations with the United States. It should be noted that in the 19th century, the Russian Empire and the United States developed extremely friendly relations - Russia refused to help the West in regaining control over the North American territories, which infuriated the monarchs of Great Britain and inspired the American colonists to continue the liberation struggle.

However, consultations with the US government about a possible sale, in fact, negotiations began only after the end of the American Civil War.

In December 1866, Emperor Alexander II made the final decision. The boundaries of the territory being sold were determined and minimum price- five million dollars.

In March, the Russian Ambassador to the United States Baron Eduard Stekl approached US Secretary of State William Seward with a proposal to sell Alaska.

Signing of the Treaty for the Sale of Alaska, March 30, 1867 Robert S. Chew, William G. Seward, William Hunter, Vladimir Bodisko, Edward Steckl, Charles Sumner, Frederick Seward

The negotiations were successful and have already On March 30, 1867, a treaty was signed in Washington, according to which Russia sold Alaska for $7,200,000 in gold(at 2009 exchange rates - approximately $108 million in gold). The following were transferred to the United States: the entire Alaska Peninsula (along the meridian 141° west of Greenwich), a coastal strip 10 miles wide south of Alaska along the western coast of British Columbia; Alexandra Archipelago; Aleutian Islands with Attu Island; the islands of Blizhnye, Rat, Lisya, Andreyanovskiye, Shumagina, Trinity, Umnak, Unimak, Kodiak, Chirikova, Afognak and other smaller islands; Islands in the Bering Sea: St. Lawrence, St. Matthew, Nunivak and the Pribilof Islands - St. George and St. Paul. The total area of ​​sold territories was more than 1.5 million square meters. km. Russia sold Alaska for less than 5 cents per hectare.

On October 18, 1867, an official ceremony for the transfer of Alaska to the United States was held in Novoarkhangelsk (Sitka). Russian and American soldiers marched solemnly, the Russian flag was lowered and the US flag was raised.

Painting by N. Leitze “Signing of the agreement for the sale of Alaska” (1867)

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.

On August 1, 1868, Baron Stoeckl was presented with a check from the US Treasury, with which the United States paid Russia for its new lands.

A check issued to the Russian ambassador by the Americans upon the purchase of Alaska

notice, that Russia never received money for Alaska , since part of this money was appropriated by the Russian Ambassador in Washington, Baron Stekl, and part of it was spent on bribes to American senators. Baron Steckle then instructed Riggs Bank to transfer $7.035 million to London, to the Barings Bank. Both of these banks have now ceased to exist. The trace of this money was lost in time, giving rise to a variety of theories. According to one of them, the check was cashed in London, and gold bars were purchased with it, which were planned to be transferred to Russia. However, the cargo was never delivered. The ship "Orkney", which was carrying a precious cargo, sank on July 16, 1868 on the approach to St. Petersburg. Whether it had gold on it at that time, or whether it never left Foggy Albion at all, is unknown. The insurance company that insured the ship and cargo declared bankruptcy, and the damage was only partially compensated. (Currently, the sinking site of the Orkney is located in the territorial waters of Finland. In 1975, a joint Soviet-Finnish expedition examined the area of ​​its sinking and found the wreckage of the ship. The study of these revealed that there was a powerful explosion and a strong fire on the ship. However, gold could not be found - most likely, it remained in England.). As a result, Russia never gained anything from giving up some of its possessions.

It should be noted that There is no official text of the agreement on the sale of Alaska in Russian. The deal was not approved by the Russian Senate and the State Council.

In 1868, the Russian-American Company was liquidated. During its liquidation, some of the Russians were taken from Alaska to their homeland. The last group of Russians, numbering 309 people, left Novoarkhangelsk on November 30, 1868. The other part - about 200 people - was left in Novoarkhangelsk due to a lack of ships. They were simply FORGOTTEN by the St. Petersburg authorities. Most of the Creoles (descendants of mixed marriages of Russians with Aleuts, Eskimos and Indians) also remained in Alaska.

Rise of Alaska

After 1867, the part of the North American continent ceded by Russia to the United States received status "Territory of Alaska".

For the United States, Alaska became the site of the “gold rush” in the 90s. XIX century, glorified by Jack London, and then the “oil rush” in the 70s. XX century.

In 1880, the largest ore deposit in Alaska, Juneau, was discovered. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the largest placer gold deposit was discovered - Fairbanks. By the mid-80s. XX in Alaska, a total of almost a thousand tons of gold were mined.

To dateAlaska ranks 2nd in the United States (after Nevada) in terms of gold production . The state produces about 8% of silver production in the United States. The Red Dog mine in northern Alaska is the world's largest zinc reserve and produces about 10% of the world's production of this metal, as well as significant quantities of silver and lead.

Oil was found in Alaska 100 years after the conclusion of the agreement - in the early 70s. XX century. TodayAlaska ranks second in the United States in the production of “black gold”; 20% of American oil is produced here. Huge reserves of oil and gas have been explored in the north of the state. The Prudhoe Bay field is the largest in the United States (8% of US oil production).

January 3, 1959 territoryAlaska was converted into49th US state.

Alaska is the largest US state by territory - 1,518 thousand km² (17% of the US territory). In general, today Alaska is one of the most promising regions of the world from a transport and energy point of view. For the United States, this is both a nodal point on the way to Asia and a springboard for more active development of resources and the presentation of territorial claims in the Arctic.

The history of Russian America serves as an example not only of the courage of explorers, the energy of Russian entrepreneurs, but also of the corruption and betrayal of the upper spheres of Russia.

Material prepared by Sergey SHULYAK

As you know, the first Russians who found themselves on the Pacific coast of North America were members of the expeditions of Vitus Bering and Alexei Chirikov in 1741. Twenty years later, fishing companies began to form in Irkutsk to extract the fur of marine animals in America, and in 1784 the first Russian settlement arose on Kodiak Island. In 1799, the monopoly Russian-American Company (RAC) was created from small fishing companies. This is how the history of Russian America began.

In 1802, the Main Board of the RAC sent a “secret instruction” to the main ruler of Russian America, which recommended stopping all research and establishing trading posts north of the Alaska Peninsula and concentrating efforts in a southern direction. Baranov was ordered to build a fortress at 55° north latitude. and thereby finally secure this area for Russia. In addition, the directors of the company advised the ruler to “show some right to Notka Sound” in order to determine in the future the southern border of Russian possessions at 50 degrees “or at least half the space to the 55th degree, it will be impossible further.” Such aspirations were, first of all, explained by the desire to capture as much habitat as possible for the sea otter, the main game animal of the Russians.

The position of the Main Board was shared by the co-founder and correspondent (representative) of the RAC, the chamberlain, who arrived in the Russian colonies in 1805. Having instructions from the Minister of Commerce, Count Rumyantsev, “to have the line” 55° N. latitude. and to ensure that “no one from the Russians extends beyond this place into the borders occupied by other maritime powers,” he did not agree with them. In a letter dated February 15, 1806, sent to the Main Board of the RAC from America, he wrote: “If we managed to settle in Columbia, we would turn our ships from there, and then the entire beaver fishery would be in our own hands.” Rezanov saw the priority measures to gain a foothold in Colombia as the construction of “military brigades” and the creation of a village, “from which little by little [we] can extend further south to the port of St. Francis, which forms the border with California.” In ten years, according to the chamberlain, “it can be strengthened to such an extent that with the slightest coincidence of fortunate circumstances in favor of our political circumstances, it could be included in the number of Russian affiliations.”

It is clear from the letter that Rezanov and his like-minded people hoped for legitimization of their expansion and support from the state. Own forces the RAC did not have enough for large-scale expansion. The state was “incapable of ... spending on this cost” and left the RAC “at will to establish it [the settlement] on its own, encouraging in any case with its royal intercession.”

In 1808, Baranov sent a fishing and research expedition to New Albion (the name given to Oregon by Francis Drake among the Russians) on the ships Kodiak (commanded by navigator Efim Petrov) and St. Nicholas (under the command of navigator Nikolai Bulygin). The head of the expedition followed on the Kodiak. The main research load in Oregon fell on the crew of the St. Nicholas, but on November 1, 1808, the ship was wrecked.

The Kodiak crew was engaged in seal hunting, looking for a “place for a sociable settlement” and asserting Russian territorial claims in a unique way– laid numbered metal boards with the inscription “Land of Russian Dominion” (three boards were laid: at 41° N, in the “Maly Bodego” Bay, and at 38° N). Kuskov then led reconnaissance expeditions twice more, but the moment to create a Russian settlement in Oregon was missed - in 1810, Baranov was informed about American officials distributing medals with the image of George Washington to the Oregon Indians.

Having failed to colonize Oregon, the Rams and Kusks turned their attention to California.

The initiator of the Russian Californian epic was the same Nikolai Rezanov. In the letter quoted above to the directors of the RAC, he wrote about the lands north of the Gulf of St. Francis: “The Gishpans are very weak in this region, and if in 1798, when war was declared on the Gishpan court, our company had been in corresponding occupations with its forces, then it would have been easy parts of California at 31 degrees northern latitude Before the mission of Santa Barbara, they could take advantage of this and keep this scrap for themselves forever because, by the very state of nature, no help could be given to them by land from Mexico. The Spanish people, despite all the fertile soil of this land, do not use it at all, but moved to the north only in order to further secure their borders ... "

Even more striking words came from his pen after: “If only there were people and ways, then without any donations important for the treasury, this entire region could strengthen Russia forever... If the Government had previously thought about this part of the world, if it had respected it as it should , if the perspicacious views of Peter the Great had continuously followed the Bering expedition for something that had been drawn up, then it can be said affirmatively that New California would never have been a Spanish affiliation, for only from 1760 did they turn their attention to the enterprise of some missionaries of this They have secured the best ridge of the earth for themselves forever. Now there remains an unoccupied interval that is just as profitable and very necessary for us, and so if we miss it, then what will posterity say? For my part, it seems to me, I will not be in front of him.”

Fulfilling Rezanov's behest, the Russian-American company managed to incorporate California into the Russian Empire and encountered misunderstandings from the Russian authorities; settlement and become disillusioned with it, having sold the land for next to nothing, which marked the beginning of the “gold rush”; and not bad at this very “fever” in a very original way.

But despite endless attempts to achieve self-sufficiency and profitability of the company, it remained unprofitable and was constantly in need of financial support from the state budget. This circumstance, coupled with the difficulties in defending overseas colonies, played a decisive role in the decision

The Russian fleet, which is considered a comparatively late institution founded by Peter the Great, has in fact a greater claim to antiquity than the British fleet. A century before Alfred the Great, who reigned from 870 to 901, built British ships, Russian ships were already fighting in naval battles. They were the first sailors of their time - Russians.

English admiral and naval historian Fred Thomas Jane:

America was discovered by Russians

Russian America - Russia's possessions in America - included: the Alaska Peninsula, the Aleutian Islands, the Hawaiian Archipelago, the Alexander Archipelago and Russian settlements on the Pacific coast of Northern California.
G. I. Shelikhov (1747-1795) - in 1783-1786 he led an expedition to Russian America. Then the first Russian fortresses in North America were founded.

Literature:
Agranat G. A. New American works about Russian America // Chronicle of the North. T. 2. - M., GIGL, 1957. - P. 247-255.
Arkadyev A. Russians on the Pacific Ocean. - Science and life. - 1949 - No. 3. - P. 41-46.
Belov M.I. New materials about the campaigns of the Ustyug merchant Nikita Shalaurov // “Geographer.sb.”, 1954, III.
Belov M.I. Semyon Dezhnev. Ed. 2nd. - M., 1955. Berg L. S. Discovery of Kamchatka and the expedition of V. Bering 1728-1742. - L., 1935.
Berg L. S. Discovery of Kamchatka and the expedition of V. Bering 1728-1742. Ed. 3rd. - L., 1946.
Dolgikh B. O. New information about Russian voyages along the Northern Sea Route in the 17th century // Problems of the Arctic. - N 2. - 1945
Efimov A.V. From history geographical discoveries Russians in the Arctic and Pacific oceans. XVII - first half. XVIII century - M., 1950.
Zagoskin L.P. Travel and research in Russian America in 1842-1844. - M., 1956.
Karpets V. I. Rus Miroveeva. - M.: OLMA-PRESS, 2005. Markov S. N. Chronicle of Alaska. - M. - L., 1948.
Melnikova A. S. Russian coins from Ivan the Terrible to Peter the Great. - M., 1989.
Miller G.F. Description of sea voyages along the Arctic and Eastern Seas carried out by the Russian side. Works and translations for the benefit and amusement of employees. 1758, book. I - IX.
Russian discoveries in the Pacific Ocean and North America in the 18th century, ed. A. I. Andreeva. - M., 1948.
Savelyev E. P. Ancient history Cossacks. T. 2. - Novocherkassk, 1915. - reprint: Vladikavkaz, Spas, 1991.
Skrynnikov R. G. Siberian expedition of Ermak. - Novosibirsk, 1986.
Filippov A. M. Danish document about the visit of Spitsbergen by Russians in the 16th century. Literary newsletter. - 1901. - T. 1, book. 4.
Frumkin P. A. On the history of the discovery of Spitsbergen. Chronicle of the North. T. 2. - M.: GIGL, 1957.
Chernenko M. B. Travels through the Chukotka land and the voyage to Alaska of the Cossack centurion Ivan Kobelev in 1779 and 1789-1791. // Chronicle of the North, T. 2. - M.: GIGL, 1957. - P. 121-141.
Eddie D. The story of the disappeared sunspots, Advances in Physical Sciences, 1978, v. 125, issue 2.

On March 30, 1867, the Russian Empire sold its remaining territories in North America to the United States. Exactly 150 years ago, the Russians decided to leave American soil, and the history of Russian America ended. And although the “Alaska Purchase” caused a lot of controversy on both sides back in the 19th century, during cold war this event has been forgotten and is only resurfaced occasionally, usually in very curious circumstances.

The history of Russia's conquest of America

Russian colonization to the east dates back to the mid-17th century, when Ivan the Terrible gave the Stroganov merchants permission to conquer the Khanate of Kazan, one of the many fragments of the Golden Horde. Conquests continued throughout the century, and by 1647 the Russians reached the western borders of the Pacific Ocean - the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. This achievement laid the foundation for the first expeditions across the ocean. Some took place during the 18th century. The most famous of them were commanded by the Danish navigator Vitus Bering, whose achievements were given great importance, because it was he who proved the inconsistency of the idea of ​​​​the existence of land routes connecting Asia and America. Despite the scale of the missions, however, no permanent settlements were created on American soil at that time.

And only at the end of the century - namely in 1784 - the adventurer, merchant and navigator Grigory Shelikhov reached the islands of the Kodyakov archipelago and founded an outpost there, which later became the starting point for further colonization of new lands. Shelikhov is sometimes called the “Russian Columbus”. After establishment in the new land Russian rule he established the Russian-American Company (hereinafter RAC), which played a decisive role in further relations between the empire and its colony. The headquarters of the RAC was located in Shelikhov’s hometown - Irkutsk.

The fact that Siberia became the birthplace of this influential organization is not accidental. Given that serfdom - the curse of the European part of the empire - did not actually function in the Far East and north, it encouraged many savvy settlers to move east to create new cities. By doing this, they created classes of merchants, sailors and townspeople. And although the headquarters were soon moved to St. Petersburg, the role of Siberian cities and their citizens in the Russian economy and trade remained very significant.

Russian America

The capital of Russian America (as the colony was officially called) was Novoarkhangelsk (now Sitka), also known as the “Paris of the Pacific”. Among the citizens were Russians and the indigenous inhabitants of these lands - the Aleut and Tlingit tribes. Although relations between the two groups were largely peaceful, conflicts did occur. Several Tlingit warriors did not accept Russian rules and in 1802 they captured Novoarkhangelsk. They slaughtered the population and seized control of the city's infrastructure. Russia managed to return it only two years later with the help of the Aleuts. The events of 1804 are known as the “Battle of Sitka” and became the largest military conflict between Russians and Alaska Natives in the history of Russian America.

Russian settlements in North America grew over time, reaching areas beyond Alaska. They covered the lands of the modern states of Washington, Oregon and California. The Russians could have reached Hawaii. They traded with local rulers starting in the late 18th century, and after the founding of the Kingdom of Hawaii, they began supporting various parties on the island. As a result, they were able to build three forts in the area. In 1815, Supreme Chief Kaumualii approached Tsar Alexander I with a request for Russia to establish a protectorate over the Hawaiian Islands and support in the fight against the rightful king Kamehameha I. Alexander I rejected the offer, and Hawaii remained independent.

In 1812, the Russians founded their southernmost settlement, Fort Ross, in close proximity to the Spanish colonies. This caused great concern to the Viceroyalty of New Spain, which decided to create several new settlements in the north. The history of Russian-Spanish relations at that time became known to the general public thanks to the rock opera “Juno and Avos,” which gained popularity in the USSR in the 1980s. She was promoted abroad as “Russian Pocahontas.” The opera tells the story of Concepcion Arguello, the 15-year-old daughter of the colonial governor of Alta California, José Dario Arguello, and Nikolai Rezanov, a Russian nobleman, ambassador to Japan and one of the owners of the RAC. They fell in love near the Russian-Spanish border in California. To marry a Catholic, Rezanov needed permission from the tsar. He decided to go home through Alaska, but fell ill on the way and died in Krasnoyarsk in 1807, never reaching the capital of the empire. Concepcion, having learned about this, took a vow of silence and went to a monastery, where she later died. Although the story is based on historical events, the direction the opera took was predictably more melodramatic.

Big deal

Fort Ross was eventually sold to the United States in 1841 as the colony became increasingly difficult to maintain. The costs of transferring goods and people to and from the heart of the empire—European Russia—were higher than the income from the sale of colonial goods, the most valuable of which was fur. Obviously, no one then expected that huge reserves of gold and oil would someday be discovered in Alaska. The entire remainder of the colony was thus sold to the Americans in 1867 for $7.2 million.

Context

Was the Russian Tsar stupid by selling Alaska to the Americans?

Russians regret selling Alaska

Meanwhile, the US House of Representatives voted against the purchase, causing a delay in payment. Some members were angry about President Andrew Johnson's decision to buy the territory. $7.2 million (about $123 million today) seemed like a lot of money spent on a useless, empty space—a “polar bear garden,” as it was then called. But there were also many who praised the deal as another step toward American development.

Development of Alaska

The story might have ended there if not for good old-fashioned irredentism on the part of the Russian conspirators. There is an interesting theory in Russian political discourse that has a surprisingly large following among “true Russian patriots.” According to them, Alaska was not sold, but leased for 90 years. Consequently, it should have been returned to Russia in 1957.

Russian patriotic discourse views colonization as a peaceful process with the good purpose of development and enlightenment. In contrast, of course, to the imperialism of other European empires, where colonization was associated with cruelty, greed and a lack of respect for the natives. This fits into the concept that the unique Russian civilization is morally superior to the rotten Western one. One of the most popular works expressing this opinion was published in 2005 by Sergei Kremlev under the title: “Russian America: discover and sell!”

The issue of Russian domination over Alaska periodically comes up on various occasions. For example, in 2005, American journalist Stephen Pearlstein published an article entitled: “Alaska would like it better in Russia.” He joked that " corporate culture“Alaska’s nepotism and economic problems would fit much better into Russian realities than American ones. And some took this joke seriously. Alexander Dugin, one of the founding fathers of the Doctrine of Eurasian Civilization, stated the need to review the deal.

The most ardent supporters of Russia's return of its territories began to raise the issue of Alaska after the annexation of Crimea in 2014. There were plenty of jokes and memes on this topic on the Internet. As well as articles and posts regarding the petition for the separation of Alaska from the United States and return to the Russian Federation. The petition was created on the White House website allegedly by citizens of Alaska's largest city, Anchorage. The online media coverage that followed was mostly sensationalist, with headlines filled with phrases like: “America is in a panic! Alaska wants to follow Crimea's example and join Russia." And despite serious mobilization and more than 42,000 signatures collected, the petition was removed from the site because it did not receive the stated 100,000 votes in time. The “panic” is over, but whether it’s finally over is unknown.

"Island of Tomorrow"

Today the Russian-American border passes through the Diomede Islands. Big Diomede belongs to Russia, and Little Diomede belongs to the USA. The distance between them is 3.8 km. In addition to the territorial border, the International Date Line also runs here. It is located exactly between these two islands and, therefore, the difference between them is 21 hours. For this reason, Big Diomede is sometimes called the "Island of Tomorrow" and Little Diomede the "Island of Yesterday." And since there is no border crossing there, there have been cases of violation of border crossing rules. Recognized Russian writer Viktor Erofeev once arrived on an American island by plane, and decided to get to the Russian side by boat. He was arrested for trespassing and sent back to the United States. Along the way, he noted that the natives living on the Russian island were dressed in traditional Russian winter clothes, and the inhabitants American side- in the American summer, although we lived in one climatic zone. Therefore, it seemed that the authorities of each island needed to decide what season they had, Erofeev concluded. That's all that remains of Russian America.

Kacper Dziekan is a specialist in European projects at the European Solidarity Center and a PhD student in the Department of History at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań.

InoSMI materials contain assessments exclusively of foreign media and do not reflect the position of the InoSMI editorial staff.

On October 18, 1867, Alaska, formerly part of the Russian Empire, was officially transferred to the United States of America. The protocol on the transfer of Alaska was signed on board the American sloop of war Ossipee; on the Russian side it was signed by a special government commissioner, Captain 2nd Rank Alexey Alekseevich Peschurov. The transfer of Alaska, better known then as “Russian America,” was carried out within the framework of an agreement concluded with the United States of America on the sale to the United States of Russian-owned territories in the northwest of the American continent.

Let us recall that back in the 18th century, the territory of modern Alaska began to be actively developed by Russian explorers. In 1732, Alaska was discovered by a Russian expedition on the boat “St. Gabriel" under the command of Mikhail Gvozdev and Ivan Fedorov. Nine years later, in 1741, the Aleutian Islands and the coast of Alaska were explored by Bering on the packet boat St. Peter and Chirikov on the packet boat St. Paul. However, the full development of the North American coast by Russian colonists began only in the 70s of the 18th century, when the first Russian settlement was founded on Unalaska. In 1784, the galliots “Three Saints”, “St. Simeon" and "St. Mikhail,” who were part of the expedition under the command of Grigory Ivanovich Shelikhov. Russian colonists who arrived on galliots built a settlement - Pavlovskaya Harbor, and entered into relationships with local aborigines, trying to convert the latter to Orthodoxy and, thereby, strengthen Russian influence in these places.

Blessing of the Aleuts for fishing. Artist Vladimir Latyntsev

In 1783 the American Orthodox diocese, which meant the beginning of a new era in the colonization of the North American coast. In particular, in 1793, the famous Orthodox mission of Archimandrite Joasaph (Bolotov), ​​consisting of 5 monks of the Valaam Monastery, arrived on Kodiak Island. The mission's activities consisted of establishing Orthodoxy among the indigenous population of Kodiak Island. In 1796, the Kodiak Vicariate was established as part of the Irkutsk diocese, headed by Joasaph (Bolotov). On April 10, 1799, Archimandrite Joasaph was consecrated bishop by Bishop Benjamin of Irkutsk and Nechinsk, after which he went back to Kodiak Island. However, the fate of 38-year-old father Joasaph was tragic. The Phoenix ship, on which the bishop and his assistants were sailing, sank in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. All people on board died. After this, plans to establish an American diocese were suspended for a long time.

The Russian state did not refuse to further assert its political and economic presence in Alaska. Measures aimed at developing new lands became especially intensified after the accession of Emperor Paul I to the throne. The most important role in the development of Alaska was played by Russian merchants, who were most interested in fur fishing and trade in the area of ​​Japan and the Kuril Islands. In 1797, preparations began for the creation of a single monopoly company that could take control of trade and fishing in the Alaska region. On July 19, 1799, the Russian-American Company (hereinafter referred to as RAC) was officially established.

The uniqueness of the Russian-American Company lay in the fact that it was, in fact, the only true colonial monopoly company in the Russian Empire, which modeled its activities on foreign trading companies. Not only did the RAC have monopoly rights to trade and fishing functions on the coast of North America, but it also had administrative powers that were delegated to it by the Russian state. Although back in the 1750s, four decades before the emergence of the Russian-American Company, the first trade monopolies had already appeared in the Russian Empire - Persian, Central Asian and Temernikov, it was the Russian-American Company in the fullest sense that represented a classic colonial administrative and trading organization. The company's activities satisfied the interests of both large entrepreneurs and Russian state.

In 1801, the company's board was transferred from Irkutsk to St. Petersburg, which inevitably resulted in a significant increase in the status and capabilities of the company. A huge contribution to this move was made by the actual state councilor Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov, the son-in-law of the merchant and traveler Grigory Ivanovich Shelikhov. Rezanov achieved not only the relocation of the company to the capital of the empire, but also the entry into the ranks of shareholders of members of the imperial family and the emperor himself. Gradually, the Russian-American company actually turned into government agency, for the management of which, since 1816, exclusively officers of the Russian navy were appointed. It was believed that they would be better able to manage and maintain order in the distant overseas territories of Russian America. At the same time, although the efficiency of the political and administrative sphere after the transition to the practice of appointing naval officers as company leaders increased noticeably, the trade and economic affairs of the Russian-American Company were not successful.

The entire history of the Russian development of Alaska was connected with the activities of the Russian-American company in the 19th century. Initially, the capital of Russian America remained the city of Kodiak, also known as Pavlovskaya Harbor, located on Kodiak Island, approximately 90 km from the coast of Alaska. It was here that the residence of Alexander Andreevich Baranov, the first head of the Russian-American Company and the first chief ruler of Russian America in 1790-1819, was located. By the way, Baranov’s house, built in late XVIII century, has survived to this day - in the now American city of Kodiak, where it is the oldest monument of Russian architecture. Currently, the Baranov House in Kodiak houses a museum, which was included in the National Register of Historic Places in the United States in 1966.

Back in 1799, on the shores of the ice-free Sitka Bay, the Mikhailovskaya Fortress was founded, around which the village of Novo-Arkhangelsk arose. In 1804 (according to other sources - in 1808) Novo-Arkhangelsk became the capital of Russian America, which was included first in the Siberian General Government, and then, after its division, in the East Siberian General Government. Twenty years after its founding, in 1819, more than 200 Russians and about 1,000 Indians lived in Novo-Arkhangelsk. Opened in the village Primary School, a church, as well as a ship repair yard, an arsenal, workshops and workshops. The main activity of local residents, which provided the economic basis for the existence of the village, was hunting sea otters. The valuable furs, which the natives were forced to extract, were sold.

Naturally, life in the farthest reaches of the Russian Empire was difficult. Novo-Arkhangelsk depended on supplies of food, equipment, and ammunition from the “mainland”. But since ships rarely came to the port, the townspeople had to save money and live in spartan conditions. In the early 1840s. Naval officer Lavrenty Alekseevich Zagoskin visited Novo-Arkhangelsk, who then published a valuable book “Pedestrian inventory of Russian possessions in America, produced by Lieutenant Lavrenty Zagoskin in 1842, 1843 and 1844. with a Mercartor map engraved on copper.” He noted that in the city, which was considered the capital of Russian America, there were no streets, no squares, no courtyards. Novo-Arkhangelsk by that time consisted of about a hundred wooden houses. The governor's two-story residence was also made of wood. Of course, for a strong enemy, the fortifications of Novo-Arkhangelsk did not pose any threat - a normally armed ship could not only destroy the fortifications, but also burn the entire town.

However, until the second half of the 19th century, Russian America managed to avoid tense relations with the neighboring British possessions in Canada. There were no other serious opponents near the borders of Russian possessions in Alaska. At the same time, during the period of exploration of Alaska, the Russians came into conflict with the local natives - the Tlingits. This conflict went down in history as the Russian-Indian War or the Russian-Tlingit War of 1802-1805. In May 1802, an uprising of the Tlingit Indians began, seeking to liberate their territories from Russian colonists. In June 1802, a detachment of 600 Tlingits led by the leader Katlian attacked the St. Michael's Fortress, which at the time of the attack contained only 15 people. The Indians also destroyed a small detachment of Vasily Kochesov, returning from fishing, and also attacked a larger Sitka party of 165 people and completely defeated it. About twenty Russians, captured by the Indians, were saved from imminent death by the British from the brig Unicorn, commanded by Captain Henry Barber. Thus, the Indians took control of the island of Sitka, and the Russian-American company lost 24 Russians and about 200 Aleuts killed in battle.

However, in 1804, the main ruler of Russian America, Baranov, took revenge for the defeat two years ago. He set out to conquer Sitka with a detachment of 150 Russians and 500-900 Aleuts. In September 1804, Baranov’s detachment approached Sitka, after which the ships “Ermak”, “Alexander”, “Ekaterina” and “Rostislav” began shelling the wooden fort built by the Indians. The Tlingits put up fierce resistance; during the battle, Alexander Baranov himself was wounded in the arm. However, the artillery of the Russian ships did its job - in the end, the Indians were forced to retreat from the fortress, losing about thirty people dead. So Sitka again found itself in the hands of Russian colonists, who began to restore the fortress and build an urban settlement. Novo-Arkhangelsk was revived, becoming the new capital of Russian America instead of Kodiak. However, the Tlingit Indians continued periodic attacks against the Russian colonists for many years. The last conflicts with Indians were recorded in the 1850s, shortly before the transfer of Alaska to the United States of America.

In the middle of the 19th century. Among some Russian officials close to the imperial court, the opinion is beginning to spread that Alaska is more of a burden for the empire than an economically profitable territory. In 1853, Count Nikolai Nikolaevich Muravyov-Amursky, who then held the post of East Siberian Governor-General, raised the question of the possibility of selling Alaska to the United States of America. According to Count Muravyov-Amursky, the remoteness of Russian possessions in Alaska from the main Russian territory on the one hand, and the spread of railway transport on the other hand, will lead to the inevitable development of Alaskan lands by the United States of America. Muravyov-Amursky believed that Russia would have to cede Alaska to the United States sooner or later. In addition, Russian leaders were concerned about the possibility of the British seizing Alaska. The fact is that from the south and east, Russian possessions in North America bordered on vast Canadian lands belonging to the Hudson's Bay Company, and in fact to the British Empire. Considering that the political relations between the Russian Empire and Great Britain by this time were very tense, fears about the possibility of a British invasion of Russian possessions in Alaska were well founded.

When the Crimean War began, Great Britain tried to organize an amphibious landing in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Accordingly, the likelihood of an invasion of British troops into Russian America sharply increased. The empire would hardly have been able to provide significant support to the few settlers in Alaska. In this situation, the United States, which itself feared the occupation of Alaska by Great Britain, offered to buy the possessions and property of the Russian-American Company for a period of three years for 7 million 600 thousand dollars. The leadership of the Russian-American Company agreed with this proposal and even signed an agreement with the American-Russian Trading Company in San Francisco, but soon they managed to reach an agreement with the British Hudson's Bay Company, which excluded the possibility of an armed conflict in Alaska. Therefore, the first agreement on the temporary sale of Russian possessions in America to the United States never came into force.

Meanwhile, the Russian leadership continued to discuss the possibility of selling Russian America to the United States. So, in 1857, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich expressed this idea to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Empire, Alexander Mikhailovich Gorchakov. The head of the diplomatic department supported this idea, but it was decided to temporarily postpone consideration of the issue of selling Alaska. On December 16, 1866, a special meeting was held, which was attended by Emperor Alexander II himself, the initiator of the idea of ​​selling Alaska, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, the ministers of finance and the naval ministry, and the Russian envoy in Washington, Baron Eduard Stekl. At this meeting, the decision was made to sell Alaska to the United States of America. After consultations with representatives of the American leadership, the parties came to a common denominator. It was decided to cede Alaska to the United States for $7.2 million.

On March 30, 1867, an agreement was signed in Washington between the Russian Empire and the United States of America. On May 3, 1867, the agreement was signed by Emperor Alexander II. According to the agreement, the entire Alaska Peninsula, the Alexander Archipelago, the Aleutian Islands with Attu Island, the Near Islands, Rat Islands, Lisya Islands, Andreyanovsky Islands, Shumagina Island, Trinity Island, Umnak Island, Unimak Island, Kodiak Island, Chirikova Island, Afognak Island, and other smaller islands were transferred to the United States; Islands in the Bering Sea: St. Lawrence, St. Matthew, Nunivak and the Pribilof Islands - St. George and St. Paul. Along with the territory, all property located in Russian possessions in Alaska and the islands was transferred to the United States of America.