The Comedy Club Tsar sold Alaska to America. Who sold Alaska to the Americans: unknown pages of the famous “deal of the century”
For some reason, most people believe that Catherine 2 sold Alaska to the United States. But this is a fundamentally wrong opinion. This North American territory was transferred to the United States almost a hundred years after the death of the great Russian Empress. So, let's figure out when and to whom Alaska was sold and, most importantly, who did it and under what circumstances.
Russian Alaska
The Russians first entered Alaska in 1732. It was an expedition led by Mikhail Gvozdev. In 1799, the Russian-American Company (RAC) was founded specifically for the development of America, headed by Grigory Shelekhov. A significant part of this company belonged to the state. The goals of its activities were the development of new territories, trade, and fur fishing.
During the 19th century, the territory controlled by the company expanded significantly and at the time of the sale of Alaska to the United States amounted to more than 1.5 million square kilometers. The Russian population grew and numbered 2.5 thousand people. Fur fishing and trade provided good profits. But in relations with the local tribes, everything was far from rosy. So, in 1802, the Tlingit Indian tribe almost completely destroyed Russian settlements. They were saved only by a miracle, since by chance, just at that time, a Russian ship under the command of Yuri Lisyansky, possessing powerful artillery, which decided the course of the battle, was sailing nearby.
However, this was only an episode of the generally successful first half of the 19th century for the Russian-American Company.
The beginning of problems
Significant problems with overseas territories began to appear during the Crimean War, which was difficult for the Russian Empire (1853-1856). By that time, income from trade and fur mining could no longer cover the costs of maintaining Alaska.
The first to sell it to the Americans was the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia, Nikolai Nikolaevich Muravyov-Amursky. He did this in 1853, arguing that Alaska is a natural zone of US influence, and sooner or later it will still end up in the hands of the Americans, and Russia should concentrate its colonization efforts in Siberia. Moreover, he insisted on transferring this territory to the United States so that it would not fall into the hands of the British, who threatened it from Canada and were at that time in a state of open war with the Russian Empire. His fears were partially justified, since already in 1854 England attempted to capture Kamchatka. In connection with this, a proposal was even made to fictitiously transfer the territory of Alaska to the United States in order to protect it from the aggressor.
But until then, Alaska needed to be maintained, and the Russian Empire of the second half of the 19th century was not financially able to support such a program. Therefore, even if Alexander II knew that in a hundred years they would begin to extract oil in huge quantities there, it is unlikely that he would have changed his decision to sell this territory. Not to mention the fact that there was a high probability that Alaska would be taken from Russia by force, and due to the remoteness in the distance, it would not be able to defend this distant territory. So it is quite possible that the government simply chose the lesser evil.
Rental version
There is an alternative version according to which the Russian Empire did not sell Alaska to the United States, but simply leased it to the States. The term of the deal, according to this scenario, was 99 years. The USSR did not demand the return of these territories when the deadline came, due to the fact that it abandoned the legacy of the Russian Empire, including its debts.
So, is Alaska sold or leased? The version of temporary use has few supporters among serious specialists. It is based on a supposedly safe copy of the contract in Russian. But it is common knowledge that it existed only in English and French. So, most likely, this is just speculation by some pseudo-historians. In any case, there are currently no real facts that would allow us to seriously consider the version of the lease.
Why Ekaterina?
But still, why did the version that Catherine sold Alaska become so popular, although it is clearly wrong? After all, under this great empress, overseas territories had just begun to be developed, and there could be no talk of any sale then. Moreover, Alaska was sold in 1867. Catherine died in 1796, that is, 71 years before this event.
The myth that Catherine sold Alaska was born relatively long ago. True, it refers to the sale to Great Britain, not the United States. However, this still has nothing to do with the real situation. The postulate that it was the great Russian Empress who made this fatal deal was finally entrenched in the minds of the majority of our compatriots after the release of the song by the Lyube group “Don’t be a fool, America...”.
Of course, stereotypes are a very tenacious thing, and once a myth reaches the people, it can begin to live its own life, and then it is very difficult to separate truth from fiction without special training and knowledge.
Results
So, in the course of a little research about the details of the sale of Alaska to the United States, we dispelled a number of myths.
Firstly, Catherine II did not sell overseas territories to anyone, which only began to be seriously explored under her, and the sale was made by Emperor Alexander II. In what year was Alaska sold? Certainly not in 1767, but in 1867.
Secondly, the Russian government was well aware of what exactly it was selling and what mineral reserves Alaska had. But despite this, the sale was regarded as a successful deal.
Thirdly, there is an opinion that if Alaska had not been sold in 1867, it would still be part of Russia. But this is too unlikely, given the significant distances to the central parts of our country and the proximity of North American claimants to this territory.
Should we regret the loss of Alaska? More likely no than yes. The maintenance of this territory cost Russia much more than it received from it at the time of sale or could have in the foreseeable future. Moreover, it is far from a fact that Alaska would have been retained and would still have remained Russian.
As for the papers of Alexander II himself, it is clear from the difficult-to-read memorial book that on Friday, December 16 (28), at 10 o’clock in the morning, the tsar managed to receive M. H. Reitern, P. A. Valuev and V. F. Adlerberg. This was followed by the entry: “at 1 [day] Prince Gorchakov had a meeting on the affairs of [the] American [company]. It has been decided[?] to sell to the United States” (1412). At 2 o'clock the king had his next event scheduled. A much more detailed account of what happened on December 16 (28), 1866, was given by the famous American scientist Professor F. A. Golder in an article published back in 1920: “At the meeting that took place on December 16 in the palace (we We now know that it took place at Gorchakov’s residence on Palace Square - N.B.), all the above-mentioned persons were present (i.e. the Tsar, Konstantin, Gorchakov, Reitern, Krabbe and Steckl - Ya.B.). Reitern provided details of the company's dire financial situation. In the ensuing discussion, everyone took part and in the end agreed to sell the colonies to the United States. When this was decided, the emperor turned to Steckle with the question of whether he would return to Washington to complete the matter. Although this was not what Steckl wanted (he was scheduled to be appointed envoy to The Hague at that time), he had no choice and said that he would go. Vel. book gave him a map showing the boundaries, and the Secretary of the Treasury told him that he should receive at least $5 million. These were practically all the instructions that Glass received” (1413).
In general terms, the course of the discussion was presented correctly by the professor, and it was obvious that he relied on some kind of documentary record. It became possible to clarify the matter, however, only when I became acquainted with the rich archive of F. A. Golder at the Hoover Institution of War, Revolution and Peace. One of the archival folders contains extracts from a letter from E. A. Stekl to his colleague in London, Baron F. I. Brunnov, dated April 7 (19), 1867, which fully corresponded to the above passage and was evidence of one of the participants in the “special meeting” (1414).
The American researcher is not entirely right only regarding the instructions received by E. A. Stekl. In fact, at the meeting on December 16 (28), it was decided that all interested departments would prepare their considerations for the envoy in Washington.
- Group of authors. ISBN 5-7133-0883-9 .
...On December 22 (Old Art.), the head of the Naval Ministry N.K. Krabbe presented Alexander II with a note “The border line between Russia’s possessions in Asia and North America,” which was not only approved by the Tsar, but also accompanied by a flattering remark. Two days later, N. K. Krabbe presented this note, along with the corresponding map, to A. M. Gorchakov for subsequent transfer to Stekl... A note in the hand of Alexander II: “Okay, reported” - and an inscription in the margins: “Approved by the Emperor on December 22, 66 N.” "Krabbe."
- Group of authors. Chapter 11. Sale of Alaska (1867) 1. The decision to cede the Russian colonies in America to the United States (December 1866)// History of Russian America (1732-1867) / Rep. ed. acad. N. N. Bolkhovitinov. - M.: International. relations, 1997. - T. T. 1. The Foundation of Russian America (1732-1799). - P. 480. - 2000 copies. - ISBN 5-7133-0883-9.
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.
More than 150 years ago, on March 30, 1867, Russia lost its possessions on the North American continent - it sold Alaska. This deal, without exaggeration, can be called unique in Russian history. In the USA, in honor of this event, Alaska Day is celebrated annually, but our patriots say that this is a crime, and periodically demand the return of “original Russian lands to their native harbor.”
A few decades after the sale, huge reserves of gold were discovered in Alaska. This allowed the Americans not only to get back the money they spent, but also to earn very good money. Well, Alaska, thanks to the “gold rush”, was glorified in the immortal works of Jack London. Although, they say that the United States compensated itself for the funds spent on the purchase within a few years thanks to fishing in new waters.
This ancient history is overgrown with a huge number of legends and myths. Who sold Alaska to the Americans? Why did you need to do this at all? Did Russia receive money for the sold territories? And what was the transaction amount?
What and how did Russia sell in 1867?
The sale of Alaska is a deal concluded between the governments of the Russian Empire and the United States, as a result of which the American side received a territory with a total area of 1,518,800 square meters. km. For this, Russia was paid $7.2 million.
The Americans were given lands located west of the 141st meridian of western longitude, including the Alaska Peninsula, a number of islands located in the Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea, as well as a narrow strip of land that ran along the Pacific coast of North America.
The treaty was signed on March 30, 1867 in Washington - this very day can be called the date of the sale of Alaska. On May 3 (15th old style) it was approved by the Russian Emperor Alexander II, and on October 6 (18) the Governing Senate issued a decree on the implementation of this treaty.
Along with the territories, all real estate located on them, archives and historical documents related to these lands were transferred to the Americans.
Currently, Alaska is the northernmost and largest state in the United States. Now it is home to about 700 thousand people. The most famous period of its history is the time of the so-called gold rush (late 19th - early 20th centuries), when significant reserves of this noble metal were found here.
Background of events, or why did Alaska become American?
The history of “Russian America” began in the middle of the 18th century after the expedition of Vitus Bering, which discovered the western coast of this continent. In addition to scientific information, its participants brought with them sea otter furs, which created a real sensation among the Siberian merchants. Thus, an economic incentive for eastern expansion for Russia was found.
In subsequent years, Russian industrialists organized many fur-hunting expeditions to the Aleutian and Commander Islands and the coast of Alaska. To call these voyages very dangerous is to say nothing: every third ship that went into these harsh waters did not return.
On October 22, 1784, an expedition led by merchant Grigory Shelikhov founded the first Russian permanent settlement on Kodiak Island off the coast of Alaska. Thus, the empire declared its territorial claims to new lands of the North American continent. In 1799, a monopoly was created for their development - the Russian-American Company. Among its shareholders were members of the reigning family, senior officials, and representatives of the aristocracy.
At the same time, the capital of Russian America was founded - the city of Sitka. An Orthodox mission appears in Alaska, churches are built, and many aborigines are baptized. That is, the development of new territories has begun. Why was the decision made to sell Alaska?
The fact is that the advance of Russian colonists deep into the mainland and along the western coast was very slow. Much of Alaska remained virtually uninhabited. At the time of its sale, the population of all Russian America was only 2.5 thousand Russians. And if the indigenous inhabitants of the Aleutian Islands were basically assimilated and included in the sea otter hunting business, then the situation with the rest of the natives was much more complicated.
In 1802, the Indians captured and completely destroyed Sitka; they managed to recapture it only after the arrival of a warship from the metropolis. British and American traders, who did not want to put up with the emergence of a new competitor, in every possible way set the Indian tribes against the Russians. They supplied the natives with gunpowder, guns and even artillery.
There were other, more important reasons for the decision to sell Alaska. For several decades, the economic prosperity of the new Russian colony rested on the extraction of sea otter fur, but by the middle of the 19th century this animal was almost completely exterminated, and the income of the Russian-American Company began to decline sharply. Therefore, a reasonable question arose: does Russia even need this remote colony, which was practically impossible to properly supply and defend?
The first to raise the issue of selling Alaska to the United States before the Tsar and the government was the Siberian Governor-General Muravyov-Amursky. This happened back in 1853. The governor believed that the cession of North American possessions would allow Russia to pay more attention to the Asian part of the country. It should be noted that at this time the empire annexed vast territories in the Far East, the colonization of which required significant material and human resources.
In 1857, Grand Duke Konstantin Romanov made a proposal to give Alaska to the United States. He lamented the deplorable state of government finances and the uselessness of these remote territories. The prince believed that the presence of Russians in Alaska would sooner or later lead to a conflict with the United States, which was absolutely unnecessary for St. Petersburg.
Gradually, the financial situation of the Russian-American Society became worse. In 1866, the monarch even had to forgive the company’s debts in the amount of 725 thousand rubles and assign an annual subsidy from the treasury in the amount of 200 thousand rubles.
Russian Finance Minister Mikhail Reitern, in his letter to Alexander II, called the sale of Alaska “highly desirable”, since its territory no longer brings economic dividends.
The most interesting thing is that in St. Petersburg they knew about the presence of gold in Alaska. The first reports of this appeared in 1852. Already in the early 60s, this metal was actively mined near the borders of Russian territory. But this knowledge frightened rather than inspired the tsarist government, because it did not understand how it could protect its possessions if hundreds of prospectors showed up for them. So this information served as another reason for the speedy sale of Alaska.
Considering all the circumstances described above, it is not surprising that Russian America was eventually sold. The negotiations took place in absolute secrecy, so the news of the transfer of Alaska to the Americans caused a real shock in Britain and France. The British were most indignant: now their colonies in North America were surrounded by US territory.
“Morzhorossia”, or how the sale took place
The final decision on the deal was made at the highest council on December 16, 1866. In addition to the emperor, it was attended by Grand Duke Constantine, Finance Minister Reitern, Foreign Minister Gorchakov, Naval Minister Krabbe and the Russian Ambassador to the USA Steckl.
Long and complex negotiations began, which were more reminiscent of trading at a bazaar. The Americans offered 5 million dollars for Alaska, and Envoy Stekl wanted to receive at least 7 million. In the end, they agreed on an amount of 7.2 million dollars.
The fate of the agreement on the purchase of new territories was decided at an emergency session of the US Senate. Many senators expressed doubts about the need for such an acquisition, given that the bloody civil war had just ended in the United States, and money was not at all very good. However, the deal was supported by a majority of votes, and the agreement was ratified on May 3.
The history of the sale of Alaska finally ended on February 18, 1867, when the official Russian delegation led by Admiral Peschurov arrived at Fort Sitka. The Russian state flag was ceremoniously lowered, and an American one was hoisted in its place.
In American society, the news about the purchase of Alaska did not initially cause much enthusiasm. Ironic materials appeared in the press in which the new territories were called “Morgerossia”, “an ice chest” and “Johnson’s polar bear zoo”. However, they subsided very quickly.
The news was greeted without much joy in Russia either. When this news first appeared, they simply did not believe it. Moreover, the reasons for skepticism were different. For example, the newspaper Narodnyi Golos doubted that the Yankees paid as much as $7 million for several wooden houses on permafrost. Other publications, on the contrary, believed that the amount was very small for such a huge territory. In general, Russian patriotic circles greeted the news with despondency, not understanding how this could happen. They believed that “where the Russian flag was once raised, it should no longer be lowered.”
Most of the amount that came to the treasury from the sale of Alaska was spent on the needs of Russian railways, which is recorded in the archives. However, exactly how much money was spent in the document is not indicated.
Myths regarding the sale of Alaska
Many legends have appeared around the deal to sell North American territories, some of which are still in circulation today. Here are the main ones:
- Alaska was sold to the Americans by Empress Catherine II;
- In fact, Russia's North American possessions were not sold, but leased for 99 years;
- The cunning Yankees did not pay a penny;
- The ship carrying money for Alaska sank. Therefore, the Russian government received nothing.
Myth 1. Of course, Catherine the Great had nothing to do with this squandering of state lands. By the time the treaty was signed, she had already been in the best of all possible worlds for 70 years. Thanks to archival documents, we know very well who sold Alaska to America. The final decision was made by Emperor Alexander II. The deal was discussed in a very narrow circle; even the highest dignitaries of the state did not know about it. Well, the tradition of broad public discussion on certain problems at that time, alas, did not exist. However, little has changed on this issue over the past one hundred and fifty years.
Myth 2. Renting Alaska is nothing more than a legend. Again, there is an agreement in which all the terms of the transaction are written down in black and white. There's no mention of rent.
Myth 3 and 4. But with the money paid, everything is really not easy. It is unclear whether they reached Russia at all. Of the $7.2 million received, Ambassador Steckl had to distribute about $144 thousand in bribes to American senators - they simply did not want to vote for the acquisition of the “ice desert.” The remaining amount was sent by wire transfer to London, where it was converted into pounds. They bought gold with them, which was then sent by sea to St. Petersburg. About $1.5 million was lost on exchange transactions. The English frigate Orkney, which was carrying valuable cargo, was caught in a strong storm and sank. The insurance company declared itself bankrupt and refused to pay. On the other hand, a document was found in Russian archives which describes that funds from the sale of Alaska went to the needs of the railways. It is possible that there was no money at all on the Orkney, at least the search operation did not find it. In any case, this is not a question for the Americans - they honestly paid the amount stipulated by the agreement.
Was it necessary to sell?
From a modern perspective, selling Alaska may seem foolish. But Alexander II and his immediate circle saw this issue completely differently. In their eyes, Alaska was an extremely remote territory that was almost impossible to properly supply, populate or defend. While the colony was making a profit without requiring almost any investment, the state of affairs was considered normal, but after financial flows dried up, the North American lands turned into a burden.
Some modern historians believe that the sale of Alaska could have been delayed. In the 60s of the 19th century, relations between Russia and the United States were the most friendly - so one could hardly expect aggressive actions on their part. And the Americans were not particularly interested in Alaska. The danger from the British was also greatly exaggerated.
In world history there are not many examples of the purchase and sale of such vast territories as Alaska. Therefore, it is difficult to talk about the fairness of the price and terms of this transaction. About half a century before the events described, Napoleonic France sold Louisiana to the United States. At the same time, one acre cost Americans almost one and a half times more. True, unlike Alaska, Louisiana was a completely populated territory with a favorable climate.
For the Russian budget, 7.2 million was not a significant amount - at that time its size was approximately 400 million rubles. The Americans very quickly “recaptured” the invested funds; by 1917, gold in Alaska alone was mined for $200 million. Later it turned out that this land is a real storehouse of natural resources: it is rich in oil, natural gas, and metals. Today Alaska is one of the most prosperous states in the United States.
Now, of course, one can criticize the decision of the tsarist government. However, at that time it was optimal: the empire simply did not have the necessary resources - neither human, nor financial, nor managerial - to establish normal life in a remote colony. Those who shout about the injustice of the sale of Alaska, or even more so advocate for its return, should remember that there is no shortage of territories in Russia - we are the largest country in the world. The problem is that a significant part of them are not in the best condition. Therefore, it is better to think about developing the vast Russian expanses, rather than indulge in fruitless dreams of a Russian Yukon.
If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below the article. We or our visitors will be happy to answer them
“Give me back the land of Alaska, give it back to my dear one.” The sacramental line from the old VIA song “Lube” only at first glance looks like a joke. By 2019, in relatively wide circles of the public in the neighboring country, an opinion had matured about Alaska, the 49th state of the United States, as almost an ancestral Russian land that voluntarily found itself part of another state. Paradoxically, that 152-year-old deal actually became the pinnacle of friendship between the United States and Russia, and this looks especially bright against the backdrop of the current icy relations between the countries. Why did Emperor Alexander II decide to get rid of his possessions in North America? How logical was this decision and who benefited most from it? Is there now a place for revanchism or can all interested parties just understand, forgive and forget what happened? Onliner tells how “native” Alaska is for Russia.
Russian America
“On the 21st of August in the afternoon at three o’clock the wind began to be favorable, and we went to the mainland and came to that land and anchored about four versts from the land.” The year 1732 was behind the boat “Saint Gabriel”, and surveyor Mikhail Gvozdev, the head of that expedition, called Alaska “the Main Land”. By this time, Russian researchers were well aware of the existence of a mysterious country beyond the current Bering Strait, where “there are forests, as well as rivers, wild red deer, martens, foxes, and beavers,” by this time Russian researchers were well aware of them from the Chukchi. The distance between Cape Dezhnev, the easternmost continental point of Eurasia, and Cape Prince of Wales, its western counterpart for North America, is little more than 80 kilometers, and in the middle of the strait lie the Diomede Islands. This helped active contacts between the indigenous population of these territories, and they willingly shared their stories about this with strange bearded white people who came from nowhere. Semyon Dezhnev could have seen Alaska back in the 17th century, but the first reliably known Europeans to consider that this is not an island, “but a great land, a shore of yellow sand, housing with yurts along the shore and many people walking on that land,” were members of the expedition of Mikhail Gvozdev . This is how the Russians discovered America, and they had 135 years to explore it.
Bering Strait. Russia on the left, Alaska on the right, in the middle - the Diomede Islands
The researchers were driven primarily by economic considerations. Already in the 1760s, active economic development of new lands began: first the Aleutian Islands, and then the continental part of Alaska. There were still centuries left before the discovery of gold, and especially oil, and therefore Russian industrialists, in the old fashioned way, were primarily interested in “soft junk” - furs, the main export product of the state, in pursuit of which stern men conquered the Far North, Siberia and the Far East without fear or reproach .
It was quite an invigorating incentive. In 1768, the first permanent Russian settlement arose on the island of Unalaska; in the 1780s, a trading town appeared on the large island of Kodiak off the coast of North America; and in 1799, the Mikhailovskaya Fortress was founded, the future Novo-Arkhangelsk and the current Sitka, which became the capital of the Russian Empire. America.
By this time, the number of Russians on the Alaskan islands and the continent was in the hundreds. Even the Orthodox Church considered it possible to create a separate diocese here and send missionary monks to the ends of the world, who, of course, were more interested not in the spiritual care of their compatriots, but in working among the indigenous inhabitants.
In the same 1799, when Novo-Arkhangelsk was born on Baranova Island, thousands of kilometers away, in the imperial capital, Paul I approved the charter of the Russian-American Company, a joint-stock company that was to engage in the development of the newly acquired territories. It was the Russian equivalent of the British and Dutch East India Companies, fabulously wealthy monopolies that controlled trade with the countries (and colonies) of the East.
Alaska is no longer needed
The Russian-American Company (RAC) had a unique status. Legally, Alaska was not part of the Russian Empire; it was the property of a joint stock company. Another question is that the owners of this company were mainly members of the imperial family, headed by the emperor personally and the flower of the aristocracy. The state voluntarily delegated the functions of economic management of the overseas colony to the managers of the RAC, who at first were the same industrialists who began its research. The RAC organized the study of the territory it inherited, equipped appropriate expeditions, paid for the services of the military, engaged in contacts with the local population, hunted fur-bearing animals, and ensured their export to the “Mainland.”
The first decades of the RAC's activities were practically cloudless. More and more Russian trading posts appeared in Alaska and its islands, becoming not only fur procurement centers, but also bases for further exploration of the surrounding lands. Furs flowed into Russia like a river, and the crowned shareholders of the RAC were counting dividends. However, soon what would now be called “crisis phenomena” began to mature in the activities of the monopoly.
Unalaska, the first Russian settlement on the Alaskan islands, now
This is primarily due to changes in the company's management scheme. The first decades of its existence, management was carried out by “strong business executives”, heirs of the very industrialists who began the development of the territory. They were well versed in the specifics of the business and were (through participation in share capital) personally interested in its effective operation. But the profit that RAC brought in increasingly attracted people who had little understanding of the management of such an unusual organization. In the list of shareholders, the aristocracy supplanted the industrialists, who relinquished control and were replaced by the military, in whose personal loyalty the new owners were confident. There really was more than enough devotion, but otherwise the officers who came to this Russian frontier did not show themselves at their best. They skillfully carried out orders, the essence of which was to maximize profit, but this land was alien to them, and their thoughts were reduced to the speedy end of the “business trip” and the long-awaited journey home. The psychology of a temporary worker, which had spread in the leadership of the RAC, could not but affect its activities, and this negative effect was aggravated by the fact that they almost stopped investing in the development of Russian America. All dividends went to noble shareholders, who burned them in a decadent frenzy.
Headquarters of the Russian-American Company in St. Petersburg
Uncontrolled exploitation of the “gifts of nature” led to their rapid depletion. The basis of the colony's well-being was the sea otter (sea otter). Already in the 1850s, its population in Alaska was practically exterminated. In the same decade, the Russian Empire got involved in the Crimean War, which was losing for itself, finding itself, in fact, alone against almost all of Europe. One of the secondary theaters of military operations during this conflict was the Far East. The British squadron attempted to capture Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and occupied one of the Kuril Islands. For the first time, the insecurity of the empire's Pacific possessions became so obvious to its leadership.
Petropavlovsk defense
It was in the 1850s that the idea of the advisability of abandoning Alaska, which was becoming a burden, was first voiced. In 1853, the Eastern Siberian governor Nikolai Muravyov-Amursky proposed giving it to the “North American States”, which, they say, would inevitably spread to their entire continent. Instead of Alaska, Count Muravyov asked to concentrate on the development of the continental part of Asia - a region where, from his point of view, a clash with Great Britain, the main geopolitical enemy of that time, was inevitable. In 1857, after the end of the Crimean War, this idea was actually supported by Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich. The younger brother of Alexander II, admiral and naval minister, wrote in 1857 to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince Gorchakov: “This sale would be very timely, because one should not deceive oneself and must foresee that the United States, constantly striving to round off its possessions and wanting to dominate inseparably in North America, will take the aforementioned colonies from us, and we will not be able to return them. Meanwhile, these colonies bring us very little benefit, and their loss would not be too sensitive.” Another important argument of the Grand Duke was the disastrous state of the Russian treasury after the Crimean War. However, it took a whole decade to implement the initiative.
Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, initiator of the deal to sell Alaska
The process was slowed down by the American Civil War, in which the Russian Empire supported the ultimately victorious northerners. This was the heyday of relations between the two countries, when they seemed to each other as the most natural allies. Publicist Mikhail Katkov wrote in 1866:
“Of all the countries on earth, the United States remains the most popular in Russia. There was never any antipathy or serious conflict of interests between Russians and Americans, and only from Russia did the United States invariably hear words of sympathy and friendship.”
This idea looks especially shocking against the backdrop of current relations between countries.
By the mid-1860s, Alaska had truly become a liability. Instead of millions of rubles in profit, it began to bring only losses. In 1866, Alexander II forgives the Russian-American Company an accumulated debt of 725 thousand rubles and, moreover, assigns it an annual subsidy of 200 thousand rubles. At the same time, Finance Minister Mikhail Reitern reports the need to borrow 45 million rubles abroad over the next three years. It was a bleak backdrop for Alaska. From St. Petersburg the colony seemed useless. It required funding, seemed hopeless, only a thousand Russians lived there, and British Canada was nearby. The United States at that time looked like a close partner who could pay for Alaska with the gold the empire needed so much and at the same time reduce the degree of the British threat.
Novo-Arkhangelsk
Deal
The agreement was prepared in secret. On December 16, 1866, a meeting was held in the office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs with the participation of the emperor. In addition to Alexander II, it was attended by the main lobbyist for the deal, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, who by that time had become chairman of the State Council, ministers Gorchakov, Reitern, the new naval minister Nikolai Krabbe and Russia's envoy to the United States Eduard von Steckl. Everyone agreed with the idea of getting rid of Alaska. In the evening, the emperor wrote in his diary: “at 1 [day] Prince Gorchakov has a meeting on the affairs of the American company.” Decid[ed?] to sell to the [United] States.” The decision was made, and von Steckl was appointed as the main negotiator.
Russian envoy to the United States Eduard von Steckl
Returning to the United States in March of the following year, the Russian envoy entered into difficult negotiations with US Secretary of State Seward. In a report to St. Petersburg he wrote: “Originally Mr. Seward told me about five and five and a half million. I asked for seven. Gradually he reached six and a half, but told me that the entire cabinet was against him and he could not go further. However, since I saw that he was wholeheartedly striving to conclude an agreement, I refused to yield.” Stekl was quite persistent, the negotiations ended quickly. On March 30 (March 18, old style), 1867, it was signed in Washington.
"E. V. imp. All-Russian hereby undertakes to cede to the United States... all the territory with the supreme right thereto now owned by His Majesty on the American continent, as well as the islands adjacent to it.”
The word “sale” was not formally in the text, but this did not change the essence. The Russian Emperor permanently ceded the right to use Alaska to the United States of America.
First page of the agreement for the sale of Alaska
For $7.2 million in gold (according to various estimates, 130-320 million modern dollars), Russia gave the United States a practically undeveloped colony with an area of 1,518,800 square meters. km. A square kilometer cost American taxpayers $4.74. It turned out inexpensive. For example, in 1803, the United States bought the so-called “Louisiana” - French possessions in North America, 23% of the country’s modern territory. The Louisiana purchase cost $15 million. However, it involved much more valuable and developed land.
Louisiana Purchase highlighted in green
Of the $7.2 million, Russia received only $7.035 million. The rest of the amount was spent on attorneys' fees, bonuses for negotiators and hefty bribes to American senators who had to approve the deal.
The attitude towards her in American society was not very clear. Such expenses were not an obvious necessity for many citizens of a country where the Civil War had just ended. The newspapers called Alaska “Walrussia,” “Seward’s Ice Chest,” “Seward’s Folly.”
Russia sells Alaska to the United States
Many Russian journalists and publicists were completely dumbfounded. “We, now, as then, cannot regard such an incredible rumor as anything other than a cruel joke on the gullibility of society. RAC conquered this territory and established settlements on it with a huge donation of labor and even blood of Russian people. For more than half a century, the company spent its capital on the durable establishment and organization of its colonies, on the maintenance of the fleet, and the spread of Christianity and civilization in this distant country. These expenses were made for the future, and only in the future could they pay for themselves,”- wrote the publisher of the newspaper “Golos” Andrei Kraevsky. The deal was prepared in secret, so the journalist considered it a rumor - and he was mistaken.
The official newspaper St. Petersburg Vedomosti commented on the sale as follows: “It usually happens that states strengthen themselves with all measures to expand their possessions. This general rule does not apply, of course, only to Russia. Her possessions are so vast and extended that she does not have to annex lands, but, on the contrary, cede these lands to others.”
Check made out to Eduard von Steckl
On October 18 (October 6, old style), 1867, a decree on the implementation of the treaty was signed in Russia. On the same day, a ceremony to transfer Alaska to the United States took place in Novo-Arkhangelsk. A parade took place in front of the governor's house, after which the Russian flag was lowered over it and the American flag was raised. From that moment on, management of the territory passed to the new administration. 823 Russians living in the colony were given the opportunity to leave it on a specially sent ship or receive American citizenship. Several dozen people chose the second, but the majority left Russian America forever.
The moment of transformation of Russian America into “American America”
Many modern Russian experts (not to mention ordinary people) believe that Alexander II was hasty with his decision, or at least cheapened. They say that if Russia had retained a bridgehead in North America, much of the history of the 20th and 21st centuries would have turned out differently. However, from the point of view of 1867, this decision still looked quite logical. Despite current theses about the “native land,” then Alaska was absolutely not perceived that way. It was a distant, lifeless and senselessly unprofitable colony - a narrow, coastal, practically undeveloped and unprotected strip of land, for which the opportunity suddenly presented itself to earn a certain amount of gold. The money received for Alaska was spent on purchasing railway equipment abroad for the steel highways under construction in the central part of the country. The solution to this issue seemed much more urgent at that time.
New map
Few people in 1867 could have imagined that a gold rush would break out in the Klondike in the 1890s. Moreover, no one could imagine that in 1968, 3 billion tons of oil would be found underground near the Alaskan settlement of Prudhoe Bay. Even Karl Marx commented on the deal in February 1868: “From the economic point of view, this acquisition does not yet cost a cent, but thanks to this the Yankees will cut off England from the sea on one side and will accelerate the annexation of all of British North America to the United States. That’s where the dog is buried!”
Marx was wrong, British North America turned into an independent Canada, but the USA still pulled out the lucky ticket. And it’s not so much about gold, oil, other natural resources, or the possibility of placing military bases near Russian territory. The fact is that Alaska, which joined the union as the 49th state on January 3, 1959, by a miraculous coincidence also turned out to be one of the most beautiful places on our planet. And now it’s difficult to evaluate this with any kind of checks.
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