Russian colonization of the Americas
Encyclopedia
The Russian colonization of the Americas covers the period, from 1732 to 1867, when the Tsar
ist Imperial Russian Empire
laid claim to northern Pacific Coast
territories in the Americas
. The Russians sponsored expeditions and maintained colonial enterprises in North America
to export natural resources from the sea and land for Russia and trading purposes, with supporting settlements and defensive outposts. The colonies were primarily established in present day Alaska
, with some reaching to Hawaii
and Northern California
. In 1867, accepting the Tsar's offer to sell, the United States purchased Russian America for $7,200,000, which is known as the Alaska Purchase
. This ended the Imperial Russian colonial presence in North America.
on the eastern boundary of the Bering Strait
opposite Russian Cape Dezhnev
. He did not land. The first European landfall took place in southern Alaska
in 1741 during the Russian exploration by Vitus Bering
and Aleksei Chirikov
. Between 1774 and 1800 Spain also led several expeditions to Alaska in order to assert its claim over the Pacific Northwest. These claims were later abandoned at the turn of the 19th century. Count Rumiantsev funded Russia's first naval circumnavigation under the joint command of Ivan Kruzenstern and Nikolai Rezanov in 1803-1806, and was instrumental in the outfitting of the voyage of the Riurik's circumnavigation of 1814-1816, which provided substantial scientific information on Alaska's and California's flora and fauna, and important ethnographic information on Alaskan and Californian (among others) natives.
for sponsoring such activities in the Americas was the Shelikhov-Golikov Company of Grigory Shelikhov
and Ivan Larionovich Golikov. A number of other companies were operating in Russian America during the 1780s. Shelikhov petitioned the government for exclusive control, but in 1788 Catherine II
decided to grant his company a monopoly only over the area it had already occupied. Other traders were free to compete elsewhere. Catherine's decision was issued as the imperial ukase
(proclamation) of September 28, 1788.
The Shelikhov-Golikov Company formed the basis for the Russian-American Company
(RAC). Its charter was laid out in a 1799 ukase
, by the new Tsar
Paul I, which granted the company monopolistic control over trade in the Aleutian Islands and the North America mainland, south to 55° north latitude
. The RAC was Russia's first joint stock company
, and came under the direct authority of the Ministry of Commerce of Imperial Russia. Siberian merchants based in Irkutsk
were initial major stockholders, but soon replaced by Russia's nobility and aristocracy based in St.Petersburg. The company constructed settlements in what is today Alaska, Hawaii
, and California
.
in Alaska was founded in 1784 by Grigory Shelikhov
. Subsequently, Russian explorers and settlers continued to establish trading posts in mainland Alaska, on the Aleutian Islands, Hawaii
, and Northern California
.
was formed in 1799 with the influence of Nikolay Rezanov for the purpose of hunting sea otter
s for their fur. The peak population of the Russian colonies was about 4,000,000, although almost all of these were Aleuts, Tlingits and other Native Alaskans.
, came to Hawaii
to retrieve goods seized by Kaumualii
, chief of Kauaʻi island. On arrival they became involved with internal royal Hawaiian politics, with King Kamuelaʻi planning and manipulating to reclaim his own kingdom of Kauaʻi with the help of Russia. Kaumualii signed a "treaty" granting Tsar Alexander I
protectorate
over Kauaʻi. From 1817 to 1853 Fort Elizabeth
, near the Waimea River, was one of three Russian forts on the island of Kauaʻi, in present day Waimea, Kauai County, Hawaii
.
in Northern California
the outpost of Fort Ross
was established in 1812. The Russians maintained it until 1841, leaving the region. Fort Ross is now a Federal National Historical Landmark on the National Register of Historic Places
. It is preserved—restored in California's Fort Ross State Historic Park
50 miles north of San Francisco
.
The Spanish concern about Russian colonial intrusion prompted initiating the upper Las Californias
Province settlement, with presidio
s (forts), pueblo
s (towns), and the California missions
. The Mission San Francisco de Solano (Sonoma Mission-1823) specifically responded to the Fort Ross presence by the Spanish. After independence the Mexicans also responded, with the El Presidio Real de Sonoma
or Sonoma Barracks, in 1836 with General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo
, the 'Commandant of the Northern Frontier' of the Alta California
Province. The fort was the northernmost Mexican outpost to halt any further Russian settlement southward. The restored Presidio and mission are in the present day city of Sonoma, California
.
In 1920 a one-hundred pound bronze church bell was unearthed in an orange grove near Mission San Fernando Rey de España
in the San Fernando Valley
of Southern California
. It has an inscription in the Russian language
(translated here): "In the Year 1796, in the month of January, this bell was cast on the Island of Kodiak by the blessing of Juvenaly of Alaska
, during the sojourn of Alexander Andreyevich Baranov." How this Russian Orthodox Kodiak
church artifact, from Kodiak Island
in Alaska
journeyed to a Roman Catholic Mission
Church in Southern California
is unknown.
, and would be easily captured. So following the Union victory in the American Civil War
, Tsar
Alexander II
instructed the Russian minister to the United States, Eduard de Stoeckl
, to enter into negotiations with the United States Secretary of State
William H. Seward
in the beginning of March 1867. At the instigation of Seward the United States Senate
approved the purchase, known as the Alaska Purchase
, from the Russian Empire
. The cost was set at 2 cents an acre, which came to a total of $7,200,000 on April 9, 1867. The canceled check is in the present day United States National Archives.
as part of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
can trace activities back to the early Russian missionaries in 'Russian America'.
In the present day Russian Federation
and its predecessor the Soviet Union
(USSR) there are periodic mass media
stories that Alaska
was not sold to the United States in the 1867 Alaska Purchase
, but only leased for 99 years ( = to 1966 ), or 150 years ( = to 2017 ) — and will be returned to Russia. However, the Alaska Purchase Treaty is absolutely clear that the agreement was for a complete Russian cession
of the territory.
The Soviet Union
(USSR) released a series of commemorative coins
in 1990 and 1991 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the first sighting of and claiming domain over Alaska
—Russian America. The commemoration consisted of a silver coin
, a platinum coin
and two palladium coin
s in both years.
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
ist Imperial Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
laid claim to northern Pacific Coast
Pacific Coast
A country's Pacific coast is the part of its coast bordering the Pacific Ocean.-The Americas:Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western border.* Geography of Canada* Geography of Chile* Geography of Colombia...
territories in the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
. The Russians sponsored expeditions and maintained colonial enterprises in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
to export natural resources from the sea and land for Russia and trading purposes, with supporting settlements and defensive outposts. The colonies were primarily established in present day Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, with some reaching to Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
and Northern California
Northern California
Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
. In 1867, accepting the Tsar's offer to sell, the United States purchased Russian America for $7,200,000, which is known as the Alaska Purchase
Alaska purchase
The Alaska Purchase was the acquisition of the Alaska territory by the United States from Russia in 1867 by a treaty ratified by the Senate. The purchase, made at the initiative of United States Secretary of State William H. Seward, gained of new United States territory...
. This ended the Imperial Russian colonial presence in North America.
Exploration
Europeans first sighted the Alaskan coast line in 1732. It was made by the Russian maritime explorer and navigator Ivan Fedorov from sea near present day Cape Prince of WalesCape Prince of Wales
Cape Prince of Wales is the westernmost point on the mainland of the Americas.Located on the Seward Peninsula of the U.S. state of Alaska near the city of Wales, Cape Prince of Wales is the terminus of the Continental Divide, marking the division between the Pacific and Arctic coasts, as well as...
on the eastern boundary of the Bering Strait
Bering Strait
The Bering Strait , known to natives as Imakpik, is a sea strait between Cape Dezhnev, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, the easternmost point of the Asian continent and Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska, USA, the westernmost point of the North American continent, with latitude of about 65°40'N,...
opposite Russian Cape Dezhnev
Cape Dezhnev
Cape Dezhnyov or Cape Dezhnev is a cape that forms the eastmost mainland point of Eurasia. It is located on the Chukchi Peninsula in the very thinly populated Chukotka Autonomous Okrug of Russia. This cape is located between the Bering Sea and the Chukchi Sea, across from Cape Prince of Wales in...
. He did not land. The first European landfall took place in southern Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
in 1741 during the Russian exploration by Vitus Bering
Vitus Bering
Vitus Jonassen Bering Vitus Jonassen Bering Vitus Jonassen Bering (also, less correNavy]], a captain-komandor known among the Russian sailors as Ivan Ivanovich. He is noted for being the first European to discover Alaska and its Aleutian Islands...
and Aleksei Chirikov
Aleksei Chirikov
Aleksei Ilyich Chirikov was a Russian navigator and captain who along with Bering was the first Russian to reach North-West coast of North America. He discovered and charted some of the Aleutian Islands while he was deputy to Vitus Bering during the Great Northern Expedition.- Life and work :In...
. Between 1774 and 1800 Spain also led several expeditions to Alaska in order to assert its claim over the Pacific Northwest. These claims were later abandoned at the turn of the 19th century. Count Rumiantsev funded Russia's first naval circumnavigation under the joint command of Ivan Kruzenstern and Nikolai Rezanov in 1803-1806, and was instrumental in the outfitting of the voyage of the Riurik's circumnavigation of 1814-1816, which provided substantial scientific information on Alaska's and California's flora and fauna, and important ethnographic information on Alaskan and Californian (among others) natives.
Trading company
Imperial Russia was the rare European Empire that had no State sponsorship of foreign expeditions or territorial (conquest) settlement. The first State protected trading companyTrading company
Trading companies are businesses working with different kinds of products which are sold for consumer, business or government purposes. Trading companies buy a specialized range of products, maintain a stock or a shop, and deliver products to customers....
for sponsoring such activities in the Americas was the Shelikhov-Golikov Company of Grigory Shelikhov
Grigory Shelikhov
Grigory Ivanovich Shelekhov Grigory Ivanovich Shelekhov Grigory Ivanovich Shelekhov (Григорий Иванович Шелехов in Russian; (1747–July 20, 1795 (July 31, 1795 N.S.)) was a Russian seafarer and merchant born in Rylsk....
and Ivan Larionovich Golikov. A number of other companies were operating in Russian America during the 1780s. Shelikhov petitioned the government for exclusive control, but in 1788 Catherine II
Catherine II of Russia
Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...
decided to grant his company a monopoly only over the area it had already occupied. Other traders were free to compete elsewhere. Catherine's decision was issued as the imperial ukase
Ukase
A ukase , in Imperial Russia, was a proclamation of the tsar, government, or a religious leader that had the force of law...
(proclamation) of September 28, 1788.
The Shelikhov-Golikov Company formed the basis for the Russian-American Company
Russian-American Company
The Russian-American Company was a state-sponsored chartered company formed largely on the basis of the so-called Shelekhov-Golikov Company of Grigory Shelekhov and Ivan Larionovich Golikov The Russian-American Company (officially: Under His Imperial Majesty's Highest Protection (patronage)...
(RAC). Its charter was laid out in a 1799 ukase
Ukase
A ukase , in Imperial Russia, was a proclamation of the tsar, government, or a religious leader that had the force of law...
, by the new Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
Paul I, which granted the company monopolistic control over trade in the Aleutian Islands and the North America mainland, south to 55° north latitude
55th parallel north
The 55th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 55 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean....
. The RAC was Russia's first joint stock company
Joint stock company
A joint-stock company is a type of corporation or partnership involving two or more individuals that own shares of stock in the company...
, and came under the direct authority of the Ministry of Commerce of Imperial Russia. Siberian merchants based in Irkutsk
Irkutsk
Irkutsk is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, one of the largest cities in Siberia. Population: .-History:In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovye near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading and for the collection of fur taxes from the Buryats. In 1661, Yakov Pokhabov...
were initial major stockholders, but soon replaced by Russia's nobility and aristocracy based in St.Petersburg. The company constructed settlements in what is today Alaska, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, and California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Colonies
The first Russian colonyColony
In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....
in Alaska was founded in 1784 by Grigory Shelikhov
Grigory Shelikhov
Grigory Ivanovich Shelekhov Grigory Ivanovich Shelekhov Grigory Ivanovich Shelekhov (Григорий Иванович Шелехов in Russian; (1747–July 20, 1795 (July 31, 1795 N.S.)) was a Russian seafarer and merchant born in Rylsk....
. Subsequently, Russian explorers and settlers continued to establish trading posts in mainland Alaska, on the Aleutian Islands, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, and Northern California
Northern California
Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
.
Alaska
The Russian-American CompanyRussian-American Company
The Russian-American Company was a state-sponsored chartered company formed largely on the basis of the so-called Shelekhov-Golikov Company of Grigory Shelekhov and Ivan Larionovich Golikov The Russian-American Company (officially: Under His Imperial Majesty's Highest Protection (patronage)...
was formed in 1799 with the influence of Nikolay Rezanov for the purpose of hunting sea otter
Sea Otter
The sea otter is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between 14 and 45 kg , making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among the smallest marine mammals...
s for their fur. The peak population of the Russian colonies was about 4,000,000, although almost all of these were Aleuts, Tlingits and other Native Alaskans.
Hawaii
In 1815 the German physician and agent of the Russian-American Company, Georg Anton SchäfferGeorg Anton Schäffer
Georg Anton Schäffer was a German physician in the employ of the Russian-American Company who attempted to conquer Hawaii for the Company and, ultimately, the Russian Empire...
, came to Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
to retrieve goods seized by Kaumualii
Kaumualii
Kaumualii was the last independent Alii Aimoku of Kauai and Niihau before becoming a vassal of Kamehameha I of the unified Kingdom of Hawaii in 1810...
, chief of Kauaʻi island. On arrival they became involved with internal royal Hawaiian politics, with King Kamuelaʻi planning and manipulating to reclaim his own kingdom of Kauaʻi with the help of Russia. Kaumualii signed a "treaty" granting Tsar Alexander I
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....
protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
over Kauaʻi. From 1817 to 1853 Fort Elizabeth
Russian Fort Elizabeth
Russian Fort Elizabeth is a fort on the island of Kauai in Hawaii. It was the last remaining Russian fort on the Hawaiian islands, built in the early 19th century by the Russian-American Company as the result of an alliance with High Chief Kaumualii to gain influence in Hawaii...
, near the Waimea River, was one of three Russian forts on the island of Kauaʻi, in present day Waimea, Kauai County, Hawaii
Waimea, Kauai County, Hawaii
Waimea is a census-designated place in Kauai County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 1,787 at the 2000 census...
.
California
Near Bodega BayBodega Bay
Bodega Bay is a shallow, rocky inlet of the Pacific Ocean on the coast of northern California in the United States. It is approximately across and is located approximately northwest of San Francisco and west of Santa Rosa...
in Northern California
Northern California
Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
the outpost of Fort Ross
Fort Ross, California
Fort Ross is a former Russian establishment on the Pacific Coast in what is now Sonoma County, California, in the United States. It was the hub of the southernmost Russian settlements in North America in between 1812 to 1841...
was established in 1812. The Russians maintained it until 1841, leaving the region. Fort Ross is now a Federal National Historical Landmark on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. It is preserved—restored in California's Fort Ross State Historic Park
Fort Ross State Historic Park
Fort Ross State Historic Park is a protected historic site in the U.S. state of California. It includes Fort Ross, the former Russian settlement, with the surrounding area comprising the immediate coastline and the native Coast Redwood forests extending inland.-Fort Ross:Fort Ross was founded by...
50 miles north of San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
.
The Spanish concern about Russian colonial intrusion prompted initiating the upper Las Californias
Las Californias
The Californias, or in — - was the name given by the Spanish to their northwestern territory of New Spain, comprising the present day states of Baja California and Baja California Sur on the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico; and the present day U.S. state of California in the United States of...
Province settlement, with presidio
Presidio
A presidio is a fortified base established by the Spanish in North America between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. The fortresses were built to protect against pirates, hostile native Americans and enemy colonists. Other presidios were held by Spain in the sixteenth and seventeenth...
s (forts), pueblo
Pueblo
Pueblo is a term used to describe modern communities of Native Americans in the Southwestern United States of America. The first Spanish explorers of the Southwest used this term to describe the communities housed in apartment-like structures built of stone, adobe mud, and other local material...
s (towns), and the California missions
Spanish missions in California
The Spanish missions in California comprise a series of religious and military outposts established by Spanish Catholics of the Franciscan Order between 1769 and 1823 to spread the Christian faith among the local Native Americans. The missions represented the first major effort by Europeans to...
. The Mission San Francisco de Solano (Sonoma Mission-1823) specifically responded to the Fort Ross presence by the Spanish. After independence the Mexicans also responded, with the El Presidio Real de Sonoma
Presidio of Sonoma
El Presidio de Sonoma, or Sonoma Barracks, was a military outpost established in Alta California in 1836. It was built to house troops under General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, the Commandant of the Northern Frontier, as part of Mexico's strategy to subdue the Native Americans of the Sonoma Valley...
or Sonoma Barracks, in 1836 with General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo was a Californian military commander, politician, and rancher. He was born a subject of Spain, performed his military duties as an officer of Mexico, and shaped the transition of California from a Mexican district to an American state...
, the 'Commandant of the Northern Frontier' of the Alta California
Alta California
Alta California was a province and territory in the Viceroyalty of New Spain and later a territory and department in independent Mexico. The territory was created in 1769 out of the northern part of the former province of Las Californias, and consisted of the modern American states of California,...
Province. The fort was the northernmost Mexican outpost to halt any further Russian settlement southward. The restored Presidio and mission are in the present day city of Sonoma, California
Sonoma, California
Sonoma is a historically significant city in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA, surrounding its historic town plaza, a remnant of the town's Mexican colonial past. It was the capital of the short-lived California Republic...
.
In 1920 a one-hundred pound bronze church bell was unearthed in an orange grove near Mission San Fernando Rey de España
Mission San Fernando Rey de España
Mission San Fernando Rey de España was founded on "The Feast of the Birth of Mary" , 1797. The settlement is located on the former Encino Rancho in the Mission Hills community of northern Los Angeles, near the site of the first gold discovery in Alta California.-History:Mission San Fernando Rey de...
in the San Fernando Valley
History of the San Fernando Valley to 1915
The history of the San Fernando Valley from its exploration by the 1769 Portola expedition to the annexation of much of it by the City of Los Angeles in 1915 is a story of booms and busts, as cattle ranching, sheep ranching, large-scale wheat farming, and fruit orchards flourished and faded...
of Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
. It has an inscription in the Russian language
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
(translated here): "In the Year 1796, in the month of January, this bell was cast on the Island of Kodiak by the blessing of Juvenaly of Alaska
Juvenaly of Alaska
Hieromartyr Juvenaly of Alaska, Protomartyr of America, was a member of the first group of Orthodox missionaries who came from the monastery of Valaam to evangelize the native inhabitants of Alaska. He was martyred while evangelizing among the Yupik Eskimos on the mainland of Alaska in 1796...
, during the sojourn of Alexander Andreyevich Baranov." How this Russian Orthodox Kodiak
Kodiak, Alaska
Kodiak is one of 7 communities and the main city on Kodiak Island, Kodiak Island Borough, in the U.S. state of Alaska. All commercial transportation between the entire island and the outside world goes through this city either via ferryboat or airline...
church artifact, from Kodiak Island
Kodiak Island
Kodiak Island is a large island on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, separated from the Alaska mainland by the Shelikof Strait. The largest island in the Kodiak Archipelago, Kodiak Island is the second largest island in the United States and the 80th largest island in the world, with an...
in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
journeyed to a Roman Catholic Mission
Spanish missions in California
The Spanish missions in California comprise a series of religious and military outposts established by Spanish Catholics of the Franciscan Order between 1769 and 1823 to spread the Christian faith among the local Native Americans. The missions represented the first major effort by Europeans to...
Church in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
is unknown.
Seward Purchase
The Russian colonies were rarely profitable, primarily due to transportation costs for supplies. In addition, Russia was in a difficult financial position and feared losing Russian Alaska without compensation in some future conflict, especially to the British. The Russians believed that in a dispute with Britain, their hard-to-defend region might become a prime target for British aggression from British ColumbiaBritish Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, and would be easily captured. So following the Union victory in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
Alexander II
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
instructed the Russian minister to the United States, Eduard de Stoeckl
Eduard de Stoeckl
Eduard Andreevich Stoeckl was a Russian diplomat best known today for having negotiated the American purchase of Alaska on behalf of the Russian government. He was son of Andreas von Stoeckl, Austrian diplomat in Constantinople, and Maria Pisani, daughter of Nicolas Pisani, Russian dragoman in...
, to enter into negotiations with the United States Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
William H. Seward
William H. Seward
William Henry Seward, Sr. was the 12th Governor of New York, United States Senator and the United States Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson...
in the beginning of March 1867. At the instigation of Seward the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
approved the purchase, known as the Alaska Purchase
Alaska purchase
The Alaska Purchase was the acquisition of the Alaska territory by the United States from Russia in 1867 by a treaty ratified by the Senate. The purchase, made at the initiative of United States Secretary of State William H. Seward, gained of new United States territory...
, from the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
. The cost was set at 2 cents an acre, which came to a total of $7,200,000 on April 9, 1867. The canceled check is in the present day United States National Archives.
Russian Orthodox Church
Saint Herman of Alaska, Saint Innocent of Alaska and Saint Peter the Aleut have contributed historically to the strong Russian Orthodox church community in Alaska. The Orthodox Church in AmericaOrthodox Church in America
The Orthodox Church in America is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in North America. Its primate is Metropolitan Jonah , who was elected on November 12, 2008, and was formally installed on December 28, 2008...
as part of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia , also called the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, ROCA, or ROCOR) is a semi-autonomous part of the Russian Orthodox Church....
can trace activities back to the early Russian missionaries in 'Russian America'.
In the present day Russian Federation
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and its predecessor the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
(USSR) there are periodic mass media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
stories that Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
was not sold to the United States in the 1867 Alaska Purchase
Alaska purchase
The Alaska Purchase was the acquisition of the Alaska territory by the United States from Russia in 1867 by a treaty ratified by the Senate. The purchase, made at the initiative of United States Secretary of State William H. Seward, gained of new United States territory...
, but only leased for 99 years ( = to 1966 ), or 150 years ( = to 2017 ) — and will be returned to Russia. However, the Alaska Purchase Treaty is absolutely clear that the agreement was for a complete Russian cession
Cession
The act of Cession, or to cede, is the assignment of property to another entity. In international law it commonly refers to land transferred by treaty...
of the territory.
The Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
(USSR) released a series of commemorative coins
Commemorative coins of the Soviet Union
Commemorative coins were released in the USSR between 1965 and 1991. Most of them were made of copper-nickel alloy, but there were also silver coins, gold coins, palladium coins and platinum coins. All of the coins were minted either by the Moscow Mint or by the Leningrad Mint...
in 1990 and 1991 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the first sighting of and claiming domain over Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
—Russian America. The commemoration consisted of a silver coin
Silver coin
Silver coins are possibly the oldest mass produced form of coinage. Silver has been used as a coinage metal since the times of the Greeks. Their silver drachmas were popular trade coins....
, a platinum coin
Platinum coin
Platinum coins are a form of currency. Platinum has an international currency symbol under ISO 4217 of XPT. The issues of legitimate platinum coins were initiated by Spain in Spanish-colonized America in the 18th century and continued by the Russian Empire in the 19th century...
and two palladium coin
Palladium coin
Palladium coins are a form of coinage made out of the rare silver-white transition metal palladium. Palladium is internationally recognised as a form of currency under ISO 4217. Sierra Leone issued the first palladium coins in 1966. Tonga commenced issuing palladium coins a year later in 1967,...
s in both years.
See also
- List of Russian explorers
- Mikhail Dmitrievich Tebenkov
- Nikolai Miklouho-Maclay
- Johan Hampus FuruhjelmJohan Hampus FuruhjelmJohan Hampus Furuhjelm, was a Finnish-Russian vice-admiral and explorer, commander of the Russian Baltic Fleet, Governor of the Russian Far East, Taganrog and Russian America.-Early years:...
- Nikolai RezanovNikolai RezanovNikolay Petrovich Rezanov was a Russian nobleman and statesman who promoted the project of Russian colonization of Alaska and California. One of the ten barons of Russia, he was the first Russian ambassador to Japan , and participated in the first Russian circumnavigation of the globe ,...
- Battle of SitkaBattle of SitkaThe Battle of Sitka was the last major armed conflict between Europeans and Alaska Natives, and was initiated in response to the destruction of a Russian trading post two years prior...
- List of ships in British Columbia
- History of the west coast of North AmericaHistory of the west coast of North AmericaThe human history of the west coast of North America is believed to stretch back to the arrival of the earliest people over the Bering Strait, or alternately along a now-submerged coastal plain, through the development of significant pre-Columbian cultures and population densities, to the arrival...