By P.K. Balachandran/Sunday Observer
Colombo, August 17 – The Trump-Putin summit at Alaska held on August 15, had brought into focus a forgotten facet of American history – the fact that Tsarist Russia had territorial possessions in North America till 1867. It had Alaska and parts of California.
Present-day Russians may be regretting that their ancestors had let go of these valuable assets for a mess of pottage. On March 30, 1867, Tsar Alexander II sold Alaska to the US for a mere US$ 7.2 million (equivalent to US$ 120 million now).
Today, Alaska is a storehouse of natural resources. No wonder Russian nationalists are demanding that it be recovered. But President Putin has been against it saying Alaska is “too cold.”
Russia’s exploration of Alaska and, later, California, began in the 16th century. The growing Russian Empire had a strong thirst for new regions. It carried out explorations and conquests in many regions in Central and East Asia.
In 1581, Russia conquered the Khanate of Sibir, a region of Siberia ruled by Genghis Khan’s grandson. This decisive victory helped the Russians fully conquer and own Siberia. Within 60 years they had reached the Pacific.
Partially motivated by the lucrative fur trade and the desire to spread Russian Orthodox Christianity in the East, the Russians spread across Siberia and into Alaska in the American continenent.
Peter the Great, who founded Russia’s navy, directed two explorations, the First Kamchatka Expedition and the Great Northern Expedition, both of which started in the Siberian city of Okhotsk. The Russian Navy tasked a Danish explorer and cartographer, Vitus Jonassen Bering (also known as Ivan Ivanovich Bering) to lead the two Russian expeditions. The Russian explorer’s goal was to determine whether there was a land border connecting Asia and America.
The explorers came back with loads of sea otters, foxes, and fur seals from what came to be known as “Russian America”. Soon Russian settlements began to appear in Alaska.
Given the difficulty in finding food in Alaska, the Russian traders set out to discover lands to the south. They dispatched ships to the area now known as California, and eventually settled at Fort Ross in 1812.
Like any foreign invading force, the Russians meted out harsh treatment to the locals in Alaska, especially the Aleut tribals, enslaving many of them or forcing them to hunt otters. Disease, wars and enslavement by the Russian settlers decimated the indigenous population of Alaska.
Owing to the incredible distance between the Alaskan colony and Russia, Russian settlers and traders in the colony could not rake in much profits. The Russian-American Company which was in the business also had to contend with the more successful British Hudson’s Bay Company.
Around 1820, the Russian-American Company began relinquishing some of its control and trade to the Hudson’s Bay Company. Britain thus, obtained rights to operate in the “Russian” territory.
Selling Alaska
Discussions about selling Alaska began during the Crimean War ( 1853 to 1856). The war had taken a huge toll on the finances of the Russian Empire. The Russian Navy at the time was not as large or powerful as Great Britain’s. Therefore, some Russian leaders and businessmen began contemplating the sale of Alaska as it wasn’t the most profitable colony of Russia.
Additionally, the profits from Russia’s fur trade had begun to take a nosedive as overhunting had significantly reduced the animal population in the region.
Meanwhile the 800 or so Russians who lived in Alaska at the height of the Empire’s power had difficulty communicating with the imperial capital in St. Petersburg, which was 500 miles away. Alaska was also too far north to support extensive farming, making it a poor choice for relocating big populations.
After the sea otter population began to diminish, the colony stopped making enough money to make the colony a worthy venture. Russia was also starved for funds due to the price of the war in Crimea, and Alaska was a difficult territory to protect.
Enter the US
In the 1840s, the US established a presence in Texas and conquered California. It then cast its eyes on the Arctic regions as it anticipated increased trade with China and Japan as a result of the abundance of gold, fur, and seafood in Alaska.
The US also believed that acquiring Alaska would help it become a Pacific power and prevent Britain from establishing a presence there.
Under President Andrew Johnson, the US was eager to establish itself as a force to be reckoned with, militarily and economically. The Alaska Purchase was simply one of the steps that the US believed it had to take in keeping up with its “Manifest Destiny”.
According to the “Manifest Destiny” concept, the US was to expand its dominion and spread democracy and capitalism across the entire American continent.
Buying Alaska was made easier by the Tsarist government in Moscow. Konstantin Nikolayevich, the younger brother of Tsar, promoted the idea of selling Alaska. He convinced Alexander II to approve the sale. At a secret meeting in 1866, it was finally decided to sell Alaska.
The Alaska purchase was negotiated between US Secretary of State William Seward and Russian minister for the US, Eduard de Stoeckl. After a lengthy talk that lasted all night, a deal was secured on March 30, 1867.
The Alaska Purchase treaty – the 1867 Treaty of Cession – received the support on Capitol Hill. The treaty was approved by the Senate and the House. The House voted in its favour 113 to 48 on July 14, 1867.
It was a good bargain for the US. With the stroke of the pen and US$ 7.2 million, the US obtained around 370 million acres of relatively untouched land, which could be equated to nearly a third the size of the European Union. At that time, the purchase had cost the US tax payers just 2 cents to get an acre.
In honour of the role senior Russian diplomat Stoeckl played in the deal, the Tsar gave him US$ 25,000 and placed the diplomat on a US$ 6,000 pension.
Critics of the purchase ridiculed it as “Andrew Johnson’s Polar Bear Garden” and “Seward’s Folly”. But today, Alaska is considered one of the richest states in the US as it has hundreds of billions of dollars in natural resources, including timber, gold, fish, lead, copper, and petroleum, among others. Alaska is also America’s only land bridge to the Arctic, which awaits the discovery of new shipping routes.
US President Dwight Eisenhower signs a proclamation admitting Alaska into the Union as the 49th state on Jan. 3, 1959.
Owing to the geo-political advantages and vast number of resources that Alaska offers, some Russian nationalists today have lamented the loss of the territory.
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