Alaska was once a full-fledged Russian colony. Now it will host a U.S.-Russia summit : NPR
Presidents Trump and Putin will meet in Alaska to speak of an expensive Russian war involving Crimea, raising parallels of the circumstances that led Russia to sell Alaska in the United States in the 1800s.
Mary Louise Kelly, host:
Russia lost a war in Crimea in the middle of the 19th century. This left the country in indebted and to relieve this burden, Russia has concluded a real estate agreement with the United States and sold Alaska to the Americans. Now, Presidents Trump and Putin meet on Friday in Alaska to discuss another difficult and costly Russian war involving Crimea. For more, we are joined by Greg Myre of NPR. He is in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. Hey, Greg.
Greg Myre, Byline: Hi, Mary Louise.
Kelly: So this summit, which brings together very quickly, why was Alaska chosen as a site?
Myre: The decision seems practical. This is the place where the United States and Russia meet almost, separated by only 55 miles from the Bering Strait. But beyond geography, there is also a fascinating symbolism and shared history. Alaska was in fact a full -fledged Russian colony. Some Russians point this on social networks, publishing photos of the Russian Orthodox churches with their onion domes built in Alaska in the 19th century. I spoke with Lee Farrow, professor of history at the University of Auburn in Montgomery and author of a book on the American purchase of Alaska.
Lee Farrow: Some Americans may know that we bought Alaska from Russia, but they do not necessarily know that it was a real colony there – it was not only a territory in which they had somehow stuck a flag – and that they also had a strong presence in California.
Kelly: And Greg, how good is a matter for Russia to sell Alaska? It was then, and is now, very rich in natural resources.
Myre: Well, this is not a good deal for the price they obtained – $ 7.2 million, which corresponds to 2 cents per acre when the Americans bought it in 1867. But the Russians saw it as an expensive outpost that they could not afford. Russian furs merchants have been in Alaska for more than half a century. They had killed most bears, wolves and otters. The Russians did not see any economic reason to stay, and Alaska was so far away, even for Russia, it was sometimes called Siberia. But today there are Russians who think that Alaska should be theirs. When Farrow went to Russia and spoke about her book several years ago, she still had the same question.
Farrow: In each audience, there was at least one person who asked if the United States had legitimately bought Alaska. There was a very strong story in Russia that we did not pay it, it was a lease and we should have returned already.
Kelly: So interesting. What about the end of the United States? How was the purchase consulted here in the United States when it took place?
Myre: Critics called him the madness of Seward, after Secretary of State William Seward, who negotiated the agreement. They said the territory was a frozen chipped. But Farrow says that this description was inaccurate, then and now. At the time, the purchase did not really draw a lot of attention outside of Washington. However, that said, the American government has not invested much in Alaska, and the relatively few Americans who went there were missionaries or adventurers who were largely alone. Only decades later, Alaska began to develop. Gold was discovered in 1896. It became a state in 1959. And large oil reserves were found in the 1950s and 60s.
Kelly: And in the few seconds left, I want to focus on Crimea. He had this war in the 1850s. It still takes place today. Why is it so disputed?
Myre: Yes, it’s a precious piece of real estate on the Black Sea. Russia fought a war there in the 1850s against the Ottoman Empire, thinking that they would easily win, but they did not do it. They lost. Quick advance until 2014. Crimea was part of Ukraine, but Putin seized it in an invasion, marking the start of the current war. Ukraine requests it, and should appear in the Trump-Putin summit this Friday.
Kelly: Thank you very much. Greg myre of NPR.
Myre: Of course.
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