When did Alaska become an American state? Who sold Alaska and why.

On August 1, 1868, the Russian charge d'affaires in Washington, Baron Eduard Andreevich Stekl, received a check for $7.2 million from the United States Treasury. This financial transaction put an end to the largest transaction in world history for the sale of territorial possessions. Russian colonies on the North American continent with an area of ​​1519 thousand square meters. km, according to the treaty signed on March 18 (30), 1867, came under the sovereignty of the United States. The official ceremony for the transfer of Alaska took place before the check was received on October 18, 1867. On this day, in the capital of Russian settlements in North America, Novoarkhangelsk (now the city of Sitka), the Russian flag was lowered and the American flag was raised amid an artillery salute and during a military parade of the two countries. October 18 is celebrated as Alaska Day in the United States. In the state itself, the official holiday is the day of signing the Treaty - March 30.

For the first time, the idea of ​​selling Alaska was expressed in a very delicate and strictly secret form by the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia, Nikolai Muravyov-Amursky, the day before. In the spring of 1853, Muravyov-Amursky submitted a note in which he detailed his views on the need to strengthen Russia's position in the Far East and the importance of close relations with the United States.

His reasoning boiled down to the fact that the question of ceding Russian overseas possessions to the United States would sooner or later be raised, and Russia would not be able to protect these remote territories. The Russian population in Alaska then, according to various estimates, ranged from 600 to 800 people. There were about 1.9 thousand Creoles, a little less than 5 thousand Aleuts. This territory was home to 40 thousand Tlingit Indians who did not consider themselves subjects of Russia. To develop an area of ​​more than 1.5 million square meters. km, so remote from the rest of the Russian lands, there were clearly not enough Russians.

The authorities in St. Petersburg reacted favorably to Muravyov's note. The proposals of the Governor General of Eastern Siberia to strengthen the position of the empire in the Amur region and on the island of Sakhalin were studied in detail with the participation of the Admiral General, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich and members of the board of the Russian-American Company. One of the specific results of this work was the emperor’s order dated April 11 (23), 1853, which allowed the Russian-American company “to occupy Sakhalin Island on the same basis as it owned other lands mentioned in its privileges, in order to prevent any foreign settlements."

The main supporter of the sale of Russian America was his younger brother Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich. The general state of Russia's finances, despite the reforms carried out in the country, was deteriorating, and the treasury needed foreign money.

Negotiations to acquire Alaska from Russia began in 1867 under President Andrew Johnson (1808-1875) at the urging of Secretary of State William Seward. On December 28, 1866, at a special meeting in the main hall of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, held with the participation of Emperor Alexander II, Grand Duke Constantine, Foreign Minister Alexander Gorchakov, Finance Minister Mikhail Reitern, the head of the Navy Ministry Nikolai Krabbe and the envoy in Washington Eduard Stekl, there was a decision was made to sell Russian properties in North America. At 4 a.m. on March 30, 1867, an agreement was signed on the sale of Alaska by Russia to the United States of America for $7.2 million (11 million royal rubles). Among the territories ceded by Russia to the United States under the treaty on the North American continent and in the Pacific Ocean were: the entire Alaska Peninsula, a coastal strip 10 miles wide south of Alaska along the western coast of British Columbia; Alexandra Archipelago; Aleutian Islands with Attu Island; the islands of Blizhnye, Rat, Lisya, Andreyanovskiye, Shumagina, Trinity, Umnak, Unimak, Kodiak, Chirikova, Afognak and other smaller islands; Islands in the Bering Sea: St. Lawrence, St. Matthew, Nunivak and the Pribilof Islands - St. Paul and St. George. Along with the territory, all real estate, all colonial archives, official and historical documents related to the transferred territories were transferred to the United States.

Most researchers agree that the agreement on the sale of Alaska was a mutually beneficial result of the implementation of American geopolitical ambitions and the sober decision of Russia to focus on the development of the Amur and Primorye regions, annexed to the Russian Empire in 1860. In America itself at that time there were few people willing to acquire the vast territory, which opponents of the deal called a reserve for polar bears. The US Senate ratified the treaty by only a majority of one vote. But when gold and rich mineral resources were discovered in Alaska, the deal was hailed as the crowning achievement of President Andrew Johnson's administration.

The name Alaska itself appeared during the passage of the purchase agreement through the US Senate. Then Senator Charles Sumner, in his speech in defense of the acquisition of new territories, following the traditions of the indigenous population of the Aleutian Islands, gave them a new name Alaska, that is, “Big Land”.

In 1884, Alaska received county status and was officially declared a US territory in 1912. In 1959, Alaska became the 49th state of the United States. In January February 1977, an exchange of notes took place between the governments of the USSR and the USA, confirming that the “western border of the ceded territories” provided for by the 1867 treaty, passing in the Arctic Ocean, the Chukchi and Bering Seas, is used to delimit areas of jurisdiction of the USSR and the USA in the field of fisheries in these sea areas. After the collapse of the USSR, the Russian Federation became the legal successor to the international agreements concluded by the Union.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

German-born artist Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze, whose work adorns the Capitol in the US capital, is known in America mainly for his painting “Washington Crossing the Delaware.” It is in history books, in magazines, in school textbooks, I think everyone knows it. But here is a painting by Leutze, a reproduction of which, reader, before you, is familiar only to a few. However, in these March days, the media constantly reminds us of it, and on March 30, probably every self-respecting television company will show it. “Signing of the Treaty of Alaska in 1867” was the title of Leutze’s painting of participants in the negotiations for the sale of Alaska by the Russian Empire to the United States of America. March 30 marks the 150th anniversary of this deal.

In Leutze's painting we see all the participants in the negotiations in Washington. The main ones were US Secretary of State William Seward (second from left) and Russian Ambassador Baron Edward de Steckle (third from right). The negotiations were short-lived: they began on the evening of March 29 and ended on the 30th at four in the morning. There was no need for long negotiations. The issue of selling Alaska was decided long before the meeting between Stekl and Russian Embassy Secretary Vladimir Bodisko (fourth from left) with the US delegation. It was just a matter of price. They settled on $7.2 million ($123 million in today's money)—just under two cents an acre—and shook hands.

If there were critics of the deal in Russia, hardly anyone heard them. In America their voices were heard. Secretary of State Seward was accused of “recklessness” and Alaska was called “Seward’s refrigerator.” The New York Tribune, whose publisher and editor-in-chief was Horace Greeley, Seward's political rival, wrote that a democratic country did not need “overseas colonies.” In the Senate, opponents of the deal said millions shouldn't be spent when the country needs money to heal wounds from the Civil War that ended two years earlier. However, the Senate approved the deal. On May 3, the treaty was ratified, on June 8 in Washington, the parties exchanged instruments of ratification, on October 18 in Novo-Arkhangelsk, the main locality Alaska, the Russian flag was lowered and the American flag was raised.

Having become part of the United States in 1867, Alaska did not attract Americans for a long time. During the first ten years after the deal, the population of Novo-Arkhangelsk, which became Sitka, decreased from two and a half thousand to several hundred. But in 1896, gold was discovered on the Klondike River in the Canadian Yukon Territory, adjacent to the eastern border of Alaska, and the “gold rush” began. In 1898, gold was found in Alaska - first in Nome, then in Fairbanks. When information about gold reached Russia, they started talking about how it had been “cheapened”, and myths arose that they had not sold it, but had leased it for 99 years. But a check for $7.2 million was preserved, and the money was received.

Why, however, did Russia decide to sell Alaska? There were two reasons: economic and political. Let's go back to history..

The first Russian settlement in Alaska was founded in 1784 by Grigory Shelikhov. He was mainly interested in fur - beavers and arctic foxes. He drew the state border of the Russian Empire in North America. On 415 boards dug into the ground there was carved: “Land of Russian Dominion” and the Russian coat of arms flaunted.

In 1790, Shelikhov transferred control of his American farm to Alexander Baranov. Baranov lived in North America for twenty-eight years. He founded the city of Novo-Arkhangelsk, naming it in honor of Arkhangelsk, since he was born in the Arkhangelsk province - in Kargopol. He founded a shipyard here, built a copper smelter, began coal mining, expanded the fur trade... And he advanced Russian possessions far to the south.

In 1808, Baranov sent an expedition to California led by merchant Ivan Kuskov. The expedition returned with 1,160 beaver and otter pelts. Baranov again sent Kuskov to California to organize a settlement. In September 1812, Kuskov founded the Fort Ross fortress.

In 1824, Russia and the United States signed an agreement on shipping and fishing in the Pacific Ocean in St. Petersburg, and it established the southern border of the Russian Empire's possessions in Alaska.

While the Alaskan and Californian possessions were profitable, Russia needed them. When they became unprofitable, the Russians lost interest in them. Fort Ross was the first to be put up for sale. It was bought in 1841 by John Sutter, but he went down in history not as the owner of a fortress purchased from the Russians. In 1848, gold was discovered on Sutter's land, setting off a gold rush that swept the entire country.

In 1867, 26 years after the sale of unprofitable Northern California, Russia sold unprofitable Alaska. Sales were explained primarily by the economy, although there was a second reason: relations with England. They deteriorated sharply due to the Crimean War, in which Russia was defeated.

In 1853, when the war began, the governor of Eastern Siberia, Count Muravyov-Amursky, sent a dispatch to St. Petersburg with an offer to sell Alaska. He believed that this would strengthen Russia’s position on the Asian coast Pacific Ocean due to the growing threat from the British Empire.

In 1857 - on next year after graduation Crimean War- Grand Duke Constantine, the younger brother of Emperor Alexander II, instructed the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince Alexander Gorchakov, to study the issue of selling Alaska. Gorchakov provided appropriate instructions to the Russian Ambassador in Washington, Edward de Steckle, and the Ambassador entered into negotiations with Deputy Secretary of State John Appleton and California Senator William Gwin. In March 1861, James Buchanan, who was the US Ambassador to St. Petersburg in the early 1930s, took over as president. He was informed about the negotiations with the Russian ambassador, and he approved them. We were already talking about the price. Senator Gwin said $5 million. Gorchakov insisted on a higher... And at this time, America was already torn apart by an internal crisis, which led to the Civil War. Buchanan was replaced in the White House by Abraham Lincoln. The issue of buying Alaska has become irrelevant for America...

Only two European powers unconditionally supported the Union in the fight against the Confederation: Switzerland and Russia. The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Prince Gorchakov, asked the US Ambassador to St. Petersburg, Cassius Clay, to “convey to Mr. (Secretary of State) Seward that Russia’s policy towards the United States has been determined and will not change depending on the course of any other state.”

The “other power” that the United States feared most was Britain. By mutual agreement between the USA and Russia in the fall of 1863, two imperial squadrons came to America navy: one - six ships - to New York, the second - also six ships - to San Francisco. They remained in the United States until April 1864 and went home when it became abundantly clear that Britain did not recognize the Confederacy and did not intend to fight the Union.

The stay program for Russian sailors in America was extensive. Many of them wrote about a visit to a distant country. I will quote (abbreviated, of course) an excerpt from the memoirs of composer Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov, who was a midshipman during the events described and served on the Almaz clipper:

“We stayed in the United States from October 1863 to April 1864. In addition to New York, we visited Annapolis and Baltimore... We went to explore Washington... From New York, we, midshipmen and officers, had a chance to go to Niagara... The expected war with England did not take place, and we did not have to privateer and intimidate English merchants in the Atlantic ocean... During our stay in the United States, the Americans waged their internecine war between the northern and southern states for the slave issue, and we followed the course of events with interest, keeping ourselves exclusively in the northern states that stood for the freedom of blacks, under the presidency of Lincoln ... "

The Civil War was still ongoing when Steckl sent this message to Gorchakov from Washington: “I have information that among the soldiers (of the Union army) there are several Russian volunteers... I also learned that someone named Turchaninov, a former Russian officer, is subunit commander. I don’t know who he is and how he ended up here...”

Glass wasn't wrong. One of the brigades in the Union army was commanded by General John Turchin, a former colonel Russian army Don Cossack Ivan Vasilyevich Turchaninov, who left Russia in 1856 because he was a principled opponent of serfdom. General Turchin became famous at the battles of Chickamauga and Chattanooga. After the Battle of Chickamauga, Turchin recreated - on instructions from the War Department - a map of the battle... In the Battle of Chickamauga, Turchin's decisive actions practically saved the army of the northerners from defeat. His brigade was among the best in the capture of Chattanooga and then in the Battle of Atlanta. In June 1864, after a heart attack, General Turchin had to leave military service. He became a civilian again and wrote a book about the Battle of Chickamauga... Turchin was indeed not the only Russian in the Union army.

In one of the issues of the Russian Review magazine for 1942, the article “John Turchin: Russian General in the American Civil War” was published. It mentions “Vladimir Magazinoff and some other sailors who deserted from ships that visited America and enlisted in the army of the North...” The same article mentions the Georgian prince Alexander Eristavi, who fought in the army of the northerners from June 1861 to February 7, 1862, when he was injured...

Did Russia and the United States discuss the sale of Alaska during Civil War? Some biographers of Lincoln (in particular, Carl Sandburg, whose book Abraham Lincoln is considered classic biography 16th President) wrote that Secretary of State Seward, with the consent of the President, guaranteed the purchase of Alaska to the Russian Tsar. No one else in the Lincoln administration knew about this.

The final decision to sell Alaska was made on December 28, 1866 at a meeting with the participation of Alexander II. He asked Russia's ambassador to the United States, Stekl, to complete the deal as soon as possible. The Russian government was in dire need of money. It was necessary to repay a loan of 15 million pounds sterling, taken from the Rothschilds at 5 percent per annum. Money was needed to pay compensation to landowners after the reform on the emancipation of serfs adopted in 1861. Stekl was obliged to conduct negotiations as if it were not Russia, but the United States, that initiated the deal.

Four years before the Russian sale of Alaska, private entrepreneurs in Russia and the United States created a joint telegraph company to build a telegraph line from San Francisco to Moscow. Three million dollars - this was the initial amount of the venture; in today's money, that's 45.5 million... The route for the line was outlined as follows: from California to Alaska, then along the bottom of the Bering Strait and through Siberia to Moscow.

The project was huge. He was supported by President Abraham Lincoln. Work has begun. Thousands of poles were installed, telegraph substations were built... But in July 1867 - three months after America purchased Alaska - the project was abandoned...

Looking at Leutze's painting "The Signing of the Alaska Treaty in 1867," I couldn't help but remember that during World War II, Alaska became a staging area for Lend-Lease assistance to the Soviet Union. Along the Alaska-Siberia (Alsib) air route, Douglas bombers and transport planes and Airacobra fighters were ferried from Alaska to Siberia. About eight thousand aircraft were transported along the Alsib route to the Soviet Union... In October 1992, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Alsib route, a monument to the fallen ferrymen was unveiled at Yautsk airport. The P-39 Airacobra fighter, one of the most popular aircraft among Soviet aces, was installed at the memorial. Thrice hero Soviet Union Alexander Pokryshkin shot down 59 German aircraft, 48 from the Airacobra

On March 30, 1867, exactly 145 years ago, the territory of the Russian Empire decreased by just over one and a half million square kilometers. By the decision of the emperor and autocrat Russian Alexander Territory II of Alaska and the group of Aleutian Islands near it were sold to the United States of America. There are many rumors surrounding this deal to this day - “Alaska was not sold, but only leased. The documents are lost, so it is impossible to return it,” “Alaska was sold by Catherine II the Great, because this is sung in the song of the group “Lube,” “the deal for the sale of Alaska should be declared invalid, because the ship on which gold was carried for payment sank,” and etc. All the versions given in quotation marks are complete nonsense (especially about Catherine II)! So now let’s figure out how the sale of Alaska actually happened and what caused this deal, which was apparently not beneficial for Russia.

Territory of the Russian Empire before the sale of Alaska

The actual discovery of Alaska by Russian navigators I. Fedorov and M.S. Gvozdev happened in 1732, but it is officially considered to have been discovered in 1741 by captain A. Chirikov, who visited it and decided to register the discovery. Over the next sixty years, the Russian Empire, as a state, was not interested in the fact of the discovery of Alaska - its territory was developed by Russian merchants, who actively bought furs from local Eskimos, Aleuts and Indians, and created Russian settlements in convenient bays of the Bering Strait coast, in which merchant ships waited non-navigable winter months.

Harbor of the Russian-American merchant company on the coast of Alaska

The situation changed somewhat in 1799, but only externally - the territory of Alaska began to officially belong to the Russian Empire with the rights of a discoverer, but the state was in no way interested in new territories. The initiative to recognize ownership of the northern lands of the North American continent came, again, from Siberian merchants, who jointly drew up documents in St. Petersburg and created a Russian-American company with monopoly rights to mineral resources and commercial production in Alaska. The main sources of income for merchants in the North American territories of Russia were coal mining, fur seal fishing and... ice, the most common one, supplied to the USA - the demand for Alaskan ice was stable and constant, because refrigeration units were invented only in the 20th century.

Before mid-19th century century, the state of affairs in Alaska was in no way of interest to the Russian leadership - it is located somewhere “in the middle of nowhere”, no money is required for its maintenance, there is no need to protect and maintain a military contingent for this either, all issues are handled by the merchants of the Russian-American Company, regularly who paid taxes. And then from this very Alaska there is information that deposits of native gold have been found there... Yes, yes, what did you think - Emperor Alexander II did not know that he was selling a gold mine? But no, he knew and was perfectly aware of his decision! And why I sold it - now we’ll figure it out...

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

Baron Eduard Andreevich Stekl

Negotiations on the sale of the territory of Alaska were entrusted to Baron Eduard Andreevich Stekl, the envoy of the Russian Empire to the United States. He was given a price acceptable to Russia - $5 million in gold, but Stekl decided to assign the American government a higher amount, equal to $7.2 million. The idea of ​​​​buying the northern territory, albeit with gold, but also with a complete lack of roads, deserted and characterized by a cold climate, was perceived by the American government of President Andrew Johnson without enthusiasm. Baron Stekl actively intrigued, bribing congressmen and editors of major American newspapers, in order to create a political climate favorable for the land deal.

Signing of the agreement on the sale of Alaska

And his negotiations were crowned with success - on March 30, 1867, an agreement on the sale of the territory of Alaska to the United States of America took place and was signed by official representatives of both parties. Thus, the acquisition of one hectare of Alaska cost the US Treasury $0.0474 and for the entire territory of 1,519,000 square kilometers - $7,200,000 in gold (in terms of modern banknotes, about $110 million). On October 18, 1867, the North American territories of Alaska were officially transferred to the possession of the United States; two months earlier, Baron Steckl received a check for 7 million 200 thousand in US Treasury bonds, which he transferred to the London bank of the Baring brothers into the account of the Russian Emperor, retaining his commission of $21,000 and $165,000 he spent out of his own pocket on bribes (overhead).

Gold mine in Russian Alaska

According to some modern Russian historians and politicians, the Russian Empire made a mistake by selling Alaska. But the situation in the century before last was very, very difficult - the States were actively expanding their territory, annexing neighboring lands and following the James Monroe Doctrine of 1823. And the first major transaction was the Louisiana Purchase - the acquisition of a French colony in North America (2,100 thousand square kilometers of inhabited and developed territory) from the Emperor of France Napoleon I Bonaparte for a ridiculous 15 million dollars in gold. By the way, this territory today contains the states of Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and significant areas of a number of other states modern USA... As for the former territories of Mexico - the territory of all the southern states of the United States - they were annexed free of charge.

This is the story - it turns out that the sale of Alaska at that time was justified from the point of view of politics and economics...

Until now, many consider it one of the most mysterious transactions in Russia. Some believe that this land was sold by Empress Catherine the Second. Others even believe that Alaska was not sold to the United States, but was leased by Decree of this reigning person for ninety-nine years. The deadline expired, but the lands were never returned to the Russians. As if already during the times of the Soviet Union, Secretary General Brezhnev did not want to take it back.

But if you remember in what year Alaska was sold to America, it becomes clear that Catherine had nothing to do with this. Emperor Alexander II ruled Russia during this period. And it was he who played the decisive role in history that some attribute to other rulers. This Russian Tsar is accused of practically giving away a huge territory. But how things really stood, how the peculiar territorial triangle of Alaska-Russia-USA took shape, in official history there is only one version, some details of which are still unknown to many.

Geography

Even a schoolchild knows that this peninsula is a cold and harsh land, where arctic and subarctic climate zones reign. Severe frosty winters with knocking winds and snowy blizzards are the norm in this region. And this is not surprising: it’s enough to just imagine where Alaska is. The only exception is a small part of the Pacific coast, where the climate is temperate and quite suitable for human life. Includes the state of Alaska, mainland territory up to the border with Canada. In addition, it includes the Aleutian, Fox, Trinity and Alexander Islands. Also, this peninsula is connected by a narrow strip of land stretching along the Pacific coast to the Dixon Entrance Strait. It is here that one of the most original capitals in the world is located - Juneau.

Alaska - Russia

The United States called this region nothing less than “Russian America.” During the second half of the eighteenth century, fur traders became increasingly interested in Alaska. Already in the early sixties, here, on the island of Unalaska, the Russians founded a village and, naturally, a port through which trade in harvested fur was to be carried out. In 1784, merchant and explorer Grigory Shelikhov, using his own funds, organized an expedition to these regions, during which he built a settlement on Kodiak Island.

At the end of the century, European sailors came here and even attempted to declare Spanish sovereignty over certain areas of Alaska. However, they did not achieve any results. And today only a few non-locals remind us of them in these parts. geographical names, for example the port of Valdez.

The same Shelikhov, a few years later, initiated the organization of a commercial company for the development of Alaska, the creation of which was supposed to be similar to the British East India. It was created in 1799, and its first leader was again Alexander Andreevich Baranov, who had represented the interests of Russian industrialists in America since the late eighties. It was he who founded several settlements in Alaska, including modern Sitka, which was then called the city of Novoarkhangelsk.

The company's activities as a whole were of a dual nature. On the one hand, it was engaged in predatory fur fishing, but at the same time it contributed to the development of arable farming and cattle breeding in some areas. From the beginning of the eighties, this activity was complicated by the struggle with American and British entrepreneurs who were arming local aborigines in order to fight against the Russians.

And in 1824, Russia signed a number of treaties with the governments of the USA and England. These documents at the state level determined the boundaries of Russian possessions in the territory North America. Less than four and a half decades remained before Alaska became American.

Difficult situation

In 1861, as is known, Russia abolished serfdom. In order to pay compensation to his landowners, as well as to pay the company’s expenses, Tsar Alexander II was forced in 1862 to borrow fifteen million pounds sterling from the Rothschilds at five percent per annum. However, the financial magnates soon had to return something, and the royal treasury was empty.

The very first initiative suggesting the sale, or rather the annexation of Alaska to America, was made by the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia. This happened in 1853. In his opinion, the deal was simply inevitable. But then no one listened to him. And four years later, Grand Duke Constantine - the younger brother of the Sovereign - offered to sell Alexander “something unnecessary”. Most unnecessary thing turned out to be northern unexplored lands that the Russians, in fact, had not developed.

The very fact of alienation, as well as the history of Russia’s sale of Alaska, is perceived by many today in their own way. But the reasons at that time were more than obvious: this huge territory never brought the Russians much income, and sea otters, fur seals and other owners of the most valuable furs, which at that time were in demand on the world market, were mostly killed by industrialists. In general, the colony mainly survived only due to large supplies of ice to the cities of California. There was no money then to maintain military garrisons and officials working here in this icy territory in order to develop the colossal lands. Russia, having only recently survived the Crimean War, experienced financial difficulties after the defeat.

Background

Naturally, the history of the transfer of Alaska to America has its own predecessor; in addition, such a step pursued certain goals and had good reasons. It is known that at the beginning of the nineteenth century this land brought in significant income through the fur trade, but by the sixties of the same century it became clear that future expenses would be significantly greater than the potential profit. You will have to constantly spend money not only on the banal maintenance of this territory, but also on its protection, and if you remember where Alaska is located on the map, you can imagine how much all this would cost the bankrupt Russian empire.

Prerequisites

The official history of Russia's sale of Alaska states that the proposal for a deal came from the famous Russian diplomat Eduard Stekl. And the negotiations began precisely at the time when Great Britain began to make its claims to this territory.

And this was another reason why it was very beneficial for Russia to get rid of its northern land.

The question of in what year the Russians sold Alaska to America is causing considerable controversy today. Some call the year 1866, others - 1867. It must be said that both of these dates are true.

Secret negotiations

On December 16, 1866, on a cloudy, gloomy winter day, Emperor Alexander II convened a meeting. It was attended by his brother Prince Konstantin, the ministers of the naval and financial departments, as well as Baron Eduard Stekl, the Russian ambassador in Washington. It must be said that the idea of ​​selling by the participants was approved and supported. Actually, from that moment the annexation of Alaska to the United States began. At first they waited for the end of the period of privileges, then - the civil war in the United States. But nevertheless, on March 18, 1867, Johnson, after much deliberation, finally signed the Decree transferring special powers to William Seward. At the proposal of the Minister of Finance, the minimum threshold price for Alaska was established: five million rubles. A week later, the Russian emperor, having confirmed the borders of his state, sent Stekl to America with an official appeal to Secretary of State Seward. After this, negotiations literally immediately began, during which it was possible to agree on an agreement to purchase Alaska from the Russian state for seven million dollars.

USA and Tsarist Russia

By the beginning of the sale process, Russia's relations with America had reached their climax. Even during the Crimean War, the United States repeatedly emphasized: if the boundaries of the conflict expand, they will not take an anti-Russian position. The intention to sell Alaska was kept in deep secret. Surprisingly, given the already sufficient level of foreign intelligence at that time, information did not leak to third countries. The London newspaper The Times wrote with great concern about the mysterious mutual sympathy rising between the United States and Russia. Moreover, the money paid for these northern lands paid off in a short time, and there is no need to talk about the strategic advantage of this deal, just imagine where Alaska is located on the map.

Great Britain's dissatisfaction was justified: the treaty of 1867 not only made these two states closest neighbors, but also gave the Americans the opportunity to surround English possessions in the north. The statement of the American General Welbridge at a dinner party in honor of the Russian delegation also added fuel to the fire. Its meaning was as follows: there are two significant hemispheres on the planet, western and eastern, and one should be personified by the United States, and the second by Russia. Naturally, this was only a subtle diplomatic play on words, but the fact remains: the Russians seriously supported the Americans in their rise.

Direct transfer

The signing of the treaty took place on March thirtieth, 1867 in Washington. It was compiled in French and English, which were the diplomatic languages ​​at that time. Interestingly, there is simply no official text in Russian. According to the terms of the treaty, the entire Alaska Peninsula, as well as its ten-mile-wide coastline to the south, passed to America.

The US Senate, although it doubted the feasibility of such a purchase, most of its members supported the deal.

On October 18, 1867, Alaska was officially transferred to the Americans. On the Russian side, the protocol on the transfer of this territory was signed by A. A. Peschurov, a special government commissioner, captain of the second rank. Interestingly, this day was introduced and Therefore, the residents of Alaska woke up on the eighteenth of October, although they went to bed on the fifth of October. Therefore, if the answer to the question of what year Alaska was sold to America is clear, then the same cannot be said about the day the agreement was signed.

Mystic

On October 18, 1867, at half past three in the afternoon, the flag was changed on the flagpole located in front of the house of the ruler of Alaska. Russian and American troops lined up, and at a signal, one non-commissioned officer on each side began to lower the banner that had been raised during the Russian-American campaign. The ceremony itself took place in an atmosphere of great solemnity, however, until the flag, tangled at the very top in the ropes, caused the painter to break.

At the order, several sailors rushed to climb up to try to untangle the fabric remaining from the banner, which hung in tatters on the mast. However, no one thought to shout from below to the sailor who was the first to reach him, so that he would not throw the banner down, but would get down with him. And when he dropped it from above, the flag fell on Russian bayonets. To mystics, this incident would have seemed like a sign, but at that moment it did not occur to anyone to think about it. In general, the history of the transfer of Alaska to America is shrouded in thousands of myths, but many of them are not true.

Glass and its mission

The diplomat Steckl played a significant role in the sale of Alaska. Since 1850, he was charge d'affaires of the Russian embassy in the United States, and from 1854 he moved to the position of Russian envoy. Glass's wife was American, so he was fairly integrated into the highest circles of American society. Such extensive connections helped him and facilitated the implementation of the deal. The Russian diplomat actively lobbied for the interests of Russian Emperor. In order to persuade the Senate to make a decision on the purchase of Alaska, Steckl paid bribes, using all his connections. Alexander II awarded him a reward of twenty-five thousand dollars, as well as a lifelong pension of six thousand rubles.

Eduard Andreevich immediately after the sale of Alaska came to St. Petersburg for a short time, but soon left for Paris. Until the end of his life, this diplomat avoided Russian society, however, it also avoided him. After the Alaska story, Glass retained its bad reputation. And there were reasons for this.

Where's the money?

Seven million thirty-five thousand dollars - that’s exactly what was left of the originally agreed upon 7.2 million. Eduard Stekl, having received the check, kept the reward for himself, distributed almost one and a half hundred thousand as bribes to the senators who voted for ratification, and transferred the remaining money by bank transfer to London, from where the gold bars purchased for the entire amount traveled to St. Petersburg by sea. Some of the payment was also lost when converted into pounds and gold. But it wasn't last loss Russia.

The main historical question is not in what year Alaska was sold to America, but where the proceeds from this transaction went.

The bark Orkney, on board which carried the cargo so long-awaited for the Russian state, sank on July 16, 1868, already approaching St. Petersburg. It is still unknown whether there was gold on it, or whether it never left Foggy Albion. Moreover, the insurance company declared itself completely bankrupt, and therefore the damage to the Russians was only partially compensated. The Rothschilds failed to pay off the debt, but a huge piece of land royal Russia nevertheless lost it.

Errors and conjectures

The history of Russia's sale of Alaska still gives rise to all sorts of judgments and speculations. Since the negotiations were conducted in the strictest confidence, the signing of the agreement was hidden for a long time. And only a year later the convention was published in French in the Diplomatic Yearbook. Such secrecy gave rise to speculation, first of all, that Alaska was leased to the United States for a period of ninety-nine years, and after this period it would be returned to Russia again. This erroneous version became so tenacious that when this period expired, in the middle of the last century, demands began to be heard for its transfer back. But, unfortunately, this was only a delusion. Alaska was not leased, but was sold forever.

Data

Interestingly, the United States has been actively expanding its territories over the past two centuries. Few people know that back in 1803, America bought Louisiana from France for fifteen million dollars, and a little later, for an amount three times less, it successfully acquired Florida from Spain. And ten years later, in 1818, during the process of dividing the “inheritance,” most of the territory was transferred to the United States from Mexico.

No less remarkable is the fact that Alaska officially became another state only in 1959, and not at all in 1867, when it was sold.

Alaska Map

Far Eastern discoveries of the 17th century

• 1639, August - the expedition of the Tomsk Cossack Ivan Moskvitin to the shores of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk organized the first Russian settlement in the Far East - Ust-Ulinsky winter quarters
• 1639, October 11 - the first voyage of Russian explorers along the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, which lasted 3 days
• 1643-1646 - the expedition of Vasily Poyarkov passed from the mouth of the Amur to the confluence of the Ulya River into the Sea of ​​Okhotsk
• 1647 - Mikhail Stadukhin passed from Kolyma to Anadyr overland
• 1647, May 23 - at the mouth of the Okhota River, the Cossacks under the leadership of Ataman Semyon Shelkovnikov founded the winter quarters of the Okhotsk fort.
• 1648, June 30 - the expedition of Semyon Dezhnev and the Cossack Fedot Alekseev left Yakutsk “to sail around the Chukotka Nose” on seven boats under leather sails

  Russian sailors sailed along the northeastern tip of Asia and exited through the Bering Strait into the Arctic Ocean. The closest extreme point of northeast Asia to Alaska was discovered, today called Cape Dezhnev

• 1662, August - voyage of Russian fishermen led by Ivan Rubtsov through the Bering Strait
• 1667 - the name “Kamchatka” first appears on the Russian map of Siberia by Peter Godunov.
• 1692 - from the stories of the clerk of the Anadyr fort Vladimir Atlasov, it became known about the existence of the Mainland (Alaska) opposite the Chukotka Peninsula
• 1694 - the monk of the Chudov Monastery, Korion Istomin, wrote and presented to Tsarevich Alexei the “Book of the City of the Kingdom of Heaven,” containing the first poems about America
• 1697–1699 - exploration of Kamchatka by Vladimir Atlasov. Northern Kuril Islands discovered

Russian travelers of the 18th century

• 1700 - Alaska first appeared on the map of the Yakut governor Dorofey Traurnicht
• 1706 - navigator Mikhail Nasedkin walked to Cape Lopatki and saw that “land was visible beyond the strait”
• 1711 - Anadyr Cossack Pyotr Popov compiled a new drawing of the Chukotka Peninsula depicting the “Main Land” - the northwestern tip of America
• 1725, January 17 - Peter I drew up secret instructions for organizing an expedition to the shores of America

  “On this nautical map, the path laid out, called Anian, was not laid in vain. On my last journey in conversations I heard from learned people that such an acquisition is possible. Having protected the Fatherland with security from the enemy, one should try to find glory through the arts and sciences. Shall we explore such a path? happier than the Dutch and the British, who repeatedly attempted to search the American shores? Therefore, it is necessary to look for where this land meets America, it is necessary to build one or two boats with decks in Kamchatka or some other place, on these boats (to sail) near the land that goes to the north and, as expected (before they don’t know the end of it) it seems that that land is part of America and in order to get to which city of the European possessions, or if you see which European ship, find out from it what kind of quest it is called and take it in writing, and visit the shore yourself, and take the original statement, and, putting it on map, come here"

• 1725, February 16 - secret instructions were handed over to the leader of the First Kamchatka expedition, Vitus Bering
• 1726 - Yakut Cossack leader Afanasy Shestakov delivered to St. Petersburg a map on which one of the unknown Russian explorers clearly marked “The Shore of the Great Land.”
• 1728, July - the expedition of Vitus Bering proved that the Chukotka Peninsula is washed by the sea from the east
• 1728–1730 - A. Melnikov’s voyage to the Bering Strait and the Chukchi Nose, where he unsuccessfully persuaded the Chukchi to transport him to the other side of the strait on dogs across the ice
• 1732, August 21 - Boat "St. Gabriel" under the command of M. Gvozdev approached Cape Prince of Wales in Alaska

  In 1730, two ships were sent from Okhotsk to impose tribute on the inhabitants of the “Big Land” (Alaska, or the Northwestern part of America), located, as expected, east of the mouth of Anadyr. One ship crashed off the coast of Kamchatka. After two winters on the peninsula (in Bolsheretsk and Nizhnekamchatsk), the expedition on the surviving boat “St. Gabriel" On July 23, 1732, she went to survey the "Great Land". The expedition was led by surveyor M. Gvozdev. There were 39 people on board the boat.
  On August 15, the boat entered the Bering Strait. Gvozdev landed on the Asian shore of the strait and on the Diomede Islands, completing their discovery. August 21 “St. Gabriel" with a fair wind approached " Big Earth» - Cape Prince of Wales, northwestern tip of America. On the coast, sailors saw residential yurts. The further route is described in the report of M. Gvozdev dated September 1, 1743: August 22, 1732, taking a course due south from Cape Prince of Wales, on the way back at 65° N. latitude. and 168° W. "St. Gabriel" discovered a small piece of land - Fr. King (the name was later given by D. Cook), but due to strong waves it was not possible to land on shore. The boat arrived in Kamchatka on September 28, 1732. Thus, the opening of the strait between Asia and America, begun by Popov and Dezhnev, was completed not by V. Bering, whose name this strait is named, but by Gvozdev

• 1740 - Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky was founded

  at the end of April 1730, V. Bering compiled two memos to the Admiralty. In the first, he expressed confidence in the comparative proximity of America to the Kamchatka Peninsula and the advisability of establishing trade contacts with local residents; noted the need and opportunity to develop iron ore in Siberia, sow grain and cook salt. In the second note, he put forward a plan to “find out the northern lands...,” that is, to establish how far to the north Asia extends, and to map the northern coast of the continent, and also proposed to find out the possibility of reaching the mouth of the Amur and the Japanese islands by sea and, finally send ships to the shores of America

• 1741, July 15 - the beginning of the Second Kamchatka Expedition of Vitus Bering and Alexei Chirikov. Having lost each other during a storm, the packet boats reached the American Continent at different points
• 1741, July 17 - “St. Peter" Bering reached the American coast and the team saw in the distance the majestic snowy ridge of St. Elijah with the peak of the same name (Mount St. Elijah, 5488 m, is one of the highest points in North America).
• 1741, July 26 - Chirikov discovered the Aleutian Islands on the packet boat "St. Paul"
• 1741, July 27 - Bering on the packet boat "St. Peter" approached Kayak Island off the coast of Alaska
• 1745-1764 - voyages of Russian fur traders to the Aleutian Islands.
• 1743-1744 - expedition of the Tobolsk peasant Emelyan Basov
• 1745 - 1747 - sailors M. Nevodchikov, A. Tolstykh, Y. Chuprov discovered a group of Near and Andrean Islands
• 1750-1752 - Sannikov sailed off the Commander Islands on the ship "St. John"
• 1750 - Nakvasin on "St. Peter" - near the Aleutian Islands
• 1752 - Trapeznikov discovered the island of Atka on the ship "Boris and Gleb"
• 1753-1755 - A. Serebrennikov and P. Bashmakov - near Bering Island
• 1757-1758 - P. Bashmakov and A. Vsevidov - near the Rat Islands
• 1756-1759 - A. Tolstykh - near the Near Islands
• 1759-1760 - S. Cherepanov - near the Near Islands
• 1759 - S. Glotov left on the boat “Iulian” to “explore new islands and peoples” (1758). A year later, the ship approached the island of Umnak, then Glotov discovered almost all the islands from the Fox group. Moving northeast, the sailors reach Kodiak (September 5, 1763)
• 1757-1761 - expedition of I. Studentsov, who discovered the island of Kiska
• 1760-1761 - expedition of G. Pushkarev,
• 1762 - the Aleuts defeated the first Russian fortress built on Unalaska by the sailor Pyotr Druzhinin.

  Somewhat later, the navigator I. Korovin and the forward I. Solovyov on the ships “Trinity” and “Holy Apostles Peter and Paul”, fleet lieutenant I. Sindt (who discovered the island of St. Matthew) on the galliot “St. Paul” clarify the maps of the newly discovered lands. Ustyug merchant Vasily Shilov presents to the Admiralty Board an inventory of the Aleutian ridge from Bering Island to Amlya Island

• 1768, July 22-1770 - expedition of Levashov and Krenitsyn, carrying out the will of Catherine the Second to formally and actually assign the Pacific Islands to Russia and bring the Aleuts into Russian citizenship.
• 1768, September 5 - approached Unimak Island
• 1768, September 15 - Levashov alone continued the search for lands to the west and southwest of Unimak:
• 1768, September 16 - Levashev came to Unalaska, from October 1 to 5 sailed near Unimak, returned to Unalaska again and chose a bay (Levashov's port) in the depths of Captain's Bay, now Dutch Harbor, for wintering. The choice was extremely successful: this bay is the best harbor in the Aleutian Islands...

The geographical results of the expedition were very great. Krenitsyn and Levashov basically completed the discovery of the entire giant Aleutian arc, which stretches 1,740 km in the north Pacific Ocean, and especially Unimak and the other Fox Islands. They laid the foundation for the exploration of the Alaska Peninsula

Russian America of the 18th century

• 1772 - naval officer I. Solovyov founded the permanent Russian settlement “Dutch Harbor” on the island of Unalaska in the Aleutian archipelago.
• 1781, August 28 - signing in St. Petersburg of an agreement between industrialists and merchants G. Shelikhov and I. Golikov on the creation of a company to carry out fishing on the newly discovered islands, establish trade contacts with the natives, and establish permanent settlements and fortresses in the northwest of America
• 1784 - G. Shelikhov’s voyage along the northwestern coast of Alaska and the organization of temporary fishing stops. The island of Unalaska was chosen as a gathering center for fishermen.

  Having heard about the untold riches of the New World, industrialists - trappers and hunters of fur and sea animals - flocked there after the discoverers. Following them were merchants and traders who bought furs from industrialists, Aleuts and Indians, exchanging flour and salt, gunpowder and lead, sugar and tea, textiles and tobacco for it... Rich merchants united into commercial and industrial companies. Only from the time of the discoveries of Bering-Chirikov and before the founding of the Russian-American Company, up to five dozen similar companies operated in Russian America

• 1781, August 28 - signing in St. Petersburg of an agreement between industrialists and merchants G. Shelikhov and I. Golikov on the creation of the American North-Eastern, Northern and Kuril Company to carry out fishing on the newly discovered islands, establish trade contacts with the natives, and establish permanent settlements and fortresses in the north-west of America. 1785, August 8 - decree of Catherine II on the organization of the North-Eastern expedition to the shores of America to determine the coordinates and map the coast of Chukotka, the Aleutian Islands and Alaska, and bring the natives into Russian citizenship. The expedition lasted 7 years.
• 1787, summer - At the request of the Siberian Governor-General I.V. Jacobi, the Company “with secret instructions” received the first ten “Copper Badges” and fifteen “Russian Emblems”, which were to be displayed “without wasting time” on the solid “searched lands of the Eastern America, called Alaska": "So that subjects of other nations cannot enter into the benefits that belong to our Fatherland."
• 1790 - Alexander Baranov became the chief manager of the North-Eastern Company
• 1792 - construction on the eastern coast of Kodiak of the new capital of Russian America - Pavlovskaya Harbor
• 1792-1793 - expeditions of Russian industrialists deep into Alaska to Lake Iliamna, Yukon, and the southern coast of Norton Bay
• 1795 - foundation of Russian settlements on mainland Alaska
• 1798 - The Shelikhov-Golikov Company merged with the Irkutsk Company of the merchant Nikolai Mylnikov into the United American Company.
• July 8, 1799 - the famous Russian-American Company took shape. According to the Privileges granted by the Supreme Manifesto, the Russian-American company “was allowed to use all the industries and establishments along the coast of America, as well as on the Kuril, Aleutian and other islands lying in the North-Eastern Ocean.” Over time, the Company received the right and privilege to hire officers of the Russian Navy, the period of completion of which was counted as military service.

  The Russian-American Company was created on July 8 (O.S.), 1799. All other fishing companies had to join the RAC or cease their activities

• 1799, July 19 - arrival of Alexander Baranov on the island of Sitkha, where, after a peaceful settlement of disputes with the Tlingit Indians, the “New Arkhangelsk Fortress” was founded

Russian America in the 19th century

The life of Russian America in the 19th century largely depended on the leaders of the Russian-American Company, who changed relatively frequently

• A. Baranov - until 1817
• L. A. Gagemeister (1817-1819)
• S. I. Yanovsky (1819 - 1820)
• M. I. Muravyov (1820 - 1825)
• P. E. Chistyakov (1825 - 1830)
• F. P. Wrangel (1830 - 1835)
• I. A. Kupreyanov (1835 - 1840)
• A. K. Etolin (1840 - 1845)
• M. D. Tebenkov (1845 - 1850)
• N. Ya. Rosenberg (1850 - 1853)
• A. I. Rudakov (1853 - 1854)
• S. V. Voevodsky (1854 - 1859)
• I. V. Furugelm (1859 - 1863)
• D. P. Maksutov (1863 - 1867)

Russian America and Fort Ross in California

1866, December 14 - after a conversation between the Russian charge d'affaires in Washington, Baron E. A. Stekl, and the Minister of Finance, M. H. Reitern, the minister concluded: “After the 70-year existence of the company, it has not at all achieved the Russification of the male population, nor a lasting settlement Russian element120 and did not in the least contribute to the development of our merchant shipping. The company does not even bring significant benefit to the shareholders ... and can only be supported by significant donations from the government ... The transfer of colonies ... will relieve us of a possession that in the event of a war with one of the sea powers we are not able to defend."

Selling Alaska. Briefly

• 1857, April 3 - Grand Duke Konstantin, in a letter to Foreign Minister A. Gorchakov, expressed a proposal to sell Russian possessions in Alaska to the Americans due to the inevitable future capture of Russian America by the United States, financial difficulties after the end of the Crimean War. Gorchakov presented a note to Alexander II, where he supported the opinion on the advisability of ceding Russian America to the United States
• 1858-1861 - Glass began to instill in the Washington cabinet the idea of ​​​​the possibility of persuading Russia to cede the colonies on favorable terms
• 1861-1865 - Due to the American Civil War, the sale of Alaska was suspended
• 1866, December 28 - as a result of a meeting on the sale of Alaska, in which Alexander II, Grand Duke Konstantin, Foreign Minister Gorchakov, Finance Minister Reitern, the head of the naval department Vice Admiral Krabbe and the Russian envoy in Washington Steckl took part, Alexander II gave permission for Glass to conduct negotiations with the United States
• 1867, January 17 - Finance Minister Reitern indicated to Gorchakov that monetary reward for the cession of colonies must be at least 5 million 122 thousand dollars
• 1867, March 30 - Secretary of State W. Seward and E. Steckl signed an agreed draft agreement on the purchase of Russian possessions in Alaska for 7 million 123 thousand.
• 1867, April 9 - The US Senate by a majority approved the purchase of Alaska for $7 million 200 thousand
• 1867, July 23 - The House of Representatives (113 in favor, 43 against, and 44 members did not vote) approved the text of the Alaska Purchase bill
• 1867, July 27 - the bill became law
• 1867, October 21 - US government commissioner General Lavelle H. Rousseau and 2 Russian commissioners A. Peschurov and F. Koskul began work to determine the nature of the company's property, issue certificates to private owners, compile inventories, along with the transfer of the territory of Alaska to US jurisdiction , the transfer of colonial archives, fortifications and public buildings, shipyards, warehouses, barracks, batteries, a hospital and a school in Novo-Arkhangelsk was recorded

The treaty for the sale of Alaska to America was signed on March 30, 1867. At that time, more than twelve thousand Russian citizens lived in 45 settlements of Russian America, not counting fifty thousand Indians

Reasons for selling Russian America to the USA

— underestimation by the Russian government of the place Far East and Russian America in the life of the country
— Russia no longer needed Russian America after the end of the 50s XIX century Russia regained the Amur region, Sakhalin and acquired Primorye
— the Russian treasury after the Crimean War could not provide funds for the development and defense of Russian America

1897, July 17 - sixty-eight miners arriving from Alaska disembarked from the steamship Portland, moored in the port of San Francisco. They brought with them one and a half tons of gold that they mined in the legendary Klondike