Enduring ties between Russia and Alaska

Russian influence in Alaska – the setting for the high-stakes meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin – still lingers in parts of the state the U.S. bought from Russia more than 150 years ago

Russian Orthodox Church in Alaskan village of Tatitlik

Gulf of Alaska
Kodiak Island
Bering Sea
Aleutian Islands
Bering Strait
Beaufort Sea
PACIFIC OCEAN
Chukchi Sea
ARCTIC OCEAN
East Siberian Sea
Tatitlik
ALASKA
UNITED STATES
RUSSIA
CANADA
Anchorage
Juneau
310 miles
500km

1728: Danish explorer Vitus Bering leads Russian expedition that sails for first time through Bering Strait

1799: Tsar Paul I sets up Russian-American Company to exploit lucrative fur trade – venture that often brings it into conflict with Indigenous peoples

1867: Russian empire sells territory to Washington for $7.2 million

There are some 80 active Russian Orthodox Churches across state. Alaska’s Orthodox diocese maintains a seminary on Kodiak island

Local dialect blending Russian and Indigenous languages survived for decades near Anchorage, but has now essentially vanished

Flag of Russian-American Company

Sources: AFP, Alaska Government
Pictures: Newscom, Wikimedia Commons
© GRAPHIC NEWS