Russians in Alaska.

The first Russian merchandisers and missionaries reached Alaska from Siberia in 1741, when two Russian ships under the command of genius Vitus Bering and Alexei Chirikov[3] reached the coast of the North American continent. The first permanent Russian settlement in America was founded without the official government approval on the Kodiak Island in 1784 by Gregory Shelikhov, a fur trader. The island was inhabited by Eskimos who were rather savage at those years. Gregory Shelikhov managed to establish a school on the Kadyak Island[4] where 25 Eskimos children began studying. Gregory Shelikhov dreamed about Russian a settlement that’s why he organized cultivating malt, beans, potato, beetroot and other agrarian vegetables. The first experiments with cultivated samples went very well, and soon Russian colonists decided to breed pigs and goats where they also succeeded. Gregory Shelikhov lived in Alaska for three years and later departing from the colony he left Alexander Baranov as his successor and the governor of the colony. This man established another Russian settlement on the Island of Sitka. First of all, there was a stronghold built over there which since the time was growing into a town called New Archangelsk. New Archangelsk became the capital of Russian settlements in America. Russians continued expanding their territories and soon a Russian fortress Ross was established closely to the Spanish San-Francisco.[5] All these Russian enterprises later developed into the Russian-American Company, which received a charter from the Russian government in 1799.

Eight missionaries from the Valaam Monastery arrived in Alaska in 1794, and began construction of churches and schools. They also studied the indigenous languages and then were able to convert the Aleuts and Indians to Orthodox Christianity[6], and interceded on their behalf before the Russian administration in cases of unjust treatment. At that time Russian men of all ranks and wealth were getting married local women, and a community arose with an economic base of farming and fur trade. Shipbuilding began in 1807, and the settlement Sitka became the Alaska’s Russian capital in 1808.

Many famous Russians came out from these Russian settlements. Among them we should mention an Admiral, an Arctic researcher, and later the Navy Minister of Russia Ferdinand Wrangell and many, many others.

As the Russian settlements stopped being highly profitable and wild animals population was constantly decreasing due to widespread hunt on sea-lions, beavers, king crabs, and polar bears. The Russian Queen Katherine the Second sold first the Russian fortress of Ross to the United States, and then the rest Russian settlements followed this fate. The Russian possessions in Alaska were sold to the United States in 1867 for 7.2 million dollars. There were some more serious reasons for this sale. At that time Russia considered Alaska to be unprofitable because of the declining wild animal population and a lack of efficient funds to use for development of Alaska. The majority of the Russians who had settled in Alaska went back to Russia, but many resettled in southern Alaska, California and parts of Oregon.

Exercise № 6. Read the statements below and determine them whether they are true or false.

____ 1. Russian missionaries founded settlements as a place for the colonists to worship God.

____ 2. Monks didn’t study languages of local people, and converted the Aleuts and Indians into Orthodox Christians.

____ 3. The US bought Alaska to expand its territory.

____ 4. Anchorage became the capital of Russian Alaska in 1808.

____ 5. Russia sold Alaska for tips as it was considered to be highly profitable.