That he discovered rams. Baranov Alexander Andreevich development of Russian America. Heading to Fort Ross

The name of entrepreneur Alexander Baranov is inextricably linked with the Russian exploration of America. Possessing unique abilities, the successful merchant managed to prove that open lands promised new opportunities for the prosperity of the country.

Talent

Young Sasha helped his father in the family business from an early age. He often traveled to the capital, and at the age of 15 he decided to conduct business on his own, settling in Moscow. He made acquaintance with many Siberian businessmen in order to achieve success in his main venture - the fur trade. But his lively mind and undoubted commercial spirit did not give Alexander Andreevich peace. He moves to Irkutsk, where he first manages other people's factories, and then builds his own - glass and wine. New troubles do not prevent him from supporting his old business, financing numerous fishing expeditions to Alaska and Asia.

Forced circumstances

Probably, the merchant Baranov would have lived his whole life in his native country, if not for a fatal coincidence of circumstances. In 1789, most of his property was destroyed in a fire. The question of the well-being of the family arises acutely (and at that time Baranov was already married). That is why Baranov agrees to the long-standing proposal of the “Russian Columbus” Grigory Shelekhov about joint participation in seal fishing near the American shores.

Russian-American company

By the way, it was Shelekhov who initiated the resettlement of Russians to the New World. Unlike the authorities, who had little interest in the newly discovered lands, Shelekhov saw prospects. He began by building a fortress on Kodiak Island. Grigory Ivanovich gathered a team of like-minded people who continued the work after his death in 1795. The Russian-American company they created received from the emperor a monopoly on fur trade in the region and the opportunity to represent Russian interests in new lands. Alexander Baranov became the head of the company. Among its shareholders were influential officials and noble nobles, including Alexander I.

A contract that lasts a lifetime

The next year after the tragic fire, the partners enter into a five-year contract, during which Baranov undertakes to manage Shelekhov’s company. According to the terms of the agreement, the family remaining in Russia is provided with everything necessary, including in the event of the death of the breadwinner. At that time, Alexander Andreevich did not know that he would spend not the planned 5 years away from home, but almost 30, and would never see his native shores again.

Flurry of activity

A 44-year-old successful merchant goes to the Aleutian archipelago, where he begins to establish new Russian settlements on the islands. In 1802, under his leadership, the Novo-Arkhangelsk fortress was built on Sitka, which became the capital of Russian America. Continuing the exploration of territories, Baranov manages to expand Russian trade relations with California, the Hawaiian Islands and China. The region began to build ships and mine coal for the first time. Through the efforts of Baranov, who received the title of Chief Ruler of Russian America, a copper smelter was built and a school was organized for the children of settlers. The scale of activity and the successes achieved do not go unnoticed - Paul I awarded Baranov the Order of St. Vladimir.

Novo-Arkhangelsk – Sitka

Before the arrival of the Russians, the Tlingit Indian tribe lived in the territory. Baranov manages to come to an agreement with the elders of the tribe and build the fort of Archangel Michael. Three years later, the Indians “forget” about the agreement and destroy the fortress. It would take the Russians two years, the help of the Aleuts and the support of the 24 guns of the sailing ship Neva to regain the settlement and build a new fort - Novo-Arkhangelsk, which six decades later would be sold along with Alaska to the United States government. The Russian settlement of Novo-Arkhangelsk will be renamed Sitka. True, the island itself still bears the name of Baranov.

There are irreplaceable people!

Great emotional and physical stress significantly undermines the health of the Ruler of Russian America. It takes 15 years to find his replacement - that’s how much time has passed since Baranov’s first resignation. The problem was also that only a naval military officer could be appointed to the position of manager. Baranov himself insisted on this. He was a civilian official and often faced situations where sailors refused to carry out his orders.

Crystal honesty

It is clear that Alexander Andreevich had enormous, almost unlimited power. His “employer” Shelekhov also allowed him to independently assemble a team to implement his plans. Rumors that Baranov was abusing his position and amassing multimillion-dollar fortunes appeared with enviable regularity. The gossipers were silenced by the public report, which was compiled at the time of the transfer of cases. “Company property” was left in “perfect order,” while the accountable amount of 4.8 million was exceeded by 2.2 million.

In 1867, Russia sold the Alaska Peninsula and its surrounding islands to the United States. America received a huge territory with significant natural resources. And along with it - Russia preserved in miniature.

The discoverer of that Russian America was the Kargopol merchant Alexander Andreevich Baranov.

Landing on Kodiak

After the end of the second Kamchatka expedition, when the companions of V. Bering and A. Chirikov returned from a voyage to the shores of America and brought with them a large number of sea otter furs (sea otter - the Russians called it sea beaver) and other furs, dozens of merchants began to organize long-distance “voyages” . In the last quarter of the 18th century, the company of the Rylsk merchant Grigory Ivanovich Shelikhov stood out, established itself on Kodiak Island and founded the first Russian settlements there. In 1790, Shelikhov entered into an agreement with the Kargopol merchant A.A. Baranov, who became the Chief Ruler of the North-Eastern Company.

The choice turned out to be accurate.

The 44-year-old, who came from a merchant family, was in the prime of his life. A native of Kargopol (at this place the current Arkhangelsk region borders on the Vologda region), he traded in the Olonets province, Moscow, and St. Petersburg. In search of profit, he went to Siberia, opened a glass factory in Irkutsk, and started farming out. He was easy to climb...

But in August 1790, setting off from Okhotsk on the ship "Three Saints", Baranov could not even imagine what trials he would face. In October, a severe storm off the island of Unalaska wrecked the ship, all passengers were saved, but most of the cargo was lost. Baranov sent a detachment led by Alexander Molev to Kodiak for help, but the Eskimos attacked him and killed five. Baranov was forced to spend the winter on the island of Unalaska.

As his biographer, the famous figure of Russian America K.T. Khlebnikov, “he himself, like his companions, lived in a hastily built earthen yurt and ate herbs, roots, whale meat and shells. Yukola (dried fish) received from the Aleuts was a delicacy for them. Only on major holidays did they indulge in luxury: they cooked it from rye flour liquid stew, called zaturan by the industrialists, and divided it equally." Along with everyone else, Baranov took part in the hunt for sea lions. During one of these campaigns, he got his foot into a set of gags (fox traps) and was wounded. Only in the spring of 1791, having built several canoes, Russian industrialists, led by Baranov, sailed from Unalaska to Kodiak 1.

The most interesting thing for him was just beginning.

Night fight with the Indians

First of all, Baranov took up the restoration of the Russian village, destroyed in 1788 by an earthquake and tsunami. Then, moving the “capital” to Pavlovsk harbor, he organized several research expeditions. And, of course, the restless manager himself participated in the largest of them (30 Russians on two large kayaks and 300 Aleuts on 150 kayaks): in 1792, Baranov explored Prince William Sound (the northernmost part of the Gulf of Alaska).

Here on the island of Nuchek (now Khinchinbrook), Baranov’s detachment was subjected to a night attack by Tlingit Indians (the Russians called them koloshi or kolyuzhi). According to biographer K.T. Khlebnikov, “the Koloshes were dressed in military armor, consisting of wooden armor, tightly lined with whale sinews. Their faces were covered with zoomorphic masks depicting fantastic animals, striking with a terrible appearance; on their heads there were tall and thick wooden hats, attached to other headdresses with belts. Their weapons consisted of spears, arrows and two-pointed daggers" 2.

In the night battle, which lasted until dawn, the industrialists lost 12 people killed and 15 were wounded. Baranov himself was saved only thanks to the iron chain mail, which he always wore under his clothes and did not take off during campaigns, even at night. But the brutal clash did not stop the Kargopol merchant; he continued to strengthen his position in new territories. And in 1795, when Baranov and a detachment of Russian industrialists arrived in Yakutat Bay, he was greeted differently.

The local Indian leader agreed with the presence of the Russians and even gave them his son as a guarantee of peaceful intentions. Later Baranov baptized him and gave him the name Fedor. At the same time, in 1794, the first Orthodox spiritual mission from the Valaam and Konevsky monasteries arrived in America to educate local residents and interact with Russian industrialists, a church and a school appeared. And the fortress in Yakutat was finally built in 1796, and in the same year, Dmitry Tarkhanov’s detachment left from here to the depths of mainland Alaska in order to study the Mednaya River (now the Copper River).

Return of the Sith Fortress

While, through the efforts of Alexander Baranov, the Russians were advancing along the coast of America to the west and south, the process of creating a single Russian-American company was completed. In 1795, Grigory Shelikhov died, his company was annexed by Irkutsk merchants to the Irkutsk Commercial Company, on the basis of which the charter of the United American Company was approved in 1798. The next year it was taken under the patronage of the emperor and received the name Russian-American Company 3.

And the main ruler of all Russian colonies in America became Alexander Andreevich Baranov.

First of all, he led an expedition to the island of Sithu - in the very heart of the possessions of the Tlingit Indians. Here he bought land from local leaders for the construction of a new fortress (it would be called Mikhailovskaya, but it was often called Novoarkhangelskaya) and immediately began construction. Baranov stayed in the new fortress for the winter - and it was one of the most difficult winters in his life, full of difficult trials.

Due to lack of food, scurvy began on the expedition. The Indians looked at the newcomers with distrust. In the spring of 1800, on the day of Orthodox Easter, Baranov invited Indian leaders to the Russian fortress for a holiday. But they responded by insulting and robbing the translator.

A few days later, Baranov and 22 Russian industrialists unexpectedly sailed by boat to the very center of the Indian village. Having unloaded two cannons ashore, the Russians rolled them up to the house of the perpetrators and fired a blank salvo from both guns. According to Baranov himself, almost all the Indians fled, and the perpetrators soon asked for forgiveness 4 .

However, the calm was temporary. In the summer of 1802, the Tlingits destroyed the Mikhailovsky Fortress. The attack was so sudden and well prepared that only a few people were saved. At the same time, the Indians attacked several fishing parties. The uprising claimed the lives of more than two dozen Russians and about two hundred natives who helped them. These were huge losses 5 .

It was possible to return Sith only with weapons in hand. For almost two years Baranov prepared for the reconquest. In 1804, a detachment of Russians on two ships headed for the island. Baranov himself was landing on a small boat "Ermak" - and almost died before meeting the Indians. Not far from Yakutat, in the Icy Strait, fog suddenly fell, and the Ermak was carried onto the rocks by a powerful tidal current. Even Baranov, who had seen a lot, described those minutes as a throw “into a hellish abyss.” The ship managed not to hit the underwater rocks, but when the out-of-control boat was pulled back by the tide, huge blocks of ice were washed out after it. Some of them concerned the ship's yards!

The team tried to push the ice away with poles. Huge whirlpools threw the Ermak like a piece of wood from one iceberg to another. For more than 12 hours, the bot was thrown from side to side until it washed out into the open water 6.

And the main battle was just ahead of them.

In September 1804, with the support of the round-the-world ship "Neva" (commander Yu.F. Lisyansky), the siege of the Indian fortress on Sitkha began. On September 20, when Russian industrialists launched an assault, they were led by 58-year-old Alexander Baranov. The landing from the Neva was commanded by lieutenants P.P. Arbuzov and P.V. Povalishin. The first assault was repulsed, a rifle bullet pierced Baranov’s right arm, and Lieutenant Povalishin was seriously wounded. Only a few days later, when the Tlingits fled the fortress, the Russians reoccupied Sitkha and founded a new fortress, calling it Novoarkhangelsk.

Later, the capital of Russian America was moved here 7.

Heading to Fort Ross

In August 1805, the chamberlain of the court, Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov, arrived in Novoarkhangelsk. He had enormous powers to inspect and reform the Russian colonies in America. He found the colonies in a very difficult, if not disastrous, situation: there was not enough food, industrialists worked under constant threat from the Indians. It would not be an exaggeration to say: everything here rested on Alexander Andreevich Baranov. This, of course, was also seen by Rezanov, who informed the directors of the Russian-American company:

“I will tell you, dear sirs, that Mr. Baranov is a very original and, at the same time, a happy work of nature. His name is loud throughout the entire western coast as far as California. Bostonians reverence and respect him, and the American people, fearing him, from the most distant places offer him their friendship." And then - the most expressive characteristic of our hero:

“But about Mr. Baranov, I will tell you that the loss of this man for this region is a loss not for the Company, but for the entire Fatherland, which puts its honor above life” 8.

Baranov's authority among the natives increased incredibly after the conquest of Sith. In subsequent years, the Chief Ruler restored Russian influence in the Alexander Archipelago and established relations with the warlike Tlingits. But the strategic development of the Russian-American company was hampered by food shortages. Meanwhile, in neighboring California, bread was always available in abundance. The idea of ​​setting up his own agricultural settlement in California belonged to Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov.

The idea was realized by Alexander Andreevich Baranov.

After several reconnaissance expeditions in 1812, they were founded in a small bay in northern California. But its history will be connected with the name of a tradesman from the city of Totma, Ivan Aleksandrovich Kuskov, a friend and associate of the Kargopol merchant.

Death at sea

On April 17, 1819, in the Sunda Strait, separating the islands of Java and Sumatra, from the ship of the Russian-American company "Kutuzov", sailing from Novoarkhangelsk to St. Petersburg, the body of the first Chief Ruler of the Russian colonies in America, a collegiate adviser, gentleman, was lowered into the waters of the Indian Ocean Order of St. Anne, II degree, Alexander Andreevich Baranov.

He was 73 years old.

Together with him, an entire era in the history of Russian America passed into the past: dramatic expeditions, wars, destinies - and, most importantly, enormous successes in the development of the northwestern shores of America. Boundless new lands were acquired by a handful of courageous Russian industrialists, separated from their homeland by thousands of ocean miles and Siberian versts and yet retaining an unbreakable spiritual connection with it. During his lifetime, Alexander Andreevich Baranov was called the “Russian Pizarro.” But, perhaps, the assessment of the biographer, who put the former Kargopol merchant on the same level with the conqueror of Siberia Ermak, is more accurate:

“If the brave Ermak and Shelikhov are glorified, then Baranov will, of course, be no lower than them; for he retained and strengthened Shelikhov’s possessions and, to the possible extent, enlightened and educated the people entrusted to him.”

ONLY NUMBERS

In 1818, when Baranov was replaced by the new Chief Ruler of the colonies, L.A. Gagemeister, an assessment of the RAC property in Russian America was carried out.

2.5 million rubles.- the total value of property (buildings, ships, goods and supplies, large and small livestock).

15 million rub.- the cost of furs sent by Baranov to Russia in 1806-1818.

28 years- during Baranov’s work in America, Russian colonies expanded from a small strip of the coast of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands to California and the Hawaiian Islands, covering almost the entire northern part of the Pacific Ocean.

PERSONAL LIFE

Overseas, Alexander Baranov married the baptized daughter of the Kodyak toyon, Anna Grigorievna Raskashchikova. They had three children. Son Antipater (1797-1822) received a good education at home, knew navigation, English, arithmetic, and literacy. In 1819 he arrived in St. Petersburg and entered the Naval Cadet Corps. Daughter Irina (1802-1824) in 1818 married the main ruler of the Russian colonies S.I. Yanovsky, who in the future became a schemamonk in the Kaluga Diocese. The second daughter Ekaterina (1808?) married clerk G.I. Sungurova.

P.S. Contemporaries who personally knew Alexander Andreevich (N.P. Rezanov, K.T. Khlebnikov, G.I. Davydov, V.M. Golovnin) especially emphasized his selflessness. By the time he returned to his homeland, the ruler of the colonies, which mined “soft gold” on a huge scale, had accumulated almost no property. Rumors about large sums in his accounts in foreign banks were not confirmed. The only wealth acquired by the chief official of Russian America was a large herd of pigs...

1. Khlebnikov K.T. Biography of Alexander Andreevich Baranov, the main ruler of the Russian colonies in America. St. Petersburg, 1835. pp. 8-10.
2. Ibid. pp. 16-17.
3. For more details, see: Petrov A.Yu. Russian-American company: activities in domestic and foreign markets (1799-1867). M., 2006. P. 43-59; Ermolaev A.N. Russian-American company in Siberia and the Far East. Kemerovo, 2013. pp. 57-85.
4. Khlebnikov K.T. Biography of Alexander Andreevich Baranov. pp. 54-55.
5. Zorin A.V. Battle of Sitka. An episode from the history of Russian America. 1802-1804. M., 2016. P. 50-73.
6. Khlebnikov K.T. Biography of Alexander Andreevich Baranov. pp. 79-80.
7. Zorin A.V. Battle of Sitka. pp. 82-95.
8. Tikhmenev P.A. Historical overview of the formation of the Russian-American company and its actions to the present day. T. 2. St. Petersburg, 1863. P. 199, 218.
9. Khlebnikov K.T. Biography of Alexander Andreevich Baranov. P. 187.

Russia once belonged to Alaska, the Alexander Archipelago, the Aleutian and other islands. Penetrating into these wild lands was fraught with many dangers, but Russian fishermen overcame all difficulties with honor. What role did its first ruler, Alexander Baranov, play in the development of Russian America?

Russian people have always been drawn to unexplored lands. After the annexation of the Kazan Khanate in the 16th century, the settlement of the Urals, Siberia, and the Amur region began, and at the end of the 17th century Alaska was discovered. A major role in the settlement of new spaces was played by ordinary Russian people, who went into the wild lands to hunt animals, but did not dream of great wealth. They went east, seeking salvation from serfdom, built settlements, started families, and brought the Orthodox faith and literacy to the local population.

But the Russians were not always greeted friendly: some tribes of Alaskans did not want to share their lands with their new neighbors. Sometimes local conflicts occurred, and sometimes it came to war. This happened with the numerous and warlike Tlingit tribe. In 1802, they rebelled against Russian fishermen, destroyed the Mikhailovsky Fortress and killed its inhabitants. The situation was very difficult and threatened the loss of America. To subdue the warlike Indians by force would be a short-sighted step. The first governor of Russian settlements, Alexander Andreevich Baranov, was able to save the situation, come to an agreement with the Tliklits and subsequently pursue a cautious policy.

Exploration of America

Alaska became known to the Russians back in 1648, after the expedition of Semyon Dezhnev passed near its shores. But the resettlement of Russians began half a century later, and M. Gvozdev was the first to map its shores (in particular Cape Prince of Wales) in 1732. Ten years later, Bering's expedition expanded the boundaries of Alaska on maps.

The study and development of America did not proceed systematically and without much enthusiasm on the part of the authorities. Expeditions to colonize and explore new lands were organized mainly by merchants from Siberia. Great discoveries and development began only during the expeditions of G. Shelikhov to Kodiak Island and P. Lebedev-Lastochkin to Cook Bay in 1784-99. Arriving fishermen settled these lands, actively introduced crops, established trade with the Indians and spread the Orthodox faith among them.

But there was a catastrophic shortage of settlers to build real trading posts: serfdom did not allow people to leave their owners. Cossacks, fugitive peasants, exiles and volunteers from the local population of the Far East went on expeditions. The initiative, as a rule, rested entirely on the shoulders of the expedition leaders. The merchant G. I. Shelikhov, I. Kuskov and A. A. Baranov played a major role in the development of America.

For more than fifty years, Russian fishermen moved south along the coast of North America. Their main task was to establish trade with the local population and hunt the animals themselves. Trade items included fish, various types of shellfish and, of course, the fur of sea otters and sable. Uncontrolled hunting reduced the number of animals, which caused discontent among the Indians and pushed them to war. Sometimes small Russian fortresses could not withstand a numerous enemy. The settlers either died or were taken into captivity.

By the time of the sale of Alaska in 1867, there were only a few dozen Russian settlements from the coasts to the Rocky Mountains. The southernmost was Fortress Ross, which is slightly north of modern San Francisco. It is surprising that such a vast territory could be developed by only a few hundred people, doing without much government support and in such a short period of time.

Russian Governor of America

The first to take the position of Chief Ruler of Russian settlements was Alexander Andreevich Baranov (1746 – 1819). He came from a merchant family and was engaged in commercial and industrial affairs, first in the Olonets province, and then in St. Petersburg and Moscow. In 1780 he moved his activities to Irkutsk, where he opened several factories. And after 10 years of successful work, he was offered to head the North-Eastern company, which traded furs.

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In Alaska, he launched active activities. His main goals were to expand the company’s fur trade and strengthen relations with the local population. Thanks to a cautious and far-sighted policy, he achieved his goals, and the Indians had high trust in the Russians. Also, A. A. Baranov personally took part in expeditions to study and map the uncharted coasts of the American Islands. For his successful activities, Baranov was appointed to the post of governor of Russian America in 1799.

In the same year, he founded the first Mikhailovskaya fortress in Alaska with a school, church and workshops. She stood on the island named after him, which was part of the Alexander Archipelago. It was the largest village, where the administrative center of the Russian colonies was located. In 1802, the fortress was captured and destroyed by the rebel Tlingliit Indians. The Russian-Indian War broke out and lasted four years. A. A. Baranov not only planned all Russian military actions, but also took part in the battles. Just 2 years later, the fishermen under the leadership of A. A. Baranov again restored their influence on the island, rebuilt the fort and named it Novoarkhangelsk. This fortress became the capital of Russian America.

In 1812, A. A. Baranov gave the order for the construction of the Ross fortress, which quickly became the largest Russian trading post in America. The first Chief Ruler continued his active work until 1818, when illness weakened his strength. The following year, Baranov resigned as governor and left America. But he was not destined to get home - he died on the road near the island of Java in April 1819.

To complete the topic of the development of Russian America, I would like to dwell on two points. These are wars with the Indians, in the victories over which A. A. Baranov played a significant role. And what mark this difficult and tragic period left behind in history.

Indian War

Clashes with the local population are a common occurrence when entering new territories. The colonization of Russian America was no exception. The reasons for the Indians' discontent were attempts to spread the Orthodox faith and, most importantly, the reduction of wild animals. Russian hunters hunted uncontrollably, catching “nobody’s” animals (in particular, sea otters) in incredible quantities, which negatively affected their numbers.

The most difficult relationships the fishermen had with the Tlingit tribe. Four times warlike Indians attacked Russian settlements, trying to destroy not only the Russians, but also other tribes friendly to them. The real war was the confrontation of 1802-1805.

In 1799, A. A. Baranov founded the Mikhailovsky Fortress on Baranov Island, which became the administrative center of Russian America. Since ancient times, this island belonged to the Tlingit tribe, who lived by hunting and fishing, and were also famous for their warlike behavior. With the arrival of the Russians, the number of animals began to decrease, and the tribe began to suffer need. A. A. Baranov more than once tried to come to an agreement with the Tlingits and establish wide trade with them, but they did not want to change their way of life - to give up hunting and fishing.

It came to war. The main leader of the Tlingit, Katlian, assembled a detachment of 600 warriors, armed with bows and hunting rifles, and in June 1802 captured the Mikhailovsky Fortress. The time for the attack was correctly calculated - almost all the hunters went on a multi-day hunt, and the settlement remained poorly defended. Within a few days, the Indians plundered and burned the fortress, and its population was either killed or taken into slavery. The returning fishing brigades ran into ambushes. The island, this important economic and strategic point, was lost to the Russians, and in this battle 24 Russians and about 200 Kamchatka Aleuts who arrived with them died.

The loss of the island blocked Russian advance into southern Alaska and deprived the Russian-American Company (formerly Northeast) of a significant portion of its profits. And the Indian uprising could lead to the loss of other lands. But due to a lack of people and funds, A. A. Baranov had to postpone the military campaign for a year.

In 1804, A. A. Baranov assembled a combat detachment, located on 4 ships. With a battle, he knocked out the Indians from Baranov Island and restored the lost fortress. They called it Novoarkhangelsk, which later became the capital of Russian America.

In August 1805, the Tlingits, in alliance with other tribes, captured the island of Yakutat, no less important for the development of Russian America. The situation was already becoming more than critical, but Baranov was still trying to resolve the matter peacefully. The Tlingits agreed to peace negotiations only after an unsuccessful attempt to capture the Constantine Fortress in Chugatsky Bay.

Peace was concluded with the Indians in the same year, 1805. Baranov took all possible steps to resolve the conflict, and allowed both sides to hunt and fish in these lands. But armed clashes and even wars with the Tlingits continued until the end of the Russians’ stay in Alaska.

"Russian Pizarro"

While serving as governor of Russian America, A. A. Baranov was able to achieve as many successes as all subsequent rulers could not achieve. He established and expanded trade with the Indians and strengthened peaceful relations with them. He significantly expanded the colony's holdings and increased its income to multimillion-dollar profits. And at the same time he left his children a very modest fortune! Baranov also built many fortified villages, schools, factories, and founded a shipbuilding line. Thanks to him, trade was established with China, Hawaii and California.

Alexander Baranov had exceptional energy and intelligence. He took up the company's business competently and seriously. And his spiritual qualities - honesty, directness and goodwill - united and inspired people. He enjoyed unquestioned authority both among the fishermen and among the Indians, whom he treated no worse than the Russians.

For the sake of rapprochement with the local population, Baranov married an Indian woman for the second time - the daughter of one of the leaders. Contemporaries note that this marriage was happy, and Baranov had three children: a son, Antipater, and two daughters, Irina and Catherine.

For services to the fatherland, A. A. Baranov was awarded the gold medal of St. Vladimir and the Order of St. Anna, and he was also granted the rank of collegiate adviser. Contemporaries compared him with the Spanish conquistador F. Pizarro, and called him “Russian Pizarro.”

Russian and American trace

The period of development of Russian America left a mark not only on the history of these lands, but also on the life of the Russian people.

Fishermen who returned to Russia from expeditions were called Americans or Americans. This is where the surname Amerikanov and Amerikova came from. They also brought home some elements of Indian clothing, food and customs that were preserved in the Far East.

Penetrating into Alaska, the Russians did not shy away from the Indians and treated them as equals. By the way, the natives of the Russians called them shoals (a distorted word for Cossack). Very often, fishermen started families by marrying Indian women. Thus, over time, a new type of Alaskan Creoles emerged on the territory of Russian America. Their numbers were large: in the last census of 1863, almost two thousand people called themselves mestizos. Many of them received their education in St. Petersburg, where special gymnasiums were opened for them at the expense of the Russian-American Company. Subsequently, they became employees of this company and researchers in North America.

The descendants of these Creoles still live on the territory of the former Russian America. On Baranova Island, for example, they make up about 10% of the population, and some of them speak Russian.

Some islands of the Alexander Archipelago are named after Russian explorers: Baranova Island, Shelikhov Island, Kupreyanova Island and others.

In California, on the site of the Russian fortress of Ross, there is a historical park called Fort Ross. There you can see the real house of Commandant A.G. Rotchev and reconstructions of other buildings from the times of Russian colonization.

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  BARANOV Alexander Andreevich(1746-1819). Hereditary merchant, collegiate adviser, first chief ruler of Russian America, explorer of North America.

Born in the city of Kargopol, Arkhangelsk province. in a poor merchant family. Until 1790 he was engaged in commercial and industrial operations in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In 1787 he became an honorary member of the Free Economic Society. Having moved to Irkutsk, he acquired two factories and organized several fishing expeditions to northeast Asia. In the same year, he went bankrupt and accepted G. Shelikhov’s offer to manage a trading company (reorganized into the Russian-American Company in 1799), arrived on Unalaska Island and spent the winter there.

A. Baranov saw the main meaning of his activities as ruler not only in obtaining high profits on already developed “lands”, but also in opening new ones, in expanding the territory of influence of the company. He considered it necessary to annex the newly acquired lands to Russia and comprehensively study them. Almost every party that hunted sea otters had its own attorneys who provided information about the wealth and features of the places they visited.

With incredible scarcity of funds and a small number of employees, A. Baranov equipped trade and research expeditions along the Bering Sea and Pacific coasts of North America up to and including Upper California, as well as to the Hawaiian Islands.

In 1791-1793, A. Baranov walked around Kodiak Island, part of the Kenai Peninsula and described Chugatsky Bay (Prince William). In those same years, he conducted the first census of the population of Russian possessions in America. In 1795 he examined some bays on the northern and eastern shores of the hall. Alaska. To the hall. Yakutat raised the Russian flag. In 1799 he founded a fortified village on the island of Sitka, which was burned by the Indians in 1802. A year later, Baranov built the fortress of Novo-Arkhangelsk (now Sitka) on the ashes and moved the center of Russian America there.

On the instructions of Baranov, in 1803-1804, navigator M. Shvetsov, at the head of a detachment of fishermen in 20 kayaks, walked along the coast of America from Kodiak to San Diego Bay (at 32° 40′ N). In 1808 he repeated his sea voyage and near 38° N. latitude. opened a small hall. Rumyantseva (Bodega). On its coast, Shvetsov installed a copper plaque with the State Emblem and the inscription “Land of Russian Dominion.” The navigator I. Kuskov sailed to California several times in 1808-1811, examined the Queen Charlotte Islands and the shores of the mainland up to the Gulf. San Francisco.

Kuskov founded and ruled until 1821 the Ross Colony, the southernmost Russian outpost on the Pacific coast (now Fort Ross).

In 1815, at his own peril and risk, A. Baranov decided to take advantage of the favorable moment for the peaceful annexation of at least one of the Hawaiian Islands to Russia. Dr. G. Schaeffer managed to obtain the consent of one of the princes to join the Russian Empire of four islands. However, the Council of the RAC and Emperor Alexander I " to avoid important inconveniences", i.e. international complications, did not support the initiative.

Incessant worries about the vast and hectic “economy” affected the health of A. Baranov. His repeated requests for resignation were not granted for various reasons.

In 1818-1819 A. Baranov organized the expedition of P. Korsakovsky and F. Kolmakov. Using kayaks, they first traveled more than 1,200 km of the Alaskan coastline, discovering the hall. Kuskokuim, buh. Kvichak, Nushagak and Kulukak, as well as the Gagemeister and Nunivak islands.

During his 28 years as the main ruler of Russian America, A. Baranov, in addition to the construction of several fortified villages, founded a shipyard, marking the beginning of local shipbuilding, built a copper smelter and a school, organized coal mining and significantly increased the sea otter fishery. Behind " ...his zeal for establishing, establishing and expanding Russian trade in America“Back in 1799, Emperor Paul I awarded A. Baranov a personalized medal.

A brilliant organizer, with a strong, sometimes cruel and domineering character, persistent in achieving his goals, Baranov was also generous. Contemporaries, incl. and A. Pushkin, noted his remarkable intelligence, honesty and selflessness and considered him a man of one passion - the fight for the interests of the Fatherland.

A. Baranov died at sea, near the island of Java.

The island and the city (in the arch. Alexander), bay are named after him. Alexander (Pacific coast of North America), an island in the skerries of Minin (Kara Sea), mountain and cape on Sakhalin.

article from the encyclopedia "The Arctic is my home"

On March 18/30, 1867, Alaska and the Aleutian Islands were sold by Alexander II to the United States.

On October 18, 1867, in the capital of Russian America, in common parlance - Alaska, the city of Novoarkhangelsk, an official ceremony was held to transfer Russian possessions on the American continent to the ownership of the United States of America. Thus ended the history of Russian discoveries and economic development of the northwestern part of America.Since then, Alaska has been a US state.

Geography

Country name translated from Aleutian "a-la-as-ka" means "Big Land".

Alaska territory includes into yourself Aleutian Islands (110 islands and many rocks), Alexandra Archipelago (about 1,100 islands and rocks, the total area of ​​which is 36.8 thousand km²), St. Lawrence Island (80 km from Chukotka), Pribilof Islands , Kodiak Island (the second largest US island after the island of Hawaii), and huge continental part . The islands of Alaska stretch for almost 1,740 kilometers. The Aleutian Islands are home to many volcanoes, both extinct and active. Alaska is washed by the Arctic and Pacific oceans.

The continental part of Alaska is a peninsula of the same name, approximately 700 km long. In general, Alaska is a mountainous country - there are more volcanoes in Alaska than in all other US states. The highest peak in North America is Mount McKinley (6193m altitude) is also located in Alaska.

McKinley is the highest mountain in the USA

Another feature of Alaska is the huge number of lakes (their number exceeds 3 million!). About 487,747 km² (more than the territory of Sweden) is covered by swamps and permafrost. Glaciers cover about 41,440 km² (which corresponds to the territory of the whole of Holland!).

Alaska is considered a country with a harsh climate. Indeed, in most areas of Alaska the climate is arctic and subarctic continental, with harsh winters, with frosts down to minus 50 degrees. But the climate of the island part and the Pacific coast of Alaska is incomparably better than, for example, in Chukotka. On the Pacific coast of Alaska, the climate is maritime, relatively mild and humid. The warm stream of the Alaska Current turns here from the south and washes Alaska from the south. The mountains block northern cold winds. As a result, winters in coastal and island Alaska are quite mild. Sub-zero temperatures in winter are very rare. The sea in southern Alaska does not freeze in winter.

Alaska has always been rich in fish: salmon, flounder, cod, herring, edible species of shellfish and marine mammals were found in abundance in coastal waters. On the fertile soil of these lands, thousands of species of plants suitable for food grew, and in the forests there were many animals, especially fur-bearing ones. This is precisely why Russian industrialists sought to move to Alaska with its favorable natural conditions and richer fauna than in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.

Discovery of Alaska by Russian explorers

The history of Alaska before its sale to the United States in 1867 is one of the pages of the history of Russia.

The first people came to Alaska from Siberia about 15-20 thousand years ago. At that time, Eurasia and North America were connected by an isthmus located on the site of the Bering Strait. By the time the Russians arrived in the 18th century, the native inhabitants of Alaska were divided into Aleuts, Eskimos and Indians belonging to the Athabaskan group.

It is assumed that The first Europeans to see the shores of Alaska were members of Semyon Dezhnev's expedition in 1648 , who were the first to sail through the Bering Strait from the Icy Sea to the Warm Sea.According to legend, Dezhnev’s boats, which had gone astray, landed on the shores of Alaska.

In 1697, the conqueror of Kamchatka Vladimir Atlasov reported to Moscow that opposite the “Necessary Nose” (Cape Dezhnev) in the sea there was a large island, from where in winter the ice “foreigners come, speak their own language and bring sables...” Experienced industrialist Atlasov immediately determined that these sables differ from Yakut ones, and for the worse: “Sables are thin, and those sables have striped tails the size of a quarter of an arshin.” It was, of course, not about a sable, but about a raccoon - an animal unknown in Russia at that time.

However, at the end of the 17th century, Peter’s reforms began in Russia, as a result of which the state had no time to open new lands. This explains a certain pause in the further advance of the Russians to the east.

Russian industrialists began to be attracted to new lands only at the beginning of the 18th century, as fur reserves in eastern Siberia were depleted.Peter I immediately, as soon as circumstances allowed, began organizing scientific expeditions in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean.In 1725, shortly before his death, Peter the Great sent Captain Vitus Bering, a Danish navigator in Russian service, to explore the sea shores of Siberia. Peter sent Bering on an expedition to explore and describe the northeastern coast of Siberia . In 1728, the Bering expedition rediscovered the strait, which was first seen by Semyon Dezhnev. However, due to fog, Bering was unable to see the outlines of the North American continent on the horizon.

It is believed that The first Europeans to land on the shores of Alaska were members of the crew of the ship St. Gabriel. under the command of surveyor Mikhail Gvozdev and navigator Ivan Fedorov. They were participants Chukotka expedition 1729-1735 under the leadership of A.F. Shestakov and D.I. Pavlutsky.

Travelers landed on the coast of Alaska on August 21, 1732 . Fedorov was the first to mark both banks of the Bering Strait on the map. But, having returned to his homeland, Fedorov soon dies, and Gvozdev ends up in Bironov’s dungeons, and the great discovery of the Russian pioneers remains unknown for a long time.

The next stage of the “discovery of Alaska” was Second Kamchatka expedition famous explorer Vitus Bering in 1740 - 1741 The island, the sea and the strait between Chukotka and Alaska - Vitus Bering - were subsequently named after him.

The expedition of Vitus Bering, who by this time had been promoted to captain-commander, set off for the shores of America from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky on June 8, 1741 on two ships: “St. Peter” (under the command of Bering) and “St. Paul” (under the command of Alexei Chirikov). Each ship had its own team of scientists and researchers on board. They crossed the Pacific Ocean and July 15, 1741 discovered the northwestern coast of America. The ship's doctor, Georg Wilhelm Steller, went ashore and collected samples of shells and herbs, discovered new species of birds and animals, from which the researchers concluded that their ship had reached a new continent.

Chirikov's ship "St. Paul" returned on October 8 to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. On the way back, the Umnak Islands were discovered, Unalaska and others. Bering's ship was carried by the current and wind to the east of the Kamchatka Peninsula - to the Commander Islands. The ship was wrecked near one of the islands and washed ashore. The travelers were forced to spend the winter on the island, which now bears the name Bering Island . On this island, the captain-commander died without surviving the harsh winter. In the spring, the surviving crew members built a boat from the wreckage of the broken "St. Peter" and returned to Kamchatka only in September. Thus ended the second Russian expedition, which discovered the northwestern coast of the North American continent.

Russian America

The authorities in St. Petersburg reacted with indifference to the discovery of Bering's expedition.The Russian Empress Elizabeth had no interest in the lands of North America. She issued a decree obliging the local population to pay duties on trade, but did not take any further steps towards developing relations with Alaska.For the next 50 years, Russia showed very little interest in this land.

The initiative in developing new lands beyond the Bering Strait was taken by fishermen, who (unlike St. Petersburg) immediately appreciated the reports of members of the Bering expedition about the vast rookeries of sea animals.

In 1743, Russian traders and fur trappers established very close contact with the Aleuts. During 1743-1755, 22 fishing expeditions took place, fishing on the Commander and Near Aleutian Islands. In 1756-1780 48 expeditions fished throughout the Aleutian Islands, the Alaska Peninsula, Kodiak Island and the southern coast of modern Alaska. Fishing expeditions were organized and financed by various private companies of Siberian merchants.

Merchant ships off the coast of Alaska

Until the 1770s, among the merchants and fur harvesters in Alaska, Grigory Ivanovich Shelekhov, Pavel Sergeevich Lebedev-Lastochkin, as well as the brothers Grigory and Pyotr Panov were considered the richest and most famous.

Sloops with a displacement of 30-60 tons were sent from Okhotsk and Kamchatka to the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska. The remoteness of fishing areas meant that expeditions lasted up to 6-10 years. Shipwrecks, famine, scurvy, clashes with the aborigines, and sometimes with the crews of ships of a competing company - all this was the everyday work of the “Russian Columbuses”.

One of the first to establish a permanent Russian settlement on Unalaska (island in the Aleutian Islands archipelago), discovered in 1741 during Bering's Second Expedition.

Unalaska on the map

Subsequently, Analashka became the main Russian port in the region through which the fur trade was carried out. The main base of the future Russian-American Company was located here. It was built in 1825 Russian Orthodox Church of the Ascension of the Lord .

Church of the Ascension on Unalaska

Founder of the parish, Innocent (Veniaminov) - Saint Innocent of Moscow , - created the first Aleut writing with the help of local residents and translated the Bible into the Aleut language.

Unalaska today

In 1778 he arrived in Unalaska English navigator James Cook . According to him, the total number of Russian industrialists located in the Aleutians and in the waters of Alaska was about 500 people.

After 1780, Russian industrialists penetrated far along the Pacific coast of North America. Sooner or later, the Russians would begin to penetrate deep into the mainland of the open lands of America.

The real discoverer and creator of Russian America was Grigory Ivanovich Shelekhov. A merchant, a native of the city of Rylsk in the Kursk province, Shelekhov moved to Siberia, where he became rich in the fur trade. Beginning in 1773, 26-year-old Shelekhov began to independently send ships to sea fishing.

In August 1784, during his main expedition on 3 ships (“Three Saints”, “St. Simeon the God-Receiver and Anna the Prophetess” and “Archangel Michael”), he reached Kodiak Islands , where he began to build a fortress and settlement. From there it was easier to sail to the shores of Alaska. It was thanks to Shelekhov’s energy and foresight that the foundation of Russian possessions was laid in these new lands. In 1784-86. Shelekhov also began to build two more fortified settlements in America. The settlement plans he drew up included smooth streets, schools, libraries, and parks. Returning to European Russia, Shelekhov put forward a proposal to begin the mass resettlement of Russians to new lands.

At the same time, Shelekhov was not in public service. He remained a merchant, industrialist, and entrepreneur operating with the permission of the government. Shelekhov himself, however, was distinguished by a remarkable statesmanship, perfectly understanding Russia's capabilities in this region. No less important was the fact that Shelekhov had a great understanding of people and assembled a team of like-minded people who created Russian America.

In 1791, Shelekhov took as his assistant a 43-year-old man who had just arrived in Alaska. Alexandra Baranova - a merchant from the ancient city of Kargopol, who at one time moved to Siberia for business purposes. Baranov was appointed chief manager at Kodiak Island . He had an amazing selflessness for an entrepreneur - managing Russian America for more than two decades, controlling multimillion-dollar sums, providing high profits to the shareholders of the Russian-American Company, which we will talk about below, he did not leave himself any fortune!

Baranov moved the company's representative office to the new city of Pavlovskaya Gavan, which he founded in the north of Kodiak Island. Now Pavlovsk is the main city of Kodiak Island.

Meanwhile, Shelekhov's company drove out other competitors from the region. Myself Shelekhov died in 1795 , in the midst of his endeavors. True, his proposals for the further development of American territories with the help of a commercial company, thanks to his like-minded people and associates, were further developed.

Russian-American Company

In 1799, the Russian-American Company (RAC) was created. which became the main owner of all Russian possessions in America (as well as in the Kuril Islands). It received from Paul I monopoly rights to fur fishing, trade and the discovery of new lands in the northeastern part of the Pacific Ocean, designed to represent and protect with its own means the interests of Russia in the Pacific Ocean. Since 1801, the company's shareholders were Alexander I and the grand dukes and major statesmen.

One of the founders of the RAC was Shelekhov's son-in-law Nikolay Rezanov, whose name is known to many today as the name of the hero of the musical “Juno and Avos”. The first head of the company was Alexander Baranov , which was officially called Chief Ruler .

The creation of the RAC was based on Shelekhov’s proposals to create a special kind of commercial company, capable of carrying out, along with commercial activities, also the colonization of lands, the construction of forts and cities.

Until the 1820s, the company’s profits allowed them to develop the territories themselves, so, according to Baranov, in 1811 the profit from the sale of sea otter skins amounted to 4.5 million rubles, huge money at that time. The profitability of the Russian-American Company was 700-1100% per year. This was facilitated by the great demand for sea otter skins; their cost from the end of the 18th century to the 20s of the 19th century increased from 100 rubles per skin to 300 (sable cost about 20 times less).

In the early 1800s, Baranov established trade with Hawaii. Baranov was a real Russian statesman, and under other circumstances (for example, another emperor on the throne) The Hawaiian Islands could become a Russian naval base and resort . From Hawaii, Russian ships brought salt, sandalwood, tropical fruits, coffee, and sugar. They planned to populate the islands with Old Believers-Pomors from the Arkhangelsk province. Since the local princelings were constantly at war with each other, Baranov offered one of them patronage. In May 1816, one of the leaders - Tomari (Kaumualia) - officially transferred to Russian citizenship. By 1821, several Russian outposts had been built in Hawaii. The Russians could also take control of the Marshall Islands. By 1825, Russian power was increasingly strengthened, Tomari became king, the children of the leaders studied in the capital of the Russian Empire, and the first Russian-Hawaiian dictionary was created. But in the end, St. Petersburg abandoned the idea of ​​​​making the Hawaiian and Marshall Islands Russian . Although their strategic position is obvious, their development was also economically profitable.

Thanks to Baranov, a number of Russian settlements were founded in Alaska, in particular Novoarkhangelsk (Today - Sitka ).

Novoarkhangelsk

Novoarkhangelsk in the 50-60s. XIX century resembled an average provincial town in outlying Russia. It had a ruler's palace, a theater, a club, a cathedral, a bishop's house, a seminary, a Lutheran prayer house, an observatory, a music school, a museum and a library, a nautical school, two hospitals and a pharmacy, several schools, a spiritual consistory, a drawing room, an admiralty, and port facilities. buildings, an arsenal, several industrial enterprises, shops, stores and warehouses. Houses in Novoarkhangelsk were built on stone foundations and the roofs were made of iron.

Under the leadership of Baranov, the Russian-American Company expanded the scope of its interests: in California, just 80 kilometers north of San Francisco, the southernmost Russian settlement in North America was built - Fort Ross. Russian settlers in California were engaged in sea otter fishing, agriculture and cattle breeding. Trade connections were established with New York, Boston, California and Hawaii. The California colony was to become the main food supplier to Alaska, which at that time belonged to Russia.

Fort Ross in 1828. Russian fortress in California

But the hopes were not justified. In general, Fort Ross turned out to be unprofitable for the Russian-American Company. Russia was forced to abandon it. Fort Ross was sold in 1841 for 42,857 rubles to Mexican citizen John Sutter, a German industrialist who went down in California history thanks to his sawmill in Coloma, on the territory of which a gold mine was found in 1848, which began the famous California Gold Rush. In payment, Sutter supplied wheat to Alaska, but, according to P. Golovin, he never paid an additional amount of almost 37.5 thousand rubles.

Russians in Alaska founded settlements, built churches, created schools, a library, a museum, shipyards and hospitals for local residents, and launched Russian ships.

A number of manufacturing industries were established in Alaska. The development of shipbuilding is especially noteworthy. Shipwrights have been building ships in Alaska since 1793. For 1799-1821 15 ships were built in Novoarkhangelsk. In 1853, the first steam ship on the Pacific Ocean was launched in Novoarkhangelsk, and not a single part was imported: absolutely everything, including the steam engine, was manufactured locally. Russian Novoarkhangelsk was the first point of steam shipbuilding on the entire western coast of America.

Novoarkhangelsk

The city of Sitka (formerly Novoarkhangelsk) today

At the same time, formally, the Russian-American Company was not a completely state institution.

In 1824, Russia signed an agreement with the governments of the USA and England. The boundaries of Russian possessions in North America were determined at the state level.

World map 1830

One cannot help but admire the fact that only about 400-800 Russian people managed to develop such vast territories and waters, making their way to California and Hawaii. In 1839, the Russian population of Alaska was 823 people, which was the maximum in the entire history of Russian America. Usually there were slightly fewer Russians.

It was the lack of people that played a fatal role in the history of Russian America. The desire to attract new settlers was a constant and almost impossible desire of all Russian administrators in Alaska.

The basis of the economic life of Russian America remained the production of marine mammals. Average for 1840-60s. up to 18 thousand fur seals were caught per year. River beavers, otters, foxes, arctic foxes, bears, sables, and walrus tusks were also hunted.

The Russian Orthodox Church was active in Russian America. Back in 1794 he began missionary work Valaam monk Herman . By the mid-19th century, most Alaska Natives were baptized. The Aleuts and, to a lesser extent, the Alaska Indians are still Orthodox believers.

In 1841, an episcopal see was created in Alaska. By the time of the sale of Alaska, the Russian Orthodox Church had 13 thousand flocks here. In terms of the number of Orthodox Christians, Alaska still ranks first in the United States. Church ministers made a huge contribution to the spread of literacy among the Alaskan natives. Literacy among the Aleuts was at a high level - on St. Paul's Island the entire adult population could read in their native language.

Selling Alaska

Oddly enough, but the fate of Alaska, according to a number of historians, was decided by Crimea, or more precisely, the Crimean War (1853-1856). Ideas began to mature in the Russian government about strengthening relations with the United States as opposed to Great Britain.

Despite the fact that the Russians in Alaska founded settlements, built churches, created schools and hospitals for local residents, there was no truly deep and thorough development of American lands. After the resignation of Alexander Baranov in 1818 from the post of ruler of the Russian-American Company due to illness, there were no more leaders of this magnitude in Russian America.

The interests of the Russian-American Company were mainly limited to fur production, and by the middle of the 19th century, the number of sea otters in Alaska had sharply decreased due to uncontrolled hunting.

The geopolitical situation did not contribute to the development of Alaska as a Russian colony. In 1856, Russia was defeated in the Crimean War, and relatively close to Alaska was the English colony of British Columbia (the westernmost province of modern Canada).

Contrary to popular belief, The Russians were well aware of the presence of gold in Alaska . In 1848, Russian explorer and mining engineer, Lieutenant Pyotr Doroshin, found small placers of gold on the islands of Kodiak and Sitkha, the shores of the Kenai Bay near the future city of Anchorage (the largest city in Alaska today). However, the volume of precious metal discovered was small. The Russian administration, which had before its eyes the example of the “gold rush” in California, fearing the invasion of thousands of American gold miners, chose to classify this information. Subsequently, gold was found in other parts of Alaska. But this was no longer Russian Alaska.

Besides Oil was discovered in Alaska . It was this fact, as absurd as it may sound, that became one of the incentives to quickly get rid of Alaska. The fact is that American prospectors began to actively arrive in Alaska, and the Russian government rightly feared that American troops would come after them. Russia was not ready for war, and giving up Alaska penniless was completely imprudent.Russia seriously feared that it would not be able to ensure the security of its colony in America in the event of an armed conflict. The United States of America was chosen as a potential buyer of Alaska to compensate for the growing British influence in the region.

Thus, Alaska could become the reason for a new war for Russia.

The initiative to sell Alaska to the United States of America belonged to the emperor's brother, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich Romanov, who served as head of the Russian Naval Staff. Back in 1857, he suggested to his elder brother, the emperor, to 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.

However, consultations with the US government about a possible sale, in fact, negotiations began only after the end of the American Civil War.

In December 1866, Emperor Alexander II made the final decision. The boundaries of the territory to be sold and the minimum price were determined - five million dollars.

In March, the Russian Ambassador to the United States Baron Eduard Stekl approached US Secretary of State William Seward with a proposal to sell Alaska.

Signing of the Treaty for the Sale of Alaska, March 30, 1867 Robert S. Chew, William G. Seward, William Hunter, Vladimir Bodisko, Edward Steckl, Charles Sumner, Frederick Seward

The negotiations were successful and have already On March 30, 1867, a treaty was signed in Washington, according to which Russia sold Alaska for $7,200,000 in gold(at 2009 exchange rates - approximately $108 million in gold). The following were transferred to the United States: the entire Alaska Peninsula (along the meridian 141° west of Greenwich), 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. George and St. Paul. The total area of ​​sold territories was more than 1.5 million square meters. km. Russia sold Alaska for less than 5 cents per hectare.

On October 18, 1867, an official ceremony for the transfer of Alaska to the United States was held in Novoarkhangelsk (Sitka). Russian and American soldiers marched solemnly, the Russian flag was lowered and the US flag was raised.

Painting by N. Leitze “Signing of the agreement for the sale of Alaska” (1867)

Immediately after the transfer of Alaska to the United States, American troops entered Sitka and plundered the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael, private homes and shops, and General Jefferson Davis ordered all Russians to leave their homes to the Americans.

On August 1, 1868, Baron Stoeckl was presented with a check from the US Treasury, with which the United States paid Russia for its new lands.

A check issued to the Russian ambassador by the Americans upon the purchase of Alaska

notice, that Russia never received money for Alaska , since part of this money was appropriated by the Russian Ambassador in Washington, Baron Stekl, and part of it was spent on bribes to American senators. Baron Steckle then instructed Riggs Bank to transfer $7.035 million to London, to the Barings Bank. Both of these banks have now ceased to exist. The trace of this money was lost in time, giving rise to a variety of theories. According to one of them, the check was cashed in London, and gold bars were purchased with it, which were planned to be transferred to Russia. However, the cargo was never delivered. The ship "Orkney", which was carrying a precious cargo, sank on July 16, 1868 on the approach to St. Petersburg. It is unknown whether there was gold on it at that time, or whether it never left Foggy Albion at all. The insurance company that insured the ship and cargo declared bankruptcy, and the damage was only partially compensated. (Currently, the sinking site of the Orkney is located in the territorial waters of Finland. In 1975, a joint Soviet-Finnish expedition examined the area of ​​its sinking and found the wreckage of the ship. The study of these revealed that there was a powerful explosion and a strong fire on the ship. However, gold could not be found - most likely, it remained in England.). As a result, Russia never gained anything from giving up some of its possessions.

It should be noted that There is no official text of the agreement on the sale of Alaska in Russian. The deal was not approved by the Russian Senate and the State Council.

In 1868, the Russian-American Company was liquidated. During its liquidation, some of the Russians were taken from Alaska to their homeland. The last group of Russians, numbering 309 people, left Novoarkhangelsk on November 30, 1868. The other part - about 200 people - was left in Novoarkhangelsk due to a lack of ships. They were simply FORGOTTEN by the St. Petersburg authorities. Most of the Creoles (descendants of mixed marriages of Russians with Aleuts, Eskimos and Indians) also remained in Alaska.

Rise of Alaska

After 1867, the part of the North American continent ceded by Russia to the United States received status "Territory of Alaska".

For the United States, Alaska became the site of the “gold rush” in the 90s. XIX century, glorified by Jack London, and then the “oil rush” in the 70s. XX century.

In 1880, the largest ore deposit in Alaska, Juneau, was discovered. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the largest placer gold deposit was discovered - Fairbanks. By the mid-80s. XX in Alaska, a total of almost a thousand tons of gold were mined.

To dateAlaska ranks 2nd in the United States (after Nevada) in terms of gold production . The state produces about 8% of silver production in the United States. The Red Dog mine in northern Alaska is the world's largest zinc reserve and produces about 10% of the world's production of this metal, as well as significant quantities of silver and lead.

Oil was found in Alaska 100 years after the conclusion of the agreement - in the early 70s. XX century. TodayAlaska ranks second in the United States in the production of “black gold”; 20% of American oil is produced here. Huge reserves of oil and gas have been explored in the north of the state. The Prudhoe Bay field is the largest in the United States (8% of US oil production).

January 3, 1959 territoryAlaska was converted into49th US state.

Alaska is the largest US state by territory - 1,518 thousand km² (17% of the US territory). In general, today Alaska is one of the most promising regions of the world from a transport and energy point of view. For the United States, this is both a nodal point on the way to Asia and a springboard for more active development of resources and the presentation of territorial claims in the Arctic.

The history of Russian America serves as an example not only of the courage of explorers, the energy of Russian entrepreneurs, but also of the corruption and betrayal of the upper spheres of Russia.

Material prepared by Sergey SHULYAK