Alaska and parts of California were under the Tsar before California was vacated in 1841 and Alaska was purchased in 1867.

The Trump-Putin summit in Alaska, to be held on Friday, 15 August, brings into focus a forgotten facet of American history – the fact that Tsarist Russia had territorial possessions in North America in the 19th century.

Russia held Alaska from the first half of the 19th century until 1867, and California from 1812 to 1841.

In 1841, the Russian-American Company, functioning in California from Fort Ross, sold its assets to one John Sutter for US$ 33,868. Sutter made a down payment of a mere US$ 400 and then took years to pay off the balance of the debt.

The Russian-American Company, however, retained its business in Alaska until it could no longer withstand competition from its British rival, the Hudson’s Bay Company. Finally, in 1867, the Tsar of Russia sold Alaska to the US government for US$ 7.2 million.

Present-day Russians may regret that their ancestors let go of these valuable assets for a mess of pottage.

In 1867, Alaska was indeed barren, but today it is a storehouse of natural resources. No wonder Russian nationalists are demanding that it be recovered. But President Putin has been against it, saying Alaska is “too cold.”

Russia’s exploration of Alaska and, later, California began in the 16th century. The growing Russian Empire had a strong thirst for new regions. It carried out explorations and conquests in many areas of Central and East Asia.

In 1581, Russia conquered the Khanate of Sibir, a region of Siberia ruled by Genghis Khan’s grandson. This decisive victory helped the Russians fully conquer and control Siberia. Within 60 years, they had reached the Pacific.

Partially motivated by the lucrative fur trade and the desire to spread Russian Orthodox Christianity in the East, the Russians spread across Siberia and into Alaska on the American continent.

Peter the Great, who founded Russia’s navy, directed two explorations – the First Kamchatka Expedition and the Great Northern Expedition – both of which started in the Siberian city of Okhotsk. The Russian Navy tasked a Danish explorer and cartographer, Vitus Jonassen Bering (also known as Ivan Ivanovich Bering), to lead the two Russian expeditions. The Russian explorer’s goal was to determine whether there was a land border connecting Asia and America.

The explorers returned with large quantities of sea otters, foxes and fur seals from what came to be known as “Russian America”. Soon, Russian settlements began to appear in Alaska.

Given the difficulty in finding food in Alaska, the Russian traders sought lands to the south. They dispatched ships to the area now known as California and eventually settled at Fort Ross in 1812.

Like any foreign invading force, the Russians meted out harsh treatment to the locals in Alaska, especially the Aleut tribes, enslaving many of them or forcing them to hunt otters. Disease, wars and enslavement by the Russian settlers decimated the indigenous population of Alaska.

Owing to the incredible distance between the Alaskan colony and Russia, Russian settlers and traders in the colony could not rake in much profit. The Russian-American Company also had to contend with the more successful British Hudson’s Bay Company.

Around 1820, the Russian-American Company began relinquishing some of its control and trade to the Hudson’s Bay Company. Britain thus obtained rights to operate in the “Russian” territory.

Selling Alaska

Discussions about selling Alaska began during the Crimean War (1853 to 1856). The war had taken a huge toll on the finances of the Russian Empire. The Russian Navy at the time was not as large or powerful as Great Britain’s. Therefore, some Russian leaders and businessmen began contemplating the sale of Alaska, as it was not the most profitable colony of Russia.

Additionally, profits from Russia’s fur trade had begun to nosedive as overhunting had significantly reduced the animal population in the region.

Meanwhile, the 800 or so Russians who lived in Alaska at the height of the Empire’s power had difficulty communicating with the imperial capital in St Petersburg, which was 5,000 miles away. Alaska was also too far north to support extensive farming, making it a poor choice for relocating large populations.

After the sea otter population began to diminish, the colony stopped generating enough income to make it a worthwhile venture. Russia was also starved for funds due to the cost of the Crimean War, and Alaska was a difficult territory to protect.

Enter the US

In the 1840s, the US established a presence in Texas and conquered California. It then cast its eyes on the Arctic regions as it anticipated increased trade with China and Japan, given the abundance of gold, fur and seafood in Alaska.

The US also believed that acquiring Alaska would help it become a Pacific power and prevent Britain from establishing a presence there.

Under President Andrew Johnson, the US was eager to establish itself as a force to be reckoned with, militarily and economically. The Alaska Purchase was simply one of the steps the US believed it had to take to keep up with its “Manifest Destiny”.

According to the “Manifest Destiny” concept, the US was to expand its dominion and spread democracy and capitalism across the entire American continent.

Buying Alaska was made easier by the Tsarist government in Moscow. Konstantin Nikolayevich, the younger brother of the Tsar, promoted the idea of selling Alaska. He convinced Alexander II to approve the sale. At a secret meeting in 1866, it was finally decided to sell Alaska.

The Alaska Purchase was negotiated between US Secretary of State William Seward and Russian minister to the US, Eduard de Stoeckl. After a lengthy talk that lasted all night, a deal was secured on 30 March 1867.

The Alaska Purchase treaty – the 1867 Treaty of Cession – received support on Capitol Hill. The treaty was approved by the Senate and the House. The House voted in its favour 113 to 48 on 14 July 1867.

It was a good bargain for the US. With the stroke of a pen and US$7.2 million, the US obtained around 370 million acres of relatively untouched land, nearly a third the size of the European Union. At that time, the purchase cost US taxpayers just 2 cents an acre.

In honour of the role senior Russian diplomat Stoeckl played in the deal, the Tsar gave him US$25,000 and placed him on a US$6,000 pension.

Critics of the purchase ridiculed it as “Andrew Johnson’s Polar Bear Garden” and “Seward’s Folly”. But today, Alaska is considered one of the richest states in the US, with hundreds of billions of dollars in natural resources, including timber, gold, fish, lead, copper and petroleum. Alaska is also America’s only land bridge to the Arctic, which awaits the discovery of new shipping routes.

US President Dwight Eisenhower signed a proclamation admitting Alaska into the Union as the 49th state on 3 January 1959.

Owing to the geopolitical advantages and vast resources that Alaska offers, some Russian nationalists today lament the loss of the territory.