The population of Alaska for the year is the number. Brief overview of US states in alphabetical order: Alaska. Alaska Natives

Alaska is the northernmost state in the US. Not many cities are located on its territory, but major metropolitan areas not at all.

Like everyone else, Alaska has a capital. But which city is the capital of Alaska? The answer to this question is contained in the text of the article.

State territory

Alaska occupies a vast territory, which includes the Alaska Peninsula, a narrow strip in the northwest of the continent, and the Alexander Archipelago. Alaska is an exclave separated from the US by Canada. The territory of the state is washed by two oceans: the Arctic from the north and the Pacific from the west and south. in the west separates Alaska from the Russian Federation. The relief of the state is special. By coastline stretches a narrow strip of the Alaska Range, which is part of the greatest mountain range in the world - the Cordillera. The ridge is known not only for its beautiful landscapes and huge glaciers, but also for the location on it of the highest peak in all of North America - Mount Denali.

The height of this mountain, also known as McKinley, is 6190 m. mountain range Brooks upstate. The climate, depending on the region, is different: from temperate maritime on the Pacific coast to arctic continental in the depths of the peninsula. The Aleutian Islands also have mountainous terrain. On the peninsula itself active volcanoes: Katmai, Augustine, Cleveland, Pavlova volcano. The Redoubt volcano erupted as recently as 2009. incredibly beautiful, despite the permafrost that covers a large area of ​​the state.

The capital of Alaska: history

During the development of the territory by Russian discoverers at the turn of the 17th-19th centuries, the city of Novo-Arkhangelsk (now Sitka) was the center of Alaska. Then it was the center of fur and After the sale of this territory to America, the same capital of Alaska, Sitka, remained. However, by the end of the 19th century, when the city ceased to be promising, the city of Juneau became the capital. Gold reserves were found here, then oil. Today, the capital of Alaska is Juneau.

The capital of Alaska: contentious issues

The capital is usually the largest city in terms of area and population. However, this principle does not apply in Alaska. The capital of the state of Alaska is far from the most Big city: its population is about 35 thousand people. This peculiarity gives reason to believe that the state capital should be the city of Anchorage - the largest. In terms of population, it surpasses Juneau by almost ten times. The infrastructure of the city is much better developed than in the capital. So the question arises, is the capital of Alaska Anchorage or Juneau? The question of moving the capital from Juneau has been repeatedly raised by residents of Anchorage, but, according to the poll, the population of other cities is against the transfer. Perhaps this is due to the fact that Juneau is located closer to the continental states.

Juneau - Anchorage attractions

The capital of Alaska is a small town, which is traditionally considered the administrative center of the state. There are few attractions in the city, as, for example, in Anchorage. Here you can visit the Alaska State Museum, which displays historical details of the native inhabitants of southeastern Alaska - the Tlingit, Russian history in Alaska and American domination. The church of St. Nicholas, located in the city, is interesting and original. This is an Orthodox church built at the end of the 19th century by the Tlingit who converted to Orthodoxy. An important role in financial side life of the city has ecotourism in incredibly beautiful, virgin places of northern nature.

Anchorage, like a larger city, has more attractions. The Heritage Center, the Imaginarium, the Anchorage Cultural Center, the Botanical Garden, the Zoo and much more can be visited in Alaska's largest city. The city, which emerged as a key rail junction, is connected to all cities in the state, so many tourist routes begin here.

The unique location of the city - between the two channels of Cook Bay and the Chugach Mountains, makes it possible to simply enjoy the nature of the American North, visit nature reserves and large national parks of the state. Anchorage is located four hundred kilometers from the world famous where highest point North America.

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 for the transfer of Russian possessions to American continent into the possession 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 1100 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. On the Aleutian Islands there are 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, about 700 km long. In general, Alaska is mountain country There are more volcanoes in Alaska than in any other US state. highest peak North America - Mount McKinley (6193m altitude) is also located in Alaska.

McKinley is the tallest mountain in the United States.

Another feature of Alaska is a huge number of lakes (their number exceeds 3 million!). Swamps and permafrost cover about 487,747 km² ( more territory Sweden). Glaciers occupy about 41,440 km² (which corresponds to the entire territory of Holland!).

Alaska is considered a country with a harsh climate. Indeed, in most parts of Alaska, the climate is arctic and subarctic continental, with severe 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 pacific coast Alaska's climate is maritime, relatively mild and humid. A warm stream of the Alaska current turns here from the south and washes Alaska from the south. The mountains hold back the northern cold winds. As a result, winters in the coastal and insular part of Alaska are very mild. Minus 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 types of shellfish and marine mammals were found in abundance in coastal waters. On the fertile soil of these lands, thousands of plant species suitable for food grew, and in the forests there were many animals, especially fur-bearing ones. This explains why Russian industrialists sought 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 it was sold to the United States in 1867 is one of the pages in the history of Russia.

The first people came to the territory of Alaska from Siberia about 15-20 thousand years ago. Then 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 the expedition of Semyon Dezhnev in 1648 , who were the first to sail along the Bering Strait from the Icy Sea to the Warm Sea.According to legend, Dezhnev's boats, which had gone astray, landed on the coast of Alaska.

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

However, at the end of the 17th century, Peter's transformations began in Russia, as a result of which the state was not up to the discovery of new lands. This explains a certain pause in the further advance of the Russians to the east.

Russian industrialists began to attract new lands only at the beginning of the 18th century, as fur stocks in eastern Siberia were depleted.Peter I immediately, as soon as circumstances allowed, began to organize 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 the Russian service, to explore the sea coast of Siberia. Peter sent Bering on an expedition to study and describe northeast coast Siberia . In 1728, Bering's expedition re-discovered the strait, which was first seen by Semyon Dezhnev. However, because of the 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 coast of Alaska were members of the crew of the ship "Saint Gabriel" under the command of surveyor Mikhail Gvozdev and navigator Ivan Fedorov. They were members Chukchi 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 shores of the Bering Strait on the map. But, returning to his homeland, Fedorov soon dies, and Gvozdev finds himself in Biron's dungeons, and the great discovery of the Russian pioneers remains unknown for a long time.

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

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 opened northwestern shores America. The ship's doctor, Georg Wilhelm Steller, landed on the shore 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 "Saint Pavel" 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. At one of the islands, the ship was wrecked, and it was thrown ashore. 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 harsh winter. In the spring, the surviving crew members built a boat from the wreckage of the wrecked St. Peter and returned to Kamchatka only in September. Thus ended the second Russian expedition, which opened the northwestern coast of the North American continent.

Russian America

The authorities in St. Petersburg reacted with indifference to the opening 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 a fee for 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 the development of new lands beyond the Bering Strait was taken by the fishermen, who (unlike St. Petersburg) immediately appreciated the reports of the members of the Bering expedition about the extensive rookeries of the sea animal.

In 1743, Russian traders and fur hunters established very close contact with the Aleuts. In 1743-1755, 22 fishing expeditions took place, fishing on the Commander and Near Aleutian Islands. In 1756-1780. 48 expeditions were engaged in fishing 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, Grigory Ivanovich Shelekhov, Pavel Sergeevich Lebedev-Lastochkin, as well as the brothers Grigory and Pyotr Panov were considered the richest and most famous among the merchants and fur buyers in Alaska.

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 the fishing areas led to the fact that the expeditions lasted up to 6-10 years. Shipwrecks, hunger, scurvy, skirmishes with natives, and sometimes with the crews of ships of a competing company - all this was the everyday life of the “Russian Columbuses”.

One of the first to establish a permanent Russian settlement on Unalashka (an island in the archipelago of the Aleutian Islands), discovered in 1741 during the Second Bering 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 also located here. In 1825 was built Russian Orthodox Church of the Ascension .

Church of the Ascension on Unalaska

The founder of the parish, Innokenty (Veniaminov) - Saint Innocent of Moscow , - created with local residents the first Aleutian writing and translated the Bible into the Aleutian language.

Unalaska today

In 1778 he arrived at Unalaska English explorer James Cook . According to him, total number Russian industrialists, who were in the Aleuts and in the waters of Alaska, amounted to 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 made a fortune in the fur trade. Starting in 1773, the 26-year-old Shelekhov began to independently send ships to sea fishing.

In August 1784, during his main expedition on 3 ships ("Three Hierarchs", "Saint Simeon the God-bearer and Anna the Prophetess" and "Archangel Michael"), he reached Kodiak Islands where he began to build a fortress and a settlement. From there it was easier to swim to the shores of Alaska. It was thanks to the energy and foresight of Shelekhov 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. His settlement plans included flat streets, schools, libraries, parks. Back in European Russia, Shelekhov put forward a proposal to start a mass resettlement of Russians in new lands.

At the same time, Shelekhov was not in the public service. He remained a merchant, industrialist, entrepreneur, acting with the permission of the government. Shelekhov himself, however, was distinguished by a remarkable state mind, perfectly understanding the possibilities of Russia in this region. No less important was the fact that Shelekhov was well versed in people and gathered a team of like-minded people who created Russian America.

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

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

In the meantime, Shelekhov's company forced out the rest of the competitors from the region. Myself Shelekhov died in 1795 , in the midst of their endeavors. True, his proposals for the further development of American territories with the help of a commercial company, thanks to his associates 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 Kuriles). She received from Paul I monopoly rights to fur trade, trade and the discovery of new lands in the northeastern part of the Pacific Ocean, designed to represent and protect Russia's interests in the Pacific Ocean with her own means. Since 1801, Alexander I and the Grand Dukes, major statesmen have become shareholders of the company.

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

The creation of the RAC was based on Shelekhov's proposals to create a commercial company of a special kind, capable of carrying out, along with commercial activities, also engaged in 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, a huge amount of money at that time. The profitability of the Russian-American Company was 700-1100% per year. This was facilitated by the great demand for the skins of sea otters, 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) Hawaiian Islands could become a Russian naval base and resort . From Hawaii, Russian ships carried salt, sandalwood, tropical fruits, coffee, and sugar. They planned to populate the islands with Pomor Old Believers from the Arkhangelsk province. Since the local princelings were constantly at war with each other, Baranov offered patronage to one of them. In May 1816, one of the leaders - Tomari (Kaumualiya) - officially transferred to Russian citizenship. By 1821, several Russian outposts had been built in Hawaii. The Russians could control and Marshall Islands. By 1825, Russian power was becoming stronger, 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 beneficial.

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

Under the leadership of Baranov, the Russian-American Company expanded its scope of interests: in California, just 80 kilometers north of San Francisco, Russia's southernmost settlement was built in North America - Fort Ross. Russian settlers in California were engaged in fishing for sea otters, agriculture and cattle breeding. Trade links were established with New York, Boston, California and Hawaii. The California colony was to become the main supplier of food 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. In 1841 Fort Ross was sold for 42,857 rubles to Mexican citizen John Sutter, a German industrialist who got into the history of California thanks to his sawmill in Coloma, on the territory of which a gold mine was found in 1848, which started the famous California Gold Rush. As payment, Sutter supplied wheat to Alaska, but, according to P. Golovin, he did not pay almost 37.5 thousand rubles in addition.

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

A number of manufacturing industries have been established in Alaska. Especially noteworthy is the development of shipbuilding. Shipbuilders have been building ships in Alaska since 1793. For 1799-1821. 15 ships were built in Novoarkhangelsk. In 1853, the first steam ship in 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 in the whole west coast America.

Novoarkhangelsk

The city of Sitka (former Novoarkhangelsk) today

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

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

1830 world map

It is impossible not to admire the fact that only about 400-800 Russian people managed to master such vast territories and water areas, making their way to California and Hawaii. In 1839 Russian population Alaska was 823 people, which was the maximum in the history of Russian America. Usually there were a few less 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 extraction of marine mammals. On average for the 1840-60s. up to 18 thousand fur seals were mined per year. River beavers, otters, foxes, arctic foxes, bears, sables, as well as walrus tusks were also hunted.

In Russian America, the Russian Orthodox Church. As early as 1794 he began missionary work Valaam monk Herman . By the middle of the 19th century, most Alaska natives had been baptized. The Aleuts and, to a lesser extent, the Indians of Alaska, are still Orthodox believers.

In 1841, an episcopal see was established in Alaska. By the time Alaska was sold, the Russian Orthodox Church had 13,000 flocks here. In terms of the number of Orthodox Christians, Alaska still ranks first in the United States. The ministers of the church have made a huge contribution to the spread of literacy among the Alaska natives. Literacy among the Aleuts was at a high level - on the island of St. Paul, the entire adult population could read in their native language.

Sale of Alaska

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

Despite the fact that the Russians founded settlements in Alaska, 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 leaders of this magnitude in Russian America.

The interests of the Russian-American Company were mainly limited to the extraction of furs, 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, Russians were well aware of the presence of gold in Alaska . In 1848, a Russian explorer and mining engineer, Lieutenant Pyotr Doroshin, found small placers of gold on the islands of Kodiak and Sitka, the shores of the Kenai Bay near the future city of Anchorage (the largest city in Alaska today). However, the amount of precious metal discovered was small. The Russian administration, which had before its eyes an example of the "gold rush" in California, fearing the invasion of thousands of American gold miners, preferred to classify this information. Subsequently, gold was found in other parts of Alaska. But it was no longer Russian Alaska.

Besides oil discovered in Alaska . It is this fact, however absurd it may sound, that has become one of the incentives to get rid of Alaska as soon as possible. The fact is that American prospectors began to actively arrive in Alaska, and the Russian government reasonably feared that American troops would come after them. Russia was not ready for the war, and it was completely imprudent to give Alaska penniless.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 offset the growing British influence in the region.

Thus, Alaska could become the cause of 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 Nikolayevich Romanov, who served as head of the Russian Naval Staff. Back in 1857, he suggested that his elder brother, the emperor, sell "excess territory", because the discovery of gold deposits there will certainly attract the attention of England - a long-time sworn enemy of the Russian Empire, and Russia is not able to defend it, and the military fleet is in northern seas not really. If England seizes Alaska, then Russia will receive absolutely nothing for it, and in 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 regain control over North American territories, which infuriated the monarchs of Great Britain and inspired the colonists of America to continue the liberation struggle.

However, consultations with the US government on a possible sale, in fact, negotiations began only after the end of civil war in USA.

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

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

Signing of the Alaska Sale, March 30, 1867 Robert C. Chu, William G. Seward, William Hunter, Vladimir Bodisko, Edouard Steckl, Charles Sumner, Frederick Seward

Negotiations were successful and On March 30, 1867, an agreement was signed in Washington according to which Russia sold Alaska for $7,200,000 in gold.(at the rate of 2009 - approximately $108 million in gold). The United States ceded: the entire Alaska Peninsula (along the 141° meridian west of Greenwich), a coastal strip 10 miles south of Alaska along the western coast of British Columbia; the archipelago of Alexander; Aleutian Islands with Attu Island; the islands of the Middle, Krys'i, Lis'i, Andreyanovsk, Shumagin, Trinity, Umnak, Unimak, Kodiak, Chirikov, Afognak and other smaller islands; islands in the Bering Sea: St. Lawrence, St. Matthew, Nunivak and the Pribylov Islands - St. George and St. Paul. total area sold territories amounted to 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 was held in Novoarkhangelsk (Sitka) for the transfer of Alaska to the United States. Russian and American soldiers marched in solemn march, the Russian flag was lowered and the US flag was raised.

Painting by N. Leitze "The signing of the contract for the sale of Alaska" (1867)

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

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

Check issued to the Russian Ambassador by the Americans when buying Alaska

notice, that Russia never received money for Alaska , since part of this money was appropriated by the Russian ambassador in Washington, Baron Steckl, part went to bribes to American senators. Baron Steckl 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 has been 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 for it, which were planned to be transferred to Russia. However, the cargo was never delivered. The ship "Orkney" (Orkney), on board which was a precious cargo, sank on July 16, 1868 on the way to St. Petersburg. Whether there was gold on it at that time, or whether it did not leave the limits of Foggy Albion at all, is unknown. The insurance company that insured the ship and cargo declared itself bankrupt, and the damage was only partially reimbursed. (Now the site of the Orkney sinking is in the territorial waters of Finland. In 1975, a joint Soviet-Finnish expedition examined the area of ​​​​its flooding and found the wreckage of the ship. The study of these found that the ship was powerful explosion and a big fire. However, gold could not be found - most likely, it remained in England.). As a result, Russia never received anything from the abandonment of 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 elimination, part 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 the lack of ships. They were simply FORGOTTEN by the St. Petersburg authorities. Most of the Creoles (descendants from mixed marriages of Russians with Aleuts, Eskimos and Indians) remained in Alaska.

Rise of Alaska

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

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

In 1880, the largest ore deposit in Alaska, Juneau, was discovered. At the beginning of the 20th century, the largest alluvial gold deposit, Fairbanks, was discovered. By the mid 80s. XX in Alaska in total produced almost a thousand tons of gold.

To dateAlaska ranks 2nd in the US (after Nevada) in terms of gold production . The state provides about 8% of silver mining in the United States of America. The Red Dog Mine in northern Alaska is the largest zinc mine in the world and provides about 10% of the world's production of this metal, as well as significant amounts 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 2nd in the US 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 to49th state of the USA.

Alaska is the largest US state in terms of 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 the transport and energy point of view. For the United States, this is both a key 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 venality and betrayal of the upper spheres of Russia.

Material prepared by Sergey SHULYAK

State of Alaska

Name

Like most American state names, the name of the state of Alaska comes from ethnic sources. In fact, the name of the peninsula, and then the state, was given by the Aleut word "alah'sakh'" or "ala'skh'a". In translation, it means "whale place" or "whale abundance." There is another version of the origin of the name of the peninsula - "main land", "continent", "peninsula". In addition to the official geographical name, the state of Alaska has two nicknames. The first one is "The Last Frontier" and the second one is "Land of the Midnight Sun". Both reflect the peculiarities of the geographical location of the state of Alaska.

Geography

The state of Alaska is located in the extreme northwest of the continent. The Bering Strait separates it from the Chukchi Peninsula. This is where the US borders with Russia. Alaska borders Canada to the east. The state includes the mainland and a large number of islands. These include the Alexander Archipelago, the Aleutian Islands, the Pribylov Islands, Kodiak Island, St. Lawrence Island. The shores of Alaska are washed by the Arctic and Pacific oceans. On the Pacific coast is the Alaska Range, to the north is the Brooks Range, and behind it is the Arctic Lowland.

Alaska has the highest mountain in North America, Mount McKinley - 6914 m. In addition, there are active volcanoes. So, for example, in 1912, after the eruption of one of them, the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes appeared. The tundra is located in the northern part of Alaska. To the south are forests. The state also includes Little Diomede Island, located in Bering Strait. It is located just 4 km from the already Russian territory- Great Diomede Islands.

Climate

Alaska is located in the subarctic climate zone. A third of the northern territory of the state is permafrost. In addition, the state is divided into 5 climatic zones:

1. Sea zone - southeastern part alaska, South coast and southwestern islands.
2. Marine continental zone - the west of Bristol Bay and the western tip of the central zone.
3. Transitional zone between marine and continental areas - the southern part of the Copper River basin, Cook Inlet, the northern limits of the southern coastal zone.
4. Continental zone - the upper reaches of the Copper River and its basin, as well as the interior of Alaska.
5. The Arctic zone is the territory north of the Arctic Circle.

The largest amount of precipitation is observed in the marine zone of the southeastern part of Alaska - 5080 mm. The smallest amount of precipitation - up to 152 mm - is in the Arctic zone. The average annual temperature in Alaska ranges from +4 degrees Celsius in the south to -12 degrees Celsius in the Arctic zone. Temperature fluctuations are most characteristic of the central and eastern parts continental interior regions. In summer, the temperature in Alaska can rise to +32 degrees Celsius. In winter, in the absence sunlight temperatures can drop to -10 degrees Celsius.

Story

It is generally accepted that the first people on the territory of the present state of Alaska were Siberian tribes that appeared there more than 10 thousand years ago. The Arctic coast was settled by the Eskimos, and the Aleutian archipelago, respectively, by the Aleuts. There are two versions of the first appearance of Europeans in Alaska. According to the Western version, the first was the German naturalist Steller. During the 10 hours that Bering took to study one of the islands of the archipelago during the forced stay of his ship, Steller managed to collect a serious collection of plants.

The second version says that the first Europeans on the shores of Alaska were members of the crew of the St. Gabriel" under the supervision of the surveyor Gvozdev and navigator Fedorov. They visited Alaska as part of the Shastakov-Pavlutsky expedition of 1729-1735. In addition, historians have found fragmentary information about the visit of Russian people to Alaska in the 17th century. One way or another, from 1799 to 1867, Russian Alaska with the islands adjacent to it was under the control of the Russian-American Company. Further redistribution of Russian-American borders was caused by the abolition of serfdom in Russia.

For more than half a century, Russian Alaska has been mastered and developed. Fur trade, shipbuilding were established here, the first settlements appeared, gold was discovered. But after the abolition of serfdom, Alexander, in order to pay compensation to the landowners, was forced to borrow 15 million pounds sterling from the Rothschilds. And the Crimean War of 1853-1856 showed that if Alaska is not sold, it can be lost in vain. So at a special meeting in St. Petersburg, it was unanimously decided to sell Alaska for at least 5 million dollars in gold.

In fact, Russian Alaska was sold to the Americans for 7.2 million dollars in gold and from 1867 came under the jurisdiction of the US War Department, becoming the District of Alaska. In 1896, the Gold Rush began in the Klondike. During its time, about 1 thousand tons of gold were mined here, which is about 13-14 billion modern dollars. In 1959, Alaska was officially declared a state. Today, in addition to solving military problems, a variety of mineral resources are being developed in Alaska. There are especially many of them in the Prudhoe Bay area, southeast of Point Barrow.

Population

In addition to local residents, there are many visiting Americans in Alaska, who began to arrive here in the 1970s. They were attracted by vacancies in the oil industry and transport. 75% of Alaska's population is white, native to the United States. About 80 thousand indigenous people live here, including Indians (Atabaskans, Haida, Tlingits, Simshians), Eskimos and Aleuts. Remained in Alaska and the descendants of Russian. True, their diaspora here is by no means numerous. But it is in Alaska that the highest proportion of Orthodox Christians in America. Other religious groups working here include Catholics, Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists.

Cities

I must say that the state of Alaska has the lowest population density in America. However, there are large settlements here. First of all, this, of course, is the city of Anchorage with a population of more than 100 thousand people. Other prominent cities in Alaska include Juneau, the state capital, as well as the cities of Fairbanks and College. It is worth noting that the administrative division in the state of Alaska differs from that adopted in most of America. Instead of districts, there are so-called baro - districts that have self-government. There are fifteen such districts. But there is also an unorganized baro. It includes areas with extremely low population density.

Economy

Today, the economy of the state of Alaska is, first of all, the extraction and processing of minerals. So, in the north of the state, crude oil is being produced. The richest deposits are located in the area of ​​the Prudho Bay and the Kinai Peninsula. It is no coincidence that the Alieska oil pipeline 1250 km long to the port of Valdez was built here. In general, oil production has played an important role here since the 1970s, when the Trans-Alaska pipeline was launched.

An oil field in Alaska is compared with fields in Western Siberia and Arabian Peninsula. But in addition to oil, Alaska also produces natural gas, coal, copper, iron, gold, and zinc. Along with the extraction of minerals in the state of Alaska, fishing, reindeer rearing, logging and hunting are developed. All conditions for the operation of air transport have been created here, military bases operate. Also, one of the important sources of state income is tourism.

culture

Despite their relative distance from central regions The United States, the state of Alaska, is not inferior to many states either in terms of the level of education of the civilized population, or in the number of cultural attractions. For example, there are 4 universities in Alaska: the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, the University of Alaska-Anchorage, the University of Alaska Southeast, Alaska Pacific University. There are many museums dedicated to national traditions region: Museum of the North in Fairbanks, State Museum Alaska in Juneau, Aleut Museum, Anchorage Museum of History and Art, Center and Museum cultural heritage Eskimos in Barrow. Alaska is also known for its Sitka National Historical Park.

Peculiarities

The flag of Alaska depicts the famous star bucket - Ursa Major, and in the upper right corner - polar Star. The Big Dipper is, of course, the power of Alaska, but the North Star symbolizes the most northern territory America. It is curious that this, unlike any other flag American Alaska, was developed back in 1926 by a 13-year-old boy named Benny Benson. It is also symbolic that, as historical documents testify, this young designer of the flag was of Russian-Aleutian-Swedish origin.

Athabaskan

Unlike the inhabitants of the coast, who had their own rich Natural resources, representatives of the peoples of the Athabaskan language group lived in the more severe conditions of the Arctic and subarctic in the north of the continent. This vast expanse had extremely poor natural conditions, and people had to find and get their own food with great difficulty. For weather conditions This region has always been characterized by long winters and short cold summers. The Attabasca Indians hunted moose, musk deer, grizzly bears, wild goats and fished.

The Athabaskans led a nomadic or semi-nomadic lifestyle, moving from one area to another in search of prey for hunting and fishing. In the rivers they caught trout and pike, in the forests they hunted mainly musk deer, hares and polar partridges. Tools for hunting and fishing used the same as all the Indians of the North American continent. And although the Athabaskans hunted animals and birds a lot, however, periods when their tribes were starving were not uncommon in the life of the Athabaskans.

They designed the construction options for their wigwam houses depending on the coming season. All Athabaskans built their houses of wood and poles in such a way that, in addition to the family, domestic animals and birds could also fit in them. Nomadic groups of Indians built lighter dwellings. Indians of such tribes of the Athabasca people as Ingalik ( Ingalik ) that lived on the Yukon River or the Kaskokwim tribe ( Kuskokwim ) usually built a temporary settlement for the winter, and moved to "camps" for summer fishing. They built winter houses on the principle of Eskimo dugouts.

The Athabaskans had very simple social divisions of society. More time they spent years in the circle of small groups of neighboring families. The similarity between them existed in that they professed the principles of matriarchy and relatives maintained close relations, observing all the obligations of members of the same family. A family member had to find a spouse not among close relatives, but in another tribe.

When natural resources allowed, several tribes united to hunt together. Despite the fact that they all hunted together, Indian men competed with each other for the right to be a leader in hunting, on the basis of which a man could become one of the leaders of the tribe. Also, an Indian who proved himself a brave warrior in intertribal conflicts could become the leader of the tribe. Leaders were not elected for life. And if one day luck turned away from the leader, he could no longer claim leadership in the tribe. The Athabaskans had traditions and ceremonials in which, for example, the tribe welcomed and gave gifts to their guests. Also, a family meal was arranged when one of the members of the tribe died. As the Athabaskans began to engage in trade with the Palefaces, they became more likely to hold common tribal meals in honor of their new partners, thereby modeling the attitudes and traditions of dealing with the Palefaces for tribes throughout the Northwest coast of the Americas.

The Indians held feasts to commemorate the first hunt, a military feat, the return of hunters from a long campaign, a successful revenge or a new campaign. A man about to get married had to make a feast for his tribe three times. Ceremonies were also arranged when the tribe made a general decision to expel one of its members for the fault - he could not receive any support from any of his relatives for at least one year. The Athabaskans were also pagans. They lived in a world inhabited by many spirits. They believed that after death, human souls move into animals and used these legends in their rituals.

The Athabaskans had special members of the tribes who performed religious rites and were responsible for connecting the Indians with the world of otherworldly forces. These people were called shamans. Shamans were the guardians of religious rites and possessed many knowledge: how to heal the sick; how to attract good luck to the hunter; how to predict the weather and the future.

Eskimos

The Eskimo culture developed in the territories of western Alaska, so it is natural that the languages ​​of the Eskimos and Aleuts are so different from each other. Eskimos mastered the waters Arctic Ocean and therefore very much attention was paid to the means of water transportation. The traditional tools of the economy of the Eskimos - in Siberia were in use long before they appeared on the lands of Alaska. And this culture and management technologies penetrated the territory of North America and for 4 thousand years BC. spread from Alaska to Greenland.

From the shores of northern Alaska to Greenland, the Eskimos hunted marine animals: seals, seals, whales. Some groups of Eskimos hunted deer and musk deer. These groups of Eskimo people were called Caribou Eskimos ( caribou eskimo ) and lived in Canada, in the west of the Hudson Bay. Other small groups of Eskimos lived along the Colville Rivers ( Colville) and Noatak (Noatak ), as well as in the Yukon and Kaskokwim Delta ( Kuskokwim).

However, despite the difference in habitats, the Eskimos had common culture, national clothes and traditions. It happened so because even thousands of years ago the wild, primitive culture of this people: dog sleds, kayak boats and more. others - spread through Alaska throughout the territory North America before Greenland.

Social relations among the Eskimos were concentrated around the tribal family. The men were hunting. Eskimo Yupik ( Yupik Eskimo ) had special ceremonial houses in which Eskimo men taught boys the art of hunting, and women stayed at home and educated girls. Most Eskimo marriages took place within the tribal community.

The Eskimos hunted and engaged fishing. They had their own taboos and prohibitions: for example, they did not dare to mix terrestrial and marine life for food. Eskimos Bering Sea ( Bering Sea Eskimo ) had many rituals and rituals associated with hunting animals. And the Eskimos who lived north of their territories did not have similar hunting and fishing traditions. Sea Eskimo) had many rituals and rituals associated with hunting animals. And the Eskimos who lived north of their territories did not have similar hunting and fishing traditions.

Aleuts

The Aleuts have adapted very well to life in difficult natural conditions Aleutian Islands. They have learned to perfectly use the rich resources of the sea for life. However, their traditions were forgotten and absorbed by the more civilized culture of the Russian people, with whom the Aleuts first met in 1740. The Aleuts built separate dugouts in which families lived. Sometimes the Aleuts wandered to the northern shores of the Bering Sea. This happened when populations of marine animals migrated to other areas. Then the Aleuts built seasonal houses and seasonal camps.

Society was divided into social classes: leaders, simple people and slaves. The traditions of the Aleuts in many respects have something in common with the customs of the Tlingit tribe and groups of peoples of Siberia. It is possible that initially the Aleuts also professed the family principle of tribal organization. The Aleut community usually consisted of an elder father and his wife or wives, a married eldest son and his family, and sometimes a younger brother and his family. Young children were usually sent to be raised by their mothers, who had their own homes.

When sea ​​waters freed from the ice, the Aleuts went out to sea to hunt. They hunted seals, walruses, sea lions and whales. Many of their hunting tools were similar to those of the southern Eskimos: a two-seater kayak boat; bone and stone weapons. The Aleuts also hunted birds, 140 species of which nested in the Aleutian Islands. For hunting birds, the Aleuts used bolo (ropes, to the ends of which stones were tied - braided into braids and rushed at birds). In fishing, they used nets and harpoons. Also, the Aleuts collected sea mollusks and northern berries and herbs.

Alaska- the largest state in the United States, on the northwestern outskirts of North America. Includes the peninsula of the same name, the Aleutian Islands, a narrow strip of the Pacific coast, along with the islands of the Alexander Archipelago along Western Canada and the continental part.

The state is located in the extreme northwest of the continent, separated from the Chukotka Peninsula (Russia) by the Bering Strait, in the east it borders on Canada. It consists of the mainland and a large number of islands: the Alexander Archipelago, the Aleutian Islands, the Pribylov Islands, Kodiak Island, St. Lawrence Island. It is washed by the Arctic and Pacific oceans. On the Pacific coast - the Alaska Range; the inner part - a plateau with a height of 1200 m in the east to 600 m in the west - turns into a lowland.To the north is the Brooks Ridge, beyond which lies the Arctic Lowland.

Flag	Coat of arms	Map

Mount McKinley (Denali) (6194 m) is the highest in North America. There are active volcanoes. Glaciers in the mountains (Milespin).

In 1912, the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes arose as a result of a volcanic eruption. northern part The state is covered by tundra. To the south are forests. The state includes the island of Little Diomede in the Bering Strait, located at a distance of 4 km from the island of Great Diomede (Ratmanov Island), which belongs to Russia.

On the Pacific coast, the climate is temperate, maritime, relatively mild; in other areas - arctic and subarctic continental, with severe winters.

Around highest mountain usa mckinley located famous national park Denali.

The largest city in Alaska is Anchorage.

The capital of the state of Alaska is Juneau.

Unlike most other US states, where the main local administrative unit of local government is the county (county), the name of the administrative units in Alaska is baro (borough - “a self-governing area”). Even more important is another difference - 15 baro and the municipality of Anchorage cover only part of the territory of Alaska. The rest of the territory does not have enough population (at least interested) to form local self-government and forms the so-called unorganized baro, which, for the purposes of the population census and for ease of administration, was divided into the so-called census areas (census area). There are 11 such zones in Alaska.

Groups of Siberian tribes crossed the isthmus (now the Bering Strait) 16 - 10 thousand years ago. The Eskimos began to settle on the Arctic coast, the Aleuts settled in the Aleutian archipelago.

Discovery of Alaska

In Western tradition, it is generally accepted that the first white man to set foot on the soil of Alaska was G. V. Steller. Bernhard Grzimek's book From Cobra to Grizzly Bear states that Steller was the first to spot the mountainous outline of the Alaska Islands on the horizon, and he was eager to continue his biological research. However, the captain of the ship, V. Bering, had other intentions and soon ordered to weigh anchor and return. Steller was extremely outraged by this decision and in the end insisted that the ship's commander give him at least ten hours to explore Kayak Island, where the ship still had to land in order to replenish fresh water. Steller called the article about his research feat-foray "Description of plants collected in 6 hours in America."

However, in fact, the first Europeans to visit Alaska were on August 21, 1732, members of the crew of the boat "Saint Gabriel" under the command of surveyor M. S. Gvozdev and navigator I. Fedorov during the expedition of A. F. Shestakov and D. I. Pavlutsky 1729 -1735 In addition, there is fragmentary information about the visit of Russian people to America in the 17th century.

Russian America and the sale of Alaska

From July 9, 1799 to October 18, 1867, Alaska with its adjacent islands was under the control of the Russian-American Company. However, after serfdom was abolished in Russia in order to compensate the landlords, Alexander II was forced in 1862 to borrow £15 million from the Rothschilds at 5% per annum. However, the Rothschilds had to return something, and then the Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich - the Emperor's younger brother - offered to sell "something unnecessary." The most unnecessary thing in Russia was Alaska.

Besides fighting in the Far East during the Crimean War showed the absolute insecurity of the eastern lands of the Empire and especially Alaska. In order not to lose in vain, it was decided to sell the territory, which could not be protected and developed in the foreseeable future.

On December 16, 1866, a special meeting was held in St. Petersburg, which was attended by Alexander II, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, the ministers of finance and the naval ministry, as well as the Russian envoy to Washington, Baron Eduard Andreevich Stekl. All participants approved the idea of ​​the sale. At the suggestion of the Ministry of Finance, a threshold amount was determined - at least 5 million dollars in gold. On December 22, 1866, Alexander II approved the border of the territory. In March 1867, Stekl arrived in Washington and formally addressed Secretary of State William Seward. The signing of the treaty took place on March 30, 1867 in Washington. An area of ​​1,519,000 sq. km was sold for $7.2 million in gold, that is, $0.0474 per hectare.

Alaska as a US state

When did Alaska become a US state? Since 1867, Alaska has been under the jurisdiction of the US War Department and was called the District of Alaska, in 1884 - 1912. county, then territory (1912 - 1959), since 1959 - a US state.

Five years later, gold was discovered. The region developed slowly until the start of the Klondike gold rush in 1896. During the years of the gold rush in Alaska, about one thousand tons of gold was mined.

Alaska was declared a state in 1959. Various mineral resources have been exploited there since 1968, especially in the Prudhoe Bay area, southeast of Point Barrow. In 1977, an oil pipeline was laid from Prudhoe Bay to the port of Valdez. In 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil spill caused serious environmental pollution.

In the north, the extraction of crude oil (in the region of the Prudho Bay and the Kinai Peninsula; the Alieska oil pipeline 1250 km long to the port of Valdez), natural gas, coal, copper, iron, gold, zinc, fishing, reindeer breeding; logging and hunting, air transport, military air bases.

Oil production has played a huge role since the 1970s. after the discovery of deposits and the laying of the Trans-Alaska pipeline. The Alaska oil field has been compared in importance to the oil fields in Western Siberia and the Arabian Peninsula.

Population

Although the state is one of the least populated in the country, many new residents moved here in the 1970s, attracted by vacancies in the oil industry and in transportation, and in the 1980s the population growth was more than 36 percent.

Population growth in recent decades:

1990 - 550,000 inhabitants;

2004 - 648,818 inhabitants;

2005 - 663,661 inhabitants;

2006 - 677,456 inhabitants;

2007 - 690,955 inhabitants.

In 2005, the population of Alaska increased by 5,906 people, or 0.9%, compared to the previous year. Compared to 2000, the population increased by 36,730 people (5.9%). This number includes natural population growth of 36,590 people (53,132 births minus 16,542 deaths) since the last census, as well as an increase due to migration of 1,181 people. Immigration from outside the United States increased Alaska's population by 5,800, while internal migration reduced it by 4619 people. The population density in Alaska is the lowest of all US states.

About 75 percent of the population is white, native to the United States. There are about 88,000 indigenous people in the state - Indians (Atabaskans, Haidas, Tlingits, Simshians), Eskimos and Aleuts. A small number of Russian descendants also live in the state. Major religious groups include Catholics, Orthodox, Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists. The proportion of Orthodox Christians, which according to various estimates is 8-10%, is the highest in the country.

For the past 20 years, the state has traditionally voted Republican. Former Republican Governor Sarah Palin was the 2008 Vice Presidential nominee under John McCain. The current governor is Sean Parnell.