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Description

Russian America
In 1733, Peter the Great of Russia commissioned an expedition to explore the unknown northern reaches of the American continent. Alexei Chirikov and Vitus Bering set sail on a ten year voyage across the North Pacific, charting coasts, islands and straits as they went. Though Bering died at sea, his crew and Chirikov brought back high quality furs and stories of great colonial potential. The spark of Russian colonialism had been ignited. Over the next few decades, Russia would struggle greatly to create a successful colonial empire in the newly discovered region of Alyaska. Competition with the British, conflicts with the natives and the harsh environment all contributed to repeated failures to settle the New World.
In 1799, however, the Russian-American Company was chartered by Paul I. Though the companyʼs early years were fraught with incompetence and scarcity, a change in leadership during the 1840s changed things drastically. The fur trade was carefully managed so as to avoid depletion and artificially raise market prices, making the company profitable for the first time since its creation. With renewed interest came new investment, and suddenly the RAC found itself flush with cash. This funding was used to purchase more ships, better soldiers, and stronger forts, clamping down on native insurrection and British competition. As Russian America grew in profitability, the government was suddenly more eager to populate the colony with loyal citizens. Settlement programs opened up which sent hundreds of Russian, Ukrainian, and Byelorussian families overseas to the New World. Orthodox missionaries came in droves to spread Christianity and the Russian language to native Alyaskans. The small ports, fortresses and trading posts built on the coasts suddenly exploded into towns and cities.
Experienced shipbuilders were brought in from Crimea, the Baltics and St. Petersburg to reinforce Russiaʼs growing Pacific fleet. By the 1880s, Russian America was a permanent presence in the Americas, rivaling Britain for economic and military dominance of the North Pacific. The threat of the Russian Pacific Fleet intimidated Japan into backing down during the 1904 Russo-Japanese negotiations over Korea, and Russia was able to secure dominance in Manchuria and establish a neutral buffer zone in Korea north of the 39th parallel. With Alyaska filled with Russians the looming threat of the Japanese navy suddenly more serious, Russia decided to fully annex Russian America as an integral part of the Empire. In 1910, the RAC was disbanded and its lands turned into the Krai of Russian America. The RAC flag was modified and standardized before being turned into the official flag of the new province, permanently embedding their legacy into the new land.
When the Great War broke out in 1914, Russian nationalism and faith in the Tsar were strong, or at least strong enough to survive nearly four years of war and famine. By the spring of 1918, the Great War had ended, and though Russia lost Poland, it gained both East Galicia and international respect for its loyalty and courage. After years of loyal service and sacrifice, the Russian people demanded that the Tsar compensate them with political and social reforms. Over the course of the 1920s and 30s, Russia would see a massive industrial expansion, parallel to sweeping improvements to government and society. A new constitution led to the creation of a national legislature, land reforms, the abolishment of the caste system, and broad individual rights and freedoms. The new Russia was not perfect, and still suffered from many of the flaws of its past, but progress was being made, and the people of Russia could see it.
During the war, anti-German sentiment was at an all time high, leading to the renaming of certain cities and the persecution of Eastern Germans. In 1915, thousands of Volga German families fled to Alyaska, fearing oppression from local Russians. These Germans settled in what was then known as the Tanana river valley, a largely empty and unexplored region of Alyaska deep in the hinterlands. They renamed the river “Neu Wolga,” in remembrance of the home they had left behind. They began building new settlements and lived in relative peace and isolation for most of the war.
The presence of gold in the region had been known by the Russian government for some time, but had been kept secret out of fear that American and British prospectors would flood the colony and bring the gold back to their respective countries, stripping Russia of her wealth. Covert mining operations disguised as forts, lumber mills and trading posts had been slowly and stealthily harvesting the regionʼs gold deposits, while Russian soldiers kept away natives and the British. By the time the Volga Germans settled the region, almost all of the gold had been extracted.
After the Great War, massive oil deposits were discovered in Russian America, bringing even more settlers and investment to the region. Although Russia proper was already sitting on one of the largest oil deposits in the world, adding Alyaskan oil just made them even richer. Now that Russian America had been thoroughly colonized and politically integrated into Russia, it was time that a physical connection was made. In 1933, in the midst of the Great Depression, the Bering Strait Crossing Project was officially launched in an effort to employ Russiaʼs many laid off workers. A massive underground tunnel was bored from the northeastern tip of Siberia to the small native village of Aidam in Russian America. The earth from this project was then used as landfill to connect and expand the Gvozdev Islands just over the tunnel. Next, the Trans-Siberia Railroad was expanded to cross through the tunnel and into Alyaska, and then further expanded along the coast of the peninsula to Mikhailovskaya. The entire project cost billions of US dollars and took over 15 years, but in 1949 the New World and the Old World were finally connected. The Bering Tunnel was complete.
From furs, to shipbuilding, to oil, the history of Russian America is one of perseverance and fighting the odds. Settlers fought starvation, scarcity, wild animals, and the bitter winter winds just to settle in a land untouched by man and rich with natural beauty. Alyaska was not an easy investment for the Russians, and it cost them dearly on more than one occasion, but the end result was a land as native to the Russian people as Moscow or Petrograd. Alyaska was home.
Sources:
alaskaweb.org/military/akforts… enacademic.com/pictures/enwiki… www.raremaps.com/gallery/detai… alaska-russian-america-ce-colton www.mapsofthepast.com/alaska-a… peirce-1867.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_… (As well as all connected wikipedia links, such as the articles for many Alaskan towns, cities, events, geographic locations, historical figures, etc.)

Description

Russian America
In 1733, Peter the Great of Russia commissioned an expedition to explore the unknown northern reaches of the American continent. Alexei Chirikov and Vitus Bering set sail on a ten year voyage across the North Pacific, charting coasts, islands and straits as they went. Though Bering died at sea, his crew and Chirikov brought back high quality furs and stories of great colonial potential. The spark of Russian colonialism had been ignited. Over the next few decades, Russia would struggle greatly to create a successful colonial empire in the newly discovered region of Alyaska. Competition with the British, conflicts with the natives and the harsh environment all contributed to repeated failures to settle the New World.
In 1799, however, the Russian-American Company was chartered by Paul I. Though the companyʼs early years were fraught with incompetence and scarcity, a change in leadership during the 1840s changed things drastically. The fur trade was carefully managed so as to avoid depletion and artificially raise market prices, making the company profitable for the first time since its creation. With renewed interest came new investment, and suddenly the RAC found itself flush with cash. This funding was used to purchase more ships, better soldiers, and stronger forts, clamping down on native insurrection and British competition. As Russian America grew in profitability, the government was suddenly more eager to populate the colony with loyal citizens. Settlement programs opened up which sent hundreds of Russian, Ukrainian, and Byelorussian families overseas to the New World. Orthodox missionaries came in droves to spread Christianity and the Russian language to native Alyaskans. The small ports, fortresses and trading posts built on the coasts suddenly exploded into towns and cities.
Experienced shipbuilders were brought in from Crimea, the Baltics and St. Petersburg to reinforce Russiaʼs growing Pacific fleet. By the 1880s, Russian America was a permanent presence in the Americas, rivaling Britain for economic and military dominance of the North Pacific. The threat of the Russian Pacific Fleet intimidated Japan into backing down during the 1904 Russo-Japanese negotiations over Korea, and Russia was able to secure dominance in Manchuria and establish a neutral buffer zone in Korea north of the 39th parallel. With Alyaska filled with Russians the looming threat of the Japanese navy suddenly more serious, Russia decided to fully annex Russian America as an integral part of the Empire. In 1910, the RAC was disbanded and its lands turned into the Krai of Russian America. The RAC flag was modified and standardized before being turned into the official flag of the new province, permanently embedding their legacy into the new land.
When the Great War broke out in 1914, Russian nationalism and faith in the Tsar were strong, or at least strong enough to survive nearly four years of war and famine. By the spring of 1918, the Great War had ended, and though Russia lost Poland, it gained both East Galicia and international respect for its loyalty and courage. After years of loyal service and sacrifice, the Russian people demanded that the Tsar compensate them with political and social reforms. Over the course of the 1920s and 30s, Russia would see a massive industrial expansion, parallel to sweeping improvements to government and society. A new constitution led to the creation of a national legislature, land reforms, the abolishment of the caste system, and broad individual rights and freedoms. The new Russia was not perfect, and still suffered from many of the flaws of its past, but progress was being made, and the people of Russia could see it.
During the war, anti-German sentiment was at an all time high, leading to the renaming of certain cities and the persecution of Eastern Germans. In 1915, thousands of Volga German families fled to Alyaska, fearing oppression from local Russians. These Germans settled in what was then known as the Tanana river valley, a largely empty and unexplored region of Alyaska deep in the hinterlands. They renamed the river “Neu Wolga,” in remembrance of the home they had left behind. They began building new settlements and lived in relative peace and isolation for most of the war.
The presence of gold in the region had been known by the Russian government for some time, but had been kept secret out of fear that American and British prospectors would flood the colony and bring the gold back to their respective countries, stripping Russia of her wealth. Covert mining operations disguised as forts, lumber mills and trading posts had been slowly and stealthily harvesting the regionʼs gold deposits, while Russian soldiers kept away natives and the British. By the time the Volga Germans settled the region, almost all of the gold had been extracted.
After the Great War, massive oil deposits were discovered in Russian America, bringing even more settlers and investment to the region. Although Russia proper was already sitting on one of the largest oil deposits in the world, adding Alyaskan oil just made them even richer. Now that Russian America had been thoroughly colonized and politically integrated into Russia, it was time that a physical connection was made. In 1933, in the midst of the Great Depression, the Bering Strait Crossing Project was officially launched in an effort to employ Russiaʼs many laid off workers. A massive underground tunnel was bored from the northeastern tip of Siberia to the small native village of Aidam in Russian America. The earth from this project was then used as landfill to connect and expand the Gvozdev Islands just over the tunnel. Next, the Trans-Siberia Railroad was expanded to cross through the tunnel and into Alyaska, and then further expanded along the coast of the peninsula to Mikhailovskaya. The entire project cost billions of US dollars and took over 15 years, but in 1949 the New World and the Old World were finally connected. The Bering Tunnel was complete.
From furs, to shipbuilding, to oil, the history of Russian America is one of perseverance and fighting the odds. Settlers fought starvation, scarcity, wild animals, and the bitter winter winds just to settle in a land untouched by man and rich with natural beauty. Alyaska was not an easy investment for the Russians, and it cost them dearly on more than one occasion, but the end result was a land as native to the Russian people as Moscow or Petrograd. Alyaska was home.
Sources:
alaskaweb.org/military/akforts… enacademic.com/pictures/enwiki… www.raremaps.com/gallery/detai… alaska-russian-america-ce-colton www.mapsofthepast.com/alaska-a… peirce-1867.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_… (As well as all connected wikipedia links, such as the articles for many Alaskan towns, cities, events, geographic locations, historical figures, etc.)