TASS-DOSSIER. October 18, 2017 marks the 150th anniversary of the official ceremony of the transfer of Russian possessions in North America to the jurisdiction of the United States, which took place in the city of Novoarkhangelsk (now the city of Sitka, Alaska).
Russian America
Alaska was discovered in 1732 by Russian explorers Mikhail Gvozdev and Ivan Fedorov during an expedition on the Saint Gabriel boat. The peninsula was studied in more detail in 1741 by the Second Kamchatka expedition of Vitus Bering and Alexei Chirikov. In 1784, an expedition of the Irkutsk merchant Grigory Shelikhov arrived on Kodiak Island off the southern coast of Alaska, which founded the first settlement of Russian America - the Harbor of Three Saints. From 1799 to 1867, Alaska and the surrounding islands were under the control of the Russian-American Company (RAC).
It was created on the initiative of Shelikhov and his heirs and received a monopoly on the exploration, trade and development of minerals in the northwest of America, as well as on the Kuril and Aleutian Islands. In addition, the Russian-American company had the exclusive right to open and annex new territories to Russia in the North Pacific.
In 1825-1860, RAC employees surveyed and mapped the territory of the peninsula. Local tribes, which became dependent on the company, were obliged to organize the fur trade under the leadership of the RAC employees. In 1809-1819, the cost of furs mined in Alaska was over 15 million rubles, that is, about 1.5 million rubles. per year (for comparison - all revenues of the Russian budget in 1819 were calculated at 138 million rubles).
In 1794, the first Orthodox missionaries arrived in Alaska. In 1840, the Kamchatka, Kuril and Aleutian dioceses were organized, in 1852 Russian possessions in America were allocated to the New Arkhangelsk vicariate of the Kamchatka diocese. By 1867, about 12 thousand representatives of indigenous peoples who converted to Orthodoxy lived on the peninsula (the total population of Alaska at that time was about 50 thousand people, including Russians - about 1 thousand).
The administrative center of Russian possessions in North America was Novoarkhangelsk, their total territory was about 1.5 million square meters. km. The borders of Russian America were secured by treaties with the United States (1824) and the British Empire (1825).
Alaska sale plans
For the first time in government circles, the idea of selling Alaska to the United States was expressed in the spring of 1853 by the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia Nikolai Muravyov-Amursky. He presented Emperor Nicholas I with a note in which he argued that Russia needed to relinquish possessions in North America. According to the Governor-General, the Russian Empire did not have the necessary military and economic means to protect these territories from the claims of the United States.
Muravyov wrote: "We must be convinced of the idea that the North American States will inevitably spread throughout North America, and we must bear in mind that sooner or later they will have to cede our North American possessions." Instead of developing Russian America, Muravyov-Amursky proposed focusing on the development of the Far East, while having the United States as an ally against Britain.
Later, the main supporter of the sale of Alaska to the United States was the younger brother of Emperor Alexander II, the chairman of the State Council and head of the Naval Ministry, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich. On April 3 (March 22, old style), 1857, in a letter addressed to Foreign Minister Alexander Gorchakov, for the first time at an official level, he offered to sell the peninsula to the United States. As arguments in favor of concluding the deal, the Grand Duke referred to the "constrained position of public finances" and the allegedly low profitability of American territories.
In addition, he wrote that "one should not deceive oneself and one must foresee that the United States, constantly striving to round up its possessions and wanting to dominate indivisibly in North America, will take the aforementioned colonies from us, and we will not be able to bring them back."
The emperor supported his brother's proposal. The note was also approved by the head of the foreign policy department, but Gorchakov suggested not rushing to resolve the issue and postponing it until 1862. The Russian envoy to the United States, Baron Eduard Steckl, was instructed to "find out the opinion of the Washington Cabinet on this subject."
As the head of the Naval Department, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich was responsible for the security of overseas possessions, as well as for the development of the Pacific Fleet and the Far East. In this area, his interests clashed with the Russian-American company. In the 1860s, the emperor's brother launched a campaign to discredit the RAC and oppose its work. In 1860, on the initiative of the Grand Duke and Minister of Finance of Russia Mikhail Reitern, an audit of the company was carried out.
The official conclusion showed that the annual income of the treasury from the activities of the RAC amounted to 430 thousand rubles. (for comparison - the total revenues of the state budget in the same year amounted to 267 million rubles). As a result, Konstantin Nikolayevich and the finance minister who supported him succeeded in refusing to transfer the rights to the development of Sakhalin to the company, as well as the cancellation of many trade benefits, which led to a significant deterioration in the financial performance of the RAC.
Make a deal
On December 28 (16), 1866, in St. Petersburg, in the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a special meeting was held on the sale of Russian possessions in North America. It was attended by Emperor Alexander II, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, Finance Minister Mikhail Reitern, Naval Minister Nikolai Krabbe, Russian envoy to the United States, Baron Eduard Stekl.
At the meeting, an agreement was unanimously reached on the sale of Alaska. However, this decision was not made public. The secrecy was so high that, for example, Minister of War Dmitry Milyutin found out about the sale of the region only after signing the agreement from British newspapers. And the board of the Russian-American company received notification of the deal three weeks after its formalization.
The conclusion of the treaty took place in Washington on March 30 (18), 1867. The document was signed by Russian envoy Baron Eduard Steckl and US Secretary of State William Seward. The transaction amount was $ 7 million 200 thousand, or more than 11 million rubles. (in terms of gold - 258.4 thousand troy ounces or $ 322.4 million in modern prices), which the United States undertook to pay within ten months. At the same time, in April 1857, in a memorandum of the main ruler of the Russian colonies in America, Ferdinand Wrangel, the territories in Alaska belonging to the Russian-American company were estimated at 27.4 million rubles.
The agreement was drawn up in English and French. The entire Alaska Peninsula, the Aleksandrovsky and Kodiaksky archipelagos, the Aleutian ridge islands, as well as several islands in the Bering Sea passed to the United States. The total area of the sold land area was 1 million 519 thousand square meters. km. According to the document, Russia donated to the United States all the property of the RAC, including buildings and structures (with the exception of churches), and pledged to withdraw its troops from Alaska. The indigenous population was transferred under the jurisdiction of the United States, Russian residents and colonists received the right to move to Russia within three years.
The Russian-American company was subject to liquidation, its shareholders eventually received minor compensation, the payment of which was delayed until 1888.
On May 15 (3), 1867, the agreement on the sale of Alaska was signed by Emperor Alexander II. On October 18 (6), 1867, the Governing Senate adopted a decree on the execution of the document, the Russian text of which under the heading "The Highest Ratified Convention on the Assignment of the Russian North American Colonies to the United States of America" was published in the Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire. On May 3, 1867, the US Senate ratified the treaty. On June 20, an exchange of instruments of ratification took place in Washington.
Execution of the contract
On October 18 (6), 1867, the official ceremony of transferring Alaska to the ownership of the United States took place in Novoarkhangelsk: the Russian flag was lowered and the American flag was raised under gun salutes. On the part of Russia, the protocol on the transfer of territories was signed by the special government commissioner, Captain 2nd Rank Alexei Peshchurov, on the part of the United States - by General Lowell Russo.
In January 1868, 69 soldiers and officers of the Novoarkhangelsk garrison were taken to the Far East, to the city of Nikolaevsk (now Nikolaevsk-on-Amur, Khabarovsk Territory). The last group of Russians - 30 people - left Alaska on November 30, 1868, on the Winged Arrow, which was bought for this purpose, and was sailing to Kronstadt. Only 15 people accepted American citizenship.
On July 27, 1868, the US Congress approved the decision to pay Russia the funds stipulated in the agreement. At the same time, as follows from the correspondence of the Russian Finance Minister Reitern with the Ambassador to the United States, Baron Stekl, $ 165 thousand of the total amount was spent on bribes to senators who contributed to the adoption of the decision by Congress. 11 million 362 thousand 482 rubles. in the same year they were placed at the disposal of the Russian government. Of these, 10 million 972 thousand 238 rubles. was spent abroad for the purchase of equipment for the Kursk-Kiev, Ryazan-Kozlov and Moscow-Ryazan railways under construction.
Alaska was discovered for themselves and for Russia by Russian Cossacks and merchants back in the time of Peter the Great. This discovery was a continuation of the conquest of Siberia and the development of eastern lands. Russian pioneers like Grigory Shelikhov. Alexander Baranov and their associates, with a firm hand, subdued the sea coast of the region.
The places were rich in furs and this attracted business people. In 1799, the Russian-American Company was created, which ruled Alaska on behalf of Russia for 68 years. Settlements were built, contacts were established with the local population. The natives accepted Orthodoxy and Russian citizenship. It seemed that everything was heading towards the fact that Alaska would become part of the Russian Empire.
But fate decreed otherwise. In 1853-56, Russia had to go through an extremely difficult and unsuccessful Crimean War. Moreover, the aggressors, England and France, tested the strength of Russia along the entire length of the borders. The British even tried to seize Kamchatka. Naturally, relations between Russia and Britain sharply deteriorated. Russia could wait for the next blow precisely in Alaska, where Russian possessions bordered on English Canada. For various reasons, Russia could not adequately defend its possessions. And the Russian government, with the consent of Emperor Alexander II, made a difficult decision to sell the territory to the then friendly United States.
After lengthy negotiations, on March 30, 1867, in Washington, the agreement for the sale of Alaska was signed. As a result of the deal, Russia received $ 7.2 million in gold and the security of its eastern borders. Historians, politicians and ordinary citizens of Russia are still arguing about the extent to which this sale was justified.
Who really gave Alaska to America
Alaska once belonged to the Russian Empire. But due to certain circumstances, Russia was forced to sell the territory of Alaska to America. It is common knowledge that in 1867, on October 18, Alaska was officially given to the United States for seven million US dollars. The protocol on the transfer of land to American possession was signed by Russian Commissioner Peshchurov aboard the American ship Ossipee. Immediately on this day, the Gregorian calendar was introduced, which synchronized the time with the Western Territory of the United States. Therefore, people in Alaska went to bed on October 5 and woke up immediately on October 18. After that, American troops were brought into the possession, which evicted local residents and settled their citizens.
Why Alaska was ceded to the United States
The idea of selling Alaska did not appear for the first time, but it gained an urgent need during the Crimean War. During this period, the enemy of Russia, Britain, claimed its rights to possession of Alaska. Also, the United States was worried that Great Britain could seize the northern continent of America in order to advance to the states. The government of the Russian Empire considered it unprofitable to keep its possessions in Alaska. Therefore, Emperor Nicholas II, it was decided to sell Alaska to the US government. Eduard Stekl, a Russian diplomat, was appointed as the actor directly responsible for negotiations on the sale of Alaska.
On March 30, 1867, an agreement was signed between Russia and America for the sale of Alaska. The deal was worth about $ 7.2 million in gold, which is roughly $ 108 million in gold today. However, the treaty had to be approved by the US Senate. At first, many senators had doubts about spending so much money on acquiring an unknown piece of land, given that a severe civil war had recently ended in the country. Nevertheless, the agreement was adopted on May 3. And after a couple of months, Alaska was transferred to America.
Thus, it turns out that Nicholas II is the one who officially gave Alaska to America. Although at the same time the idea of selling was not his personal initiative, but other people.
On October 1, 1867, the formal transfer of Alaska to the United States from the Russian Empire took place. Strange as it may seem, but most of our compatriots believe that the deal to sell Alaska was made by Catherine II.
The popular group "Lube" also contributed to the consolidation of this myth in the minds of our citizens, claiming in one of their songs that Catherine was wrong. In fact, neither Peter I, nor Catherine II, nor, moreover, Nikita Khrushchev have anything to do with the sale of Alaska to our sworn friends, the Americans.
This is the merit of Tsar-liberator Alexander II. On March 29, 1867, the tsar's ambassador, Baron Eduard Andreevich Stekl, and US Secretary of State William Seward signed an agreement to sell Alaska to America for $ 7 million 200 thousand. It would seem that the cunning Americans cheated us. The amount for the territory, two and a half times the territory of Ukraine, does not seem to be large at all. But it’s not that simple.
In those days, the dollar had a slightly different real value, and $ 7 million 200 thousand of the century before last in terms of current money equals $ 8 billion 355 million. 100 years. So it's time to demand it back. Gentlemen, sadly, the train has already left, and it makes no sense to demand Alaska back. It was sold forever, not leased, which is confirmed by the relevant documents.
140 years ago, on March 18, 1867, Russia signed the largest contract in its history. On that day, the North American United States purchased a 1.5 million square kilometer product from us for $ 7.2 million. The product was called Alaska. A square kilometer of homeland thus cost Uncle Sam 20 cents. Now that deal in patriotic circles is considered almost a symbol of national shame. But was it realistic to keep Russian America?
What's interesting: Alaska has not been with us for 140 years, and the myths associated with it are still alive. The most popular of them is myth 1: Catherine II sold Alaska. It would seem that to expose it, it is enough to compare the years of Catherine's reign with the date of the sale of Alaska, but go ahead. Some Russian patriotic misogynists still love to speculate about what Russia has lost through woman's stupidity. In fact, the participation of Catherine the Great in the fate of Alaska was limited to a decree of 1769 abolishing the duty on trade with the Aleuts.
No less tenacious myth 2: Alaska was not sold, but rented out for 99 years. He speaks mainly of ignorance of the sources: in the first article of the document with the long title Agreement on the Assignment of Russian Property in North America between His Majesty the Emperor of All Russia and the United States of America it is said: His Majesty the Emperor of All Russia agrees to cede to the United States, in accordance with this agreement , immediately from the moment of ratifications, all the territory and dominion now possessed by His Imperial Majesty in the American continent and adjacent islands.
Myth 3 has a financial and conspiracy origin and was born, most likely, in the 60s of the XIX century: American money did not reach Russia. They were transferred to gold, loaded onto a ship, which sank somewhere in the Baltic during a storm. They even call the name of the ship - the English barque Orkney. This reliable information has been passed from mouth to mouth for the second hundred years, it even entered serious books. At the same time, no one has yet bothered to clarify the coordinates of this shipwreck and raise American gold from the bottom of the shallow Baltic Sea. Why? Probably no one needs $ 7 million. In addition, the idea of transporting gold by steamers was not very good already at that time. Why carry cash across the ocean if there are branches of fifty foreign banks, including American banks, operating in St. Petersburg alone?
The Alaska sale is unique in that it involved a very narrow circle. Only six people knew about the proposed sale: Alexander II, Konstantin Romanov, Alexander Gorchakov, Mikhail Reitern, Nikolai Krabbe and Edaurd Stekl. The fact that Alaska was sold to America became known only two months after the transaction. The Minister of Finance, Reuters, is traditionally considered its initiator.
A year before the transfer of Alaska, he sent a special note to Alexander II, in which he pointed out the need for the strictest economy and stressed that for the normal functioning of the empire, a three-year foreign loan of 15 million rubles is required. in year. Thus, even the lower limit of the transaction amount, indicated by Reuters at 5 million rubles, could cover a third of the annual loan. In addition, the state annually paid subsidies to the Russian-American company, the sale of Alaska saved Russia from these costs. The RAC did not receive a dime from the sale of Alaska.
Even before the historical note of the Minister of Finance, the idea of selling Alaska was expressed by the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia Muravyov-Amursky. He said that it would be in Russia's interests to improve relations with the United States in order to strengthen its positions on the Asian Pacific coast, to be friends with America against the British.
Sources: znayuvse.ru, socialskydivelab.com, ufostation.net, otvet.mail.ru, russian7.ru
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Alaska Sale- a deal between the governments of the Russian Empire and the North American United States, as a result of which in 1867 Russia sold its possessions in North America (with a total area of 1,518,800 km²) for $ 7.2 million.
For the first time, Governor-General of Eastern Siberia N.N.Muravyov-Amursky made a proposal to sell Alaska in 1853.
Alaska, discovered to the Old World in 1732 by a Russian expedition led by M. S. Gvozdev and I. Fedorov, was the possession of Russia in North America. At first, it was mastered not by the state, but by private individuals, but, starting in 1799, by a specially established monopoly - the Russian-American Company (RAC).
The area of the sold territory was 586,412 square miles (1,518,800 km2) and was practically not inhabited - according to the RAC itself, at the time of the sale, the population of all Russian Alaska and the Aleutian Islands was about 2,500 Russians and up to about 60,000 Indians and Eskimos. In the early 19th century, Alaska was generating income from the fur trade, but by the middle of the century it began to appear that the costs of maintaining and protecting this remote and geopolitically vulnerable territory would outweigh the potential profit.
The first question about the sale of Alaska to the United States before the Russian government was raised by the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia, Count N.N. the Pacific coast in the face of the increasing penetration of the British Empire:
“... now, with the invention and development of railways, more than before, we must be convinced of the idea that the North American States will inevitably spread throughout North America, and we must bear in mind that sooner or later they will have to cede our possessions. It was impossible, however, with this consideration not to keep in mind another thing: which is very natural for Russia, if not to own the whole of East Asia; then dominate the entire Asian coast of the Eastern Ocean. Under the circumstances, we allowed the British to invade this part of Asia ... but this matter can still be improved by our close ties with the North American States. "
( N.N. Muravyov-Amursky)
It should be noted that no more than 2.5 thousand Russians inhabited this space with an area of more than 1.5 million square kilometers at a single point in time, who were lost against the background of almost 70 thousand Indians, Eskimos and Aleuts. It is precisely this relationship that explains the conventionality of the term "Russian" in the name - Russians were a national minority here.
However, it was this minority that began the active development of the region, which, sadly enough, in fact turned into a predatory plunder of its natural reserves. The colonists were mainly engaged in the hunting of fur-bearing animals, both land and sea. The main prey were sea otters, which were exterminated in the most barbaric ways. By the way, it was thanks to this "sea robbery" that the Russian settlers completely knocked out a friendly and harmless Steller's cow - a marine mammal from the squad of sirens (it was, however, hunted not for fur, but for food purposes).
The destruction of American ecosystems was carried out as follows: since there were few Russians in the colony, Indians, Eskimos and Aleuts were used as the main labor force. Merchants and industrialists, acting supposedly on behalf of the "White Tsar" (that is, the Sovereign Emperor), levied heavy tribute (yasak) on local communities. For failure to fulfill the "plan" the aborigines were beaten with whips, put in stocks, ruined their villages, taking women and children into debt slavery. And sometimes the colonists organized real robbery raids on the settlements of the natives, taking away all the skins and food supplies from them - after such raids, the unfortunate only had to go into bondage to the "shoals" (this is how all Russians were called in Alaska, distorting the word "Cossack") ...
Not surprisingly, the local population fiercely hated the newcomers. Real Cossacks also added fuel to the fire, constantly stealing women from the aborigines and raping them. The representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church, who destroyed the religious buildings of the aborigines and persecuted shamans, did not behave particularly well. In a word, unlike what the then Russian press wrote about Russian America, there was no peaceful existence of aliens and aborigines.
(Anton Evseev) ***
Directly east of Alaska was the Canadian possession of the British Empire (formally the Hudson's Bay Company). Relations between Russia and Britain were shaped by geopolitical rivalry and were sometimes openly hostile. During the Crimean War, when the British fleet tried to land troops in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the possibility of a direct clash in America became real. Under these conditions, in the spring of 1854, the American government, wishing to prevent the occupation of Alaska by the British Empire, received an offer to fictitiously (temporarily, for a period of three years) sale by the Russian-American company of all its possessions and property for 7 million 600 thousand dollars. The RAC entered into such an agreement with the US-controlled American-Russian Trading Company in San Francisco, which was controlled by the US government, but it did not enter into force, since the RAC was able to negotiate with the British Hudson's Bay Company.
Sale negotiations
Formally, the next offer to sell came from the Russian envoy to Washington, Baron Eduard Stekl, but this time the initiator of the deal was Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich (younger brother of Alexander II), who first voiced this offer in the spring of 1857 in a special letter to Foreign Minister A.M. Gorchakov. Gorchakov supported the proposal. The position of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs boiled down to studying the issue, and it was decided to postpone its implementation until the expiration of the RAC privileges in 1862. And then the question temporarily became irrelevant in connection with the American Civil War.
On December 16, 1866, a special meeting was held, which was attended by Alexander II, Grand Duke Constantine, the finance and naval ministers, and the Russian envoy to Washington, Baron Eduard Steckl. All participants approved the sale idea. At the suggestion of the Ministry of Finance, a threshold was set for the amount - at least $ 5 million in gold. On December 22, 1866, Alexander II approved the border of the territory.
In March 1867, Steckle arrived in Washington and reminded Secretary of State William Seward "of the offers that have been made in the past for the sale of our colonies" and added that "the Imperial Government is now disposed to negotiate." Having secured the consent of President Johnson, Seward was able to negotiate the main provisions of the future treaty during the second meeting with Steckle on March 14.
On March 18, 1867, President Johnson signed official credentials to Seward, and almost immediately the Secretary of State negotiated with Steckle, during which, in general terms, a draft agreement was agreed on the purchase of Russian possessions in America for 7.2 million dollars.
The signing of the treaty took place on March 30, 1867 in Washington. The treaty was signed in English and French (“diplomatic” languages).
On May 3 (15), 1867, the treaty was signed by Emperor Alexander II, on October 6 (18), 1867 The governing senate adopted a decree on the execution of the treaty, the Russian text of which under the heading "The Highest Ratified Convention on the Assignment of the Russian North American Colonies to the North American United States" was published in the Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire No. 44518. The transaction value was 7.2 million dollars in gold (at the rate of 2009 - approximately 108 million dollars in gold).
The United States crossed the entire peninsula of Alaska (along a line running 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; Blizhnie, Krysi, Lisyi, Andreyanovskie, Shumagina, Trinity, Umnak, Unimak, Kodiak, Chirikova, Afognak islands and other smaller islands; islands in the Bering Sea: St. Lawrence, St. Matthew, Nunivak and the Pribilov Islands - St. George and St. Paul. The total land area sold was about 1,519,000², so $ 4 73 cents per square kilometer was paid, that is, 1.9 cents per acre. Together with the territory, all immovable property, all colonial archives, official and historical documents related to the transferred territories were transferred to the United States.
In accordance with the usual procedure, the treaty was submitted to Congress. Since the session of Congress ended on that very day, the President called an emergency executive session of the Senate.
The fate of the treaty was in the hands of the members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The committee at the time included: Charles Sumner from Massachusetts - chairman, Simon Cameron from Pennsylvania, William Fessenden from Maine, James Harlan from Iowa, Oliver Morton from Indiana, James Paterson from New Hampshire, Raverdee Johnson from Maryland. That is, it was up to the representatives of the Northeast to decide on the annexation of the territory in which the Pacific states were primarily interested.
The US Senate, represented by the Foreign Affairs Committee, expressed doubts about the advisability of such a burdensome acquisition, especially in a situation when the civil war had just ended in the country. Doubts were also expressed in connection with the fact that the payment was made in non-cash dollars, and not in gold, and not to the accounts of the Ministry of Finance of Russia, but to the account of a private person (Steklya), which contradicted the terms of the agreement. However, the deal was upheld in the Senate by 37 votes to 2 against (they were Fessenden and Justin Morrill of Vermont). On May 3, the treaty was ratified. On June 8, an exchange of instruments of ratification took place in Washington. Later, in accordance with the established procedure, the contract was printed and then included in the official collection of laws of the Russian Empire (No. 44518).
Ceremony of transferring Alaska to US jurisdiction
On Friday, October 18, 1867, at 3:30 pm, Alaska was officially ceded to the United States. On the part of Russia, the transfer protocol was signed by a special government commissar, captain 2nd rank A.A. Peshchurov. The handover ceremony took place in Novoarkhangelsk (now Sitka), aboard the American military sloop Ossippi. According to the Russian time reckoning in force in Alaska at that time, the deed of handover was signed on Saturday, October 7, old style (19 October n.st.) - due to the fact that the Julian calendar was in effect in Russia, as well as due to the fact that the date in Russian America, which was considered to be to the east, and not to the west of Petersburg, coincided with the date in the continental Russia (differing at the same time by a day from the date at the same time in the United States).
On the same day, the Gregorian calendar in force in the United States was introduced and the time was synchronized with the west coast of the United States: as a result, the date was moved 11 days ahead (+12 days difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars in the 19th century, -1 day due to the transfer of territory east of the date line), and Saturday became Friday (due to the postponement of the date line).
Immediately after the transfer of Alaska to the United States, American troops arrived in Sitka.
Comparison of the transaction price with similar transactions of the time
Check for USD 7.2 million presented to pay for the purchase of Alaska. The amount of the check is approximately equivalent to USD 119 million in 2014 (see photo). By the way, according to some experts, the building of the New York District Court was more expensive than the whole of Alaska, although the cost of the building may be so high today, but not in the 19th century. In turn, the starting price is 7.2. million today is much higher.
The Russian Empire sold the inaccessible and uninhabited territory at 2 cents per acre ($ 0.0474 per hectare), that is, nominally one and a half times cheaper than it was sold 50 years earlier (at a different cost of a cent) by Napoleonic France (in the conditions of war and sequential confiscation of the French colonies by Britain) is a much larger (2,100,000 km²) and fully developed territory of historical Louisiana: only for the port of New Orleans, America initially offered $ 10 million in a more "weighty" dollar of the very beginning of the 19th century. But the lands of Louisiana had to be redeemed from their real owners - the Indians living on it.
At the same time that Alaska, the one and only three-story building in the center of New York - the New York District Court, built by the Tweed gang, was sold, the New York State Treasury cost more than the US government - all of Alaska.
Different interpretations of the history of the sale of Alaska
It is widely believed in Russian journalism that Alaska was not actually sold, but leased for 99 years, but the USSR, for certain political reasons, did not demand it back. The same version is played up in the novel by Jeffrey Archer "A Matter of Honor". However, in the opinion of the overwhelming majority of historians, there is no basis for these versions, because, according to the 1867 treaty, Alaska is unequivocally, finally and irrevocably transferred to the full ownership of the United States.
Some historians also argue that Russia did not receive gold, which sank along with the Orkney barge that transported it. Orkney) during a storm. Nevertheless, the State Historical Archives of the Russian Federation contains a document written by an unknown employee of the Ministry of Finance in the second half of 1868, stating that “For ceded to the North American States Russian possessions in North America came from the aforementioned States 11,362,481 rubles. 94 [cop.]. Of the 11 362 481 rubles. 94 kopecks spent abroad for the purchase of accessories for the railways: Kursk-Kievskaya, Ryazan-Kozlovskaya, Moscow-Ryazanskaya and others. 10,972,238 rubles. 4 K. The rest is 390,243 rubles. 90 k. Were received in cash ”.
In Washington, 150 years ago, an agreement was signed on the sale of Alaska to America by Russia. For many years there have been fierce debates about why this happened and how to relate to this event. During the discussion, organized by the Foundation and the Free Historical Society, doctors of historical sciences and Yuri Bulatov tried to answer the questions arising in connection with this event. The discussion was moderated by a journalist and historian. publishes excerpts from their speeches.
Alexander Petrov:
150 years ago, Alaska was ceded (that's what they said then - ceded, not sold) to the United States. During this time, we went through a period of rethinking what happened, different points of view were expressed on both sides of the ocean, sometimes diametrically opposite. Nevertheless, the events of those years continue to excite the public consciousness.
Why? There are several points. First of all, a huge territory was sold, which currently occupies key positions in the Asia-Pacific region, largely due to the development of oil and other minerals production. But it's important to note that the deal wasn't just about the United States and Russia. It involved such players as England, France, Spain, various structures of these states.
The very procedure for the sale of Alaska took place from December 1866 to March 1867, and the money went later. These funds were used to build railways in the Ryazan direction. Dividends on the shares of the Russian-American company that controlled these territories continued to be paid until 1880.
At the origins of this organization, created in 1799, were merchants, moreover, from certain regions - the Vologda and Irkutsk provinces. They organized the company at their own peril and risk. As the song says, “Don't play the fool, America! Ekaterina, you were wrong. " Catherine II, from the point of view of the merchants Shelekhov and Golikov, was really wrong. Shelekhov sent a detailed message in which he asked to approve the monopoly privileges of his company for 20 years and give an interest-free loan in the amount of 200 thousand rubles - a huge amount of money for that time. The Empress refused, explaining that her attention was now paid to "midday actions" - that is, to today's Crimea, and she was not interested in monopoly.
But the merchants were very persistent, they somehow crowded out the competitors. In fact, Paul I simply fixed the status quo, the formation of a monopoly company, and in 1799 granted it rights and privileges. The merchants sought both the adoption of the flag and the transfer of the headquarters from Irkutsk to St. Petersburg. That is, at first it was a truly private enterprise. In the future, however, representatives of the navy were increasingly appointed to the places of merchants.
The transfer of Alaska began with the famous letter from Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, brother of Emperor Alexander II, to the Minister of Foreign Affairs that this territory should be ceded to the United States. Then he did not accept a single amendment and only strengthened his position.
The transaction itself was successfully completed in secret from the Russian-American company. After that, the approval of the Governing Senate and the Emperor from the Russian side was a pure formality. It is amazing, but true: the letter of Konstantin Nikolaevich was written exactly ten years before the actual sale of Alaska.
Yuri Bulatov:
Today, much attention is paid to the sale of Alaska. In 1997, when Great Britain handed over Hong Kong to China, the systemic opposition decided to promote themselves: if Hong Kong was returned, we also need to return Alaska, which was taken away from us. We didn’t sell it, but ceded it, and let the Americans pay the interest for the use of the territory.
Both scientists and the general public are interested in this topic. Let us recall the song, which is often sung on holidays: "Don't play the fool America, give the little land Alyasochka, give your darling back." There are a lot of emotional publications that are interesting in their fervor. Even in 2014, after the annexation of Crimea to Russia, there was a live broadcast of an interview with our president, in which he was asked in the light of what had happened: what is the prospect of Russian America? He emotionally answered, they say, why do we need America? No need to get excited.
But the problem is that we do not have documents that would allow us to find out what actually happened. Yes, there was a special meeting on December 16, 1866, but the phrase "special meeting" in our history always sounds bad. All of them were illegitimate and their decisions were wrong.
It is necessary to find out the reason for the mysterious sympathy for America of the Romanov dynasty and the secret of the sale of Alaska - there is also a secret here. The document on the sale of this territory stipulated that the entire archive that existed in Russian America at that time would be completely transferred to the United States. Apparently, the Americans had something to hide, and they wanted to be on the safe side.
But the word of the sovereign is a golden word, if you decide that you need to sell, then you need to. It was not for nothing that in 1857 Konstantin Nikolaevich sent a letter to Gorchakov. While on duty, the Minister of Foreign Affairs was supposed to report on the letter to Alexander II, although he had previously avoided this issue in every possible way. The emperor inscribed on his brother's letter that "this idea is worth considering."
The arguments presented in the letter, I would say, are dangerous even now. For example, Konstantin Nikolaevich was the chairman, and suddenly he makes a discovery, saying that Alaska is very far from the main centers of the Russian Empire. The question arises: why exactly should it be sold? There is Sakhalin, there is Chukotka, there is Kamchatka, but for some reason the choice falls on Russian America.
The second point: the Russian-American company allegedly does not make a profit. This is incorrect, since there are documents that say that the income was (maybe not as large as we would like, but there was). Third point: the treasury is empty. Yes, indeed it was so, but 7.2 million dollars did not make the weather. Indeed, in those days the Russian budget was 500 million rubles, and 7.2 million dollars - a little more than 10 million rubles. Moreover, Russia had a debt of 1.5 billion rubles.
Fourth statement: if some kind of military conflict arises, we will not be able to hold this territory. Here the Grand Duke is lying. In 1854, the Crimean War was fought not only in the Crimea, but also in the Baltic and the Far East. In Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the fleet under the leadership of the future Admiral Zavoiko repelled an attack by a joint Anglo-French squadron. In 1863, by order of the Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, two squadrons were sent: one to New York, where it was in the roadstead, the other to San Francisco. Thus, we prevented the transformation of the civil war in the United States into an international conflict.
The last argument is disarming in its naivety: if we sell to the Americans, then we will have a wonderful relationship with them. It was probably better then to sell to Great Britain, because at that time we did not have a common border with America, and it would have been more profitable to conclude a deal with the British.
Such arguments are not only lightweight but also criminal. Today, on their basis, any territory could be sold. In the west - the Kaliningrad region, in the east - the Kuril Islands. Far? Far. No profit? No. Is the treasury empty? Empty. There are also questions about retention during a military conflict. The relationship with the customer will improve, but for how long? The experience of selling Alaska to America showed that not for long.
Alexander Petrov:
There has always been more partnership than conflict between Russia and the United States. It is no coincidence, for example, that historian Norman Saul wrote Distant Friends - Friends at a Distance. For a long time after the sale of Alaska, Russia and the United States had an almost friendly relationship. I would not use the word rivalry in Alaska.
As for the position of Konstantin Nikolaevich, I would call it not criminal, but untimely and inexplicable. Criminal is when a person violates certain norms, rules and those attitudes that existed in society at that time. Formally, everything was done correctly. But the way the deal was signed raises questions.
What was the alternative then? Provide opportunities for the Russian-American company to continue to operate in the region, allow it to populate this region with immigrants from Siberia and the center of Russia, to develop these vast spaces in the framework of the continuation of the peasant reform, the abolition of serfdom. It is another matter whether there would be enough strength for this or not.
Yuri Bulatov:
I doubt that the relations between the two countries were friendly, and this is evidenced by the facts and the speed of execution of this transaction.
Here is an interesting example: in 1863, Russia signed an agreement with the Americans on the wiring of a telegraph through Siberia with access to Russian America. But in February 1867, a month before the deal to sell Alaska, the American side canceled this agreement, saying that they would lead the telegraph across the Atlantic. Of course, public opinion reacted extremely negatively to this. For four years the Americans were actually engaged in intelligence activities on our territory, and in February 1867 they suddenly abandoned the project.
Photo: Konrad Wothe / Globallookpress.com
If we take the agreement on the transfer of Alaska, then this is an agreement between the winner and the loser. You read six of his articles, and the formulations are simply hit in the head: America has rights, and Russia must fulfill the specified conditions.
So the top of the Romanov dynasty had mercantile relations with the United States, but no friendly ones. And our society did not know what was happening. Chairman of the Council of Ministers Prince Gagarin, Minister of Internal Affairs Valuev, Minister of War Milyutin had no idea at all about the deal and learned about all this from the newspapers. If they were bypassed, it means that they would be against it. Relations between the two countries were not friendly.
As for the papers of Alexander II himself, it can be seen from the hard-to-read memorable book that on Friday, December 16 (28) at 10 o'clock in the morning, the tsar managed to receive M. Kh. Reitern, P. A. Valuev and V. F. Adlerberg. This was followed by a note: “at 1 [day] at [nyazya] Gorchakov's meeting [is] on the affairs of [at] the American] company [a]. It was decided [?] To sell to the United States ”(1412). At 2 o'clock the tsar had the next event. A much more detailed account of what happened on December 16 (28), 1866, was given by the famous American scientist Professor F. A. Golder in an article published back in 1920: “At a meeting that took place on December 16 in the palace (we we now know that it took place at Gorchakov's residence on Palace Square. - NB), all the above-mentioned persons were present (i.e. the tsar, Konstantin, Gorchakov, Reitern, Krabbe and Stekl. - Ya. B.). Reitern gave details of the company's dire financial situation. In the ensuing discussion, everyone took part and in the end agreed to sell the colonies to the United States. When this was decided, the emperor approached Stekle with the question of whether he would return to Washington to complete the case. Although this was not what Steckl wanted (they were planning to be appointed at the time to the post of envoy to The Hague), he had no choice, and he said that he would go. Conducted. book gave him a map that marked the boundaries, and the finance minister said he should receive at least $ 5 million. These were practically all the instructions that Stekl received ”(1413).
In general terms, the course of the discussion was presented by the professor correctly, and it was obvious that he relied on some kind of documentary record. It became possible, however, to clarify the matter only when I became acquainted with the richest archive of F.A.Golder at the Hoover Institute of War, Revolution and Peace. One of the archival folders contains extracts from a letter by E. A. Stekl 'to his colleague in London, Baron F. I. Brunnov dated April 7 (19), 1867, which fully corresponded to the above passage and were evidence of one of the participants in the "special meeting" (1414).
The American researcher is not quite right only with regard to the instructions received by E.A. Stekl. In fact, at the meeting on December 16 (28), it was decided that all interested departments would prepare their views for the envoy to Washington.
- A group of authors. ISBN 5-7133-0883-9.
... On December 22 (old style) the head of the naval ministry NK Krabbe presented to Alexander II a note "Border line between the possessions of Russia in Asia and North America", which was not only approved by the tsar, but also accompanied by a flattering mark. Two days later, NK Krabbe presented this note together with the corresponding map to AM Gorchakov for subsequent transfer to Glass ... The litter by the hand of Alexander II: “Okay reported” - and the inscription in the margins: “Approved by the Emperor on December 22, 66 N . Crabbe ".
- A group of authors. Chapter 11. Sale of Alaska (1867) 1. Decision on the cession of the Russian colonies in America to the United States (December 1866)// History of Russian America (1732-1867) / Ed. ed. acad. N.N.Bolkhovitinov. - M.: Mezhdunar. relations, 1997. - T. T. 1. Founding of Russian America (1732-1799). - P. 480. - 2000 copies. - ISBN 5-7133-0883-9.
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