The history of the discovery and exploration of Alaska in the Presidential Library’s collections

March 30, 1867 the Russian Empire signed an agreement on the sale of Alaska to the United States of America. Emperor Alexander II decided to take such a step for both geopolitical and financial reasons. During the fighting in the Far East during the Crimean War, it became obvious that the costs of maintaining and protecting such a remote and therefore vulnerable territory are too great.

The merit in the discovery of Alaska and its development belongs precisely to our country. This is reflected in detail in the Presidential Library’s collections. Unique materials are presented on the institution's portal within the collections “Russian America” and “Russia-USA: the history of relationships”.

The exact date when the Russian man first saw Alaska is unknown. But researchers are very likely to assume that this happened in 1648: expedition members of the famous traveler Semen Dezhnev are considered the first Europeans to see new lands, sailing along the Bering Strait from the Cold Sea to the Warm Sea. This is described in S. N. Markov’s book “The Russians in Alaska” (1946).

By the end of the 18th century, Alaska had become a large colony of the Russian Empire. A Russian-American company has been established to manage its affairs, land development and organized mining. A copy of the Letter of Charity issued by Paul I in 1799 is available on the Presidential Library’s portal. One of the text fragments vividly demonstrates the difference in approaches in the colonization of new lands between our country and the European powers. According to history, Western settlers severely ousted the indigenous population, subjected it to persecution. At the same time, the Russian autocrat ordered the Aboriginal people to be respectful.

The development of Russian America has had a beneficial effect on the development of the private merchant fleet of our country which is reflected in the D. M. Afanasiev’s book “Russian-American Possessions”.

Interesting information about the daily life of Russian settlements on the North American continent and the life of indigenous tribes is reflected in the notes of our illustrious seafarers who visited Alaska and the islands nearest to it during the first round-the-world trip of Russians. This is “Journey Around the World in 1803, 4, 5, and 1806” (1809–1812) by J. F. Krusenstern and “Journey Around the World in 1803, 4, 5, and 1806, at the command of His Imperial Majesty Alexander Pervago, on a ship Neva, under the command of the fleet captain-lieutenant, now the captain of the I rank and the holder of the Yuri Lisyansky (1812), which are available in electronic form on the Presidential Library’s portal.

Nevertheless, people lived there from immemorial time. Often conflicts arose between the Indians and the colonialists, but often they were resolved peacefully. Yuri Lisyansky recalls the first time Alaskan residents came to him: “The guests were armed with firearms and asked me to exchange several guns for them, giving each of them two sea beavers. Their faces were red and black painted; one from Samago's forehead to the mouth is made of a black circle like a half-tongue, while the beard and other parts are smeared with light blue”.

In addition to text documents, the history of Russian America in the Presidential Library’s collections is presented in visual materials. Views of Alaska, portraits of its inhabitants, their everyday items are reflected in the publication Around the World with Krusenstern (2012). It is composed of illustrations made by the crews of the ships "Nadezhda" and "Neva".