During whose reign Alaska was sold. Selling Alaska: accurate calculation or fatal mistake

Today Russia is considered the most big country On the Earth. Its area, scale and length are striking in its size. However, a few centuries ago the territory of the Russian Federation was even larger, because it included the cold northern lands of Alaska.

This part of the land is North America was first discovered for the world community back in 1732 during an expedition by the Russian military surveyor M. S. Gvozdev and the traveler-navigator I. Fedorov.

Now Alaska is the 49th state in the United States and at the same time the northernmost, coldest and largest in size. The climate there is predominantly arctic, which causes snowy and very cold winters and constant winds from the sea. Only on small area along the Pacific coastline the climate is suitable for human life.

Russia was able to own the newly discovered lands as its legal territory only in 1799. At the first stages of the development of new lands, the main contribution to their development was made by private entrepreneurs, philanthropists and companies. Only 67 years after the discovery, the development of Alaska was carried out by the forces and means of the Russian-American company, created by decree of Paul the First and under the leadership of G. I. Shelikhov.

In 1867 Russian empire sold its Arctic territories to America, and since then many people have been interested in the details and nuances of this historical course of events

Prerequisites and reasons for the sale

Prerequisites for the sale of Alaska began to arise back in 1853 before the start of Crimean War, when N. N. Muravyov-Amursky, being at that time the governor of the Eastern Siberian lands, raised the issue of the resale of Alaska, citing the geopolitical situation in Far East with a further opportunity to strengthen influence in Eastern Siberia. He addressed a letter to Nicholas the First, in which he outlined in detail his thoughts about eastern territories and the need to donate land for a mutually beneficial relationship with the United States.

At that time, diplomatic relations between Britain and Russia were on the verge of breakdown and were hostile. There was even a threat of a possible British invasion of the Russian Pacific coast after their attempt to land and gain a foothold in Petropavlovka-Kamchatsky. Muravyov believed that the time would come when Alaska would have to be given to the United States, since Russia would not be able to resist the enemy on its own, especially since, according to estimates, there were only up to eight hundred Russian people in overseas territories.

The government in Petrograd carefully studied the proposals of the governor general and made a positive decision. Emperor Alexander II ordered the development and destruction of Sakhalin Island in order to prevent its development foreign companies and investors. This was supposed to be done by the above-mentioned Russian-American company

An interesting fact is that the idea of ​​selling Alaska was promoted by the brother of the ruler of our state, Prince Konstantin, who was at that time the head of the Naval Ministry. Konstantin inspired his brother that in the event of an attack by Britain, Russia could lose not only Alaska as a territory, but also all the mineral reserves located in its depths. Since the emperor did not have a defensive fleet or army in that region, the sale was a chance to receive at least some amount rather than lose everything and, at the same time, win over the US Government.

Alexander II knew about the volume of gold reserves in the bowels of the Arctic land and about the potential possibilities for their extraction and use, however, despite a number of reforms implemented in the country, the depleted budget as a result of the lost Crimean War and the rather large external debt of the state persuaded the tsar to accept the proposal Konstantin.

Transaction agreement and land transfer

In 1866, Alexander II held a meeting at which the ministers of the economy, the maritime ministry, the ministry of finance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs A. M. Gorchakov, Prince Konstantin and the Russian ambassador to Washington, E. Stekl, gathered. All those present came to the conclusion that the amount for which the sovereign’s lands could be given away should be no less than five million dollars, and in gold equivalent

A few days later, the limits and boundaries of the given territories were approved.

In March 1867, Secretary of State W. Seward, empowered by the President of America, held a series of meetings and negotiations with Steckl, at which the delegates discussed all the nuances of the transfer of Russian possessions. The price was set at $72,000,000

On March 30, 1867, documents were signed in Washington in English and French, which stipulated the conditions for the transfer of the Russian North American colonies to the jurisdiction of Washington. The area of ​​land transferred was more than 1.5 million square kilometers. In addition to the areas, all archival and historical documents, as well as real estate, were transferred to the United States. Soon, the document was signed by Alexander II and ratified by the American Senate. Already on June 8 of the same year, an exchange of signed regulations took place.

Consequences of the Alaska transfer

In the mid-20th century, Americans found large reserves of oil and gas, as well as gold deposits. After that historical fact about the transfer of Alaska was constantly distorted and interpreted. Many were of the opinion and still believe that there was no act of sale, and the possessions were only given for temporary use. Another group believes that since the ship with gold for the sold resources sank, therefore, there can be no talk of any transaction, but this contradicts the facts and references from historical archives, according to which the proceeds were spent on the needs of the state.

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150 years ago, on October 18, 1867, in the city of Novoarkhangelsk (now called Sitka), the Russian flag was lowered and the US flag was raised. This symbolic ceremony sealed the transfer of our American territories to the United States. Alaska Day is a holiday celebrated in the state on October 18th. However, disputes about the advisability of selling the territory have not subsided to this day. Why Russia abandoned its possessions in America - in the RT material.

• Signing of the Treaty for the Sale of Alaska, March 30, 1867
• © Emanuel Leutze / Wikimedia Commons

In the early 60s of the 19th century, Russia was in crisis, which was associated with defeat in the Crimean War (1853-1856). Russia suffered, if not a crushing, but extremely unpleasant defeat, which exposed all the disadvantages of the political and economic system.

This land was ours: how Alaska was sold

On March 30, 1867, an agreement was signed in Washington on the sale by Russia of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands to the United States of America. Solution…

Much needed reforming. Nicholas I, who died before the end of the war, left his heir, Alexander II, many unresolved issues. And to get out of the crisis, boost the economy and restore authority in the international arena, strength and money were required.

Against this background, Alaska did not look like a profitable asset. The economic rationale for the development of American territories was primarily the fur trade. However, by the middle of the 19th century this resource was largely exhausted. Russian industrialists, being far from the “sovereign eye,” did not care about preserving natural wealth. The sea animal sea otter, whose fur represented the most valuable resource, was already on the verge of destruction due to uncontrolled fishing.

Pragmatic calculation

Neither Russian government, nor the residents of Russian Alaska had any idea that the region was rich in gold and oil. And the value of oil in those years was not at all the same as it is today. Alaska was located many months by sea from St. Petersburg, so the government had no real opportunity to control it. Skeptics can also be reminded that Russia properly took up the development of the northeast of the Asian part of the country only in Soviet years. It is unlikely that Alaska would have been developed faster and more efficiently than Chukotka.

• Russian church on Kodiak Island off the southern coast of Alaska. The ground is covered in volcanic ash after the eruption of Mount Katmai
• © The Library of Congress

Finally, only shortly before the sale of Alaska, Russia concluded the Aigun and Beijing treaties. According to them, the state included significant territories of the Far East, all of present-day Primorye, a significant part of the modern Khabarovsk Territory and the Amur Region. All these lands required intensive development (this is precisely why Vladivostok was founded).

The Aigun Treaty was the merit of an outstanding administrator, the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia, Count Nikolai Muravyov-Amursky, whom every Russian today knows by the image of his monument on the five-thousandth banknote. It was he who initiated the idea of ​​selling Alaska. And it’s hard to blame Muravyov-Amursky for his lack of patriotism. His position boiled down to a rational choice, well expressed in the proverb “If you chase two hares, you won’t catch either.”

• "Map of the Arctic Sea and Eastern Ocean", drawn up in 1844
• © The Library of Congress

Russia had to either gain a foothold in the rich Far East, or continue to cling to remote Alaska. The government understood: if the Americans or the British from neighboring Canada took the remote outpost seriously, it would not be possible to fight on equal terms with them - the distances were too great to transport troops, the infrastructure was too vulnerable.

Alaska in exchange for empire

The sale of remote territories was not some unique Russian practice. At the beginning of the 19th century, France sold the United States a much warmer Louisiana, closer to the metropolis and rich in obvious resources at that time. Fresh and not best examples there were Texas and California, which Mexico ceded for next to nothing after direct American aggression. Between the Louisiana and Texas options, Russia chose the first.

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In the 60s of the 19th century, the United States and Russia were at the peak of friendly relations. Reasons for political conflicts between states have not yet appeared; moreover, Russia provided support to Washington during civil war. Therefore, negotiations on the sale of Alaska took place in a calm tone and on mutually beneficial terms, although there was some bargaining. The United States did not exert any pressure on Russia, and did not have any grounds or tools for this. The transfer of American territories to the United States became, although secret, a completely transparent deal for the participants themselves.

Russia received about 11 million rubles for Alaska.

The amount was significant at that time, but still they gave less for Alaska than, for example, for Louisiana. Even taking into account such a “thrift” price on the American side, not everyone was sure that the purchase would justify itself.

The money received for Alaska was spent on the railway network, which was then just being built in Russia.

So, thanks to this deal, the Russian Far East developed, railways were built, and the successful reforms of Alexander II were carried out, which provided Russia with economic growth, returned international authority and made it possible to get rid of the consequences of defeat in the Crimean War.

Dmitry Fedorov

Selling Alaska- a transaction 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, the 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 developed 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 uninhabited - according to 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. At the beginning of the 19th century, Alaska generated income through the fur trade, but by mid-century it began to seem that the costs of maintaining and protecting this remote and geopolitically vulnerable territory would outweigh the potential profits.

The first question about the sale of Alaska to the United States to the Russian government was raised by the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia, Count N.N. Muravyov-Amursky in 1853, indicating that this, in his opinion, is inevitable, and at the same time will strengthen Russia’s position in Asia Pacific coast in the face of increasing penetration of the British Empire:

“...now, with the invention and development railways, more than before, we must be convinced of the idea that the North American States will inevitably spread throughout North America, and we cannot help but keep in mind that sooner or later we will have to cede our North American possessions to them. It was impossible, however, with this consideration not to have another thing in mind: which is very natural for Russia if you do not own the whole East Asia; then dominate the entire Asian coast of the Eastern Ocean. Due to circumstances, we allowed the British to invade this part of Asia... but this matter can still be improved by our close connection with the North American States.”

( N. N. Muravyov-Amursky)

It should be noted that in this space of more than 1.5 million square kilometers, at a single moment in time, no more than 2.5 thousand Russians lived, who were lost against the background of almost 70 thousand Indians, Eskimos and Aleuts. It is precisely this ratio that explains the convention of the term “Russian” in the name - Russians constituted a national minority here.

However, it was precisely this minority that began the active development of the region, which, sad as it may be, in fact turned into a predatory plunder of its natural reserves. The colonists were mainly engaged in hunting 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 killed off the friendly and harmless Steller’s cow, a marine mammal from the order of sirens (it was, however, hunted not for its fur, but for food purposes).

The destruction of American ecosystems was carried out as follows: since there were few Russians in the colony, as the main work force used Indians, Eskimos and Aleuts. Merchants and industrialists, allegedly acting on behalf of the “White Tsar” (that is, the Sovereign Emperor), imposed heavy tribute (yasak) on local communities. For failure to fulfill the “plan,” the aborigines were beaten with whips, put in stocks, their villages were destroyed, women and children were taken into debt slavery. And sometimes the colonists staged real robbery raids on the villages of the natives, taking away all their skins and food supplies - after such raids the unfortunates had no choice but to go into bondage to the “shoals” (that’s how all Russians were called in Alaska, distorting the word “Cossack”) .

It is not surprising that the local population fiercely hated the aliens. Real Cossacks also added fuel to the fire, constantly stealing women from the aborigines and raping them. Representatives of the Russian Federation did not behave particularly well either. Orthodox Church, who destroyed Aboriginal places of worship and persecuted shamans. In a word, in contrast to what the then Russian press, there was no peaceful existence of aliens and aborigines.

(Anton Evseev) ***

Immediately east of Alaska lay the Canadian possessions of the British Empire (formally the Hudson's Bay Company). Relations between Russia and Britain were determined 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, which wanted to prevent the occupation of Alaska by the British Empire, received a proposal for a fictitious (temporary, for a period of three years) sale by the Russian-American Company of all its possessions and property for 7 million 600 thousand dollars. RAC entered into such an agreement with the American-Russian Trading Company in San Francisco, controlled by the US government, but it did not come into force, since RAC managed to reach an agreement with the British Hudson's Bay Company.

Sale negotiations

Formally, the next proposal for sale came from the Russian envoy in 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 proposal in the spring of 1857 in a special letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs A. M. Gorchakov. Gorchakov supported the proposal. The position of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was to study 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 due to the American Civil War.

On December 16, 1866, a special meeting was held, which was attended by Alexander II, Grand Duke Constantine, the ministers of finance and the naval ministry, and the Russian envoy in Washington, Baron Eduard Stekl. All participants approved the idea of ​​sale. At the proposal 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, Steckle arrived in Washington and reminded Secretary of State William Seward "of proposals which have been made in the past for the sale of our colonies" and added that "the Imperial Government is now disposed to enter into negotiations." Having secured the consent of President Johnson, Seward, already during the second meeting with Steckle, held on March 14, was able to discuss the main provisions of the future treaty.

On March 18, 1867, President Johnson signed official powers to Seward, and almost immediately negotiations between the Secretary of State and Steckl took place, during which a draft agreement on the purchase of Russian possessions in America for $7.2 million was agreed upon in general terms.

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 implementation of the treaty, the Russian text of which, under the heading “The Highest Ratified Convention on the Cession of the Russian North American Colonies to the United States of America” was published in the Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire No. 44518. The cost of the transaction was 7.2 million dollars in gold (at the 2009 exchange rate - approximately 108 million dollars in gold).

The entire Alaska Peninsula was transferred to the United States (along a line running along the 141° meridian west of Greenwich), a coastal strip 10 miles wide south of Alaska along west bank British Columbia; Alexandra archipelago; Aleutian Islands with Attu Island; Blizhnye, Rat, Lisya, Andreyanovskie, Shumagina, Trinity, Umnak, Unimak, Kodiak, Chirikova, Afognak and other smaller islands; Islands in the Bering Sea: St. Lawrence, St. Matthew, Nunivak and the Pribilof Islands - St. George and St. Paul. The total amount of land sold was about 1,519,000², therefore, $4.73 was paid per square kilometer, that is, 1.9 cents per acre. Along with the territory, all real estate, all colonial archives, official and historical documents related to the transferred territories were transferred to the United States.

In accordance with normal procedure, the treaty was submitted to Congress. Since the congressional session ended on that day, the President called an emergency executive session of the Senate.

The fate of the treaty was in the hands of members of the Senate Committee on foreign affairs. The committee at that time included: Charles Sumner of Massachusetts - chairman, Simon Cameron of Pennsylvania, William Fessenden of Maine, James Harlan of Iowa, Oliver Morton of Indiana, James Paterson of New Hampshire, Raverdy Johnson of Maryland. That is, the issue of annexing the territory, in which the Pacific states were primarily interested, had to be decided by representatives of the Northeast.

The US Senate, represented by the Foreign Relations Committee, expressed doubts about the advisability of such a burdensome acquisition, especially in a situation where the country had just ended a civil war. Doubts were also expressed due to the fact that the payment was made in non-cash dollars, not in gold, and not to the accounts of the Russian Ministry of Finance, but to the account of a private individual (Stekl), which was contrary to the terms of the agreement. However, the deal was supported in the Senate by 37 votes, with two votes against (fessenden and Justin Morrill of Vermont). On May 3, the treaty was ratified. On June 8, the instruments of ratification were exchanged in Washington. Subsequently, in accordance with the established procedure, the agreement was printed and then included in the official collection of laws of the Russian Empire (No. 44518).

Ceremony for the transfer of Alaska to US jurisdiction

On Friday, October 18, 1867, at 3:30 pm, Alaska was officially ceded to the United States. On the Russian side, the protocol on the transfer was signed by a special government commissioner, captain 2nd rank A. A. Peschurov. The transfer ceremony took place in Novoarkhangelsk (now Sitka), on board the American sloop of war "Ossipee" (English) Russian. According to the Russian time system in force at that time in Alaska, the transfer act was signed on Saturday, October 7, old style (19 October n.st.) - due to the fact that in Russia there was Julian calendar, and also due to the fact that the date in Russian America, which was considered to lie to the east, and not to the west of St. Petersburg, coincided with the date in continental Russia (while differing by a day from the date at the same point in time in the USA).

On the same day, the Gregorian calendar in force in the United States was introduced and time was synchronized with the west coast of the United States: as a result, the date was moved 11 days forward (+12 days difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars in the 19th century, −1 day due to the transfer of territory to the east of the date line), and Saturday became Friday (due to the transfer 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 that time

A check for US$7.2 million presented to pay for the purchase of Alaska. The check amount is approximately equivalent to 2014 US$119 million (see photo). By the way, according to some experts, the building of the New York District Court was worth more 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 for 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 per cent) by Napoleonic France (in conditions of war and successive confiscation of the French colonies by Britain) a much larger (2,100,000 km²) and fully developed territory of historical Louisiana: for the port of New Orleans alone, America initially offered $10 million in the more “weighty” dollar itself early XIX century. But the lands of Louisiana had to be re-purchased from their actual owners - the Indians who lived on it.

At the same time that Alaska was sold, a single three-story building in the center of New York - the New York District Court, built by the "Tweed Gang", cost the New York State Treasury more than all of Alaska.

Various interpretations of the history of the sale of Alaska

There is a widespread opinion 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 out in Jeffrey Archer’s novel “A Matter of Honour”. However, according to the overwhelming majority of historians, there is no basis for these versions, because, according to the treaty of 1867, Alaska unambiguously, finally and irrevocably becomes the full property of the United States.

Some historians also claim that Russia did not receive the gold, which sank along with the bark Orkney carrying it. Orkney) during a storm. However, the state historical archive 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 the Russian possessions in North America ceded to the North American States, 11,362,481 rubles were received from the said States. 94 [cop.]. Of the number 11,362,481 rubles. 94 kopecks spent abroad on the purchase of accessories for the railways: Kursk-Kyiv, Ryazansko-Kozlovskaya, Moscow-Ryazan, etc. 10,972,238 rubles. 4 k. The rest are 390,243 rubles. 90 kopecks were received in cash.”

On January 3, 1959, Alaska became the 49th state of the United States, although these lands were sold by Russia to America back in 1867. However, there is a version that Alaska was never sold. Russia leased it for 90 years, and after the lease expired, in 1957, Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev actually donated these lands to the United States. Many historians argue that the agreement on the transfer of Alaska to the United States was not signed by either the Russian Empire or the USSR, and the peninsula was borrowed free of charge from Russia. Be that as it may, Alaska is still shrouded in an aura of mystery.

The Russians taught the Alaskan natives to turnips and potatoes.

Under the rule of the “quiet” Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov in Russia, Semyon Dezhnev swam across the 86-kilometer strait that separated Russia and America. Later this Strait was named Bering Strait in honor of Vitus Bering, who explored the shores of Alaska in 1741. Although before him, in 1732, Mikhail Gvozdev was the first European to determine the coordinates and map the 300-kilometer coastline of this peninsula. In 1784, the development of Alaska was carried out by Grigory Shelikhov, who accustomed the local population to turnips and potatoes, spread Orthodoxy among the Horse natives, and even founded the agricultural colony “Glory to Russia.” Since that time, residents of Alaska have become Russian subjects.

The British and Americans armed the natives against the Russians

The company founded the St. Michael's Fortress (today Sitka), where the Russians built a church, primary school, shipyard, workshops and arsenal. Every ship that came into the harbor where the fortress stood was greeted with fireworks. In 1802, the fortress was burned by the natives, and three years later the same fate befell another Russian fortress. American and British entrepreneurs sought to liquidate Russian settlements and for this purpose they armed the natives.

Alaska could become a cause of war for Russia

For Russia, Alaska was a real gold mine. For example, sea otter fur was more expensive than gold, but the greed and short-sightedness of the miners led to the fact that already in the 1840s there were practically no valuable animals left on the peninsula. In addition, oil and gold were discovered in Alaska. It was this fact, as absurd as it may sound, that became one of the incentives to quickly get rid of Alaska. The fact is that American prospectors began to actively arrive in Alaska, and the Russian government rightly feared that American troops would come after them. Russia was not ready for war, and giving up Alaska penniless was completely imprudent.

At the ceremony for the transfer of Alaska, the flag fell on Russian bayonets

October 18, 1867 at 15.30. The solemn ceremony of changing the flag on the flagpole in front of the house of the ruler of Alaska began. Two non-commissioned officers began to lower the flag of the Russian-American Company, but it got tangled in the ropes at the very top, and the painter broke off completely. Several sailors, on orders, rushed to climb up to untangle the tattered flag hanging on the mast. The sailor who got to the flag first did not have time to shout to him to get off with the flag and not throw it, and he threw the flag down. The flag fell directly on Russian bayonets. Mystics and conspiracy theorists should rejoice.

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

Alaska has become an extremely profitable deal for the United States

Another fact: at the time when Russia sold Alaska to America, the state treasury paid more for one single three-story building in the center of New York than the American government paid for the entire peninsula.

The main secret of selling Alaska is where is the money?

When converting the currency first into pounds and then into gold, they lost another 1.5 million. But this loss was not the last. On July 16, 1868, the barque Orkney, carrying a precious cargo, sank on the approach to St. Petersburg. Was there Russian gold on it at that moment, or was it limited? Foggy Albion did not leave, remains unknown today. The company that registered the cargo declared itself bankrupt, so the damage was only partially compensated.

In 2013, a Russian filed a lawsuit to invalidate the agreement on the sale of Alaska

On March 30, 1867, the territory of the Russian Empire decreased by just over one and a half million square kilometers. By the decision of the Emperor and Autocrat of Russia Alexander II, the territory of Alaska and the group of Aleutian Islands near it were sold to the United States of America.

The actual discovery of Alaska by Russian navigators I. Fedorov and M.S. Gvozdev happened in 1732, but it is officially considered to have been discovered in 1741 by captain A. Chirikov, who visited it and decided to register the discovery. Over the next sixty years, the Russian Empire, as a state, was not interested in the fact of the discovery of Alaska - its territory was developed by Russian merchants, who actively bought furs from local Eskimos, Aleuts and Indians, and created Russian settlements in convenient bays of the Bering Strait coast, in which merchant ships waited non-navigable winter months.

The situation changed somewhat in 1799, but only externally - the territory of Alaska began to officially belong to the Russian Empire with the rights of a discoverer, but the state was in no way interested in new territories. The initiative to recognize ownership of the northern lands of the North American continent came, again, from Siberian merchants, who jointly drew up documents in St. Petersburg and created a Russian-American company with monopoly rights to mineral resources and commercial production in Alaska. The main sources of income for merchants in the North American territories of Russia were coal mining, fur seal fishing and... ice, the most common one, supplied to the USA - the demand for Alaskan ice was stable and constant, because refrigeration units were invented only in the 20th century.

Until the middle of the 19th century, the state of affairs in Alaska was not of any interest to the Russian leadership - it is located somewhere “in the middle of nowhere”, no money is required for its maintenance, there is no need to protect and maintain a military contingent for this either, all issues are dealt with by the merchants of the Russian-American companies that regularly paid taxes. And then from this very Alaska there is information that deposits of native gold have been found there... Yes, yes, what did you think - Emperor Alexander II did not know that he was selling a gold mine? But no, he knew and was perfectly aware of his decision! And why I sold it - now we’ll figure it out...

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. He suggested that his elder brother, the emperor, sell the “extra territory,” because the discovery of gold deposits there would certainly attract the attention of England, the long-time sworn enemy of the Russian Empire, and Russia was not able to defend it, and there was no military fleet in the northern seas. If England captures Alaska, then Russia will receive absolutely nothing for it, but 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 in regaining control over the North American territories, which infuriated the monarchs of Great Britain and inspired the American colonists to continue the liberation struggle.

Negotiations on the sale of the territory of Alaska were entrusted to Baron Eduard Andreevich Stekl, the envoy of the Russian Empire to the United States. He was given a price acceptable to Russia - $5 million in gold, but Stekl decided to assign the American government a higher amount, equal to $7.2 million. The idea of ​​​​buying the northern territory, albeit with gold, but also with a complete lack of roads, deserted and characterized by a cold climate, was perceived by the American government of President Andrew Johnson without enthusiasm. Baron Stekl actively intrigued, bribing congressmen and editors of major American newspapers, in order to create a political climate favorable for the land deal.

And his negotiations were crowned with success - on March 30, 1867, an agreement on the sale of the territory of Alaska to the United States of America took place and was signed by official representatives of both parties. Thus, the acquisition of one hectare of Alaska cost the US Treasury $0.0474 and for the entire territory of 1,519,000 square kilometers - $7,200,000 in gold (in terms of modern banknotes, about $110 million). On October 18, 1867, the North American territories of Alaska were officially transferred to the possession of the United States; two months earlier, Baron Steckl received a check for 7 million 200 thousand in US Treasury bonds, which he transferred to the London bank of the Baring brothers into the account of the Russian Emperor, retaining his commission of $21,000 and $165,000 he spent out of his own pocket on bribes (overhead).

According to some modern Russian historians and politicians, the Russian Empire made a mistake by selling Alaska. But the situation in the century before last was very, very difficult - the States were actively expanding their territory, annexing neighboring lands and following the James Monroe Doctrine of 1823. And the first major transaction was the Louisiana Purchase - the acquisition of a French colony in North America (2,100 thousand square kilometers of inhabited and developed territory) from the Emperor of France Napoleon I Bonaparte for a ridiculous 15 million dollars in gold. By the way, this territory today contains the states of Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and significant territories of several other states of the modern USA... As for the former territories of Mexico - the territory of all southern states of the USA - they were annexed free of charge.

Selling Alaska

The question of the fate of Russian America arose in the early 1850s. In the spring of 1853, the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia, Nikolai Muravyov-Amursky, presented a note to Nicholas I, in which he detailed his views on the need to strengthen Russia's position in the Far East and the importance of close relations with the United States.

The Governor-General recalled that a quarter of a century ago, “the Russian-American Company appealed to the government with a request to occupy California, then free and owned by almost no one, while communicating its fears that this area would soon become the prey of the United States of America... It is impossible.” At the same time, it was not foreseeable that these states, having once established themselves on the Eastern Ocean, would soon take precedence there over all maritime powers and would have a need for the entire northwestern coast of America. The dominion of the North American States over all of North America is so natural that we should not really regret that twenty-five years ago we did not establish ourselves in California - we would have to give it up sooner or later, but by giving in peacefully, we could get in return other benefits from the Americans. However, now, with the invention and development of railroads, we must be more convinced than before that the North American States will inevitably spread throughout North America, and we cannot help but bear in mind that sooner or later we will have to cede North American rights to them. our possessions. It was impossible, however, with this consideration not to keep in mind something else: that it is very natural for Russia, if not to own all of East Asia, then to dominate the entire Asian coast of the Eastern Ocean. Due to circumstances, we allowed the British to invade this part of Asia... but this matter can still be improved by our close connection with the North American States.”

The authorities in St. Petersburg reacted very favorably to Muravyov’s note. The proposals of the Governor General of Eastern Siberia to strengthen the position of the empire in the Amur region and on the island of Sakhalin were studied in detail with the participation of the Admiral General, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich and members of the board of the Russian-American Company. One of the specific results of this work was the emperor’s order dated April 11 (23), 1853, which allowed the Russian-American company “to occupy Sakhalin Island on the same basis as it owned other lands mentioned in its privileges, in order to prevent no foreign settlements.”

For its part, the Russian-American Company, fearing an attack by the Anglo-French fleet on Novo-Arkhangelsk, hastened in the spring of 1854 to conclude a fictitious agreement with the American-Russian Trading Company in San Francisco for the sale of all its property for 7 million 600 thousand dollars for three years , including land holdings in North America. But soon news came to Russian America about an official agreement between the RAC and the Hudson's Bay Company on the mutual neutralization of their territorial possessions in America. “Due to these fortunately changed circumstances,” reported the Russian consul in San Francisco, Pyotr Kostromitinov, in the summer of 1854, “I did not give further movement to the act transmitted from the colonies.” Although the fictitious act was immediately annulled, and the colonial authorities were reprimanded for excessive independence, the idea of ​​​​the possible sale of Russian America to the United States not only did not die, but after the end of the Crimean War it received further development.

The main supporter of the sale of Russian America was the younger brother of Alexander II, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, who sent a special letter on this matter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Gorchakov in the spring of 1857. Most of the most influential statesmen, although they did not object in principle to the sale of Russian possessions in America, considered it necessary to first thoroughly discuss this issue. It was proposed to first clarify the situation in Russian America, test the waters in Washington and, in any case, not rush into the practical implementation of the sale, postponing it until the expiration of the RAC privileges in 1862 and the liquidation of the contract for the supply of ice by the American-Russian Trading Company in San Francisco. This line was followed by Gorchakov and employees of the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and most importantly, Emperor Alexander II himself, who ordered to postpone the decision on the sale of Russian America until the contract with the company in San Francisco was liquidated. Although the US government considered the acquisition of Russian possessions in America very profitable, it offered only $5 million as a reward, which, according to Gorchakov, did not reflect “the true value of our colonies.”

In 1865, after lengthy discussions, the State Council of Russia approved the “main principles” of the new charter of the RAC, and the company’s board even managed to obtain additional benefits from the tsarist government. On August 20 (September 1), 1866, the emperor “deigned” to pay the RAC an annual “allowance” of 200 thousand rubles and remove its debt to the treasury in the amount of 725 thousand.

The company was not satisfied with this and continued to seek new privileges, which also had its own negative side: the tsarist government only confirmed its opinion about the advisability of getting rid of burdensome possessions in distant America. In addition, the general state of Russia's finances, despite the reforms carried out in the country, continued to deteriorate, and the treasury needed foreign money.

The end of the American Civil War and the subsequent friendly visit of the American squadron led by Gustavus Fox to Russia in the summer of 1866 to some extent contributed to the revival of the idea of ​​selling Russian colonies in America. However, the direct reason for resuming consideration of the issue of the fate of Russian America was the arrival of the Russian envoy in Washington, Eduard Stekl, to St. Petersburg. Having left the United States in October 1866, he continued next year was in the royal capital. During this time, he had the opportunity to meet not only with his immediate superiors at the Foreign Office, but also to talk with Grand Duke Constantine and Finance Minister Mikhail Reitern.

It was after conversations with Steckl that both statesmen communicated their thoughts “on the subject of the cession of our North American colonies.” The sale of Russian possessions in America seemed expedient to Reutern for the following reasons:

"1. After the seventy-year existence of the company, it in no way achieved either the Russification of the male population, or the lasting establishment of the Russian element, and did not in the least contribute to the development of our merchant shipping. The company does not provide significant value to shareholders... and can only be supported by significant government donations." As the minister noted, the importance of the colonies in America decreased even more, since “now we are firmly established in the Amur Territory, which is located in incomparably more favorable climatic conditions.”

"2. The transfer of the colonies ... will relieve us of possession, which in the event of war with one of the sea powers we are not able to defend.” Reitern further wrote about the company's possible clashes with enterprising merchants and sailors from the United States: “Such clashes, unpleasant in themselves, could easily force us to maintain, at great expense, military and naval forces in the northern waters of the Pacific Ocean in order to maintain privileges.” a company that does not bring significant benefits to either Russia or even shareholders and is detrimental to our friendly relations with the United States.”

The most influential figure in discussing the fate of Russian possessions in America remained Grand Duke Constantine, who spoke in favor of the sale for three main reasons:

1. The unsatisfactory state of affairs of the RAC, the existence of which must be supported by “artificial measures and monetary donations from the treasury.”

2. The need to focus the main attention on the successful development of the Amur region, where it is in the Far East that “Russia’s future lies ahead.”

3. The desirability of maintaining a “close alliance” with the United States and eliminating everything “that could create disagreement between the two great powers.”

After familiarizing himself with the views of two influential dignitaries and knowing well the opinion of Stekl, who also spoke out in favor of the sale of Russian America, Gorchakov came to the conclusion that the time had come to accept final decision. He proposed holding a “special meeting” with the personal participation of Alexander II. This meeting took place on December 16 (28), 1866 in the front office of the Russian Foreign Ministry on Palace Square. It was attended by: Alexander II, Grand Duke Konstantin, Gorchakov, Reitern, the head of the Naval Ministry Nikolai Krabbe and Stekl. All participants spoke in favor of selling Russian colonies in North America to the United States, and interested departments were instructed to prepare their considerations for the envoy in Washington. Two weeks later, “in pursuance of the highest will declared by His Imperial Majesty at a special meeting,” Reitern forwarded his thoughts to Gorchakov, who considered it necessary to provide that “Russian subjects and residents of the colonies in general” were given “the right to remain in them or to freely travel to Russia. In both cases, they retain the right to all their property, whatever it may be.” At the same time, the minister specifically stipulated ensuring freedom of “their liturgical rites.” Finally, the Secretary of the Treasury indicated that the “monetary reward” for the cession of the colonies should be at least $5 million.

Returning to Washington in March 1867, Steckle reminded Secretary of State William Seward "of proposals which have been made in the past for the sale of our colonies" and added that "the Imperial Government is now disposed to enter into negotiations." Having secured the consent of President Johnson, Seward, already during the second meeting with Steckle, held on March 2 (14), was able to discuss the main provisions of the future treaty.

On March 18, 1867, President Johnson signed official powers to Seward, and almost immediately negotiations between the Secretary of State and Steckl took place, during which a draft agreement on the purchase of Russian possessions in America for $7 million was agreed upon in general terms.

painting by Edward Leintze

From left to right: State Department employee Robert Chew, William Seward, State Department official William Hunter, employee of the Russian mission Vladimir Bodisko, Eduard Stekl, Charles Sumner, Frederick Seward

At four o'clock in the morning on March 18 (30), 1867, the agreement was signed. Among the territories ceded by Russia to the United States under the treaty on the North American continent and in Pacific Ocean were: the entire Alaska Peninsula (along a line running along the meridian 141° W), a coastal strip 10 miles wide south of Alaska along the western coast of British Columbia; Alexandra archipelago; Aleutian Islands with Attu Island; the islands of Blizhnye, Rat, Lisya, Andreyanovskiye, Shumagina, Trinity, Umnak, Unimak, Kodiak, Chirikova, Afognak and other smaller islands; Islands in the Bering Sea: St. Lawrence, St. Matthew, Nunivak and the Pribilof Islands - St. Paul and St. George. The total size of the land territory ceded to Russia was 1,519 thousand square meters. km. Along with the territory, all real estate, all colonial archives, official and historical documents related to the transferred territories were transferred to the United States.

In accordance with normal procedure, the treaty was submitted to Congress. Since the congressional session ended on that day, the President called an emergency executive session of the Senate.

The fate of the treaty was in the hands of members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The committee at that time included: Charles Sumner of Massachusetts - chairman, Simon Cameron of Pennsylvania, William Fessenden of Maine, James Harlan of Iowa, Oliver Morton of Indiana, James Paterson of New Hampshire, Raverdy Johnson of Maryland. That is, it was up to the representatives of the Northeast to decide the issue of annexing the territory in which the Pacific states were primarily interested. In addition, the majority clearly did not like their former colleague- Secretary of State Seward.

Senator Fessenden, in particular, was a strong opponent of the treaty. During the discussion, the caustic senator noted that he was ready to support the treaty, “but with one additional condition: to force the Secretary of State to live there, and the Russian government to keep him there.” Fessenden's joke met with general approval, and Senator Johnson expressed confidence that such a proposal "would pass unanimously."

However, it was not the obvious hostility towards the Johnson-Seward administration or Fessenden’s caustic jokes that determined the attitude of the committee members to the new treaty. Most senators, and primarily Sumner, were guided by objective data and real benefits from the acquisition of Russian America.

Moreover, given Sumner's influence in the Foreign Relations Committee and in the Senate, it was his position regarding the treaty that became decisive. Initially, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee even proposed to remove the treaty from discussion, since it supposedly had no chance of success. Subsequently, however, Sumner's views underwent major changes, and on April 8, 1867, he had already come out as a strong supporter of the ratification of the treaty with Russia. The change in Sumner's position was not accidental, but was the result of a thorough study of the issue using a wealth of factual material. Important role The assistance provided to the senator by those most knowledgeable about the state of affairs in the Pacific North, including experts from the Smithsonian Institution, also played a role.

All this significantly strengthened the position of supporters of the treaty and finally convinced Sumner of the importance of the annexation of Russian America. As a result, on April 8, the Foreign Relations Committee decided to submit the treaty to the Senate for approval.

That same day, Sumner presented the treaty to the Senate and made a famous three-hour speech in support of ratification, which made a great and even decisive impression on his listeners. There were 37 votes for ratification and only two against. They were Fessenden and Justin Morrill from Vermont.

Without any complications, ratification took place on May 3 (15) in St. Petersburg, and the official exchange of ratification instruments took place in the American capital on June 8 (20), 1867. Subsequently, in accordance with the established procedure, the agreement was printed and then included in the official collection of laws of the Russian Empire.

The decision to allocate the $7.2 million provided for by the treaty was made by the US House of Representatives a year later, on July 14, 1868 (113 in favor, 43 against, and 44 congressmen did not take part in the vote). On July 15, a warrant was issued to receive the money; on August 1, Stekl left a receipt at the treasury stating that he had received the entire amount in full.

The fate of the money received from the sale of Alaska is a favorite topic for newspaper speculation. The most popular version is that a ship with gold from America sank in the Gulf of Finland. But in reality everything was less romantic and tragic.

On August 1, Steckl instructed Riggs' bank to transfer $7,035 thousand to London, to the Baring brothers' bank. The “missing” 165 thousand were spent by him in the USA. The telegram to St. Petersburg with the news of the conclusion of the agreement cost 10 thousand, 26 thousand was received by the lawyer of the Russian mission, Robert Walker, 21 thousand was the royal reward for concluding the agreement to Stek and another mission employee, Vladimir Bodisko. The rest of the money, according to researchers, Steckl spent on bribing journalists and congressmen. At least, this conclusion can be drawn from the instructions of Alexander II to count as actual expenditure the funds spent by the envoy for “uses known to His Imperial Majesty.” This wording usually accompanied expenses of a secret and sensitive nature, which included bribes.

The same money that reached London was spent on the purchase of steam locomotives and other railway property for the Kursk-Kyiv, Ryazan-Kozlov and Moscow-Ryazan railways.

Having bought Russian America, the United States, as subsequent events showed, made one of the most profitable deals in its history. This territory turned out to be rich natural resources, including oil and gold. It occupied an advantageous strategic position and ensured the predominant influence of the United States in the north of the continent and on the way to the Asian market. Together with the Hawaiian and Aleutian Islands, Alaska became a stronghold of US influence in the vast Pacific Ocean.

Text used by N.N. Bolkhovitinov from: History of Russian America: in 3 volumes. M., 1999. T.3. pp. 425-488.
(with additions from other sources)