Russia's flag "refused" to be lowered during the Alaska transfer in 1867

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Image caption 1: A painting depicting the 1867 Russian-American Alaska purchase agreement

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Image caption 2: The $7.2 million check used by the United States to purchase Alaska

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Image caption 3: A military early warning station in Alaska during the 1960s

Hou Aijun Xian Yifan

Editor's note: Recently, US President Trump and Russian President Putin held a meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, USA. This location has a deep historical connection with Russia-US relations. Alaska was once part of the Russian territory, which was sold to the United States for $7.2 million in 1867. At that time, many Americans did not support the purchase, considering it a "barren land." However, after being sold to the United States, the area later discovered gold, oil, and other resources, transforming from a "barren land" into a "treasure basin," and then became an important front for the military confrontation between the United States and Russia. Its increasingly important economic and geopolitical status led the American public opinion to shift, while the low price at which the land was sold also made many Russians deeply regretful.

The Russian flag "refused" to be lowered during the handover of Alaska in 1867

Russian control over Alaska began in the late 18th century. In 1799, the Russian-American Company, chartered by Tsar Paul I, was established to systematically manage the North American colonies. At that time, Russian influence in North America mainly focused on fur trade, missionary activities, and initial outpost construction, but due to the remote geographical location, sparse population, and declining national strength, Russia eventually gave up Alaska.

Between March 11 and March 30, 1867, U.S. representative William Seward, then Secretary of State, and Russian representative Edward Stoeckl, the Russian ambassador to the United States, began secret negotiations. After an entire night of discussion, the two signed the agreement on March 30, determining that the United States would purchase Alaska for $7.2 million. The indigenous people of Alaska were never consulted about their opinions, and their fate was decided by the other two parties.

Seward originally hoped that the U.S. Congress would approve the agreement on March 30, but this matter was postponed for a week and a half. Because there was controversy in the United States about purchasing Alaska, the media enthusiastically discussed this issue, most newspapers supported the transaction, but some sharp critics criticized it, giving Alaska sarcastic names such as "Johnson's Arctic Bear Garden." Horace Greeley, editor of the New York Tribune, was a key figure in the opposition. He once wrote, "Most of Alaska is a burden, even if given away, it's not worth taking." Some U.S. senators also held the same skeptical attitude, one senator even joked to his colleagues that he would only support the United States purchasing this land if "Seward himself was forced to live in Alaska."

The U.S. Congress debated the Alaska purchase case, and those who supported the purchase repeatedly mentioned the friendly stance of Russia during the American Civil War. Charles Sumner, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations at the time, was a supporter of expansionism, initially also skeptical of the purchase. However, after researching Russian territories and consulting extensive materials, he changed his previous doubts. In April 1867, Sumner delivered a three-hour speech in the Senate based on a single-page outline, supporting the passage of the Alaska purchase agreement. Ultimately, the U.S. Congress agreed to purchase the territory, and the purchase was approved with 37 votes in favor and 2 against on April 9.

On October 18, 1867, Russian and American forces lined up in the central square of New Arkhangelsk (now Sitka), the administrative center of Alaska, for the handover ceremony. At around 4 p.m. that day, Russian general Alexei Peshchurov ordered the lowering of the Russian tricolor. Immediately after, American general Ralph Rousseau ordered the raising of the American flag. This rise and fall marked the end of Russian presence in the northwestern part of North America for about 70 years. The handover ceremony was a "concrete scene" of this historical turning point, bringing an end to Russia's colonial history in the North American continent.

Rousseau reported that the interaction between the U.S. and Russian sides was "filled with a friendly atmosphere," and described Alaska as "frequently rainy," the local residents as "quiet, orderly, and law-abiding," and the fishery resources as "extremely abundant," with the potatoes in the area being "small in size but delicious in taste." After the ceremony, the Russian forces withdrew, and all Russian civilians could choose to become U.S. citizens.

However, at that time, the St. Petersburg Gazette reported that "the Russian flag didn't want to be lowered." For unknown reasons, the flag was delayed in being lowered until a sailor climbed up the flagpole and took down the flag. Later historical developments indicated that this detail seemed to have a special "premonition."

The Tsar's "rational calculation" decision

In fact, apart from defeat, Russia rarely gives up its territory. Alaska was an exception. The Russian government selling Alaska to the United States was not a foolish or crazy move, but a "rational calculation" decision.

Since the 17th century, through centuries of continuous expansion efforts, Russia finally connected the vast territories of Eurasia and incorporated them into its own territory. In contrast, Britain occupied overseas colonies that were not contiguous with its homeland, such as in India, where it relied on the East India Company to "control the colonies" through local agents. Unlike the British Empire, Russia usually directly managed its colonies, striving to "Russify" its population. Alaska was located in North America, making it a Russian overseas colony, and colonizing Alaska made Russia a transcontinental empire spanning Europe, Asia, and America.

Alaska had brought substantial profits to Russia. Between 1809 and 1819, the fur revenue alone was equivalent to 1% of Russia's fiscal income. However, Russian colonists also encountered many management difficulties there, and they frequently clashed with the indigenous people in the process of cultivation, making it difficult to establish themselves. In addition, the harsh winter climate conditions in the region made Russian colonists doubtful about the development prospects of the area.

While Russia expanded eastward, the United States expanded westward, gradually colliding head-on. In the mid-1840s, a large number of American ships came to the waters under the jurisdiction of the Russian-American Company to hunt whales and fish, and the Russian side protested multiple times. From 1848 to 1861, the value of marine products caught in the area reached 200 million silver rubles. Afterwards, the United States began to promote the idea of "destiny": the United States was destined to rule the entire continent, and this ideology created ideological pressure on Russian colonial activities.

In 1845, the Russian-American Company proposed the possibility of abandoning Alaska. In 1853, Russian government officials first proposed selling Alaska to the United States: If the armies of the United States or Britain attacked, Russia lacked the military and economic ability to protect Alaska. Therefore, it would be better to sell it to the United States at an appropriate price, seeking the United States as an ally to counter Britain, while using the funds from the sale to develop the Far East.

Between 1853 and 1856, the Crimean War broke out, where Britain, France, and the Ottoman Empire fought against the Russian army over control of the Balkans and the Black Sea. Russia feared that the British fleet in Canada might attack Alaska, so in 1854, Russia reached an agreement with the United States, planning to sell Alaska within three years. After the end of the Crimean War, the Russian government again discussed the issue of selling Alaska, believing that the benefits of the American colony were not significant, and the United States was continuously expanding, and the region would eventually be taken over by the United States. In 1856, after Russia's defeat in the Crimean War, it signed an unfavorable treaty, leading to a poor international situation. Russia hoped to promote friendly relations between Russia and the United States through the sale of Alaska, while causing difficulties for British colonies in North America.

The outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 delayed the progress of the land purchase negotiations, and after the end of the American Civil War in 1865, then-Secretary of State Seward proposed the issue of buying Alaska to Russian Ambassador Steckel. In December 1866, the Tsar convened a special meeting with senior Russian officials, and the meeting passed a resolution to sell Alaska.

Discovering gold and oil, "barren land" becomes the United States' "treasure basin"

The purchase of Alaska increased the U.S. territory by nearly 600,000 square miles, which is more than twice the size of Texas, and the price per acre of land was only about 2 cents, which seems like a gift in today's terms. At the time, some American politicians and journalists considered Alaska a "barren land," and later even called the purchase of Alaska "Seward's folly." However, Seward's economic vision was ultimately proven correct - Alaska discovered gold and oil, and later developed tourism, attracting a large number of tourists every summer.

After Alaska was transferred to the United States in 1867, the United States began to develop it. In the early 20th century, gold was found in areas such as Fairbanks and Ester in Alaska, and people flocked to Alaska, leading to rapid prosperity in the mining industry and fisheries of the region.

After 1940, the United States began to build military bases in Alaska. During the Cold War, Alaska became a frontline for the U.S.-Soviet confrontation, with many military facilities built.

In 1959, Alaska officially became the 49th state of the United States.

In 1968, oil was discovered in Alaska. In the 1970s, Alaska built a 1,200-kilometer-long Alaska pipeline to connect the northern oil fields with the southern ports, continuously delivering crude oil to U.S. mainland refineries.

Alaska's gold production ranks second in the United States, behind Nevada. Alaska's position in the oil extraction field is also among the top in the United States, with its oil production accounting for 20% of the total oil production in the United States. Alaska's seafood accounts for 60% of the total seafood in the United States. The fishing industry in coastal areas is well-developed, with large quantities of salmon, cod, and crabs exported from the state.

Alaska's rich resources and superior geopolitical value have made Russia envious. After 2000, as U.S.-Russia relations became tense, many Russians have revisited the past: why did we sell Alaska? Many Russians feel extremely regretful about this deal.

Some people believe that selling Alaska was a disastrous decision, blaming the Russian government at the time - Grand Duke Konstantin, the younger brother of Tsar Alexander II, is considered the main responsible party, while Russian Ambassador Steckel is considered a traitor, completely ignoring the "efforts" of the Russians in opening up North American colonies, and is suspected of corruption.

In fact, Russia's strategic shift from "overseas colonization" to "continental focus" was an important logic driving the transfer of Alaska.

The Alaska transaction event not only changed the geopolitical landscape of North America, but also became an important turning point in Russia's modern foreign strategy.

Historian F. Mintsinsky believes that at the time, the Russian government lacked a sense of nationhood and economic and political foresight. Alaska was simply a treasure basin, and several decades after the signing of the agreement, the $7.2 million spent by the United States was quickly "recouped." (Hou Aijun is a researcher at the Institute of World History, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.)

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7540487413974467107/

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