Already 147 years have passed, and the Russians still remember the year 1867 with an unkind word. Who ruled in Russia at that time? Who made such a short-sighted decision as the sale of Alaska-rich minerals and gold? How could it be so negligent to dispose of the country's wealth? A lot of questions were gathered, but the answers to them appear only over the years, because around this case there are a lot of rumors and speculation. According to some reports, they didn’t sell Alaska, they just leased it and forgot to return it, according to others, Catherine II the Great gave the territory to the Americans, according to the third, the ship on which the gold was brought from America sank, the documents disappeared, so the deal can be considered invalid. But how was it really?
Discovery of territory by Russians
For the first time they learned about Alaska in 1732 thanks to the sailors M. Gvozdev and I. Fedorov, but the official date for the opening of the peninsula is considered to be 1841, since it was then that captain A. Chirikov registered the territory. The Russian Empire was not interested in this land, since it was uninhabited, far located, it was difficult to get there. Alaska was actively mastered by Russian merchants who bought furs from the local population, a little later they engaged in commercial mining and mineral exploration, and this continued through 1867. Who ruled in Russia at that time? The reins of power were held in his hands by Alexander II, but the tsar had many problems without a peninsula, so the merchants, who, together with the American businessmen, created their own company for the extraction of resources, ruled there. In Alaska, they mined coal, supplied ice and a fur seal to the United States .
Decision to sell the peninsula
1867 was a landmark year in the history of Russia, it was then that its territory was reduced by 1.5 million km 2 . Prince Konstantin Nikolaevich Romanov, the emperor’s brother, recommended that the tsar get rid of Alaska. Minerals and gold deposits were discovered on the peninsula. Many sources talk about the ignorance of the Russian side about the resources of the territory, but this is not so. The emperor was well aware of how rich Alaska was, and he was also afraid of the British attack, because he had nothing to defend. Alexander II ordered negotiations with the friendly United States on the sale of the peninsula to him.
Negotiations with the US Government
1867 was drawing near. Who ruled in Russia at that time was put in very harsh conditions. Alexander II risked staying with nothing at all, because the appetites of the British monarchs were huge. In the United States, the envoy of the Russian Empire was Baron Eduard Stekl, and he was instructed to conduct negotiations. Initially, the price was indicated at $ 5 million in gold, but the baron independently raised it to 7.2 million. The Americans did not really want to acquire an icy and deserted territory. Glass handed out bribes, bribed newspapers, writing laudatory articles about Alaska, in the end, the United States agreed to buy the peninsula.
Contemporaries and subsequent generations very well remembered 1867 in the history of Russia. Who ruled the ball? It may seem to many that the emperor was influenced by his younger brother, but this is not so. Alexander II was well aware of the importance of his act, he simply had no other choice.
Has Russia made the right decision?
Now we can argue for a long time about the need to sell a huge piece of the country's territory, but you need to understand that it was 1867 then. Those who ruled in Russia perfectly understood the precariousness of their situation. Gold and minerals could attract enemies, including hostile Great Britain, and the Russian Empire had nothing to defend, the territories were not fortified. Of course, $ 7.2 million for such a large and rich peninsula is an insignificant amount, but Alexander II could have received nothing at all if the British had invaded it, and even lost his political face. Therefore, the sale of Alaska at that time was a completely justifiable act.