What would you do with nearly $ 160 million? You would surely dream of living the good life with all the comforts that go with it and which could judge you of such a decision? But if you had the opportunity to go back in time until 1867, you could offer yourself Alaska. Simply. Back on one of the best deals in history.
Yet in the first half of the 18th century, Alaska was especially synonymous with “unexplored land” and it was in 1732 and in 1741, the first explorers Ivan Fedorov then Vitus Bering set on this frozen land which was then going to become a property of the Russian Empire.
It was then that the economic activity of the future American state begins to develop and the latter turns almost essentially around the sea bouton fur. Sold very expensive in Europe, Russia seemed to have got their hands on a gold mine. Also Flashing the good blow, the Americans also arrived as an economic partners for the sale of bouture fur from Alaska and this is how the Russian-American company was born.
Except that everything was soon going to collapse like a card castle.
Particularly distant from the capital of the Empire, St. Petersburg at the time, therefore making trade complicated with Europe, more the fact that only 2,500 people lived in the colony and that the latter, so to speak, decimated the population of sea otters on site, Alaska quickly turned into an economic quagmire.
Especially since between 1853 and 1856, Russia was plagued by an economic crisis because the “mother-country” was engaged in the Crimean War, which she lost to the French, the English and the Ottoman.
In short, nothing is going well.
March 30, 1867, Alaska is sold and it is the start of the regrets
Stacked in an economic crisis which he has difficulty getting out, Tsar Alexandre II wants to have liquidity and needs it quickly to save Russia. And when the question of Alaska is asked, it does not think about it twice: the territory must be sold.
But not just anyone. Indeed, remember that Alaska is located in a bottleneck. On the one hand, you have Canada, on the other, Russia. Selling this territory to an ancient or current enemy would be like giving a passenger pass for an invasion from the East.
Canada and England, which were seen as potential buyers, were therefore wiped off the list. It was then that Alexandre II therefore decided to sell Alaska in the United States for the modest sum of $ 7.2 million, more than $ 157 million current dollars on March 30, 1867. A real affair!
Everyone is happy. Finally, not really. Quickly, voices rise on both sides. In Russia, we say humiliated to have had to give in a piece of territory in the United States. In North America, you feel scammed to have recovered a piece of earth on which there is only ice.
Well, you now know that one of the two camps had a real reason to have the sale of Alaska across the throat.
Surprise: it's not just ice!
If Alaska is part of the United States, it is thanks to William Henry Seward. Secretary of State of the United States, among others, for almost 8 years between 1861 and 1869, he served under the chairmanship of Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. But if it is known, it is for having bought Alaska from Russia.
And at the time, we simply said that he was … crazy. However, what no one had planned was that the territory sold by Russia was going to reveal all its potential from the beginning of the 20th century.
For what ? Well because the general surprise, Alaska was, of course, a land covered with ice, but what was really interesting was above all its basement and its ribs.
Thus, from the beginning of the 20th century, the earth “where there is only ice” turned into a frozen Eldorado to exploit:
- wood
- fish
- Mining resources such as gold, zinc or coal
- And of course, hydrocarbons (natural gas, oil)
In short, the poisoned gold mine discovered by the Russians revealed its true potential until the moment when Alaska passed under the American pavilion.
Because, of course, the income generated by all these industries have largely exceeded the cost of the initial investment.
Russia wants to resume Alaska
Sold at most offering in 1867, Alaska is finally a mountain of regrets for Russia. Formerly desolate land, it is now a prosperous region because some have had the idea of looking at what was hiding under the ice.
And that, Russia cannot accept it. This is why it sometimes happens, when the discussions between the countries concerned can be avoided, that the question of this land sold 158 years ago returns to the table.
And this is how some time after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, in 2022, that Russian parliamentarians threatened the United States to resume Alaska if the country of Uncle Sam were to freeze the Russian assets in America. A statement made more than lightly by the United States and in particular by the governor of Alaska who had simply wished “good luck”To Russian politicians in their project.
On social networks, several Russian Internet users are even so far as to invent declarations and publications claiming that Russian institutions invalidated, in 2022, then in 2024, the said sale of Alaska in the United States, notably claiming a “non-compliant” contract.
Obviously, the Alaska-Russia divorce has still not been digested. And there is something to see a form of mockery on the part of the United States when Donald Trump invited Vladimir Putin on the territory in question, in 2025, to speak of the question of war in Ukraine.
Source : Slate / TF1 Info / Geo / I’m interested
With an unwavering passion for local news, Christopher leads our editorial team with integrity and dedication. With over 20 years’ experience, he is the backbone of Wouldsayso, ensuring that we stay true to our mission to inform.
