Nationalist sentiments in Russia, where some politicians and commentators have advocated for reclaiming Alaska, have added to the geopolitical frictions. Russian lawmaker Sergei Mironov suggested in December 2023 that Moscow might consider reclaiming its former territories, including Alaska.
Although such claims are widely dismissed as political posturing, they underscore a broader narrative in Russia fueled by nostalgia for the country’s imperial past.
Earlier this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin also signed a decree allocating funds for the research and registration of Russian property overseas, including in former territories of the Russian Empire and Soviet Union.
While the decree did not explicitly mention Alaska, it drew attention from military analysts who speculated that it might symbolically challenge the legitimacy of Russia’s historic sale of Alaska to the United States in 1867.
The decree, announced amid Russia’s ongoing conflict in Ukraine, has been interpreted by some as part of a broader effort to rewrite historical narratives to support contemporary geopolitical ambitions.
These assertions, however, lack any credible foundation. The United States lawfully purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million—a transaction often criticized in the US Congress at the time as “Seward’s Folly” but later turned out to be beneficial when gold and enormous oil reserves were discovered (the then US Secretary of State William H. Seward signed the treaty with Russia for the purchase of Alaska).
Alaska’s Governor Mike Dunleavy and other American officials have strongly rejected any suggestions that question the legitimacy of the sale.
The acquisition of Alaska was a peaceful and legally binding agreement between Russia and the United States, standing in stark contrast to many territorial acquisitions that were achieved through conquest or annexation.
For a mere two cents per acre, the US secured 375 million acres of land in one of history’s largest land deals.
The Alaska Purchase is the third largest, following the 1803 Louisiana Purchase from France, which added 512 million acres to the US, and the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494, which divided the non-European world between Spain and Portugal.
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