How did Russia acquire Alaska?
Thanks for the A2a. The Russian conquest of Alaska was somewhat of a legal fiction. Russians ever only occupied coastal areas and the Russian population was never more than 1,000 people. The Russian claim was by 'right of discovery' (colonial racism meant that Native Alaskans didn’t count as discoverers), but the Russians never occupied or took possession of most of Alaska's landmass.As Russian fur traders (known as 'promelshleniki') kept pushing Russia's eastern frontiers, they eventually made their way to Alaska. They probably were never truly discovering anything, since along the way they would learn from locals of lands further east. Yupiks have been traveling back and forth across the Bering Sea for centuries, so in Chukotka the locals would have known there was a landmass to the east (it only becomes west because of the international date line).After promelshleniki returned to Russia with news of the wealthy fur harvests in Alaska, the czarist government formed the Russian America Corporation which governed Alaska (and other Russian occupied areas of North America as far south as southern California) as a corporate fief. The bulk of the fur was harvested by indigenous people (both enslaved and voluntarily employed) for the corporation, or purchased in trade from the Native groups who controlled most of Alaska.
Where is the closest city to Alaska in Russia?
For the best answers, search on this site https://shorturl.im/av5gO The Bilibino Nuclear Power Plant in Bilibino is the closest to the US, the smallest nuclear facility in the world in terms of power output (four operating reactors capable of 48 megawatts each), and the most northerly facility in the world. It's the only significant source of electricity for basically thousands of miles, but since there isn't much in that part of freaking Siberia.... not much power is needed. I don't actually know which Alaskan city is closest to Bilibino, but I'll pick Barrow, which is at least close. They're only 899 miles (1,447 km) apart, per my calculations.
Would a war between Russia and USA be fought over Alaska or Europe? And why?
I’m inclined to say neither, because such a war would be extremely stupid and extremely destructive because both sides have so much to lose. This wasnt a option. So in the spirit of the question I'm going to say europe.I feel that the US is more likely to go to war over alaska because it's American soil and the US would react strongly to attack on our home soil. Because the Russians know that, they are probably less likely to attack US soil knowing they would get a world War level reaction. Also it's not easy to attack alaska due to its size and infrastructure problems in both alaska and the Russian far east, further reducing incentive to try. Lastly russia doesn't have much of a reason to attack alaska. They owned it once and sold it to the US over 150 years ago. I guess you could say that they would invade for the resources, but Russia already has most of those resources. Also russia doesn't invade places just because they have resources.Europe is more likely to be a battleground. Both countries have competing spheres of influence in the region that are bumping into one another and interests that they want to preserve.
How is the border between Russia and USA defended near Alaska?
It's got probably the most effective defense of any border. Rough seas, high winds, and bone chilling temperatures. The only place where American and Russian land is close is the Diomede Islands where Russian Big Diomede is three miles from American Little Diomede. This is what Sarah Palin was famously talking about when she said Alaskans can see Russia- which is only true for the residents of Little Diomede and only on rare clear days. During the Cold War the Soviets removed the local population from Big Diomede and put a small military outpost on the island. There is no American military presence in the Diomedes.
What’s going on with the Russian bombers flying near Alaska?
There's a big difference between Russian nuclear bombers flying over Alaska and flying in an air defense identification zone. The U.S Air Force would have shot them down before they ever got over Alaska. The Russians are sending a message after Trump bombed that Syrian airfield. They can't let the world think they are getting pushed around.They do it to the U.K when we piss them off.
What's the distance between Russia and Alaska at their nearest point?
The closest distance between Russian and Alaskan territory is 2 miles, between the islands of Big Diomede (Russia) and Little Diomede (USA). Both islands are located near the middle of the Bering Strait.
What is the shortest distance from Alaska to Russia?
island to island is mostly irrelavent as a awar would never start with russia and the usaq over islands they both violate all the time. mainland to mainland is different, about 67 miles. so, the answer is island to island, small insignificant islands, about 2.5 miles, yet that info is ierrelevent as you may have gathered. with hostilities as they are now, gaining speed and importance, the islands may also gain some importance as they have a nORAD station on the usa side. one that the recent russian migs supposedly slipped b, however, this is usually bull caca, they usually always know. unless someone spilled coffe on a computer board, like the founder of scientology, as he is the type. you know, lob shells into mexico. what a ncie guy. however, this will soon end. i predict it.
Why did America buy Alaska from Russia?
Due to English and French interference the South was winning the Civil War,so Lincoln sought aid from Germany and Portugal to no avail. Then he asked the Czar of Russia for aid by sending his fleet to create a navalblockade of the entire US southern seaboard. After this move allowed the North to win the war,the Czar requested to be paid for sending his fleet to American waters!! President Johnson had no constitutional right to use taxpayer dollars to pay a debt to the head of a foreign government so Secutary of State William Steward worked out a scheme to"buy"Alaska from the Russians for the exact amount the czar requested for usage of his fleet!! Sewards GENUIS matter of fact!! :)
Is it possible to travel from Russia to Alaska on foot in the winter?
The two previous answerers have answered the question well. I’d like to add that if you expand your definitions of “Russia” and “Alaska” just a bit, there’s one place where walking across might be much easier: the Diomede Islands.The Diomedes are smack in the middle of the Bering Strait, and the international boundary separates them: Russia has Big Diomede Island to the left, and the US owns Little Diomede Island to the right. The distance between them is 2.4 miles, and it’s quite possible to walk between them when the sea is frozen. The Inupiat natives used to do that routinely; I gather that many families were split when the Soviets removed the native population from Big Diomede to the mainland. Big Diomede is now home to a detachment of Russian border guards—meaning that you’d almost certainly get arrested if you tried to walk across the border without arranging permission in advance. There’s still a small, mostly Inupiat population on Little Diomede. (Note that Sarah Palin’s claim that “you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska”—often misquoted as “I can see Russia from my house”—is actually quite true.)Michael Palin (of Monty Python fame) hosted a BBC TV show, Full Circle, in which he traveled all around the Pacific Rim, beginning on Little Diomede—although he doesn’t travel to Big Diomede, but goes by way of the Aleutians. This will give some idea of what the place looks like:Also: British adventurer Karl Bushby is still attempting to walk an unbroken path around the world, from southernmost Chile, up the Pacific coast of the Americas, across the Bering Sea and then across Eurasia all the way to England. In March 2006, he and his fellow adventurer Dimitri Kieffer crossed the frozen Bering Straits on foot and were detained by Russian border guards near the village of Uelen. (Source: Karl Bushby) So the Shparo family are not the only ones to make the trip.You can see just how hard it is to walk across the entire Bering Strait here—here’s Part 1 of a documentary on Bushby’s expedition. Apparently they ended walking something like 150 miles, because the ice was drifting and carried them far off their course. All four parts are on YouTube—check ’em out!Here’s Part 4, where you find out how it ended: