This year marks 150 years since Russia ceded the territory of Alaska to the United States in 1867. Despite the fact that many years have passed since the deal was completed, some in Russia are still raising the issue of returning Alaska to our country. But is it possible to do this within the framework of international law?
Conflict of interest
Today Russia has every reason to demand back Alaska, which is the largest state in America. The fact is that the deal on its assignment was carried out with many legal violations, and our country has not officially received the money. Nevertheless, in order to seriously discuss the possibility of invalidating the transaction, it is necessary to understand the events of those years. The first thing that catches your eye is the veil of secrecy surrounding the preparation of the agreement. Only the highest dignitaries of the Russian Empire knew about him. And how could it be otherwise, because it was supposed to temporarily give up the rights to vast territories, which brought considerable income to the treasury.
Alaska, the coast of Northern California, the Aleksandrovsky and Hawaiian archipelagos, as well as the Aleutian Islands were to withdraw to the United States. All lands were included in the sphere of interests of the Russian-American company, which organized more than 45 cities and small villages in the United States.
Dubious deal
The historic decision was made behind closed doors through an open vote on December 16, 1866. They voted for the cession of rights to Russian territories in North America: Emperor Alexander II, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich Romanov, Foreign Minister Alexander Mikhailovich Gorchakov, Naval Minister Nikolai Karlovich Krabbe and Russian envoy to the United States, Baron Edward Stekl. As soon as the voting was completed, Baron Steckl immediately left for America to report the decision to US Secretary of State William Steward.
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Transfer of 1 million 519 thousand sq. kilometers of Russian lands were issued on March 30, 1867, although the population of the country, including the colonists of Russian America, found out about this only two months after the transaction. Under an agreement on the assignment of rights, the US government pledged to pay the Russian Empire $ 7.2 million in gold. But for some unknown reason, the entire amount was transferred to the personal account of the Russian envoy Stekel. In London, the baron, with great losses due to bank commissions, cashed money and bought gold with them. The precious metal was loaded into the holds of the Orkney barque, after which the ship headed to St. Petersburg. However, gold never got to Russia. A sabotage was arranged on the ship, an explosion occurred, after which the ship sank to the bottom of the Baltic Sea for several minutes. In 1975, the Orkney bark was discovered by a Soviet-Finnish expedition, but scuba divers did not find any valuables in the holds of the ship.
With what to go to court?
Since Russia has not received proper payment for the cession of its territories, it would have been possible to appeal to an international court in order to achieve the recognition of the treaty as invalid. But, unfortunately, this is almost impossible to implement. Fearing that Russia will sooner or later lay claim to its own territories in North America, the United States tried to do everything so that our country did not have legal grounds for this.
After the revolution, in exchange for lifting the economic blockade, V. I. Lenin handed over the originals of all documents on this transaction to the representatives of the United States. At the end of World War II, at the Yalta conference, I. V. Stalin again raised the question of the ownership of Alaska and other Russian lands transferred to the United States. True, he did this only so that the allies did not interfere with the establishment of Soviet control over Eastern Europe.
The problem of former Russian territories in North America was no longer discussed at the international level. And in vain, since our country has all legal rights to them. Specialists in international law, after analyzing the English-language copy of the agreement, found that Russia did not sell its territories or lease them. She only temporarily ceded control of them to the US government, as evidenced by the phrase of the treaty "to cede to the United States". Translated into Russian, the term "to cede" means the transfer of physical control over a specific object without its physical sale. In fact, according to international law, Alaska, like other former Russian territories in America, still belongs to Russia. Since the agreement does not specify the period for which this territory is transferred to the control of the United States, Alaska must be returned to Russia at its first request. But will America agree to submit to international law?
There are chances
In March 2017, RIA Novosti interviewed a number of experts, asking them whether the return of Alaska to the jurisdiction of Russia is possible in today's reality. Most of them expressed doubts about this. In particular, Anatoly Kapustin, President of the Russian Association of International Law, said that the discussion of issues of buying and selling territories was a thing of the past.
Today Alaska is part of the United States, and its transfer to Russia can take place only in the event of mutual concessions or exchange of territories. American experts have a similar opinion. However, since 2016, the renowned international law firm Garett, Paterson and Shugaev has been trying to find a legal opportunity to challenge the deal. For the owner of the company, Konstantin Shugaev, this is a matter of honor. After the revolution, his grandfather, a former white officer, emigrated to the United States. Until his death, he was sure that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Alaska would again return to the jurisdiction of Russia. According to sources familiar with the situation, Alexander Shugaev's company plans to find violations in the execution of the contract in the archival documents.
It is known that the deal on the assignment of rights to Russian territories should have been ratified by both chambers of the Congress, but this did not happen. The House of Representatives of the US Congress ratified the treaty at a specially convened emergency session, which was a clear violation of voting on a document of this level. It is noteworthy that ordinary residents of Alaska, professing Orthodoxy, including the mayors of several cities, believe that the territory of the state should go to Russia and even filed a petition on this matter to the White House, but it remained unanswered …