The pro-Western black myth about the "profitability" of the sale of Russian lands in America is maintained at the highest level. The Foreign Ministry considers the deal to sell Russian America to be mutually beneficial.
"The agreement between Russia and the United States on the sale of Alaska was fair and objectively beneficial to both parties," said Deputy Director of the History and Documentary Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Doctor of Historical Sciences Artem Rudnitsky at the Russian-American international conference "Dialogue Fort Ross - Meeting in Russia".
“To summarize, I would say that the sale was fairly fair, objectively beneficial to both parties and in line with international norms of that time,” said Rudnitsky.
The deputy director of the history and documentary department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs repeated several popular points among the supporters of the "inevitability", "usefulness" and "necessity" of the sale of Russian America. So, the colony was supposedly unprofitable, there were obvious difficulties in protecting it in the event of an attack. According to the historian, Russia initially wanted to gain about $ 5 million from the sale of land, but in the end it managed to bail out much more - $ 7 million, which was considered a great achievement. At the same time, the money from the sale of Alaska went to the railways that Russia needs.
An excellent "achievement" is the sale of Russian land, obtained with the blood and sweat of several generations of Russian people and which had enormous military-strategic and, in the long term, economic significance!
In addition, the sale of Alaska, according to Rudnitsky, became evidence of the closeness of two large states - Russia and the United States, their mutual sympathy, the realization that the countries do not intend to threaten each other. Strengthening relations with the United States was important for the Russian Empire, which was in international isolation after the lost Crimean (Eastern) War. “The Americans were treated well and believed that this would in no way infringe on Russia's interests. The relationship was good, almost perfect,”the historian said.
Great relationship! The pro-Western elite group in St. Petersburg, which sees no reason to spend money on remote and "unpromising" territories, and does not want to quarrel over them with the Western great powers (Britain and the United States), pushed through a harmful decision. As a result, Russia made an "excellent deal", following the path of the Indian tribes, who surrendered vast territories to the crafty and unprincipled "pale-faced brothers" for firewater, tobacco and a handful of trinkets. In this way it is quite easy to justify already in modern times the "necessity and usefulness" of the concessions of the Kuriles to Japan or Kaliningrad to Germany. They say, it is far away, and even hopeless, let's establish friendly relations with the "world community".
In Russia, in order to hide the failure of the foreign policy of Tsar-liberator Alexander II, as well as the role of pro-Western forces in the government (in particular, in the Foreign Ministry) and at court, they created the myth that the agreement on the sale of Alaska was mutually beneficial for the United States and Russia. Allegedly, it was based on the sober calculation of St. Petersburg to focus its efforts on the development of the Amur and Primorye (Far East). The shameful failures of the Japanese campaign of 1904-1905 showed how they were "well" developed and mastered. Then they argued, as they say now, that the costs of maintaining and protecting this remote and vulnerable from the military-strategic point of view of the territory will greatly exceed the potential profit and benefit from it. That it was better to sell Alaska and the Aleuts to the "friendly" States, and not wait for them to be captured by hostile England.
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A missed opportunity for Russian complete dominance in the North Pacific
And what did you get by selling Russian land? The great movement of Russia and the Russian people to the Pacific Ocean and its logical result, Russian America, with the potential to expand the Russian sphere of influence to Russian California (Fort Ross) and the Hawaiian Islands, was betrayed by the Europeanized "elite" of the Russian Empire, which was entirely focused on Western Europe and her deeds. Instead of the "inner" Bering Strait and the sea with both Russian shores, instead of Russian California, quite possible Russian Hawaiian Islands, friendly Japan, a protectorate over Korea and strategic control over the North Pacific Ocean, Russia in the East was losing one of its eastern perspectives after another.
Thus, the sale of Alaska to our global rival and enemy (the United States) was just one of the brightest harbingers of the future fall of the Romanov empire. At the same time, huge resources of the region were lost and large expenses for the discovery and development of Russian America were wasted. The work of several generations of Russian pioneers, seamen, industrialists, workers was simply crossed out and actually betrayed.
In addition, the loss of Russian possessions in America has significantly strengthened the potential of the United States, which has taken another step towards creating an American world order, where America will be the leader of the Western project. The United States began to dominate North America, then South. That is, St. Petersburg strengthened the future leader of the Western world (civilization), in fact, gave him the opportunity to lead the West, which was initially hostile to Russia-Russia. At the same time, they continue to talk nonsense about strengthening "friendship" with the United States. We can recall the sad experience of powerful Indian tribes who entered into "successful" deals and agreements with the "white brothers". All these tribes and nationalities disappeared from the face of the planet, or their pitiful remnants began to drag out a miserable existence on reservations and "ethnographic villages", entertaining tourists.
The loss of a strategic foothold in America made Russia weaker and more vulnerable. In turn, the purchase of Alaska will make the United States stronger. Subsequent events will clearly show this. The USA and England will set Japan on Russia, the Romanovs will lose the war. Russians will be squeezed out of Korea and China, Russia will lose Port Arthur, and so on. Yellow Russia. During the civil war in Russia, the Western powers and Japan will begin to intervene in the Russian Far East. As a result, only Joseph Stalin, in August-September 1945, will be able to rectify the situation in the Far East in favor of the Russian people. Then Russia will take revenge for the defeat from Japan and the Anglo-Saxons in 1905, and will regain its lost positions in Korea and China.
The United States has significantly strengthened its military-strategic and economic positions in the Pacific Ocean. Within the westernmost project, the Americans received a strong trump card in the confrontation with the British. The purchase of Alaska allowed the United States to weaken the position of the Hudson's Bay Company and squeeze British Columbia between its possessions. Alaska and the Aleutian Islands allowed the United States to obtain a strategic foothold towards the shores of Russian Northeast Asia.
Moreover, since 1991, when the Soviet Union was destroyed, our positions in the Far East were again weakened.
The economy is withering and has become a "pipe" economy. The population is gradually dying out and flees from the Far East. The Russian Pacific Fleet has not been updated for a long time, the positions of the armed forces, due to a long time of "reforms" and "optimizations", are not as rosy as official propaganda shows. And the United States is building up its forces on our borders. Japan is again following the path of militarization and licks its lips on our Kuril Islands, all of Primorye. China, thanks in large part to Soviet and Russian technologies, the assistance of the USSR, has become a superpower. The Chinese believe that sooner or later the apple will ripen and the "Chinese lands" (the Far East and Siberia) will return to the Middle Kingdom.
Thus, Russia-Russia and the Russian people again face fundamental, civilizational challenges, the issue of survival and the creation of a new creative development project. And no "mutually beneficial deals" with the West will save us. Only the protection of their land, the growth of the population and the well-being of the people and the preservation, development of Russian culture and language (Russianness)!
Russian possessions in North America (1835).
Author: Samsonov Alexander
