US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to meet in Alaska on Friday. The location holds a lot of significance and has a shared history between the two countries.
Recently, the US Presdient mistakenly said that he would meet Putin “in Russia”, but he was somewhere correct.
History of Alaska
Alaska was part of the Russian Empire until 1867. It was later sold to the United States for $7.2 million, according to reports,
Alaska still has traces of its Russian past. It has Orthodox churches in Anchorage and also the historic settlements on Baranof Island.
Russia’s presence in Alaska began in the mid-1700s when fur traders hunted sea otters for their valuable pelts.,
Empress Catherine the Great authorised the Russian-American Company to oversee trade and governance by the 1780s. Merchant Alexander Baranov expanded settlements and put down native resistance, particularly from the Tlingit people. Russian Orthodox missionaries also arrived soon after.
Alaska became a burden for Russia by the mid-19th century. Notably the Crimean War weakened the empire. In 1867, Russia’s envoy in Washington, Eduard de Stoeckl, negotiated the sale to the US. He later remarked that the choice was to “sell them, or watch them being taken.”
What did US gain from this deal?
It gave the United States strategic territory. The deal also reduced European influence in the Pacific. Meanwhile, Russia avoided conflict and gained heavy cash.
Many thought that the Russians sold the land to US at a pretty low price, as gold discoveries and oil fields turned Alaska into one of America’s most resource-rich regions.
Trump-Putin meeting
American officials have confirmed that the upcoming meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will take place at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15, according to reports. This will be the first in-person meeting between the two leaders in more than four years.
White House officials say the August 15 meeting will be more of a “listening session” than a formal negotiation. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have been handling logistics, but Trump has said he wants to “look at [Putin] across the table” to gauge his intentions directly.
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Shivam Verma is a journalist with over three years of experience in digital newsrooms. He currently works at NewsX, having previously worked for Firstpost and DNA India. A postgraduate diploma holder in Integrated Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, Shivam focuses on international affairs, diplomacy, defence, and politics. Beyond the newsroom, he is passionate about football—both playing and watching—and enjoys travelling to explore new places and cuisines.
