Alaska (Russian America)

The Alaskan Democratic Federative Republic (: Аляскинская Демократическая Федеративная Республика, Alyaskinskaya Demokraticheskaya Federativnaya Respublika), commonly known as Alaska (Аляска, Alyaska) and often abbreviated as the A.D.F.R. (А.Д.Ф.Р.), is a federation made up of thirteen Oblasts of Alaska:oblasts:0 that occupy the of. Alaska borders Canada:0:0 and the United States:0:0 to the east, Mexico:0:0 to the south, and has a maritime border with the to the west. The ADFR is the only nation (outside the former Soviet Union:0:0) to have an extensive Russian population, and the only nation (besides Brazil:0:0) that defines the norm of by having Russian as an official language (besides the large populations of Spanish and English speakers in the Americas).

Alaska is currently the third richest nation in North America (after the United States and Mexico), and currently has one of the largest navies in the world.

History

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Exploration
The first written accounts indicate that the first Europeans to reach Alaska came from Russia. In 1648, Semyon Dezhnev sailed from the mouth of the Kolyma River through the Arctic Ocean and around the eastern tip of Asia to the Anadyr River. One legend holds that some of his boats were carried off course and were carried to Alaska. There is no evidence, however, of such a settlement or settlements. His discovery was never forwarded to the central government, leaving open the question of whether or not Siberia was connected to North America. In 1725, Tsar called for another expedition.

As a part of the 1733-1743 second Kamchatka expedition, the St. Peter, captained by, and the St. Paul, captained by n Alexei Chirikov, set sail from Russia at the Kamchatkan port of  in June 1741. They were soon separated, but each continued sailing east.

On July 15, Chirikov sighted land, probably the west side of Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Yakutat:0:0. He sent a group of men ashore in a longboat, making them the first Europeans to land on the northwestern coast of.

On roughly July 16, Bering and the crew of St. Peter sighted on the northern mainland of Yakutat; they turned westward toward Russia soon afterward. Meanwhile, Chirikov and the St. Paul headed back to Russia in October with news of the land they had found.

In November, however, Bering's ship was wrecked on. There, Bering fell ill and died, and the ship was destroyed by high winds. The stranded crew wintered on the island, then the survivors built a boat from the wreckage and set sail for Russia in August 1742. Bering's crew reached the shore of Kamchatka in 1742, carrying word of the expedition. The sea otter pelts they brought, soon judged to be the finest fur in the world, would spark Russian settlement in the.

Subsequently, small associations of fur traders began to sail from the shores of Siberia towards the. As the runs from Siberia to America became longer expeditions (lasting two to four years or more), the crews established hunting and trading posts. By the late 1790s, these had become permanent settlements. Approximately half of the fur traders were Russians from various European parts of the Russian Empire or from Siberia. The others were indigenous people from Siberia or Siberians with mixed indigenous, European and Asian origins.



Rather than hunting the marine life for themselves, the Russians forced the s to do the work for them. As word spread of the riches in furs to be had, competition among Russian companies increased and the Aleuts were forced into slavery. , who became Empress in 1763, proclaimed good will toward the Aleuts and urged her subjects to treat them fairly. On some islands and parts of the, groups of traders had been capable of relatively peaceful coexistence with the local inhabitants. Other groups could not manage the tensions and perpetrated exactions. Hostages were taken, families were split up, and individuals were forced to leave their villages and settle elsewhere. The growing competition between the trading companies, merging into fewer, larger and more powerful corporations, created a conflictual situation that aggravated the relations with the indigenous populations. Over the years, the situation became catastrophic.

As the animal populations declined, the Aleuts (already too dependent on the new barter economy created by the Russian fur trade) were increasingly coerced into taking greater and greater risks in the highly dangerous waters of the North Pacific to hunt for more otters. As the powerful Russian-America Company:Shelikhov-Golikov Company:0 established itself as a monopoly, skirmishes and violent incidents turned into systematic violence as a tool of colonial exploitation of the indigenous people. When the Aleuts revolted and won some victories, the Russians retaliated, killing many and destroying their boats and hunting gear, leaving them no means of survival. Eighty percent of the Aleut population was destroyed by diseases, against which they had no immunity, during the first two generations of Russian contact.



Though the colony was never very profitable, because of the costs of transportation, most Russian traders were determined to keep the land for themselves. In 1784,, who would later set up the Russian-American Company:0:0 that colonized early Alaska, arrived in on Kodiak:0:0 with two ships, the Three Saints and the St. Simon. The Alaska Natives harassed the Russian party and Shelikhov responded by killing hundreds and taking hostages to enforce the obedience of the rest. Having established his authority on Kodiak Island, Shelikhov founded the second permanent Russian settlement in Alaska (after ) on the island's Three Saints Bay.

In 1790, Shelikhov, back in Russia, hired Alexander Baranov:0:0 to manage his Alaskan fur enterprise. Baranov moved the colony to the northeast end of Kodiak Island, where timber was available. The site later became what is now the city of. Russian members of the colony took Koniag wives and started families whose names continue today, such as Panamaroff, Petrikoff, and Kvasnikoff. In 1795, Baranov, concerned by the sight of non-Russian Europeans trading with the Natives in southeast Alaska, established Mikhailovsk six miles (10 km) north of present-day New Archangel:0:0. He bought the land from the s, but in 1802, while Baranov was away, Tlingits from a neighboring settlement attacked and destroyed Mikhailovsk. Baranov returned with a Russian warship and razed the Tlingit village. He then built the settlement of New Archangel. It became the capital of Russian America and today covers what was previously the Mikhailovsk area.

As Baranov secured the Russians' physical presence in Alaska, the Shelikhov family continued to work back in Russia to win a monopoly on Alaska's fur trade. In 1799, Shelikhov's son-in-law, Nikolay Petrovich Rezanov, had acquired a monopoly on the American fur trade from Tsar. Rezanov then formed the Russian-American Company:0:0. As part of the deal, the Tsar expected the company to establish new settlements in Alaska and carry out an expanded colonization program.

Colonialism


By 1804, Alexander Baranov:0:0, now manager of the Russian-American Company:0:0, had consolidated the company's hold on fur trade activities in the Americas following his victory over the local Tlingit clan at the Battle of Sitka. Despite these efforts, the Russians never fully colonized Alaska. For the most part they clung to the coast and shunned the interior. Russian personnel from the Alaskan colonies initially arrived in California aboard American ships. In 1803 American ship captains already involved in the sea otter in California proposed several joint venture hunting expeditions to Baranov, on half shares using Russian supervisors and native Alaskan hunters to hunt fur seals and otters along the Alta and Baja Californian coast. Subsequent reports by the Russian hunting parties of unoccupied stretches of coast (by Europeans) encouraged Baranov to consider a settlement in California north of the limit of Spanish occupation in San Francisco. In 1806 the Russian Ambassador to Japan, and RAC director Nikolay Petrovich Rezanov, undertook an exploratory trade mission to California to establish a formal means of procuring food supplies in exchange for Russian goods in San Francisco. While guests of the Spanish, Rezanov's captain, Lt. Khvostov, explored and charted the northern coast of San Francisco Bay and found it completely unoccupied (by Europeans). Upon his return to New Archangel, Rezanov recommended to Baranov and Emperor Alexander I that a settlement be established in California.

was established by Commerce Councilor Ivan Kuskov:0:0 of the Russian-American Company. After sailing into in 1809 on the Kodiak and returning to New Archangel with beaver skins and 1,160 otter pelts, Baranov ordered Kuskov to return and establish a settlement in the area. After a failed attempt in 1811, Kuskov sailed the schooner Chirikof back to Rumyantzev Bay in 1812. On his return, Kuskov found otter now scarce in Rumyantzev and after exploring the area they ended up selecting a place 15 miles (24 km) north that the native people called Mad shui nui or Metini. Metini, the seasonal home of the native Kashaya Pomo people, had a modest anchorage and abundant natural resources and would become the Russian settlement of Fort Ross. The name of the fort is said to derive from the Russian word "rus" or "ros," the same root as the word "Russia" and not from Scottish "Ross". According to William Bright, "Ross" is a poetic name for Russia in the Russian language.

Fort Ross was established as an agricultural base from which the northern settlements could be supplied with food and carry on trade with Alta California. Fort Ross itself was the hub of a number of smaller Russian settlements comprising what was called Krepost Ross ("Fortress Ross") on official documents and charts produced by the Company itself. Colony Ross:0:0 referred to the entire area where Russians had settled. These settlements constituted the southernmost Russian colony in North America, and were spread over an area stretching from to.



Despite the Russians claiming their claims were well north of any Spanish claim, Spain:0:0 believed the Russians were invading Spanish claimed area. On September 22, 1818, Spanish troops launched an attack on the Ross Colony. In what would become known as the Battle of Fort Ross:0:0, Russian colonists were able to hold their position on the fort and portions of the Colony Ross. With word reaching Saint Petersburg roughly a day later, the Russian Empire:0:0 declared war on Spain. For the first years of the Oregon War:0:0, Spanish victory seemed very likely. Between 1820 to 1822, several joint ventures between Russian troops and the of. This would soon develop into an alliance. The term Batallón de San Andrés ("Saint Andrew's Battalion" in Spanish) was coined by the Mexicans for the assistance Russian troops. The Battle of San Francisco is the turning point of the war, leading to Spanish surrender in 1825. Spain would also vacate New Spain later in the year.

Expansion
After the Russo-Mexican victory in the region, Spanish control in the Americas would began to fall. Spanish claims north of the would be given to full Russian control. New Spain would gain independence as the, which soon established itself as a commonwealth of the Russian Empire:0:0. Russia would soon purchase Mexican territory northwest of the Sacramento River, in order to establish a land connection with its new claims in Oregon. To help loosen tensions between neighboring United States:0:0 and the United Kingdom:Britain:0, Russia would sign border treaties with the two. Relations with the US began rocky, but became rather friendly, but relations with Britain were almost explosive. Britain refused to loose its claims on Vancouver islands and the "Columbia District." The United States (under the ) threatened to go into war if the tensions in the region were not settled. In 1830, Britain and Russia agreed on a joint occupation of the Columbia District:0:0 (the region south of the, and north of the ), leaving and  for complete British control. Under both treaties allowed cooperation between the three in the Pacific Northwest. Tensions between Britain and the United States would soon turn sour when the US assists in the Canadian rebellions of the late 1830s.

By the 1840s and 50s, the growing population in the Russian colonies would cause greater desire to travel inland. In 1851, Tsar Nicholas I would help fund an exploration inland by means of the. The crew followed the Copper River, discovering the extent of the illusive, and traveled back to the in only months. More exploration would take place on the Arctic coast. The discovery of greater riches in the region would allow the area north of the Yukon river to establish colonies on the Arctic coast.



By the 1860s, the joint occupation of Columbia would take its toll on Britain. The Russian and Mexican navies gained a larger presence in the region, and better relations between the United States and the Russian Empire. The overall coast for Britain to keep its claims on the coast were greatly draining the Kingdom. The newly formed Borealia:Dominion of Borealia:0 greatly refused to gain a conflict region with Russia, and Britain feared that Russia or the United States might gain control of the region in a potential conflict. In 1867, Britain agreed to hand over full control of the Columbia District over to Russia, and agreed to sell Vancouver and Queen Charlotte Island to Russia for for about $4 million ($4 per acre).

The century would begin to end with the discovery of gold in the Yukon River and the newly claimed "Russian Columbia." The discovery would lead to an influx of Anglo-American settlers in western Oregon and Russian Columbia.

Political change
With Mexico:0:0 becoming a full republic in 1879, movements in Russian America began similar requests for autonomy. Beginning in 1884, a political party known as Our America:0:0 began advocating greater autonomy from the Empire. Despite all of the American regions showing interest for the same goals, the north and south were divided between how it should end. The northern colonists favored gaining Viceroy or Grand Duchy status, while the southern colonists wished for full commonwealth status or even becoming a republic. Deals were finally reached in the late 1890s. On March 7, 1898, Russia's claim north of the was reorganized into the Viceroyalty of Alaska:0:0. On June 12, 1900, the remaining regions were reorganized into the Commonwealth of Oregon:0:0. Oregon claimed Russian Columbia:0:0 as part of its territory, but it remained under its own government within the Empire.

Alaska and Oregon soon established themselves as a regional power. Oregon opened up trade with the United States:0:0 and Mexico:0:0. In 1907, a joint American-Oregonian project began which began the construction of railways from the ports of Oregon across to the western states of the USA. Alaska (with its vast wealth) also began railway projects. In 1912, Russia and Alaska began throwing around the idea of a Trans-Bearing bridge, connecting the Motherland with America.

Despite positive outlooks on Russian America, the peace would not last. The first of these conflicts would take place during, both Oregon and Alaska were reluctant to go into war with Russia, in fear that Britain (who had declared war on any who go to war with Japan) would retake lost territory. Alaska was less reluctant, but the far distances of the Pacific were far too late to make any affect towards a Russian victory. The second and last of these conflicts would be World War I and the Russian Revolution. Oregon wished to remain neutral in the matter, declaring independence as the Republic of Oregon:0:0 in early 1918. Despite being a safe haven for the democratic "White Russians," the encroachment of the communist "Red Russians" would soon take its toll in Alaska. In August 1932, communist forces in New Alexandrovsk and Unalaska (with support from the newly formed Soviet Union:0:0) gain control in western Alaska, pushing the Whites southeastward. By the end of 1923, the pro-Soviet government establish the Alaskan People's Republic:0:0. Fighting between communist and democratic forces would eventually lead to borer conflict and the establishment of democratic governments in Kodiak and New Archangel. In 1924, the Republic of Kenai:0:0 and the Democratic Republic of Yakutat:0:0 would be established.

During the 1920s, Russian America would be gripped in a devastating civil war. All North American nations greatly supported the democratic forces, and would keep communist forces from expanding southeastward. Despite Oregon remaining neutral, it too would suffer chaos. Federalist protests in Ross would lead to the declaration of independence of the Republic of Sonoma:0:0 in 1926. A year later, conflict would break out between the English speaking regions of Oregon. The former Russian Columbia would declare independence as the Republic of Cascadia:0:0, and gaining stronger support from Borealia and the United States. With fear that the remaining English-speaking regions of Oregon would follow suit, the Oregonian government offered autonomy for them, leading to calmer relations in Oregon.



During the late 1920s, the cooperation between the three democratic states began to show promise. Politicians such as Igor Druganin:0:0 would promote greater unity between the former colonies. The movement soon turned into an alliance of Kenai, Oregon, and Yakutat in early 1929. The alliance would transform into a political union. On September 26, 1929, the three governments agreed to united under a federal government. The newly formed Alaskan Democratic Federative Republic was established to reunite Russian America under a free and democratic nation. The earliest flag used by the united force was a variant flag of the Russian-American company, in which blue was enlarged (as opposed to the white being enlarged). In the blue field read the words "A Future United!" (: Будущее Единое!, Budushcheye Yedinoye).

The united nation would soon grow. In 1932, the English-speaking community of Cascadia agree to reunite with the new democratic government. Two years later, Sonoma would also reunite.

Political subdivisions

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Alaska is made up of thirteen oblasts, each with their own constitution.