| |||||
| Capital (and largest city) |
Czaringrad | ||||
| Language official |
Russian | ||||
| others | Ukrainian, German, Chinese, Korean | ||||
| Religion main |
Orthodox | ||||
| others | Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, Muslim, Taoism, Buddhism | ||||
| Ethnic Groups main |
East Slavic | ||||
| others | Various Native, Tungistic, Turkic, Uralic and Germanic groups | ||||
| Area | 9,193,548 KM2 | ||||
| Population | 42,164,232 | ||||
Alaska is a federal republic in North America. It borders the US to the south and the US again to the east, as well as the Danish possession of Kongens land to the east, and a maritime border with Russia to the west. It was a Russian colony from 1741 to 1917. As such, Russian is the official language of the state and majority of the nation is of Russian decent. The country is made up of 11 oblasts.
History[]
Russia had been expanding eastward since its independence from the Golden Horde in 1480. In 1724, Czar Peter I sent Danish Cartographer Vitus Bering to explore the coast of North Asia to see if Russia had access to the Pacific. They found out they did but decided to conquer Siberia for its land, minerals and fur. They conquered Islamic Khanates like Kazan, Astrakhan, Sibir, Kalmykia and Qasim. East of this Military expeditions and massacres, as well as diseases, pacified the Indigenous people of the region.
Aleut fisherman sighting Russian vessel, 1763.
In 1741, Bering was hired again by the Russian government, this time with the goal of exploring Alaska.
Just two years after Bering's second voyage, trappers founded settlements in the Aleutians. The disorganised frenzy was replaced with a concentrated effort by the Shelikhov-Golikov Company to start a Russian colony in the New World. In 1784 they founded Pavlova gavan' on the island of Kodiak. Russian fur traders (called "Promyshlenniki", промышленники) tried to convince Grigory Shelikhov not to build at Pavlova gavan due to the fact that some hunters had been killed by the local Alutiiq people.
Shelikhov massacred thousands of Inuit as revenge, and took just as many as hostages, in order to force the Inuit and Yupik to submit to Russian rule.
A government official named Nikolai Rezanov was ordered to inspect the company, but he ended up marrying Shelikhov's daughter. When Shelikhov died, Rezanov took control of the company and gained the support of Czar Paul I.
In 1799, Rezanov reorganised the Shelikhov-Golikov Company into the Russian American company. Czar Alexander became a stakeholder in the company, moved its headquarters from Irkutsk to St. Petersburg and gave the company a 20 year lease on the land it governed in Alaska.
The Russian American Company bought some land from the Tlingit and built the city of New Arkhangelsk at the site. Relations between the Russians and the Tlingits soon turned violent. In 1804, New Arkhangelsk was made the capital of Alaska. Just one year later the city experienced famine, because it was difficult to import supplies.
But the Russians were not the only colonial power in the region. Vitus Bering's voyage alarmed the Spanish, who claimed the area under the Treaty of Tordesillas. In 1774 Spanish expeditions left from Mexico, they left crosses from the mouth of the Columbia river to Kodiak Island to show their claims. A Spanish ship called the Santiago traded with natives in canoes off the coast off Vancouver island, but it was James Cook who actually landed on the island. He spoke with the locals and named the area “Friendly Cove“. The British authorised a proposal by the East India company to start fur trading in the area while Russia made plans to settle at Friendly Cove. The British bought land from the locals and brought workers from Macau to build a trading post, a ship and some houses. They also claimed more land for the Crown in further exploration. In 1789, José Esteban Martínez was sent by the Spanish to enforce their claims. He founded a town called Santa Cruz de Nutca. Martínez seized two British ships but permitted American ones already there to stay. Several British ships arrived soon after with orders to recover the captured British vessels and to establish a government. The Spanish claimed that the British were pirates and tried to arrest them, one Brit was killed in the incident and the British were arrested by the Spanish. Martínez brought the three British ships back to Mexico as prizes but was ordered to abandon Nutca due to its conflict with Britain. Due to the fact that both nations were united in war against France (French revolutionary war) they agreed to both abandon the site, while agreeing that the Pacific was open to all nations to trade. Despite the Nootka Convention the Spanish still claimed the Pacific coast up the Juan de Fuca, while the British insisted that Spain’s claims only extended as far north as San Francisco, their northernmost settlement on the Pacific coast.
But Russia never signed the Nootka Convention so they ordered that 1000 Siberian natives settle the location and raise the Russian flag. They did this since they felt that since the British had been diminished in North America following the American Revolutionary war that the British would not be able to rival them in the area. They believed that the area could be profitable due to the lucrative fur trading routes that extended to China. They still permitted Spanish and British ships to trade on the island but only if they recognised Russian rule over it, which they did. The Spanish still claimed all of the Pacific coast between Juan de Fuca and San Francisco. The Spanish presence in the region was eliminated by the Mexican war of independence.
Many immigrants arrived from across the Russian Empire, Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth, Scandinavia and Germany, much to the dismay of the locals. These new settlers came at the invitation of Catherine the Great. Most were Germans, Poles, Czechs, Greeks, Armenians and others. This meant that many were non-Russians that were promised rights and freedoms that the average Russian never had. When these rights, such as religious freedom, were in danger of being taken away the people of Alaska revolted. They were especially opposed to the idea of serfdom and many fugitive serfs fled to Alaska and were welcomed. Later East Asians started moving to Alaska in large numbers.
Russian settlers eventually introduced new agricultural practices to the natives and demanded tribute from them in the form of food and other supplies. This encouraged them to expand but also to treat their native people better. With that they became self-sufficient, especially when they reached warmer areas. Native people, under the Russian method of colonisation, would be organised into a nation based on their ethnicity (example: all Kootenai people form a "Kootenai country", a nation-state in the European sense of the word) and this country would pay Yasak (tribute) to Russia, provide troops if asked and would allow Christian missionaries to work in their territory. This state would be a protectorate of Russia and would be effectively independent until 1927, when they all became "Autonomous Oblasts" of Alaska. Russians and Cossacks conquered natives who lived on valuable land or those hostile to Russian intentions. Wars with the Haida, Kootenai, Lakota, Salish and Tlingit proved costly but effective. Assimilation and subjugation of these groups began almost immediately: Haida were (temporarily) deported to Siberia, Salish totem poles were burned by Orthodox priests as "idols", while the Tlingit and Lakota both fought guerrilla wars for 90 years. Possibly the most famous act of native resistance against the Russians was the 1763-1765 rebellion by the Aleuts at Fox Ridge.
In 1819 Russia annexed Alaska and attempted to impose a series of new reforms, including forcefully beginning Russification of non-Russian people in Alaska, imposing serfdom on the people, increasing taxes and ignoring plans from the Company rule period to redistribute land. This lead to rebellion. The war only ends in 1833 when Russia agreed to grant the region autonomy as a Grand Duchy and confirm the liberal ideas of Catherine the Great as the state ideology.
The Grand Duchy of Alaska saw that following the Mexican war of Independence the Spanish had lost their presence on the Pacific so decided to begin an aggressive policy of southward expansion. Mexico had gained independence from Spain in 1821, and they beleived that they had inherited Spanish claims to Nutca. Since the British had been diminished in North America and the Russians were fighting a war in Alaska there was no nation that opposed Mexico's northward expansion to the Juan de Fuca islands. In 1833, border skirmishes broke out between the two sides, although war was never formally declared. The Mexicans tried to get a better claim to the lands by populating it with colonists, primarily Mormons from the United States. Russia decided to destabilize Mexico by supporting Texas' independence and later the Americans during the Mexican-American war.
In 1848, the US acquired the three Northernmost provinces of Mexico (Tejas, Alta California and Nuevo Mexico), the Nutca territory claimed by Mexico was administered by the Alta California government in Monterey. This led to conflict with the Russian empire, who said that they claimed the Nucta territory in 1790. Russian diplomat Karl von Nesselrode met with Nicholas Trist to formally define where the Russian-American border is. Despite the two diplomats agreeing on a border in the treaty of Monterey, relations between the two remained quite poor and disputes remained due to the vague wording of the treaty. The treaty was vague primarily since it established borders based on the inhabitants of lands, for example, by saying that Russia had "Dominion over the lands of the Salish". The Yasak system had already been implemented with many tribes in the region, which Russia used as justification to claim further lands in the Prairies, which they needed for agriculture to keep Alaska self-sufficient.
The same year the treaty of Monterey was signed, there were reports of gold being discovered at Novyy Irkutsk in Yukona oblast. This triggered a gold rush in Alaska (as well as OTL Yukon). This period is considered Alaska's golden age, cities like Dusongrad (OTL Dawson) had theatres, universities and other modern establishments. The gold rush turned Alaska into an integral part of Russia. American pioneers started to arrive, and then they started demanding Alaska become American. The Grand Duke signed a controversial law called the "the expulsion act" because he thought that Alaska could become the Texas of the Russian empire.
Russia and the US had overlapping spheres of influence in the Great plains due to Alliances with Natives who really controlled the lands. Russia offered autonomy if they converted to Orthodox Christianity and payed the yasak to Russia. This led to infighting within the Blackfoot nation, as some were now Orthodox Christians who wanted to be Russian subjects. Anti-Lutheran Pogroms in Alaska added to the tension. It all came to a head when a US army patrol shot and killed a Ukrainian Settler in disputed territory. This caused the Russo-American war (1850-1856). The war overlapped with the Crimean war in Europe. At the battle of Shayyenn (OTL Cheyenne) in 1855 the Russians beat the Americans. This battle is remembered almost like a foundation myth for Alaskans.
Over time cooperation replaced competition, since the government of the Grand Duchy saw that they were isolated from the rest of the Russian Empire, and tried to mend relations with the Americans so Alaska could be incorporated into the trade system of North America. This rapprochement culminated with the construction of the Russo-American railway, which was built in 1893, it went from St. Mikhail to San Francisco. This encouraged small villages and trading posts to industrialise so they could sell their products in new markets. Timber, coal, oil and gas allowed Alaska to industrialize before much of the Russian empire, especially around OTL Vancouver island, which had become the heart of Russian America. These new, industrial ports started to produce a large and modern navy in the pacific. As the gesture of good faith Russian ceded Siuslav oblast to the US (OTL Oregon and Idaho, except the panhandle).
Tension was building in East Asia at this time. Japan had modernised and militarised for 3 decades and beat China. Negotiations over the partition of Korea and Manchuria broke down, leading to Japan attacking the Russian naval base of Port Arthur. The Russo-Japanese war (1904-1907) led to Russia gaining more influence in Asia while Japan was gripped by anti-foreign riots that led to a second phase of isolationism.
Under a decade later the first world war started, once again thousands of Alaskans fought. Approximately 410,000 Alaskans fought in the war and 57,000 were killed (13.90%).
In 1917, the Czar abdicated but the provisional government was then overthrown by Vladimir Lenin and his Bolsheviks. Alaska was unsure how they should react to this. Soon Alaska was carved up by dozens of factions who started to fight each other. The nation was only united after 10 years of war.
Valentyn Denysovych Yushchenko led the country from 1927-1958. His regime created a mixed economy and a strong military. He advocated for ethnic Russian nationalism, to the exclusion of ethnic or religious minorities. The Alaskan renaissance can be attributed to him. Mass killings of alleged Communists took place throughout his rule, resulting in deaths of half a million people. Yushchenko is seen in a very similar way as Stalin, he strengthened the nation but killed anyone he perceived to be an enemy.
Pro-Nazi rally, 1934
Alaska wanted to position itself as the opposite of the USSR by going as far as possible to the political right, even to the point of fostering fascist groups. Even today, homosexuality and abortion are both illegal. Corruption is an issue, so is political violence. There is very little separation between Church and State. At the same time, the government continues to promote Russian nationalism.
Geography[]
Economy[]
Government[]
Alaska adopted the Russian model of subdivisions, governates, or Oblasts in Russian. Modern Alaska has 11 of them.
- Alyeska
- Denali
- Katmai
- Kluane
- Kodiak-Kenai
- Kootenai
- Nahanni
- New Russia
- Orpeon
- Wrangell
- Yukona
Demographics[]
See: Demographics of Alaska[]
Due to 176 years of Russian rule Alaska is Russophone and Orthodox majority. It is the only nation in North America to use an alphabet that isn't Latin (they use Cyrillic).
Overall the population of Alaska is 42,164,232. Majority of the population is concentrated close to the American border, Nutka island (OTL vancouver island), areas near Nutka island and Prairie regions east of the rocky mountains. The polar regions, rocky mountains and other areas are more thinly populated.
Russians are the largest ethnic group at about 52%. Ukrainians and Cossacks together form about 11.23%. Germans are the third largest ethnic group in the country at 10.73%. Overall, 76.11% of the population is of European ancestry. Some countries with large populations in Alaska include: Czech, Poland, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Greece, Finland, Scandinavian countries and Albania. It has been estimated that Russian ancestry has been overreported. Officially, around 21 million Alaskans claim to have Russian ancestors. Recently this has been called into question since Russians were not even a plurality of the population until the 1860s. This means that many of these people are actually of another European ethnicity but have just been Russified. Many of these would still have at least one ethnically Russian great-grandparent. It is also of note that 7.7% of Alaska's population claims to be Jewish (3,161,433).
Asians are the second largest racial group in the country at 9.64%, or 4,006,557. The largest Asian group at just over 2 million are Chinese Alaskans. They are 5.09% of the population. The second largest are Koreans at 1,897,200, or 4.56%. Japanese are a relatively small group at only 18,000.
On the most recent census, 2,535,212 Alaskans were of a non-Russian ethnic group native to the modern Russian federation. Most come from the Volga-Ural (Volga Tatar, Bashkir, Chuvash, Mordvin, Udmurt, Komi, Nenets, Khanty, Mansi), Caucasus (Chechen, Georgian, Armenian, Ingush, Azeri, Kalmyk, "mountain Turks" (Karachay-Balkar), Ossetian, Abkhazian, Lezgin, Circassian), or Siberia (Siberian Tatars, Khakas, Chukchi, Buryat, Shor, Ainu, Itelmen, Koryak, Evenki, Nivkh, Yakut, Oroch, Tofalar). This also includes around 200,000 recent immigrants from Central Asia, who are largely Russian-speaking.
Native people today still speak their own language and are mostly Orthodox. The most common native languages are Tlingit, Aleut, Iñupiaq, Yup'ik, Gwich'in and Koyukon. Others include Blackfoot, Cree, Haida, Kootenai, Lakota, Tanana, Tanacross, Holikachuk, Denaʼina, Deg Xinag, Eyak, Ahtna and Salish. All of these languages are recongnised on a national level and official in Autonomous Oblasts. The 11 Autonomous Oblasts are Aleutia, Athabasca, Blackfoot, Cree, Haida Gwaii, Nunangat, Kootenai, Lakota, Salish, Tlingit and Yupik. The Autonomous Oblasts are collectively 6% of the country's land area, 551,613 KM2. Indigenous people are 0.59% of the total population, approximately 250,000.
There are also around 150,000 Middle Eastern immigrants, mostly the descendants of Persian immigrants in the late 1800s, as well as more recent Turkish migrant workers and refugees of Arab or Afghan origin. This also includes the historic Kurdish and Assyrian communities.
Crime and Law enforcement[]
According to Alaska law every city or town with a population of 100,000 or more is required to have a permanent police department, less than 100,000 means it doesn't need to be permanent and it isn't required unless the area has a high crime rate or there is a real security risk (such as a terrorist attack). Each oblast has its own police force as does the country as a whole.
The murder rate was 8 per 100,000 people, meaning it is higher than either Russia or the US. Some of the crimes that are present are robbery, theft, human trafficking, weapons trafficking, corruption, drug trafficking, kidnapping and murder. Corruption and an influential organised crime scene are considered to be major causes for the high rates of violent crime in Alaska.
Organised Crime[]
Organised crime in Alaska is dominated by several ethnic mafias. The federal police have long known about the problem and have been criticised for their apparent inactivity.
The Russian Mafia, Bratva, is active in Alaska and the largest organised crime unit in the nation. Most were small gangs of smugglers or highwaymen in the colonial period but they have increasingly come under the control of the main Bratva in Russia, being the descendants of prison gangs in the gulags. They are known to deal in a drug called Krokodil.
The Armenian mafia is the oldest in the country, dating back to the gold rush from the 1840's to 1860's. They mostly organised petty crime but recently they have been reintegrated into the wider Armenian mafia. They now dominate the heroin trade in Alaska.
The Serbian mafia is much smaller but nonetheless still powerful. They mostly make money through prostitution and drug trafficking (heroin and cocaine). They are divided into clans but have had to extend their membership to all Slavs due to the relatively small amount of Serbians in Alaska, a problem also experienced by the Armenians.
The three East Asian criminal organisations in Alaska have both worked with and fought each other in the past. The Jopok (Korean) are allies with the Triads (Chinese) but enemies of the Yakuza (Japanese). The Korean Mafia works in prostitution and ecstasy dealing, and to a lesser extent also human trafficking and other smuggling operations. Both the Triads and the Koreans are worried about the growing Japanese population in Alaska, mostly due to refugees from the Japanese civil war.
The Federal Police have suspected some kind of local crime syndicate may have existed in the Lakota Autonomous Oblast for decades. Their investigation only started a few years ago but it already shows multinational poaching, smuggling and extorsion operations spreading into the United States.
Several smaller groups started later and simply came under the control of larger organisations. In Alaska, Greeks are stereotypically known as nightclub owners, Casino owners or other professions with dubious morality. Greek owned Casinos and clubs are often family owned and have deep ties with the Serbian mafia due to "Balkan Blood", the same phrase is also used to justify the close relationship between the Serbs and Romanians. Similarly, Muslim-majority groups formed in the early 2000s, mainly Chechens and Azerbaijanis and the two worked closely with each other. They tried to smuggle Soviet weapons out of the Caucasus and Central Asia so they could take the heroin trade from the Armenians. After a gang war that killed hundreds the Armenians remained, with only the Serbians serving as occasional threats to their monopoly. Georgians are a small group, organising robberies and other small scale money making schemes. Their main rivals are small ethnically-Russian street gangs.
Vigilantism[]
Due to the fact that most of the country has no permanent Police force many rural areas have come to depend on vigilante groups. Numerous groups, both organised and spontaneous, have come into existence across the country where many are known to punish suspected criminals with death.
Drug trafficking routes[]
Terrorism[]
Terrorism in Alaska is almost always ethnonationalist. In 1993 there was a shooting related to the conflict in the Post-Soviet Caucasus, targeting an Armenian Church. In 1999, Alaska experienced its first act of anti-Semitic terror, once again a place of worship was the target. In 2000 the minister of Defense admitted that Alaska has a serious problem with domestic Neo-Nazis. In 2007 these same people attacked a police station. In 2010 the Csaringrad Russian Opera House (Русский оперный театр Чаринград) was attacked by Ukrainian nationalists in retaliation for the Russian annexation of Crimea.
There were four other attacks in which the motive was something else. In 2003 several Marxists successfully assassinated the Minister of Finance. In 2009 there was a mass shooting/suicide bombing by a recent convert to Islam with sympathetic views toward ISIL. Finally, in 2018, gunshots were reported at a jehovah's witnesses Kingdom Hall. In 2021, a lone gunman opened fire on a migrant processing centre and citizenship ceremony, most of the 38 victims were from Afghanistan (8), Uzbekistan (8), Turkey (7), Albania (6), Syria (4), Tajikistan (3) and Iraq (2).