Zagoskin (Russian America)

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Zagoskin Governorate
Загоскинская губерния
Timeline: Russian America
OTL equivalent: Denali and portions of Bethel, Fairbanks North Star, Kenai Peninsula, Kodiak Island, Lake and Peninsula, Matanuska-Susitna, and Yukon–Koyukuk.

Governorate of Alaska


Flag	Coat of Arms
Location of Zagoskin

Capital

Bolshegorye

Largest City

Furugelm

Language
Official

Russian (de facto)

Others

Athabaskan, Finnish, Ukrainian

Religion
Main

Eastern Orthodox

Others

Catholics, Jews, Lutherans

Ethnic Groups
Main

Russians and Ukrainians

Others

Finns, Germans, Norwegians

Demonym

Zagoskinians
Загоскинцы (Zagoskintsy)

Area

289,965 km²
(254,788 sq. versts)

Population

864,698 (2017 Census)

Admission

January 3, 1951

Time Zone

AKWST (UTC-10)

Summer

AKWDT (UTC-9)

Abbreviations

AK-ZA, Заг. (Zag.)

The Zagoskin Governorate (Russian: Загоскинская губерния, Zagoskinskaya guberniya), colloquially known as Zagoskin (Загоскин), is a governorate of Alaska.

Etymology[]

The governorate was named after Lavrenty Zagoskin, a Russian explorer credited with exploring the interior of northern Alaska (including the northern portions of the modern-day governorate).

History[]

Prior to the 1940s, the territory of Zagoskin was divided by the Alaska Range, with everything south being controlled by Kodiak and the rest to Shelikof. The range would continue to serve as a barrier between the New Archangel government and the Alaskan Socialist Republic during the Alaskan Wars.

Following the surrender and occupation of the Alaskan Socialist Republic in the 1940s, it was agreed upon to establish a "buffer governorate" between Kenai/Kodiak and Shelikof. It was also the desire of New Archangel to open the Matanuska-Susitna Valley for new settlements, especially with the increase of immigration from the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe following World War II. It was originally planned to include all of the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, but it was later changed to only include the areas northwest of the Susitna River (due to lobbying from Kenai to include more territory). In exchange for this territorial loss, Zagoskin was to be given more territory in the west (bound by the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers).