sven is steering his boat. and. have lived here since time immemorial. over the thousands of years to solve this seascape each time they put out to sea. but they use news with a couple of paddles instead of comfortable motor boats with powerful engines. very very difficult to hunt an individual you need to group in order to. capture for example. in order for you to hunt one of those. on a summer day and seven hundred forty one school. natives of the land hunting expedition . they spotted on ships on the horizon. those big sail

boats belonged to an expedition led by russian explorers and. made its appearance on russian maps the first colonists were guided by those maps on the island more than forty years later seventeen eighty four the city of kodiak was the capital for fifteen years. streets serve as a reminder of. many of them still bear the names of russian travelers and merchants . there is this story called who all founded with this why not tell us where we first russian permanent settlement in alaska and then their. son in law. named after nikolai. who. i

was representing the government of russia and also the american company. the russian american company was founded in seventy. primarily with the hunting and the selling of. khowst. this was used as a warehouse from here the for went to russia and to china this. pill has the think for any animal the most furs per square inch this is the animal itself the sea otter this animal was what caused the fur gold rush to alaska by rush. first. two thousand and nine he organized an expedition to retrace the steps of his fellow countryman. was the first ever european to reach.

this unexplored land contact with the aboriginal people. looking people. just as there are. two hundred fifty years ago. changed a lot but their attitude to russia remains the same. we will exist in the places that it is bases. petition. the russians many of the local people said they had russian. when the russian. people. worked for the russian american company. hunting for sea otters fishing and taking part in the building of new. russian priest visited

a. russian. russian. women and children creole. in the russian capital. ministration. lives a life entirely different from his ancestors to him to see is more like fun than work. proud of his traditional. he sees it as a symbol of successive generations and imbedded russian traditions. when the russians came. the thing that is similar. in size and that's something that we've been doing for centuries and tradition.

which is a russian. taking. sven sees the history of his people as a mission he cheery it's a museum which is one of the principal tourist attractions of. when few tourists visiting. local people come here to when the russians actually took over. claimed alaska. spirit. one of the friends together with his family is listening to his story although his name is of russian origin he doesn't know a single word of the language spoken on the other side of the bering strait nor does he know much about where his last name comes from. what my mom told me in the morning and her russian for fear they were taken people often are drawn through there underneath your honor and they couldn't say our last name so of

a russian. spy you don't seem you enough doesn't need to speak russian all services in the orthodox church in kodiak city are held in english. father in a county was born in new england a place that is far away from here he has no russian roots nevertheless he decided to serve as an orthodox priest in alaska but it was a long story. it's a story of growing up in a christian church a protestant church but always running and seeking out for a face for experience of the faith and finding that in the doxy as a young man and eventually answering the call into the priesthoods.

the church where father in the county serves stands where the first church in the new world used to be alaska is still predominantly orthodox us state. russians and and the priest said then came didn't force us to not speak our language they didn't force us to not follow our traditional ways of living we did you know stop practicing our older religious practices but pretty much everything else did the same thing language but then and during the american period. american archaeologist david mcmahon is exploring the remains of russian legacy. these are. they would have been used.

for this is one of the most important finds of his career some of the objects were found at the site of the first russian others on the ocean floor so. this is. the ship's frames this together with. david raised a many remains of the russian ship from the depths of the ocean. to the russian american company. in eight hundred sixty. was very lucrative because the california needed for their drinks so even if. it was still make a good profit the ship was leaving. everyone got off the ship. board the ship stayed afloat for several days before sank. twenty five meters deep to explore the remains of the ship the kodiak was one of

a dozen ships keeping the lines of communication with. similar ships regularly sailed the length of the north pacific. as a symbol the russian american company was in dire straits. at the beginning of the eight hundred sixty s. the company reached the edge of bankruptcy that caused a debate on whether alaska could be sold the vast territory was inhabited by eight hundred. number. to defend it. fuck that it will take those factors lead to a serious discussion about a potential sale they were held in an atmosphere of secrecy laws only a handful of fishel sort of knew about them by folks at least the league. america was not particularly keen on buying the faraway territory a russian envoy to washington eduardo steckel was told to do his best to convince

the u.s. government that it would gain norma's benefits by acquiring alaska. steckel had the support of the u.s. state secretary william seward who was in favor of a u.s. territorial expansion. finally in one thousand nine hundred eighty seven after lengthy negotiations alaska was sold to the united states for the price of seven point two million dollars. on october the eighteenth eight hundred sixty seven the russian flag was lowered in the former alaskan capital of sitka. its stead america's colors were raised. today happy alaska day is one of the major holidays of the forty ninth state. during the bright showed the residents of citgo to reenact the procedure of handing over the flag from russians to americans. in eight hundred sixty seven at the ceremony for placing the russian colony under

u.s. control was much more modest. the american government was weary of accusations that they had wasted a lot of money headlines and splashed across the newspapers scoffed at the purchase describing it as nothing more than a box of vice. rumor even handed that of the seven point two million dollars paid some two hundred thousand was given to senators in the form of kickbacks. but opinion but opinion deliberate steps were taken out of the hope of upswelling some sentences. towards the hitch free ratification of the treaty. after alaska came under u.s. control the russian american company lost its influence and the russian settlers were offered a choice either return to russia or live in the reservation like settlement of check. what became of the money earned in the alaska deal was shrouded in mystery.

the official version claimed that the whole payment reached russia and was spent on the construction of railways. rivers persisted however that the ship carrying the gold received for the sale of alaska had sunk in the pacific. ocean is that so much given to this each musician on the mark when the new exit is christians leaving the whole we christians have to give the historic palestine since the advent of christianity alongside muslims. wealthy british. market. what's really happening to the global economy

with. headlines kaiser report. says he. was born and raised in alaska like many alaskans he refers to other states as the lower forty eight sure that americans have a poor impression of the forty nine most people in. the lower forty eight don't know that alaska is part of america some believe. but many believe that it's own country and they wonder what kind of money they're going to have to use when they're here. and those kind of things i've i've actually had people compliment me you sound just like an american. has lived in the small settlement of.

since birth there are more than twenty here his grandfather knew a few english words gary however doesn't speak russian my grandfather passed away a couple of decades ago and my grandmother. passed away soon after that just some distance from here my father is buried in most of my relatives and one day i will be too. right after the peninsula was sold to the americans the village was built on the sea shore all of the employees of the russian american company who refused to move to russia had been banished here by the u.s. government one of the older buildings is right down below us doesn't have a window in it is built in the old log dovetail design with the dovetail corners there are several other buildings that are throughout here including sheds that were used for fishing the older ones were built as as old as the late eighteenth

hundreds all the residents of chick are related to each other one way or another they are the houses irene she died in one nine hundred eighty five one of the most successful people born in india. at lehman who was a distant relative of. four years ago he was the lieutenant governor of alaska. he's only passing through today and has decided to stay with his uncle and aunt their ancestors were russians and they still use russian words in their everyday lexicon. was married were. a few hours later he will visit his father at a nursing home in the town of sold. i tell him i tell my father that everything. oh no you do that if it. doesn't see that russian heritage simply as a distant episode in the history of his native state he remembers well that when he

was a child far more people spoke russian than english. with my brother's russian heritage and we often joked about it and when we did ten miles. were doing what we called speaking then we start talking like my father telling some of the stories it is still a very. part of my heritage. more in a rise it's around lunchtime he visits his father at the local nursing home he says a few phrases in russian. nicko i. was there come to. nick lehman can't remember names and faces clearly last year he had a stroke. you know here. that's my son nick lehman's condition sometimes makes him imagine he's not it's old

old news nursing home but in the old settlement of. where everyone has a boat where christmas is celebrated in early january rather than in december and where people in nearly every home speak russian. to know their stuff in the book. a group of. nick lehman is one of the few people here who still remember the russian air of the land its former legacy is gradually being forgotten much in the same way as old people's memories fade away i'd like to teach my children about their heritage and we've shared it. especially with our oldest child our son and i think the best way we can do it is to talk about it shares some of the stories maybe even some of the language i want them to understand are very rich cultural

heritage is it makes me think of the. phrase and here is one of the most popular teachers and don't know high school. he used to teach english to russian children in the russian town of. course today he teaches russian in alaska none of the children in his class has a slavic name all of them are americans who have decided to learn the language that was once dominant in this part of the world. your wont during prion walk. this july you this thing that. i'm not. here. sees himself as a representative of the new wave of russian settlers of alaska who fears he makes himself at home the russian legacy is everywhere. because today there are at least

about seven hundred. conspicuously russian for example. then the presence of the churches here so you know the words. let's put it like this here in . the presence of the past. after. trying to stick to a lifestyle reminiscent of siberia. people first came here in one thousand six to eight years this is the first house they have built. why they feel you're not young enough how do you choose a naval mine for some reason trying to guess why there's no escape for you dressed

to kill. is famous. and. i'm particularly fond of her because she is the only always ready to talk to journalists. live in the settlement and they always prefer. the founders of fled the soviet union to america to escape persecution. in alaska. trying to distance themselves from civilization much like they would. at the initially it was a private. that the signs had been removed and now people can visit us here they can talk to and meet. today it is even something of a tourist attraction the cafe run by. the most lucrative business and.

this is mission. for three decades it never occurred to the old believers that someday americans might be among neighbors they tried to escape visiting other towns but now the american house stay near the russian ones vacuously no matthew has five children he moved. seven years ago after buying one third of the local land his american dream is slowly becoming a reality the land was. pretty good price the russians. russians the people that are here the orthodox. have a nice set of values. relations with. but as the years ago by she becomes ever more apprehensive of the prospect of. losing its status as a russian enclave and turning into just another quiet settlement. children in

the still russian national dress but english is now their mother tongue. for growing up in a russian village but. not as much russian i think or the. church. i. played which. the new wave of settlers who moved. last decades. twentieth century russian destinations changed in comparison with the eighteenth century the majority preferred. city anchorage rather than. out of the cities three hundred thousand strong population five thousand are migrants from russia.

situated in an. this. is true. he was born. children of the russians who came here in one thousand eight hundred. nine hundred ninety s. are about twenty years old just some of this russian generation has grown up in alaska they speak very good english and understand spoken russian it is indeed a new generation of music. there's a place where everybody's going. to be. different places. but the new russia have taken the him like.

russians don't see themselves as masters. they see themselves as. the traveler. once again. will have to go through a strenuous course of training before the expedition they intend to use the same gear that the early russian explore. discover a. then we want to know the actual truth and that's what we didn't have a choice of transport. head of the community of indigenous people. to make

more difficult. to see. as motorboats. thinks giving up the perks of civilization is a foolish thing to do. yet despite embracing the modern era inwardly he still remains committed to the simple principles preached by his ancestors. we were here for thousands of years. but you know we didn't have this system of paper saying that we can claim this land because in our philosophy in our worldview. you can't own land the land owns you you know how can you say you own that when you're only here for a little bit and then you got it's a whole different philosophy of owning it versus living with it.

tonight on our t.v. russia's approval of the nuclear cuts treaty with america waits lawmakers spend the holidays but going over conflicting points in the u.s. senate's resolution. sending out congratulations across the atlantic and encouraging opposition leaders to be a little bit more active these are just some of the topics covered by the russian president during his rap off here interview to the head of russian television channels. dystonia give each other christmas roasting with a squabble over who was first to invent the festive decorated tree.

for good evening from moscow if you're just joining us my name is kevin owen it's now ten pm when our top story russia's lawmakers have launched their debates on ratifying the nuclear arms reduction treaty with america after it won backing in the u.s. senate the lower house of parliament so ready given its preliminary approval to finally get signed off in the new year in what's being hailed as a diplomatic victory by president obama and his country a good job as across what's happening for us here in moscow. seems so that russian devotees are very optimistic and also along with the all the americans they've been celebrating this tremendous victory the final ready p.k. shah in all the new strategic arms reduction treaty on capitol hill we know there had been those long heated debates on pros and cons of this major and.