time immemorial. over the thousands of years. each time they put out to sea. but they use news with a couple of paddles instead of. with. very very difficult. for example. seven hundred forty one school. natives of. the hunting expedition. they spotted on ships on the horizon. those big sail boats belonged to an expedition explorers. made its

appearance on. the first. 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 still the street name a shell a call who all founded with his wife now tell us the very first russian permanent settlement in alaska and then their. son in law. named after nikolai. who are was representing the government of russia and also the american company. the russian american company was. founded in seventeen.

primarily with the hunting and the selling of sea otters which dwelt in large colonies on the alaskan coast. this building was used as a warehouse from here the for went to russia and china this sea otter pill has the think asst 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 russian. russian travelers. first came to alaska in two thousand and nine he organized an expedition to retrace the steps of his fellow countryman. was the first ever european to reach alaska's hinterland in this unexplored land and establish contact with the aboriginal people. local people welcome to warmly

just as their ancestors. two hundred fifty years ago their homes may have changed a lot but their attitude to russia remains the same. shit over clearly we welcome the east into places that it once said as bases. the russians many of the local people said they had russian. when the russians came to the lives of the indigenous people. many of them began to work for the russian american company. hunting for sea otters fishing and taking part in the building of new settlements russian priests and monks visited alaska and baptized the locals into the orthodox faith. married local girls.

women and children creole. in the russian capital. ministration. lives a life entirely different from his ancestors to him putting out to sea is more like fun than work. and is proud of his traditional bathhouse he sees it as a symbol of successive generations and imbedded russian traditions. when the russians came. the thing that is similar are the rocks and the he. inside and that's something that we've been doing for centuries a tradition where now we have a wooden house which is a russian just. taking. a bath.

sven sees the history of his people as a mission he curious a museum which is one of the principal tourist attractions of. when few tourists visited during low season local people come here to when the russians actually took over our 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 the russians for sure they were taken people often are drawn to their hundred year order and they couldn't say our last major. 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 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 an orthodoxy is a yellin and eventually answering the call into the priesthoods. the church where father in the county series stands with the first church in the new world used to be alaska is still predominantly orthodox us state. russians

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. at the. 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 many remains of the russian ship from the depths of the ocean. to the russian american company the shores of island in eight hundred sixty. eight was very lucrative because the gold miners in california needed for their drinks so even if . it was still make a good profit the ship was leaving. everyone got off the ship but because of the 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 an eight hundred. number. needed to defend it. if those factors lead to a serious discussion about a potential sale they were held in an atmosphere of secrecy laws only how fishel sort of knew about them the legal. american 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 more miss 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 into former alaskan capitol of sitka. in 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 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 ice. 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. after alaska came under u.s. control the russian american company lost its influence and the russian. choice either returned to russia or lived in the reservation like settlement of. what became of the money earned was shrouded in mystery. the official version. was spent on the construction of railways. however the ship carrying the gold

received from the sale of alaska had sunk in the pacific. discovery. communicate with the. free. nature can give you.

sure is that so much. each musician. lake city christian. christian city of historic palestine to christianity alongside muslims. business. was born and raised in alaska like many alaskans he refers to other states and the lower forty eight gary is 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 it's still piped to russia 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 what language we speak and those kind of things i

have actually had people compliment me on you sound just like in america. gary has lived in the small settlement on the peninsula since birth there are more than twenty here his grandfather knew only 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 ninilchik 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 and 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 new chick are related to each other one way or another they are the houses irene she died in one thousand nine hundred five one of the most successful people born in india is laurent lehman who is a distant relative of gary a school called four years ago he was the lieutenant governor of alaska. he is 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 . which is married were. a few hours later he will visit his father at a nursing home in the town of sold the. interview to i told him i tell my father that everything. oh no you do that if it.

doesn't see the 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 brothers of the russian heritage and we often joked about it when we did ten miles a week 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 that sold around lunchtime he visits his father at the local nursing home he says a few phrases in russian. mikko i. was there come to. nick lehman can't remember names and faces clearly last year he had a stroke. yes he.

does believe. that's my son nick lehman's condition sometimes makes him imagine he's not it's 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 there's. going to be. a group of. lehman is one of the few people here who still remember the russian era 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 at 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 wallet during briana while. fair this july you this thing that. i'm not. here. sees him self 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 this is the first house they have built he added we take why they feel

you're not young enough how do you choose in a naval mine for some reason trying to guess why there's no escape for you dressed to kill. is famous. and she is known for causing a. 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. the soviet union to america to escape persecution. in alaska. trying to distance themselves from civilization much like they would do in russia if 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. is the most lucrative business in the. for three decades it never occurred to the old believers that someday americans might be among the neighbors they tried to escape visiting other towns but now the american house stay near the russian once evacuated 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 land was. pretty good price the russians. russians the people that are here the orthodox. have a nice set of values. relations with matt 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. 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 time. i. played which. the new wave of settlers who moved last decades came from. twentieth century russian destinations changed in comparison with the eighteenth century the majority preferred. city rather than. the city's three

hundred thousand strong population five thousand from russia. situated in. this perfect english hides his true. he was born. children of the russians who came here you know nine hundred eighty nine nine hundred ninety s. girls 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. they see themselves as. the traveler is among them. once again. have to go through a strenuous course of training before the expedition they intend to use the same gear that the early russian explorers. discover. then we want to know the actual truth and that's why we didn't have a choice of transport. venue haakanson

the community of indigenous people. takes a dim view of the. 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 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.

hungry for the full story we've got it first the biggest issues get a human voice face to face with the news makers.

in the program tonight russia's approval of the nuclear cuts treaty with america waits while lawmakers spend the holidays mulling over conflicting points in the u.s. senate resolution. sending out congratulations across the atlantic and encouraging opposition leaders to build a little bit more active these are just some of the topics covered by the russian president during his wrap up off the year interview to the head of russian television channels. and latvia and estonia give each other a christmas roasting with a squabble over who was first to invent the festive decorated tree.

there were of you watching around the world of a good morning from moscow it's one am him on name is kevin owen around tea this hour in our top story russia's lawmakers have launched the debates on ratifying the nuclear arms reduction treaty with america after it won backing in the u.s. senate the lower house of parliament already given its preliminary approval to finally sign off the deal in the new year and what's being hailed as a diplomatic victory by president obama his country is across what's happening at the moscow it. seems so that russian devotees a very optimistic and also along we all the americans they've been celebrating this tremendous victory the final ready be case in all the new strategic arms reduction treaty on capitol hill we know there had been those long heated debates on.