means the great land. sven haakanson is steering his boat out of the. island. have lived here since time immemorial. over the thousands of years they to solve this seascape each time they put out to sea to hunt. but they use good news with a couple of paddles instead of comfortable motor boats with powerful engines in the past very very difficult to hunt an individual you need to group in order to. actually capture for example you look at the sea lions over here in order for you to hunt one of those people. on a summer day and seven hundred forty one scores of the natives of the land set out on a hunting expedition in canaries they spotted odd looking ships on the horizon. those

big sail boats belonged to an expedition led by russian explorers and. kodiak island 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 of america for fifteen years. streets serve as a reminder of that time. many of them still bear the names of russian travelers and merchants. there is this story called who all founded with this one i cannot tell you the very first russian permanent settlement in alaska and then there is still a coffs son in law. named after nikolai. who 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 which. coast. this building was used as a warehouse from here the for went to russia and to china this sea otter pill has the sickest 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. russian traveler. for. 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 and establish contact with you have original people . local people welcomed. just as their ancestors. two hundred fifty years ago their homes may have changed a lot but their attitude to russia remains the same. we will come. to places that it is bases. many of the local people said they had russian. when the russian. 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 visit. to the locals and. russian. girls. russian. women and children creole. in the russian capital in the colonial administration. lives a life entirely different from his ancestors to him putting out to sea is more like fun than work. 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 he.

inside and that's something that we've been doing for centuries and that's a tradition where we have a wooden house which is a russian just. taking. 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 that morning and her russian sure they were taken people often are drawn to your

hundred year order 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 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 protestant church but always running a seeking for 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 were father in a 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. when 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 these are this is. this together with. david raised a many remains of the russian ship kodiak from the depths of the ocean. to the russian american company. in eight hundred sixty. eight was very lucrative because the. ice 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. the. 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. those factors led to a serious discussion about a potential sale they were held in an atmosphere of secrecy laws only humph fishel sort of knew about them by folks at least 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 norma's benefits by acquiring alaska. steckel had the support of u.s. state secretary william seward who was in favor of the 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 reenact the procedure of handing over the flag from russians to americans.

in eight hundred sixty seven 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 splashed across the newspapers scoffed at the purchase describing it as nothing more than a box of vice. rumor even had is 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 of. swaying some senators. towards a hitch free ratification of the treaty. after alaska came under u.s. control the russian american company lost its influence and the russians were offered a choice either return to russia or live in the reservation like settlement of. what became of the money earned was shrouded in mystery. the official version

the whole payment reached was spent on the construction of railways. however that the ship carrying the gold received for the sale of alaska had sunk in the pacific .

he refers to. the lower forty eight gary is sure. of the forty nine most people in the lower forty eight don't know that alaska is part of america some believe it. or 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 those kind of things i've i've actually had people compliment me on you sound just like in america. has lived in the small settlement. since

birth. here is. 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's buried and 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 new 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 is that lehman who is a distant relative of gary a school called 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 the. interview to 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 when we within about ten miles. were doing what we call 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. it was. you know he. knows it but even. though it's my son nick lehman's condition sometimes makes him

imagine he's not a nursing home but in the old settlement of check 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 another there's. a group of. nick 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 sure 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 won't during prion why i thought . oh. this is the law you know 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. names place names. conspicuously russia 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. why they feel you're not young enough how do you choose in a film and for some reason trying to guess why there's no escape for you dressed to

kill. is famous. for causing. particularly fond of her because she is the only always ready to talk to journalists. that live in this 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. had been initially it was a private. that the signs had been removed and now people can visit us they can talk and meet. today it is even something of a tourist attraction the cafe run by. the most lucrative business in.

this is mission. for three decades it never occurred to the old believers that someday americans might be among. they tried to escape visiting other towns but now the american house stay near the russian once evacuees know matthew has five children he moved. seven years ago after buying one third of the local land and 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 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 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 time. i. played which. the new wave of settlers who moved. last decades came from siberia. 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. everybody. has perfect english hides his true. he was born in the town of. children of the russians who came here and nine hundred eighty nine nine hundred ninety s. are about twenty years old now 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. one of the songs of the group says there's a place where everybody is going to it's the place to be. different places in the song but the new russian submarines have taken the him like lines close to the.

russians don't see themselves as masters of alaska they see themselves as. the traveler is among them. once again they will retrace the steps of early explorers. will have to go through a strenuous course of training before the second expedition they intend to use the same gear that the early russian explorers had no motorboats can do. since we're repeating the historical roots of the alaskan discoverer. then we want to know the actual truth and that's why we didn't have a choice of transport means. vin haakanson head of the community of indigenous people living in kodiak island takes a dim view of the desire of europeans to make more difficult. his ancestors

used to put out to sea. keeper for. 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 the 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 a. russia's

laura house of parliament has given its preliminarily approval to the key nuclear deal with america days after it was voted for approval by the us senate but the debate over conflicting points made by the senators will go on into the new year the treaty could see the nuclear arsenals of the two countries slashed by about a third it was signed in april by president obama and has been hailed as a major diplomatic victory. of the year with an annual interview with the country's top t.v. executives he addressed

a wide range of issues from russia's political system to the production deal with us it is the third time the president has taken part in the q. and a session. and the season's greetings for all of you celebrating christmas the days marked all over the world but for many russians orthodox christmas will only come in about two weeks' time because of a different calendar. up next peter lavelle's guests ask why christians in palestinian areas are leaving at a rate of knots despite living in multireligious communities there for centuries that's here in just a few moments.