indigenous peoples the word alaska means the great land. sven haakanson is steering his boat out of the bay of kodiak island his ancestors 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 news with a couple of paddles instead of comfortable motor boats with powerful engines in the past very very difficult to hunt as an individual you need to group in order to. 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 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. that was how kodiak island made its appearance on russian maps the first colonists were guided by those maps when he landed on the island more than forty years later seventeen eighty four the city of kodiak was the capital of america for fifty 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 found it and what this why not tell us where we first russian permanent settlement in alaska and then there's the. son in law was sawn

off 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 by russia. russian travel. for. 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. unexplored land and establish contact with the aboriginal people . local people welcomed warmly just as their ancestors welcomed hundred fifty years ago their homes may have changed a lot but their attitude to russia remains the same. we welcome them. into places that it is bases. petition. the russians many of the local people said they had russian. when the russians came to. 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 visit. to the locals and. russian. girls. russian. women and children creole. in the russian capital as well as 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. to he.

inside and that's something that we've been doing for centuries and tradition. 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 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 their hundred thousand 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 a protestant church but always running a seeking out for face a for experience of the faith and finding that in the doxy as

a young man and eventually answering the call into the priesthood it's. 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 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 by. employees of the russian american

company. 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 companies. 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. 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 many 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. to defend it. those factors led 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 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 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 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 blight 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 it being at that deliberate steps which they could. sway in some sentences. 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 spent on the construction of railways. however the ship carrying the gold received for the sale of alaska had sunk in the pacific.

most people in the lower forty eight. part of america. i've actually had people. lived.

here. few english. doesn't speak russian my grandfather passed away a couple of decades ago and. passed away soon after that just some distance from here my father and most of my relatives and one day. 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 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 was a distant relative of gary. 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 every time. 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 brothers of the russian heritage and we often joked about it and when we did within about ten miles. we're 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 nov arrives at around lunchtime he visits his father at the local nursing home he says a few phrases in russian. i'm with you it's nicko i. was there come to. nick lehman can't remember names and faces clearly last year he had a stroke. yes he. does but even. though it'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 chick

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. or why they want to know there's. 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 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 briana while. well a. fair bit like. this that. i'm not. here. the gory sees himself as a representative of the new wave of russian settlers of alaska who makes himself at home the russian legacy is everywhere. because today there are at least about

seven hundred. names. 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 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 it in mind for some reason try to guess why there's no escape for you dressed to kill. the. famous.

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

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 evacuated no matthew has five children he moved. seven years ago after buying one third of the local land. 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. relations with. but as the years ago 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. not as much i think. i. played which. the new wave of. 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.

situated. everybody. is perfect. he was born. 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. there's a place where everybody's going. to be. different places. but the new will have taken the him like.

russians don't see themselves as. they see themselves as. the traveler is among them. once again they will retrace the steps of early. 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 why we didn't have a choice of transport. says van haakanson head of the community of indigenous people. takes a dim view of the desire 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 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 go on it's a whole different philosophy of owning it versus living with a. few

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the russian parliament is a step closer to passing the new strategic arms reduction pact with america but conflicting points made in the u.s. senate's resolution to hold up its likely ratification till the new year. 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 off easier interview to the head of russian television channels. and it should be goodwill to all men for this christmas season but latvia

and estonia are needled to buy each other's claims of being the first to decorate a tree. when you the top news and headlines from around the world this is our t.v. and we are certainly glad to have you with us russia 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 has already given its preliminary approval it is said to finally sign off on the deal in the new year in what's being hailed as a diplomatic victory by presidents medvedev and obama. is across what's happening in moscow seems so that russian deputies a very optimistic and also along we owe the americans they've been celebrating this tremendous victory defined already be case in all.