we've got. the biggest issues get the human voice face to face with the news makers . this is pro good sound robust the libyan rebels of falls following the international air strikes it comes as some television does it. all make the opposition in concert the opposition rally that made the warnings that it would violate the u.n. resolution. there are all fears of a terrorist backlash in europe that the alarm sounded like a possible revenge plot by libyan islam as the parents of growing number of

casualties from the bombing raids is believed to be spurring terrorist recruitment six. hundred israeli businessmen awaiting trial in georgia is fine for the president. of the country's government for his foreign investment. objects we had a long march in state in the u.s. which used to be rushed. once it was a part of russian territory there are still reminders to this day children wearing russian national costumes people having russian names and many orthodox churches are standing here but more than one hundred forty years ago it became the u.s. territory though some americans still don't know about. the still asking have no idea about that stuff like nothing i don't know a thing about alaska it's cold. it was cold a box of ice

a polar bear garden and war russia but in the language of the indigenous peoples the word alaska means the great land of. sven how concern is steering his boat out of the narrow 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 their canoes with a couple of paddles instead of comfortable motor boats with powerful engines in the past yes it was very very difficult to hunt as an individual you need to group in order to. actually capture for example you look at the sea lines over here in order for you to hunt one of those you need several people. on a summer jane seventeen forty one scores of elliot's natives of the land set out on

a hunting expedition in canarios they spotted odd looking ships on the horizon. those big sailboats malone's to an expedition led by russian explorers of varying ensure. that was how kodiak island made its appearance on russian maps the first colonists were. guided by those maps where they landed on the island more than forty years later seventy four the city of kodiak was the capital of russian america for fifteen years. could be x. streets to serve as a reminder of that time. many of them still bear the names of russian travelers and merchants. there is still the street name a shell a cult who all founded with this who i cannot tell you the very first russian permanent settlement in alaska and then there is still

a coffs son in law was sawn off and after nickel i was on who was representing the government of russia and also the american company. the russian american company was founded in seventy nine. 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 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 i rush.

russian traveler. first came to alaska two thousand and nine he organized an expedition to retrace the steps of his fellow countryman. the ghost and was the first ever european to reach alaska's hinterland. unexplored land and establish contact with you have people. looking for. well welcome to warmly just as their ancestors welcome these agustin two hundred fifty years ago their homes may have changed a lot but their attitude to russians remains the same. question over clearly we welcome them like i mean exist in the places that it once served as places of as a girls can expect dish and. tell them we were russians many of the local people said they had russian ancestors. when the russians came to landscape the lives of the indigenous people change. many of them began to work for the russian

american company jobs involved hunting for sea otters fishing and taking part in the building of new settlements russian priests and monks visited alaska and baptized of the locals and people with the dogs fish russian men married local girls. russian men had local women and their children were called creole they were some creole so well educated they held top players in the russian capital to ship as well as in the colonial administration in alaska i would guess he's going to. surrender how concern the lives a life entirely different from his ancestors to him putting out to sea is more like fun the new york. fed 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 he steaming the washing inside of anya and that's something that we've been doing for centuries and that's a tradition where those now have a wooden house which is a russian vanya we just adapted to it i mean i grew up taking wine yes for bass. svend sees telling the history of. people as a mission he cheery it's a museum which is one of the principal tourist attractions of kodiak island when futurists visited during low season local people come here to when the russians actually took over our claimed alaska for russia spirit don't simulate one of cern's 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 earth and my mom told me.

her there were taken after their grandfather on your honor and they couldn't say are a lot. of a russian. st john's simeonoff doesn't need to speak russian services in the orthodox church in kodiak city are held in english. father image and he 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 wanting the seeking out for face and for experience

of it and finding that an orthodoxy is a young man and eventually answering a call and the priest tells. the church where father in the county sears stands where the first church in the new world used to be alaska is still predominantly orthodox u.s. state. russians and then 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 start practicing our or all the religious practices but pretty much everything else stayed the same hunting language but then during the american period. when the americans came they wanted to civilize us. american archaeologist david mcmahon is exploring the remains of russian legacy on alaska. these are lead seals they would have been used by

and boys of the russian american company around bales of her and this is one of the most important finds of his career some of the objects were found at the site of the first russian settlements others on the ocean floor so these are just this is probably one of the ship's frames this together with a russian called kenya unashamed go david mcmahon raised the many remains of the russian ship kodiak from the depths of the ocean the ship belonging to the russian american company sank near the shores of kodiak island in eight hundred sixty i strayed was very lucrative because the gold miners in california needed for their drinks so even if they would still make a good profit the ship was leaving and it hit a rock everyone got off the ship but because of the ice on board the ship stayed afloat for several days before finally sank. the archaeologist dived 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 russia open similar ships regularly sailed the length of the north pacific many saw the ship wreck as a symbol of the russian american company who 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 colonists and the very most this number was well below what russia needed to control and defend it. if those factors lead to serious discussion about a potential sale they were held in an atmosphere of secrecy laws only a handful of officials knew about them but 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 enormous benefits by acquiring alaska. steckel have the support of u.s. state secretary william seward who is in favor of a u.s. territorial expansion. finally in eight hundred sixty seven after lengthy negotiations alaska was sold to the united states for the price of seven point two million dollars. on october the eighteenth one thousand and 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 today 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 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 put it on their side deliberate steps which they could have with fellow put swayne some senators towards a hitch free ratification of the treating. 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

ninilchik. what became of the money earned in the alaska deal was shrouded in mystery. the official version claimed that the whole payment reach to russia and it was spent on the construction of railways. rumors persisted however that the ship carrying the gold received from the sale of alaska had sunk in the pacific. hungry for the full story we've got it first hand the biggest issues get a human voice face to face with the news makers.

derian school was born and raised in alaska like many alaskans he refers to other states as 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 a school called has lived in the small settlements on the peninsula since birth there are more than twenty school costs 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 was built on the seashore all of the employees of the russian american company refused to move to russia had been banished here by the us government one of the older buildings is right down below it doesn't have a window in it and built in the old log dovetail design with the dovetail corners

there are several other buildings that are better throughout here including sheds that were used for fishing the older ones were built as as old as the late eighteen hundreds all the residents of chick are related to each other one way or another they answer this is irene she died in one thousand nine hundred eighty five one of the most successful people born in india is laurent lehman who is a distant relative of gary a school. four years ago he was the lieutenant governor of alaska because 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 which preceded the incident which is marry her. 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.

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 i've talked about that with my brothers about the russian heritage and we often joked about it when we do within about ten miles a week 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 there come with you know it's no go i. was there conscious pre-race. nick lehman can't remember names and faces clearly last year he had

a stroke. and it was. you know here we lost but even. though it'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 real 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. of the millions or so talk programs or why they want to know those. are you very much for watching a group of. leman 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 it's caught on especially with our oldest child our son

and i think the best way we can do it is to talk about it serves some of the stories maybe even some of the language i want them to understand our very rich cultural heritage it makes me think and. brazenly is one of the most popular teachers at school don't know high school gordie 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've decided to learn the language that was once dominant in this part of the world. your warrant during briana was. very fair this value this thing that's. all i'm not that and the team. 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 it could be there are at least about seven hundred. names place names on the map of that that conspicuously russian for example. sell dog from sale device then the presence of the churches here so you know the words. let's put it like this here in the last we'll live in the presence of the past. is another russian enclave in alaska it emerged here on hundred years after the sale of the peninsula. its four hundred inhabitants trying to stick to a lifestyle reminiscent of siberia rather than america. if you did thirty people tourists came shearing nine hundred sixty eight year this is the first house they

have built here to be safe why they feel me hugh you're not young enough how do you choose an evil man for some reason trying to guess why there's no escape for you dressed to kill. is famous in nicholai of school and she is known for causing a stir the locals are not particularly fond of her because she is the only settler who is always ready to talk to journalists. and the reason is that all believers live in the settlement and they always prefer a reclusive lifestyle. the founders of nikolai of school fled the soviet union to america to escape persecution on religious grounds in alaska the old believers trying to distance themselves from civilization much like they would do in russia. initially it was a privately laid should no doubt about that but the signs have been removed and now people can visit us here they can talk to us and meet.

is no longer a settlement today it is even something of a tourist attraction in the cafe run by the feel of it is the most lucrative business in the settlement. this is my. big. for three decades it never occurred to the old believers that someday americans might be among their neighbors they tried to escape visiting other towns but now the american houses say near the russian ones i can't believe 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 i'm sure russians are people that are here there at the docks they have a nice set of values. friendly relations with matt but as the

years ago by she becomes ever more apprehensive of the prospect of nicholai of losing its status as a russian enclave and turning into just another quiet settlement in alaska. children in a settlement still where russian national dress but english is now their mother tongue. for growing up in a russian village but we go through english schools that were in english not as much russian i think over the time our church is going to probably go more american i and faith i believe that. the grade which american. the new wave of settlers who moved to alaska during the last decades came from siberia. twentieth century russian destinations changed in comparison with the eighteenth century the majority preferred alaska's

largest city anchorage rather than kodiak island with the connivance a lot of the city's three hundred thousand strong population five thousand are migrants from russia. this fun group is rehearsing in a garage situated in an. suburb. is the youngest of the band everybody calls him. his perfect english hides his true origin he was born in the siberian town of . the children of the russians who came here and nine hundred eighty nine nine hundred ninety s. across are about twenty years old now just this russian generation has grown up in alaska where they speak very good english and understand spoken russian it is indeed a new generation of music. one of the songs of the printer group says there's a place where everybody is going to the place to be actually in entirely different

places meant in the song but the new russian suburbs have taken the him like lines close to the heart. russians don't see themselves as masters of alaska they see themselves as guests. of the traveler is among them. his friends are embarking on a second expedition to the peninsula. once again they will retrace the steps of early russian explorers. team 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 only canoes. since we're repeating the historical roots of the alaskan discover a. then we want to know the actual truth and that's why we didn't have a choice of transport means. then haakanson head

of the community of indigenous people living in kodiak island takes a dim view of the desire of europeans to make their lives more difficult. his ancestors used to put out to sea in. keeper for. there's motorboats. certain things giving up the perks of civilization is a foolish thing to do. yet despite him bracing 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 there 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.