for the full story we've got it for. the biggest issues get the human voice face to face with the news makers on our team. thanks for being with us seeing the international news channel from moscow these are our top stories tonight program does the troops reverse the libyan rebels advance following international air strikes it comes a sudden coalition members including the u.s. britain and france consider arming the opposition amid warnings that that would violate the u.n. resolution. because of the terrorist backlash in europe meantime with the alarm sounded of a possible revenge plot by libyan islam missed the apparent growing number of casualties from the bombing raid is believed to be stirring terrorist recruitment.

and radiation remains the biggest concern range of hands stricken nuclear plant levels in nearby seawater estimated that over three and a half thousand times higher than a normal. sized city one time next r.t. takes you to alaska the largest state in the u.s. of course which also used to be part of russia the story of the great land as local people call it coming up next. 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 four years ago it became the u.s. territory though some americans still don't know about. this over the last of the idea about nuts like nothing i don't know anything about alaska it's cold.

it was cold a box of ice a polar bear garden and one russia but in the language of the indigenous peoples the word alaska means the great land. sven haakanson 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 lions over here in order

for you to hunt one of those in the several people. on a summer day and seventeen forty one scores of elliot's natives of the land set out on a hunting expedition encounters they spotted odd looking ships on the horizon. those big sail boats belonged to an expedition led by russian explorers bering and cherokee. 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 with it forty years later seventeen eighty four the city of kodiak was the capital of russian 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 street named charlotte called who all found good with

this one i cannot tell you the very first russian permanent settlement in alaska and then that there is still a coffs son in law were sawn off named after a nickel i was. representing the government of russia and also the russian american company. the russian american company was founded in seventeen . primarily with the hunting and the selling of sea otters which dwelt in the 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 pelt has the sickest for of 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 traveler. for. two thousand and nine he organized an expedition to retrace the steps of his fellow countryman. who was the first ever european to reach alaska's. unexplored land and establish contact with you have original people. looking p. . well welcome to warmly just as their ancestors welcomes agustin two hundred fifty years ago their homes may have changed a lot but their attitude to russians remains the same. bullshit over clearly we will welcome them but that is east of the places that it is bases of as a girls can expect. whenever we tell them we were russians many of the local people said they had russian ancestors. when the russians came to alaska the

lives of the indigenous people changed. 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 the locals and the orthodox for russian men married local girls. what the proper russian men learned local women and their children were called creole was a wall of some creoles were well educated they held top posts in the russian capital to ship as well as in the colonial administration in alaska i would guess he's going to. surrender how can see in the lives a life entirely different from his ancestors to him putting out to sea is more like fun the work. still 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 was steaming to washington inside of vanya 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 one yes for that. sven 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 few tourists visit it during low season local people come here to when the russians actually took over are claimed alaska for russia speed you don't see me on one of sens 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. her we were taken care of grandpa you know from your honor. they couldn't say our last name and. russian. speaking 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 camp 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 protestant church but always wanting something out of for face or for experience a different way and finding that an orthodoxy as a young man and eventually answering the call into the priesthoods of. the church were from there and you can see sears stands where the first church in the new world used to be alaska is still predominantly orthodox the u.s. state. russians and and the priest said then came didn't force us to not speak our language it in force us to not follow our traditional ways of living and we did you know start practicing our all the religious practices but pretty much everything else did the same hunting language but then in doing 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 employees of the russian american company but around 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 settlements others on the ocean floor so these are this is from ships trains this together with russian colleagues gania unashamed 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 it melted they would still make a good profit the ship was leaving kodiak 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 my 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 direct as a symbol the russian american company was in dire straits. at the beginning of the eight hundred sixty is 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. it is a fact that those factors led to a serious discussion about a potential sale they were held in an atmosphere of secrecy only

a handful of fishel sort of knew about them by feel really good. 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 u.s. state secretary william seward who was in favor of a u.s. territorial expansion. finally an 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 eight hundred sixty seven of 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 bright show of 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 or so i deliberately steps were taken to go with delano perhaps wanting 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 russian settlers were offered a choice. either returned 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 claims that the whole payment reached russia and was spent on the construction of railways. rivers persisted however that the ship carrying the gold received from the sale of alaska had sunk in the pacific. closer is that so much of an oldish each musician on the mark with the battle for libya is a so-called humanitarian intervention there so noble and straightforward must intervene. hungry for the full story we've got it for. the biggest issues get a human voice face to face with the news makers. derrius

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 ninth most people in the lower forty eight don't know that part of america some believe it's still hard to russia but many believe that it's own country and they wonder what kind of money they're going after years when they're here or what. kind of things i have actually had people compliment you sound just like in america. gary a school called has lived in the small settlement of ninilchik on the peninsula since birth there are more than twenty school cos here his grandfather knew only

a few english words gary however doesn't speak russian my grandfather. either passed away a couple of decades ago and my grandmother modest has passed away soon after that just some distance from here my father is buried in 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 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 there 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. this is irene she died in one thousand nine hundred eighty five one

of the most successful people born in india we learned that lehman who is a distant relative of gary. 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. presidio. was married were given to a few hours later he will visit his father at a nursing home in the town of seoul don't know yet. 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 talked about it with my brothers of the russian heritage and we often joked about it when we did within about ten miles of the week doing what we call speaking and we start talking like my father telling some of the stories it is still a very. perfectly. mourn of rise it sold around lunchtime he visits his father at the local nursing home he says a few phrases in russian. i'm with you it's go i. was there qantas pre-race. nick lehman can't remember names and faces clearly last year he had a stroke. it was the. you know here we lost the human. was 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 the real 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 one. of the millions of so ducks for birds or rather what you know there's probably a book or you know. 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 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 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 seoul don't know high school gori used to teach english to russian children in the russian town of mogadon 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 and this part of the world. your wont during pre-op while i. know. this the are you spending that. i'm not. here. the gory 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 it became too deep there are at least about seven hundred. names place names on the map of

conspicuously russian for example. from cell device then the presence of the churches here so you know the words. let's put it like this here in alaska 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 try to stick to a lifestyle reminiscent of siberia rather than america. for people to scream hearing nine hundred sixty eight years and this is the first house they have built here we face why the feeling here you're not young enough how do you choose an innovative woman for some reason try to guess why there's no escape for your dress to kill. and interfere is famous. and she is known for causing

a stir locals are not particularly fond of her because she is the only settler who is always ready to talk to journalists. the reason is that all believers live in the settlement and they always prefer a reclusive lifestyle. the founders of nikolai fled the soviet union to america to escape persecution on religious grounds in alaska the old believers who tried to distance themselves from civilization much like they would do in russia and initially it was a privately lage no doubt about that but the signs had been removed and now people can visit us where they can talk to and meet. is no longer a closed settlement today it is even something of a tourist attraction because they run by the feel of the most lucrative business in the settlement. this is mission.

for three decades it never occurred to the old believes that someday americans might be among their neighbors they tried to escape visiting other towns but now the american houses stay near the russian ones but you 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 actions the russians people that are here your socks they have a nice set of values thank you. interfere with friendly relations with matt but as the years ago by she becomes ever more apprehensive of the prospect of nikolayev losing its status as a russian enclave and turning into just another quiet settlements in alaska. children in the settlement still where russian national dress but english is now

their mother tongue. for growing up in a rush from the village but we go to english school that learn english not as much russian i think or the time. probably go more americanized faith i. 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 or the can i put. out of the city's three hundred thousand strong population five thousand are migrants from russia. his front group is rehearsing in a garage situated in an. anchorage

a suburb. soloist is the youngest of the band everybody calls him. his perfect english hides his true or he was born in the side being in town of. children of the russians who came here and nine hundred eighty nine were in the early one nine hundred ninety s. the girls are about twenty years old now just some of this russian generation has grown up in alaska but they speak very good english and understand spoken russian or it is indeed a new generation of music. one of the songs of the greenberg group says there's a place where everybody's going to it's the place to be actually an entirely different place is meant in the song but the new russian submarines have taken the him like lines close to the heart. of. the. russians don't see themselves as masters of alaska they see themselves as

guests. of the travelers among them he and his friends are in barking on a second expedition to the peninsula. once again they will retrace the steps of early russian explorers. teams 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. vin hopkinson head of the community of indigenous people living in kodiak island takes a dim view of the desire of europeans to make very lives more difficult. his ancestors used to put out to sea in converse keeper for. as motorboats. soon

thinks giving up the perks of civilization is a foolish thing to do. yet despite embrace in 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 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.