slash usa also check out our youtube page youtube dot com slash r.t. america i'm christine for that we will be back here right now. it's the secret incursion into the country. it's the invasion by means of. tradition the language. and culture. are still unaware of what's going on in the. asking. the great.

they tell martin here broadcasting live from washington d.c. coming up today on the big picture.

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 silastic the idea about that stuff like nothing i don't know anything about the alaska 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. 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. 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 day and seventeen forty one scores of natives of the land set out on a hunting expedition internet they spotted odd looking ships on the horizon. those big sail boats belonged to an expedition led by the russian explorers bearing and sure. 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 within forty

years later seventeen eighty four the city of kodiak was the capital of russian america for fifteen years. streets to serve as a reminder of that time. many of them still bear the names of russian travelers and emergence. 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 that there is still a call son in law was signed off named after nikolai resigned. who 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 large colonies on the alaskan coast.

this building was used as a warehouse here the for which to russia and to china. this. has the weakest for any of the most fers per square inch this is the animal itself we are this animal was what caused the fur gold rush to alaska by rush. russian traveler he 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 interlink he mapped this unexplored land and establish contact with the aboriginal people. local people welcome to

warmly just as their ancestors welcome his agustin two hundred fifty years ago their homes may have changed a lot but their attitude to russians remains the same. or she will be clearly we will welcome them there in the east in the places that it once said as bases as a ghost can expect dish and. 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 found ties of the locals and people with the dogs fish russian men married local girls. what the proper russian men are of local women and their children were called

creole. creoles were well educated they held top posts in the russian capital as well as in the colonial of ministration in alaska. i would. say lives a life entirely different from his ancestors to him putting out to sea is more like fun than work. sven 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 to washington inside vanya and that's something that we've been doing for centuries and it's a tradition where now we have a wooden house which is a russian vanya we just adapted to it and i mean i grew up taking. baths. sven's telling the history of his people as a mission he curates

a museum which is one of the principal tourist attractions of kodiak island when few tourists visited during low season local people come here to when the russians actually took over. alaska for russia 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. earthing our code mirrors what my mom told me. her where we were taken after her and grandpa you know underneath your honor and they couldn't say our last name and throw a bit of a russian. spin don't seem you know of doesn't need to speak russian services in the orthodox

church in kodiak city are held in english. father in a can to you 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 seeking out for a face for experiences of faith and training that is seen as a young man and then surely answering the call into the priesthood it's. the church where father in county serves stands where the first church in the new world used to be alaska is still predominately orthodox u.s. state bresson's 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 we did you know stop practicing our older religious practices but pretty much everything else did the same thing 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 the lead seals they would have been used. and poison the russian american company right 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 a. ship sprains this together with russian cawley gania unashamed

david mcmahon raise 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 half of it melted 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 rodney 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 eighteenth 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 at the very most this number was well below what russia needed to control and defend it. it is. the fact that it will take those factors led to a serious discussion about a potential sale up with ups or that they were held in an atmosphere of secrecy only a handful of officials knew about them by focal it's 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 the 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 for 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 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 bunch of ice. rumor even had is that of the seven point two million dollars paid some two hundred thousand was given just senators in the form of kickbacks. but opinion but opinion put it on their side deliberate steps which they could have filled with delicate swaim 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 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 officials are claimed 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.

ocean is that so much a. huge musician. the mark of the battle for libya is a so-called humanitarian intervention there so noble and straightforward must.

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 tied 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 class has lived in the small settlement of chicken on the peninsula since birth there are more than twenty school close 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. after that just

some distance from here my father is buried in and most of my relatives in one day i will be to. 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 better 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 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 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 . which is married. a few hours later he will visit his father at a nursing home in the town of soldotna your abuser i tell him i tell my father that every time apple you know you have. morning lehman it doesn't see that russian heritage simply as a distant episode in the history of his native state can remember as well that when he was a child far more people spoke russian than english i talked about that with my brothers of about the russian heritage and we often joked about it and when we get within about ten miles of. doing what we call speaking then we start talking like

my father telling some of the stories it is still a very big part of my heritage. more in a rice that sold around lunchtime he visits his father at the local nursing home he says a few phrases in russian at them with yes we go i. was a. nuclear man can't remember names and faces clearly last year he had a stroke. right wingers and it was the. us here yes but even. that'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 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. don't put in the years or so got

sober as a writer want to know the cover of the book all you need. to write in a group of young. women 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've wiped the 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 was talk about it serves some of the stories maybe some of the language i want them to understand are very rich cultural heard. if it makes you think and. phrase and here is one of the most popular teachers and still don't know high school. he used to teach english to russian children in the russian town of mogadon which 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 wont during pre-op what was. the russian fair bit. about this that. i'm not and that we came. here. to gori season 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 that conspicuously russia for example read. from read don't sell dog from sale device then the presence of the church is here so you know the words.

let's put it like this here in alaska will 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. you thought people tourists came hearing one thousand six to eight years and this is the first house they have built yet we face why they feel me here you know so young you know how do you choose in an age when for some reason trying to guess why there's no escape for you dressed to kill. and in a field is famous in nicholai amsc 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. the reason is that all believers live

in the settlement and they always prefer a reclusive lifestyle. the founders of nikolai a school fled the soviet merica to escape persecution on religious grounds in alaska the old believers are trying to distance themselves from civilization much like they would do in russia. initially it was a private no doubt about that but the signs have been removed and now people can visit us where they can talk to and meet. is no longer settlement today it is even something of a tourist attraction and cafe run by the feel of the most lucrative business in the settlement. this is my. big break. 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 stay near the russian ones back you know 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 are actions the russians people that are here your socks. have a nice set of values thank you. friendly relations with matt but as the years ago by she becomes ever more apprehensive of the prospect of nikolai of 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 russian village. that learn english not as much russian i think or the

time our church probably go more americanized faith i. grade which. 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. 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. the soloist is the youngest of the band everybody calls him. his perfect english hides his true origin he was born in the siberian town of hundred.

children of the russians who came here in one thousand eight hundred nine that 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 and it is indeed a new generation of music that i knew when you might. 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. russians don't see themselves as masters of alaska they see themselves as guests. of the traveler as 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. 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 can do. nothing since we're repeating the historical roots of the alaskan discover a labyrinth is a gold skin that we want to know the actual truth and that's why we didn't have a choice of transport means. something haakanson 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. there's motorboats. certain things 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 world you. own the 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 go on it's a whole different philosophy of owning it versus living with it.

question is that so much given to each musician on the mark when the battle for libya is the so-called humanitarian intervention there so noble and straightforward must include. a timer here broadcasting live from washington d.c. coming up today on the big picture. the official. i pod touch from the cubans up still.