she don't call. it. if. they're half past the hour here in moscow you're watching r.t. time for a look at the headlines barack obama reportedly authorizes secret cia operations in libya working on this concerns of the ground intervention is being prepared. to answer countries consider arming the opposition forces in libya despite a checkered history of weapons ending up in the hands of terrorists. work japan's damaged nuclear power plants are suspended radiation levels are rising and

latest attempts to leak some company right. now takes you to alaska the largest state in the u.s. which used to be part of russia the story of the great can land as they call it is 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 forty years ago it became the u.s. territory though some americans still don't know about. the still asking i have no idea about that stuff like nothing i don't know anything about that 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. nor 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 seven hundred forty one scores of the natives of the land set out

on a hunting expedition in canada they spotted an odd looking ships on the horizon. those big sailboats a belongs to an expedition led by a russian explorers bearing and cherokee. that was how kodiak island made its appearance on russian maps the first colonists were. guided by those maps the landed on the island more than 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 still the street name a shell a cult who founded with his wife ned tell us the very first russian permanent settlement in alaska and then there's still

a coffs son in law. named after nikolai was. who are 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 others which dwelt in large colonies on the alaskan coast. this building was used as a warehouse from here in the for which to russia and to china this sea outer pill has the think asst for any animal the most birds 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 countrymen. the ghost and was the first ever european to reach alaska's hinterland in this unexplored land and establish contact with you have original people. looking. well welcome to the offer of normally just as their ancestors welcome is a ghost in two hundred fifty years ago their homes may have changed a lot but their attitude to russians remains the same. shit over clearly we welcome them back in these east into places that it once served as bases of as a ghost can expect dish and. tell the russians many of the local people says what if 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 into the orthodox faith russian men married local girls. russian men lived local women and their children were called creole. creoles were well educated they held top posts in the russian capital to ship as well as in the colonial administration you know i would guess he's going to. surrender how concern the lives of life entirely different from his ancestors to him putting out to sea is more like fun the more. 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 the washing

inside of anya and that's something that we've been doing for centuries and that's a tradition where the now we have a wooden house which is a russian vanya we just adapted to it i mean i grew up taking minus four baths. svend cs telling the history of. is painful 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 sense 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

that one for you were taken people rocker and romping are on your honored and they couldn't say our last. russian. screw don't simulate off doesn't need to speak russian all services in the orthodox church and 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 throwing up in a christian church protestant church but always wanting the seeking out for face

a for experience of the faith and finding that in orthodoxy as a young man and eventually answering the call into the priesthoods of. the church were father in canton sears stands with 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 he didn't force us to not follow our traditional ways of living we did you know stop practicing our all the religious practices but pretty much everything else did the same thing 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 bales of her 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 springs just together with a russian called unashamed david mcmahon raised 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 coal miners in california native ice 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 finally sank. the archaeologist dives 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 shipwreck 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 colonists and the very most this number was well below what russia needed to control and offended. at the. fact that a pretty willy those factors led to a serious discussion about a potential sale they were held in an atmosphere of secrecy laws only a handful of officials knew about them but focused really good. america was not

particularly keen on buying a 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 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 three hundred sixty seven of the russian flag was lowered in the former alaskan capital 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 said to 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 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. with opinion but it bring it up a little in their show deliberate steps which they could have filled with well i know perhaps wanting some sort of says. 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

menial check. 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.

derrius was born and raised in alaska like many alaskans he refers to other states in 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. 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. i've actually had people compliment you sound just like an american. has lived in the small settlement. since birth there are more than twenty here his grandfather knew

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 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 a dovetail corner 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 neil chick are related to each other one way or another they entered the houses irene she died in one nine hundred

eighty five one of the most successful people born in india is lauren at lehman who is a distant relative of gary a school called 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. was married with a good 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 everything. oh 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 i talked about that with my brothers

about the russian heritage and we often joked about it when we get within about ten miles. we're doing what we call speaking and we start talking like my father telling some of the stories it is still a very. furtively heard it. more in a rise that sold around lunchtime he visits his father at the local nursing home he says a few phrases in russian. with no i. was no conscious pre-race. nick lehman can't remember names and faces clearly last year he had a stroke. it was the. us here yes but even. with 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 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 agree with you so so go for birds or rather what do you know of this problem before you very much for writing 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 and 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 shares some of the stories maybe even some of the language i want them to understand are very rich cultural heritage. if it makes me think that. phrase and here is one of the most popular teachers at soldotna high school gauri

used to teach english to russian children in the russian town of marjah done 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. you're the one curing prion while i. don't like. the life fair bit there are you spending that's. all i'm not. here. season self as a representative of the new wave of russian settlers of alaska who cheers he makes himself at home the russian legacy is everywhere. because today 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 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 try to stick to a lifestyle reminiscent of siberia rather than america didn't you get thirty people first came here in one thousand six to eight ear and this is the first house they have built here very safe why the filming hugh you know so young you know how do you choose in a naval mine for some reason try to guess why there's no escape for you dressed to kill. is famous in nicholai of sc 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 nick elias fled the soviet union to america 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 if initially it was a private to be laid sure 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 settlements today it is even something of a tourist attraction a cafe run by the feel of the most lucrative business in the settlement. this is my passion.

for three decades it never occurred to the old believers that someday americans might be among neighbors they tried to escape visiting other towns but now the american houses stay near the russian ones but if you leave no 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 land was pretty good price the russians should say russians people are here your socks. have a nice set of values. and you know if the feel of a friendly relations with met 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 russian village but we go through english school that learn english not as much russian i think or the time. probably go more americanised faith i. grade which america. 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. this fun group is rehearsing in a garage situated in an. anchorage

a suburb. is the youngest of the band everybody calls him. his perfect english hides his true or he was born in the siberian town of. children of the russians who came here in one thousand eight hundred nine or 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 it is indeed a new generation of music. one of the songs of the greenberg group says there's a place where everybody is going to it's the place to be actually an entirely different places and 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 traveler is among them yet 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. venue hopkinson 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 converse keeper for. as murder hurts. and

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 world you know. you can't 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 it.