that's. the have the genes are still unaware of what's going on in their mind still asking what. it's like. because the last leg. on our cheek. will cost around the world for most of you since this is the r t news channel thanks for being with us the top stories now the u.s. reportedly authorizes covert cia operations in libya aimed at supporting the rebels and gathering intelligence this comes as nato officials themselves voiced fears that a number of rebel fighters have links to al qaida. meanwhile the libyan foreign minister and colonel gadhafi is long time right sound. effects to the u.k. but on the ground forces still loyal to gadhafi repelling further rebel advances.

and word stabilize the fukushima nuclear plant comes to a halt the radiation levels and groundwater rather listen to what a new high u.n. pushes for to kind of expand the evacuation of time from twenty to forty kilometers . often it travels for the next thirty minutes now would take you to alaska the largest state of course in the u.s. which also used to be part of russia the story then of the great land as local people call it is coming. 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. just over the last of the

idea about let's 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 mineral canoes with a couple of paddles instead of comfortable motor boats with powerful engines in the past yes it was is very very difficult to hunt as an individual you need a group in order to. 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 seven hundred forty one scores of hits the natives of the land set out on a hunting expedition in canaries they spotted odd looking ships on the horizon. those big sail boats in the launch to an expedition led by russian explorers bearing and sure. that was how kodiak island made its appearance on russian maps the first colonists were. guided by those massively landed on the island more than forty years later section 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

emergence. there is still the street name a shell a cult. 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 was sawn off named after nikolai was. was representing the government of russia and also the russian 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 in the fur went to russia and to china this c.r. pill has the sickest for. 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 countrymen. the ghost and it was the first ever european to reach alaska's hinterland in this unexplored land and establish contact with the aboriginal people. look to. well welcome to warmly just as their ancestors welcomes the boskin 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 back or in these eastern the places that it once was bases as a ghost can expect. the russians many of the local people says what if they had

russian ancestors. when the russians came to alaska with the lives of 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 of the locals in people with the dogs fish russian men married local girls. yes no russian men had local women and their children were called creole he was some creoles or well educated they held top posts in the russian capital to ship as well as in the colonial administration you know asco i would guess he's going to. surrender how concerned 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 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 which just adapted to it i mean i grew up taking minus four bass. svend cs 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 speed you don't see me on of one of sends 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. for we were taken there. on your honor and they couldn't say are a lot. of russian. still don't simulate 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 of throwing up in a christian church protestant church but always wanting the seeking out for face for experiences and finding that an orthodoxy as a young man and eventually answering the call into the priesthoods of. the church were found in a county sears stands where the first church in the new world used to be alaska is still predominantly orthodox u.s. state. russians and 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 and we did you know start practicing our all the religious practices but pretty much everything else stayed the same thing language but then in doing the american period. when the americans came they wanted to civilize us.

american archaeologists 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 to put 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 this is. the search for ames this together with russian colleagues. 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 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 i 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 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. those factors lead to

a serious discussion about a potential sale they were held in an atmosphere of secrecy only a handful of fishelson knew about them and i 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 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 alaskan day is one of the major holidays of the forty ninth state. during the bright show of the residents of sitka 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 vice. rumor even had a bit of a seven point two million dollars paid some two hundred thousand was given to senators in the form of kickbacks. but opinion put it bring it out put it on their side deliberate steps which they could have with clearly no clips well in the some senator's 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 chik. what became of the money earned in the alaska deal was shrouded in mystery. the official version claimed that the whole payment reached russia and 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.

the biggest issues get the human voice face to face with the news makers. of this. jury and school was born and raised in alaska like many alaskans he refers to other states and 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. or 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. i've actually had people compliment you sound just like in america. gary a school called has lived in the small settlement of check on the law 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 passed away a couple of decades ago and my grandmother. passed away soon after that just some distance from here my father's buried him 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 seashore all of the employees of the russian american company who 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. 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.

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 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 which preceded the incident was married were given. a few hours later he will visit his father at a nursing home invitation of sold. i tell him i tell my father that everything. lauren leaman doesn't see that russian heritage simply as a distant episode in the history of his native state he remembers well when he was

a child far more people spoke russian than english. with my brothers of the russian herds and we often joked about it when we get within about ten miles. we're doing what we call speaking the hill chick was talking like my father telling some of the stories it is still a very. further. more in a rise of around lunchtime he visits his father at the local nursing home he says a few phrases in russian. mikko i. was there a conspiracy. nick lehman can't remember names and faces clearly last year he had a stroke. as one of the. us here in the us 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 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 forget where you got for words or rather what you know of those problems before you very. much for watching 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 shares some of the stories maybe some of the way in which i want them to understand the earth very rich cultural heritage if it means giving up and.

prays and here is one of the most popular teachers at seoul don't know high school . already used to teach english to russian children in the russian town of mugger. 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 born during briana was. the only. fair bit like. this thing that. could be done. i'm not. with me. here. the gory 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. it could be there are at least

about seven hundred. names place names. that out conspicuously russian for example. from cell dog or 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 trying to stick to a lifestyle reminiscent of siberia rather than america because you thought people first came here in one thousand six to eight years this is the first house they have built here very fake why they feel me hugh you're not young enough how do you choose in an age when for some reason trying to guess why there's no escape for you

dressed to kill. in the feel of it is famous in nicholai africa 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 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 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 settlements today it is even something of a tourist attraction a cafe run by the feel of it is the most lucrative business in the settlement. this

is mission. you think they are. 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 no 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 the russians are people that are here the orthodox. have a nice set of values. and maintains 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 to english school that learn english not as much russian i think or the time our church is going to probably go more americanised 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 pin insula out of the cities three hundred thousand strong population five thousand are migrants from russia. this fun group is rehearsing

in a garage situated in an. anchorages 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 . children of the russians who came here in one thousand eight hundred nine or 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 they speak very good english and understand spoken russian it is indeed a new generation of music when you might. 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 in entirely different places meant in the song but the new russian suburbs have taken the him like lines close to the heart.

the. russians don't see themselves as nasser's of alaska they see themselves as guests. 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. says van 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 a canoe keeper for. as motorboats. thinks 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.

and.

a. good.