market why not. come to. find out what's really happening to the global economy with much stronger or a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines and cons report on r.g.p. . latest news on the week's top stories on r.t. the libyan opposition fight against colonel gadhafi suffered an unexpected setback a nato airstrike reportedly killing more than a dozen rebels. fears over a potential terrorist attack in europe where security experts claim the coalition's involvement in libya could trigger a radical response. japan struggles to stem the cold radioactive water from the fukushima carved out into the ocean of thousands of homeless tsunami

survivors face an uncertain future. and a year after the moscow metro suicide bombing deals a devastating blow to terrorism by killing a group of high ranking militants. but next we take you to the formerly russian and we're going to ask. 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 standing here but more than one hundred forty years ago it became the u.s. territory though some americans still don't know about. this elastic i have no idea about that stuff 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 mineral 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 you need several people. on a summer day and seventeen forty one scores of natives of the land set out on

a hunting expedition encounters they spotted odd looking ships on the horizon. those big sailboats milonga 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 maps he 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 emergence. there is the street name called who all founded with his who i cannot tell you the very first russian permanent settlement in alaska

and then there is still a coffs son in law were son off named after nicole 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 large colonies on the alaskan coast. this building was used as a warehouse from here the for went to russia and to china this sea otter pill 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 i rush.

russian traveler. first came to alaska thousand and nine he organized an expedition to retrace the steps of his fellow countrymen. who was the first ever european to reach alaska's interleaved. unexplored land and establish contact with the aboriginal people. who keep. 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. question over clearly we welcome them in this east in the places that it once served as bases of visigoths can expectation. 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 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 the locals into the orthodox fish russian men married local girls. what brought the russian men was married local women and their children were called creole as a wall of creoles for well educated they held top posts in the russian capital to ship as well as in the colonial ministration in alaska i would. surrender how concerned the lives of life entirely different from his ancestors to him putting out to sea is more like fun the more 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 the washing

inside and on it and that's something that we've been doing for centuries and it'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 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 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 earth and i. told.

her where we were taken after her and grandpa going there from your honor and they couldn't say our last night and they were russian. spring don't simulate of 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 first in church a protestant church but always running seeking out for face or for experience of

the earth and finding that an orthodoxy is a young man and eventually answering a call into the priesthoods of. the church were father in county 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 they didn't force us to not follow our traditional ways of living we did you know start practicing our all the religious practices but pretty much everything else they had 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

employees of the russian american company but around bales of. 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 a. ship strains this together with russian colleagues 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 brinks 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 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 offended. at the 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 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 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 eight hundred sixty seven 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 the residents of citgo 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 splashed across the newspapers scoffed at the purchase describing it as nothing more than a bunch of vice. 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 there put it on their side to liberal steps which they could've with telescopes wayne 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 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 for the sale of alaska had sunk in the pacific. you deleted. from. the future. twenty years ago just country. to places.

where did it take. to go. because. she. was born and raised in alaska like many alaskans he refers to other states and 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 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. kind of things i have actually had people compliment me on you sound just like an american. jerry

a school called has lived in the small settlement of. 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 and most of my relatives and one day i will be too. right after the peninsula was sold to the americans the village menial check 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 the old law dovetail design with a dove tail corner there are several other buildings that are throughout here including sheds that were used for fishing the older ones were built is as old as

the late one thousand nine hundred six all the residents of new chick are related to each other one way or another they actually this is irene she died in nineteen eighty five one of the most successful people born in manual chick is laurent lehman who is a distant relative of gary a school called four years ago he was the lieutenant governor of alaska first 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 were you ever 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 will you oh i love you too.

lauren leanin 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 about the russian herds and we often joked about it when we get 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. furtively heard. more in a rise that sold around lunchtime he visits his father at the local nursing home he says a few phrases in russian if i'm with you it's go i. was no conscious pre-race. nuclear man can't remember names and faces clearly last year he had a stroke. or what. you hear

yes but human. that's my son nick lehman's condition sometimes makes him imagine he's not it's old news nursing home but in the old settlements 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. everybody says so drug programs or rather what do you know that is not in the book are you very. much in 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 was talk about it sure some of the stories maybe some of the way in which i want them to understand are very rich

cultural heritage. if it means giving up. rice 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. 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 and this part of the world. your phone during pre-op was. this the you know this thing that's. being done here. i'm not. here. grigori 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 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 the us 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. you get thirty people first came here in one thousand six to eight years and this is the first house they have built here we take why they feel me you you know young enough to sit in mind for

some reason try to guess why there's no escape for you dressed to kill. and you know for a fee 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. the reason is that all believers live in this settlement and they always prefer a reclusive lifestyle. the founders of nikolai and 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 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 a close settlement today it is even something of a tourist attraction the cafe run by. is the most lucrative business in the

settlement. this is national. for three decades it never occurred to the old believers that someday americans might be among very neighborly they tried to escape visiting other towns but now the american houses stay near the russian ones i think 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. russians people that are here your stocks. 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 nikolai of

losing its status as a russian enclave and turning into just another client settlements in alaska. children in the settlement still wear russian national dress but english is now their mother tongue. for growing up in a russian village but we go through english school learning english not as much russian i think or the time. probably go more americanised. 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 in 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. the soloist is the youngest of the band everybody calls him leo his perfect english hides his true origin he was born in the siberian town of my going . to ask you to look at your face children of the russians who came here in one thousand eight hundred nine million nine hundred ninety s. across are about twenty years old now just 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 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 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 he and his friends are embarking on a second expedition to the peninsula's hinterland 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 labyrinth sees a gold skin that we want to know the actual truth and that's why we didn't have a choice of transfer the remains. of in haakanson head of the community of indigenous people living in kodiak island takes

a dim view of the desire of europeans to make a very lives more difficult. his ancestors used to put out to sea in a canoe keeper for. there's motorboats. certain things giving up the perks of civilization is a foolish thing to do. yet despite embrace of 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. you can 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.