(NewsNation) — Russian state television personalities have renewed claims that Alaska rightfully belongs to Russia as President Donald Trump is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage on Friday.
During a recent broadcast of Russia-1’s “60 Minutes” program, propagandist Olga Skabeyeva referred to Alaska as “our Alaska” while discussing a joint Russian-Chinese military patrol that approached within 200 miles of the Alaskan coast, Newsweek reported.
The comment came after State Duma Deputy Adalbi Shkhagoshev mentioned “our aircraft approached the borders of Alaska,” prompting Skabeyeva to incorrectly claim he had said “our Alaska.”
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Putin ally and TV host Vladimir Solovyov also last year called for Alaska’s return to Russia during a state media program, along with Finland, Warsaw, the Baltics and Moldova, saying they should all be “returned to the Russian Empire,” Newsweek reported.
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The territorial claims stem from Alaska’s history as a Russian colony from 1799 to 1867, when Russia sold the territory to the United States for $7.2 million — roughly 2 cents per acre — to pay off debts from the Crimean War, according to NPR.
The purchase, known as “Seward’s Folly” after Secretary of State William Seward, was criticized at the time as acquiring a “frozen wasteland.”
In January, the Kremlin signed a decree directing officials to search for and register Russian property holdings abroad, including in the “former Russian Empire” and “former USSR.”
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The U.S. State Department dismissed any notion that Putin could reclaim Alaska.
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“I speak for all of us in the U.S. government to say that, certainly, he is not getting it back,” State Department principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said in January.
The Alaska summit location carries both practical and symbolic significance. The state sits just 53 miles from Russia at the closest point across the Bering Strait, making it a natural meeting ground.
But the choice also highlights the shared history between the two nations over the territory that was once “Siberia’s Siberia” to Russian administrators.
