Tsar Alexander II sold oil-rich territory to the US in 1867. Will Friday’s high-stakes summit between Putin and Trump result in a warming of historic ties?
Donald Trump appeared to confuse geography and history on Monday, saying on television that he planned to meet Vladimir Putin “in Russia” on Friday for their much-anticipated, high-stakes summit.
It was the latest in a series of verbal slip-ups by the US president – though had he made it a century and a half earlier, it would have been true.
Alaska, with Novo-Arkhangelsk as its regional capital, remained part of the Russian empire under Tsar Alexander II until its sale to the US in 1867.
When Putin’s jet touches down in Alaska, he will be greeted by traces of Russia’s former presence. From the wild, rugged shores of Baranof Island to Anchorage, the state’s largest city, Russian Orthodox churches with their distinctive onion-shaped domes still dot the landscape.
