Trump, Putin to meet in Alaska; US state once bought from Russia

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to meet in the US state of Alaska on Friday, August 15, to discuss the future of the war in Ukraine. Trump announced the meeting on social media, while the Kremlin confirmed the date, noting that Alaska was a “logical” choice given its relative proximity to Russia.

Alaska’s connection to Russia runs deeper than geography, the vast state was once Russian territory before being sold to the United States in a historic deal that reshaped the region.

From Russian land to US state

Russian control over Alaska dates back to the 18th century, when an expedition led by Danish navigator Vitus Bering, commissioned by Russian Tsar Peter the Great, discovered that the new land was not connected to Russia. The discovery of valuable sea otter fur opened the door to a lucrative fur trade, and the first Russian settlement in the region was established in 1784.

Decades later, with sea otter populations nearing extinction and political fallout from the Crimean War, Russia became willing to sell Alaska. In 1867, then-US Secretary of State William Seward negotiated the purchase for $7.2 million. On October 18 of that year, the American flag was raised in Sitka, then the capital of Alaska, a day now celebrated annually as Alaska Day. Although the deal was initially mocked as “Seward’s Folly,” the later discovery of gold proved its strategic value. After a long path to statehood, Alaska officially became the 49th US state in 1959.

The black gold that transformed Alaska

Alaska’s economy underwent a dramatic transformation in 1968 with the discovery of a massive oil field in Prudhoe Bay, estimated to hold around 13 billion barrels of reserves. Oil and gas quickly became the state’s leading industry. In 1969 alone, Alaska earned $900 million from leasing land to oil companies. A major pipeline was built to transport crude oil across the state, forever changing its economic landscape.

A lasting legacy: The Alaska Permanent Fund

Recognizing that oil revenues would not last forever, then-Governor Jay Hammond established the Alaska Permanent Fund in 1976, setting aside a quarter of the state’s oil royalties for future generations. Today, the fund is valued at over $65 billion.

One of its most distinctive features is the Permanent Fund Dividend Program, launched in 1982, which distributes a portion of the fund’s earnings annually to every Alaska resident who has lived there for at least a year. This program has helped lift between 15,000 and 25,000 people out of extreme poverty each year and regularly injects money into the local economy.

Facts and figures about “The Great Land”

• Area: Alaska is the largest US state, accounting for one-fifth of the country’s total land area.
• Capital: Juneau is the only US state capital accessible only by boat or plane.
• Nature: The state is home to around 100,000 glaciers, over 3,000 rivers, countless lakes, and more than 100 volcanoes.
• Wildlife: Alaska has roughly one bear for every 21 people.