"A significant part of the shared history between Russia and the USA is connected with Alaska": President Vladimir Putin on the region

---

A significant part of the shared history between Russia and the USA is connected with Alaska. This was stated by President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin during a joint press conference following talks with President of the United States Donald Trump. The head of our state reminded about Alaska's key role in World War II, when the legendary air route for supplying fighter aircraft and equipment under the Lend-Lease program passed through it.

"This was a dangerous and challenging route over enormous icy spaces, but pilots and specialists from both countries did everything to bring Victory closer, risking and giving their lives for our common victory. A significant part of the shared history of Russia and the United States is connected with Alaska, including many positive events. To this day, there remains a vast cultural legacy of the era of Russian America: Orthodox churches, as well as more than 700 geographical names of Russian origin," emphasised President Vladimir Putin.

The head of state also expressed gratitude to the American authorities and citizens for their respectful attitude towards the monument at the military cemetery where Soviet pilots are buried.

"We will always remember other historical examples when our countries together defeated common enemies in the spirit of camaraderie and alliance, helping and supporting each other," emphasised the head of state.

After the meeting with President of the United States Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin went to the Fort Richardson cemetery, located on the territory of the U.S. military base Elmendorf-Richardson, where he laid flowers at the graves of Soviet soldiers. 

As Vladimir Vasilyev, chief research fellow at the Institute for U.S. and Canadian Studies, told the press office of the National Centre RUSSIA, the alliance of states during the Second World War was "vital".

"During the Second World War, in the first half of the 1940s, when the fate of the world was being decided in the struggle against the ‘plague of the 20th century’ — fascism — such an alliance not only became possible but also vital. Through the territory of Alaska passed a transit route for the supply of American equipment and materials. Moreover, Alaska became a key link of the air route along which aircraft were ferried to the Soviet Union," noted Vladimir Vasilyev.

In the 18th–19th centuries, Russian explorers, merchants and missionaries created an entire network of settlements in Alaska. The centre was Novo-Arkhangelsk (now Sitka), the administrative capital of Russian America. Here were the trading posts of the Russian-American Company, fur trade was conducted, and active maritime expansion took place. From Russian ports furs were transported to China, Japan and Hawaii, while American ships delivered food and goods to Alaska. Russia’s relations with the young United States were a rare example of peaceful coexistence and mutual benefit. Trade brought profit to both sides, while cultural contacts left a mark that remains visible to this day.

Today, Alaska remains a unifying symbol in the history of both countries — a reminder of the time when common interests, distant horizons, and the courage of pioneers created space for dialogue.