Putin Ally Hints at Russian Plot to Reclaim Alaska | #alaska | #politics

A Russian lawmaker and close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested on Wednesday that Moscow should consider an attempt to retake Alaska from the United States.

Alaska, the largest U.S. state by area situated to the west of Canada, was the 49th state admitted to the union, joining in January 1959. Prior to that, the Russian Empire had attempted to colonize the territory in the 18th Century, before selling the land to the U.S. for $7.2 million, or roughly $150 million adjusted for inflation, due to the difficulty of maintaining it. At their closest point, Alaska and Russia are only about 53 miles apart, separated by the waters of the Bering Strait.

Russian lawmaker Sergei Mironov suggested in a Wednesday post to X, the platform previously known as Twitter, that the oversight and power of the U.S. is weakening, citing the recent attempts by Venezuela to seize lands controlled by its neighbor, Guyana. The politician suggested that other nations should consider retaking old territories that are now part of the U.S., citing the examples of Mexico and Texas, and Russia and Alaska.

Mironov’s post was highlighted and translated on Saturday by Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian minister of internal affairs and outspoken critic of Russia, on social media.

“Did you want a new world order? Here you go,” Mironov wrote, as translated by Gerashchenko. “Venezuela is annexing its 24th state, Guyana-Essekibo. This is happening right under the nose of the once great hegemon USA. All that’s left is for Mexico to take back Texas and the rest [of the territories]. It’s time for Americans to think about their future, and also about Alaska.”

Newsweek reached out to the U.S. Department of State via email for comment.

In the past, Putin himself has been muted about the prospect of retaking Alaska, even as some in his government have tried to boost the idea.

“Why do you need Alaska?” Putin said during a 2014 Q&A panel when asked about the idea of taking back the territory by a Russian citizen. “By the way, Alaska was sold sometime in the 19th century. Louisiana was sold to the United States by the French at about the same time. Thousands of square kilometers were sold for $7.2 million, although in gold.”

The Russian president went on to call the purchase of Alaska an “inexpensive” one and urged his constituents to “not get worked up about” it.

Meanwhile, Vyacheslav Volodin, a close ally of Putin and chairman of the country’s State Duma, suggested in 2022 that Moscow ought to retake Alaska as a retaliatory act against the U.S. for the heavy economic sanctions it imposed against them in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine.