Alaska hosts Russian leader for what may just be the first time in its history

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Alaska was Russian land before 1867, when the United States purchased the land after the nation was defeated in the Crimean War. But even when tsars controlled what was then the Russian Empire, none of its leaders ever set foot on the land Alaskans call home.

“I don’t believe that a Russian head of state has ever been to Alaska,” Charles Wohlforth, an author of several Alaska books, said Wednesday. The first Russians to arrive were explorers, he noted, including Vitus Bering, who in 1741 sailed to determine whether there was a passage between Asia and North America.

That changes Friday when US President Donald Trump sits down with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss an end to the war in Ukraine. Historians say Putin will be one, if not the first, Russian leader to visit Alaska.

Russia fought to hold Crimea in parts of what is now Ukraine, something long-time journalist Tim Bradner said was the reason the United States gained control of Alaska.

“That was the backdrop for the decision by Russia to sell because they were at war with Britain, they did not want to allow the British to gain control of Alaska.”

Bradner noted Alaska has long hosted prominent international figures. During World War II, a meeting between Franklin D. Roosevelt and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin nearly took place in Fairbanks. Over the decades, distinguished visitors have included President Richard Nixon, Emperor Hirohito of Japan, and even the Pope.

“The history of Alaska and the history of Russia are deeply, deeply intertwined and really from the beginning of when we have written history. We’ll ask it to the present,” Wohlforth said. “They’re inextricably related to each other.”

Trump has said the Anchorage meeting will be used to “feel out” whether a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine is possible. He has floated the idea of inviting Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to future talks if Friday’s summit goes well. President Trump signaled this will not be the final meeting over the war, warning of “serious consequences” if a cease-fire deal is not reached.

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