'Does he know it?': Trump's curious choice to host Putin in Alaska as nationalists call for correcting 'mistake'

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US President Donald Trump's decision to host Vladimir Putin in Alaska, which the United States purchased from Russia in the 19th century, has raised questions. Putin's ultranationalist allies have called for the return of Alaska to Russia and the Trump-Putin summit has given them a chance to assert their claim again. read more
US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Russian leader Vladimir Putin before their closed-door meeting on July 16, 2018, in Helsinki, Finland. (Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP)
It is not just US President Donald Trump's decision to hold a summit with Vladmir Putin that is under question but its location —Alaska— is under question as well because the choice of venue has given the Russian leader's ultranationalist allies a shot in the arm.
Putin's ultranationalist allies have been emboldened with the choice of Alaska, a former Russian territory that they have long wanted to retake as part of revanchist agenda, as the venue for the summit.
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The United States purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million (around $192 million today), which is dirt-cheap for such a huge and strategically important territory. For decades, Russian ultranationalists have condemned the sale and have called for the return of Alaska.
After Trump announced the summit, Putin's allies started flooding the social media with posts asserting Russian claims on Alaska.
Kirill A Dmitriev, the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and a Special Envoy of Putin, has posted dozens of photographs of Russian Orthodox churches in Alaska and historical documents that show the region's link to Russia.
'Born as Russian America—Orthodox roots, forts, fur trade—Alaska echoes those ties and makes the US an Arctic nation. Let's partner on environment, infrastructure & energy in Arctic and beyond,' said Dmitriev in a post on X.
Commentators have been alarmed that such commentary could very well be a pretext for an aggressive campaign to retake the territory — just like Russians created the historical and sociopolitical pretext for years to previously invade Georgia and Ukraine.
'Aug. 15 Putin-Trump summit falls on Dormition (Catholics: Assumption)—a day honoring Mary's peaceful 'falling asleep'. Alaska's Orthodox Church has Russian roots. Whatever your belief, the feast points to mercy and reconciliation—choose dialogue, choose peace,' said Dmitriev in a post on X.
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'Let's hope Putin doesn't ask to take Alaska home as souvenir'
Considering how Trump has endorsed every demand of Putin so far, political commentator David Frum said on X, 'Let's all hope that Putin doesn't ask to take Alaska home with him as a souvenir, or Trump might give that away too.'
Separately, Michael McFaul, a former US ambassador to Russia, said on X, 'Trump has chosen to host Putin in a part of the former Russian Empire. Wonder if he knows that Russian nationalists claim that losing Alaska, like Ukraine, was a raw deal for Moscow that needs to be corrected.'
Sharing several instances of Russian ultranationalists pressing claim on Alaska, author and commentator Julia Davis said on X, 'Trump inviting war criminal Putin to America is nauseating enough, but hosting him in Alaska — while Putin's pet propagandists routinely demand it back from the US on state TV — is beyond the pale. Unless Putin is arrested upon arrival, there's no excuse.'
John Bolton, who served as Trump's National Security Advisor in the first term, said that the only place worse for a summit could be Moscow.
'The only better place for Putin than Alaska would be if the summit were being held in Moscow. So the initial setup, I think, is a great victory for Putin,' Bolton told CNN.
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Since the end of the Cold War, American presidents have used summits with Russian leader as a way to show approval or disapproval and, with the Alaska summit at a time when Putin defied the deadline to agree to a ceasefire, gave the Russian leader a seal of approval, said Ruth Deyermond, a senior lecturer in war studies at Kings College, London.
'Trump is, once again, signalling the value he places on Putin's friendship. It's a profound humiliation for the US. For Trump to announce a summit —the traditional US reward for friendly Russian presidents— with Putin, on the day he had said would be the deadline for announcing action to punish Russian aggression is an extraordinary move. It's an unambiguous signal of alignment with Russia,' said Deyermond.
Russia sold Alaska to the United States in 1867 as the far-off territory was difficult to govern and was perceived as an economic burden at the time. Moreover, after the Crimean Wars (1853-56), Russian rulers started to look inwards and were not interest in further expansion. They were also wary of the British, who controlled Canada next door. Therefore, they found the sale to the United States a safer option than losing the region militarily to the British. Moreover, they saw the US control of Alaska —and friendly ties with the United States— as counterweight to the British influence.
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