Why Alaska? The Symbolism of Holding the Trump-Putin Summit In The Frontier State

Time​ Magazine

16 hours ago

When Russian President Vladimir Putin touches down in Alaska on Friday to discuss ending the war in Ukraine with U.S. President Donald Trump, he'll be landing in a former Russian colony that still carries deep historic ties to his homeland.
The 'Frontier State' is geographically the closest point between the U.S. and Russia, divided by the Bering Strait and resting just 55 miles away from the European country. But beyond making the U.S. and Russia neighbors, Alaska has been the site of both cooperation and conflict between the two nations beginning, in part, with the purchase of the 49th state from the Russian empire.
'The symbolism of Alaska would be a reminder of how it was possible for the United States and Russia for most of the 19th century to transcend their ideological and political differences and their expansionisms, to have warm, friendly cooperative relations,' says David S. Foglesong, a history professor at Rutgers University - New Brunswick.
That is not to say that the summit was chosen solely for symbolic reasons. Putin is barred from entering the 125 countries that are parties to the Rome Statute due to an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant issued against him for war crimes.
'No other country wants them to have this meeting on their territory,' says Lee Farrow, professor and chair of Auburn University at Montgomery's history and world culture department. Farrow is also the author of Seward's Folly: A New Look at the Alaska Purchase, and other titles about Russian-U.S. relations. 'It's going to be easier to manage strategically from a safety standpoint, and Putin doesn't have to be worried about getting arrested by some kind of international court.'
While experts doubt a resolution on ending the war can come from the in-person meeting—especially since Ukraine is not participating—the hope is that the U.S. can reestablish a working channel with Russia, recalling a period when dialogue and cautious cooperation were possible. 'If Donald Trump is trying to be the mediator of this,' says Farrow, 'Alaska is the perfect place to resurrect that friendship for the sake of world peace.'
Ukraine has been at war since Russia's illegal invasion in 2022. Friday's summit marks the first meeting between the leaders of the U.S. and Russia since the 2021 meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Putin in Geneva.
Alaska as a former Russian colony
Political tensions between Russia and the U.S. have worsened in recent decades, but relations were historically much friendlier, even before the purchase of Alaska, which was a Russian colony for more than 65 years.
U.S. officials and politicians viewed Russia as one of its closest European powers after Russian fleets traveled to New York and San Francisco in 1863, during the U.S. Civil War. Shared political upheaval also united the two nations. 'There was this common feeling of sympathy about the loss of leaders or the attempted assassination of a leader,' says Farrow, pointing to the 1865 assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and 1866 assassination attempt of Russian Emperor Alexander II.
Russia, overstretched by its own expansion, opted to sell Alaska for $7.2 million, favoring the U.S. over Britain, which it still regarded as its primary rival. 'Russia preferred to have Alaska go to what it considered a friendly power, like the United States, rather than to have it possibly fall into the hands of an unfriendly power like Britain, which Russia continued to regard as really enemy number one,' says Foglesong.
Today, remnants of Russian influence remain in the northernmost U.S. state. Russian Orthodox churches can be found in Anchorage and Sitka, the latter of which was once the capital of Russian America. Alaskan Creoles, descendants of Russians and Alaskan natives, are also still present in the state. And some Alaskan towns still have Russian-derived names, such as Ninilchik.
Alaska has played a big role in previous conflicts with Russia
Alaska also played a significant role during the World Wars, delivering thousands of aircrafts to the then-Soviet Union in World War II on ferries that traveled through the Bering Strait.
Symbolically, Alaska later became the 'first line of defense' at the end of the Cold War, according to Brandon Boylan, a professor of political science and director of Arctic and northern studies at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. 'The thinking was that if the Soviets were going to attack the U.S., they would do so over the North Pole,' he says. A defense radar system was set up in Alaska to detect bombs and missiles amid concerns of a nuclear war.
Today, Alaska and Russia share overlapping interests in the Arctic Circle. Both nations participate in the Arctic Council—though some of their work has been temporarily paused due to Russia's invasion—and maintain a history of scientific collaboration.
Alaska's proximity to Russia also gives it strategic significance for Arctic energy resources, shipping routes, and climate research, factors that could shape the Trump-Putin talks around access to critical minerals and energy supplies—resources that Ukraine's conflict has made increasingly pivotal for global markets.
Call for return of Alaska to Russia
Some Russian nationalists, including politicians, have called for the U.S. to give Alaska back to Russia. 'There certainly has long been this kind of story floating around that somehow Russia should never have lost Alaska in the first place, that it wasn't a 100% legitimate deal,' says Farrow.
The calls from Russian nationalists echo some of Putin's efforts to take control of Ukraine. Farrow adds that many of Putin's actions are part of an 'attempt to regain lost glory and to establish some kind of new identity and new legacy for Russia,' including trying to reclaim lost territory, such as Crimea and parts of Ukraine.
Experts generally view these calls for the return of Alaska as an empty threat, but caution against what the Russian nationalist sentiment signals. 'It reminds Alaskans, and all Americans, that Alaska is still a part of Russian national consciousness,' says Boylan.
Either way, some experts note that the summit in and of itself is a win for Russia, who gets to partake in negotiations without the presence of Ukraine. In fact, some may view the upcoming meeting with Trump as a way to recognize Russia's power. 'There's a long history of Russians looking to the United States for affirmation of Russia's status,' Foglesong says.