Latest news with #IndigenousAlaskans
New York Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
How the Trump-Putin Summit Signals a Return to Imperial Thinking
When President Trump chose Alaska for Friday's summit meeting with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to discuss the war in Ukraine, his supporters suggested that the location offered a nod to savvy deal making. The United States had purchased the territory from Russia in 1867 for about 2 cents an acre. But with Ukraine being excluded — as was the case for Indigenous Alaskans when their land was transferred — the summit has already revived discussion of what some scholars say Mr. Putin and Mr. Trump seem in some ways to share: an imperial mind-set. The term was first popularized by Gerard Libaridian, an Armenian-American historian, who used it in a 2014 speech in England to refer to former empires like Iran, Turkey and Russia, as they sought to influence post-Soviet states they had once controlled. In his view, it describes an approach that lingers in many a national psyche, fusing a simplistic nostalgia for greatness to strong beliefs about the right to keep dominating smaller nations and neighbors. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the idea has gained momentum, usually in reference to Putin's Russia. And Mr. Trump's assertive second term — with his threats to seize Greenland and the Panama Canal, make Canada the 51st state and send American troops into Mexico — has spurred new accusations from historians and world leaders that his demands for deference reflect an imperial mentality. Mr. Trump has hardly been consistent. He has often condemned foreign intervention and 'stupid wars,' while bombing Iran and expressing ambivalence about U.S. alliances and the defense of vulnerable democracies like Taiwan. Still, there's perhaps something imperial — or at least a version of great power behavior with some additional traits — in his talk of 'land swaps' to bring peace in Ukraine over the country's own objections. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Business Insider
3 days ago
- Politics
- Business Insider
Vintage photos show Alaska before it became a state
Alaska was controversially purchased by the US from Russia in 1867. Critics called the transaction "Seward's Folly" after US Secretary of State William Seward. Alaska was officially made the 49th state in January 1959. One commonly accepted theory was that the first people traveled to North America from Asia via the Bering Land Bridge, although more recent discoveries suggest they made their way by sea. Russia began colonizing Alaska and other parts of North America in the late 1700s, establishing Russian America and making money off the fur trade. But by the 1860s, the fur trade had declined due to over-hunting. US critics dubbed the purchase "Seward's Folly," named for then-Secretary of State William Seward because they felt the land, which they called an "icebox," was useless. The transaction was also made against the wishes of some Native Alaskans, who argued it wasn't Russia's land to sell, according to the Alaska Native Foundation. Three decades later, the Klondike Gold Strike brought thousands of migrants to the territory. Alaska officially became a state 92 years after the transaction, in January 1959, making it the 49th state. Hawaii became the 50th state that same year. Now, Alaska is a popular tourist destination, with thousands of people traveling there via cruise each year. It's also the location of President Donald Trump's high-stakes meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. As well as a symbolic choice, considering the state's history with Russia, it's also a practical one: It's the closest US state to Russia, and Putin, who is subject to an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for war crimes, can step foot there without fear of arrest. These vintage photos show what Alaska looked like before it became part of the United States. 1955: This photo of a group of Indigenous Alaskans was taken 70 years ago.
