Did the Russians once colonize parts of California?
Today one could hardly believe that some parts of the United States were once colonized by the Russians. Russia had several colonial possessions in the Americas from 1733 to 1867. Settlements spanned parts of what are now the US states of California, Alaska, and two ports in Hawaii. The thing is that the two countries are divided by the Bering Strait. The Strait is about 51 mi wide at its narrowest point, so the Russians felt free to explore and colonize the territory of Alaska.
The Bering Strait. Now you see that the distance between the continents is quite small.
More Info:
en.m.wikipedia.org
What are your thoughts on this subject?
53 Comments
Owen Tucker
Let’s see Gov Newsome talk his way out of this one.
Cheryl Marovitz
There is still a Russian settlement outside of Seward, AK. The don’t welcome visitors.
marilynmitri
Yeah, of course! The Russian River!
Cheryl Love
The explanation has little to do with California. North of San Francisco is the Russian River, and numerous towns with Russian names. Explanation should have included info about CA since that was the question.
Helga U. Williams
Obviously, everybody knows about Russia's history in Alaska, but California definitely is new to me. Gives me something to google. Thank you!
😊
Joanne Serin
This is part of the situation in the novel "Island of the Blue Dolphins," which takes place on one of the Channel Islands in the 19th century.
schukshudak
I never learned that in history books!
Bob Blumrick
So THAT’S the problem with Russiafornia!
(Just joking around, folks!)
dsneed
tesla alset,
You got, babe. Ontop of things at all times 😘
dsneed
Yeah but we done run 'em off, we did hmumf!! Yay me.
Annie
Got it 👏
jack patti go
Got it!
Howard Groopman
There's a Russian Hill in San Francisco, but I'm not certain what the connection is.
dcboyden
Fort Ross
Michael Anthony Forsythe
There is a reason you will find the town of Sebastopol and Russian River north of the San Francisco area. I know ethnic Russian-Americans whose families have been in California since before the Gold Rush.