Page 202 - 1992 - XVIII Congresso Internazionale di Storia Militare

168 ALI!XDI N DAZIIHSOV

governmem tried ro avoid the negative public opinion. Tn March t 867 thc treaty
of sale of Russian America was signed ar the agreed price of 7,200,000 dollars.
At thar umc rhece were 60 sc:rtlemenrs in Russian America where Russians
- 582 men and 90 women, Creols from mixed marriagcs · 944 mcn and t 045
women llved. The lslands of Kodyak, Unalashka and Sitkha were rhc mosr popu·
lated rerrirories. AJrogcthec the whole poputarion counring Alcurs and lndians num·
bercd abour l O thousand inbabitanrs.
The ueaty of March 30th, t867 fìxed the Wesrern boundary of the ccded ter·
ritories, and included Alaska and aU the Aleutian lslands lying to the East·of rhat
boundary 11 2 1.
In thar way the hisrory o( cxploruion and developmcnc of Russia n America
carne ro an end. The Russian trait·blazc:rs and sailors who ovc:rcamc rrcmc:ndous
diffic:ultics madc not onty geographic discovc:ries but they cultivared the wild cerri·
tory of north Amer•ca. And very righcly i t was wrinen in a note of rh e muin ruling
hoard of the Russian AmcriClln Company in 18 17: tbough Russia hcfore the begin-
ning of rhe t 8th cemury di d nor h ave big lleers, ics peoplc - emerprising, resolurc
and couragcous - long bcforc chu, sailing in small boats had made numerous
impon unr d iscoveries. Russians as far back as in che 17th ccmucy had roundcd
thc Cape of Chuckchce in waters of thc Aretic Occan - a diffìcuh vcncurc even
in our timc.
Thc Sratc Archi ves coma in anformation and proof that che: North· Western pare
of America (tooking from Russia and its Asiaric coascs), unknown ro the world un·
til thcn, was d tscovercd by Russians, and thcir feec were the fìrst ro sccp on the
mai n land and on nearly aU the islands from che Bering Stra ic ro rhe River Colum·
bia atong thc larirudc 46 N ll3l,
An appra1Sal of the acrivity o( the Russia n pioncers has noc lost irs me11ning
even in our days.

NOTES
(l) Since 1898 - che Capt! of ~nev.
(2) L N. Kuukov. V11uhnta}11 pol11ica i diplottuttijll Yaponii, Moskva, 1964, p. 302.
(3) L S. lkrg, Otil')llt K-tuhatlu i aptdmi Bm11ga. Mo<kva l... 1946, p. U t.
(4) A l. AlexttV, On.n11 rrsshmi lrdiiiJ Daltrep V..-ro.éa i Rimkoi Amtrilti, Magadan, 1982,
p. 90.
()) D. M. ubedev. f.ulltJsv V.A. Hrm/11• gtor;rafitr!JtJii. otkrytija i iJs/tr/qwmia, Moskva, 1971,
p. 209.
(6) A. l. Alexccv, ~p. rit., p. 103.
(7) lbidtm, p. 103·104.
(Il) N. N. Bolkhovitinov, Rouia 1 UltJÌ"" SShA •a ntz.~visimm, 17n· I7R3. Moskva, l !>76,
p. 33.