Representatives of many nationalities around the world have contributed to the creation and development of the United States, and we must not forget about the contribution that belongs to the Russians. As early as the end of the 18th century, Russian industrialists-St. John's wort and farmers - began to settle in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, in what later became known as Russian America. Despite the fact that Alaska was sold by Russia to the United States in 1867, the cultural heritage of Russian pioneers was preserved both in the Orthodox religion of the local population - Aleuts, Eskimos, Indians and Creoles, as well as in the customs, vocabulary, and geographical names of the former Russian territory. Alaska is full of Russian names: islands, bays, straits, mountain peaks, lakes remind us in our time of the names of G. I. Shelikhov, A. A. Baranov, N. P. Rumyantsev, Yu. F. Lisyansky, I. F. Kruzenshtern, O. E. Kotzebue, F. P. Wrangel, S. V. Voevodsky, A. F. Kashevarov and many others. others. Two lakes on Baranov Island are even named after the children of the first ruler of Russian America, A. A. Baranov (in the USA he was called the "Lord of Alaska") - Irina and Antipater. Studying the history of Russian cultural penetration into the North American mainland and recalling the pages of the past, one cannot pass by a small Russian settlement on the California coast, which was called "Ross village and fortress" when founded, and later, as in our time, is called Fort Ross. N. P. Rezanov, a statesman and diplomat, one of the directors of the Russian-American Company founded in 1799, suggested the idea of establishing a fortress in California. As part of the first Russian round-the-world expedition, Rezanov visited Alaska and became convinced of the food difficulties experienced by Russian settlers there. In search of sources of expanding the food base, as well as marine St. John's wort, expeditions were sent from Novo-Arkhangelsk - the center of Russian America-to ... Read more